International Trade Administration 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain pasta from Italy for the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003. We preliminarily find that the countervailing duty rates during the period of review for all of the producers/exporters under review are less than 0.5 percent and are, consequently, de minimis. See the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section, below. If the final results remain the same as these preliminary results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to liquidate entries during the period January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003 without regard to countervailing duties in accordance with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1). We are also rescinding the review for Pastificio Carmine Russo S.p.A./Pastificio Di Nola S.p.A. and Pastificio Antonio Pallante S.r.1. in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results (see the ``Public Comment'' section of this notice).

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain in-shell (raw) pistachios from the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) for the period January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003. For information on the net subsidy rate for the reviewed company, please see the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. (See the ``Public Comment'' section of this notice).

In response to a request from Baoding Mantong Fine Chemistry Co., Ltd. (``Baoding Mantong''), the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on glycine from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). This review covers Baoding Mantong. The period of review (``POR'') is March 1, 2003 through February 29, 2004. We preliminarily find that sales have been made below normal value (``NV''). The preliminary results are listed below in the section titled ``Preliminary Results of Review.'' If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to assess the ad valorem margins against the entered value of each entry of the subject merchandise during the POR. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. Parties that submit comments are requested to submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument(s).

In response to a timely request by the petitioners,\1\ the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar (SSB) from France with respect to UGITECH S.A. (UGITECH). The period of review is March 1, 2003, through February 29, 2004.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is instituting two modifications in its non-market economy (``NME'') practice in antidumping investigations: one on separate rates and one on combination rates. The separate rates practice refers to the Department's long-standing policy in antidumping investigations of presuming that all firms within an NME country are subject to government control and thus should all be assigned a single rate unless a respondent can demonstrate an absence of both de jure and de facto control over its export activities. For firms that qualify for separate rate status, the Department assigns the respondent its own individually calculated rate or, in the case of a non-investigated firm, a rate based upon the weighted-average of the rates of the investigated companies, excluding any rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. On May 3, 2004, the Department first published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comment on its separate rates practice and on various proposed changes to this practice (69 FR 24119). In response to this notice and request for comment, the Department received 23 submissions from interested parties. Taking into account the submissions in response to the May 2004 notice requesting comments on various changes to its separate rates practice the Department published a second notice on September 20, 2004, which outlined revised options. This provided the public with a further opportunity to comment on whether these changes would be consistent with the statute and would appropriately redress problems that have been identified concerning separate rates. In response to this second notice in the Federal Register published on September 20, 2004, requesting comments on the Department's separate rates practice and implementation of combination rates (69 FR 56188), the Department received 14 submissions. Having carefully considered the arguments presented by parties in the previous two notices, as well as the Department's experience in recently concluded antidumping investigations, the Department further narrowed the options for changing its separate rates practice in its third notice in the Federal Register, published on December 28, 2004 (69 FR 77722). In this notice, the Department provisionally decided to adopt an application process for evaluating separate rate requests by non-investigated firms, and to outline in specific detail its proposal to institute combination rates (also known as ``chain'' or ``channel'' rates) for all firms receiving separate rate status in NME investigations. In order to provide interested parties another opportunity to comment on these detailed proposals before instituting them, the Department posted the draft application on the Import Administration website and once again invited public comment on both the draft application and on the proposal to institute combination rates for all exporters deemed eligible for a separate rate in NME investigations. In response to this third opportunity for public comment on proposed changes in the Department's separate rates practice and implementation of combination rates, the Department received 12 submissions. As a result of almost a year of deliberation and extensive public comment, the Department is finalizing its decision to adopt an application process for non-investigated firms in future NME antidumping investigations and to begin assigning only exporter- producer specific ``combination'' rates in these investigations to the mandatory respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate, as well as to the pool of non-investigated firms receiving a separate rate. After consideration of the public comments, the Department has modified the separate rates application and its requirements, as well as the proposal to institute combination rates. Both changes in practice are being made after consideration of several rounds of public comment, and neither change alters the threshold of eligibility for a separate rate, which remains an absence of de jure and de facto government control over a firm's export activities. A detailed explanation of both final decisions on these changes in practice can be found in Policy Bulletin 05.1, which will be posted on the Import Administration website at the following address: https:// ia.ita.doc.gov/. The final template of the separate rates application will likewise be found on the Import Administration website; however, for each new investigation, a specific application will be posted. Both changes in practice will take effect in the next NME antidumping investigation that is initiated after publication of this notice. These changes in practice only apply to investigations, and the Department is continuing to evaluate whether to extend these changes in practice to administrative reviews.

On September 1, 2004, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty findings on sugar from Belgium, France, and Germany pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). On the basis of a Notice of Intent to Participate, adequate substantive responses filed on behalf of domestic interested parties, and inadequate responses from respondent interested parties, the Department conducted expedited (120- day) sunset reviews. As a result of these sunset reviews, the Department finds that revocation of the antidumping duty findings would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping. The dumping margins are identified in the Final Results of Reviews section of this notice.

In accordance with section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is automatically initiating five-year (``sunset'') reviews of certain antidumping and countervailing duty orders and suspended investigation. The International Trade Commission (``the Commission'') is publishing concurrently with this notice its notice of Institution of Five-Year Review which covers these same orders.

On September 2, 2004, the Department of Commerce published a notice of initiation of changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain softwood lumber products from Canada. The review was initiated to determine the appropriate cash deposit rate for Produits Forestiers Saguenay Inc., a previously inactive holding company which began producing softwood lumber and exporting it to the United States as of June 1, 2004, and is currently owned by Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada. We have preliminarily concluded that Produits Forestiers Saguenay Inc. should be assigned the same cash deposit rate as the Abitibi Group.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is rescinding its administrative review of one company, Shangyu City Garden Candle Factory (``Garden Candle''), under the antidumping duty order on Petroleum Wax Candles from the People's Republic of China for the period August 1, 2003, through July 31, 2004. This rescission, in part, is based on the withdrawal for a request for review by Garden Candle. The Department is not rescinding its review of Shanghai R&R Import/ Export Co., Ltd (``Shanghai R&R'').

On January 31, 2005, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') published in the Federal Register (70 FR 4818) a notice announcing the initiation of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The period of review (``POR'') is December 1, 2003, to November 30, 2004. This review is now being rescinded for Kunshan Foreign Trading Company, High Hope International Group Jiangsu Foodstuffs Import & Export Corp., Henan Native Produce Import & Export Corporation, Shanghai Xiuwei International Trading Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shinomiel International Trade Corporation, Foodworld International Club, Ltd., and Inner Mongolia Youth Trade Development Co., Ltd., because the only requesting party withdrew its request in a timely manner.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

On February 11, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the final results of its antidumping duty administrative review of certain small diameter carbon and alloy seamless standard, line, and pressure pipe (seamless pipe) from Romania for the period August 1, 2002, through July 31, 2003. See Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe from Romania: Final Results of Administrative Review and Final Determination Not to Revoke Order in Part, 70 FR 7237, (February 11, 2005) (Final Results). We are amending our final results to correct a ministerial error alleged by United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) (domestic interested party) pursuant to section 751(h) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received requests to conduct administrative review of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with February anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department of Commerce also received requests to revoke two antidumping duty orders and three countervailing duty orders in part.

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. Commercial Service, Office of Global Trade Programs, is organizing a Healthcare Technologies Trade Mission to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia and to Auckland, New Zealand, September 12-16, 2005. The trade mission will target the IT-healthcare sub-sector, e.g., electronic patient records, automated patient scheduling, telemedicine, but will also include other sectors within the healthcare industry.