[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26055]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 20, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-427-098]

 

Anhydrous Sodium Metasilicate From France; Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

agency: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

action: Notice of preliminary results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

summary: In response to a request by the petitioner, the PQ 
Corporation, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting 
an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on anhydrous 
sodium metasilicate (ASM) from France. This review covers Rhone Poulenc 
Chime DeBase (Rhone Poulenc), a manufacturer/exporter of this 
merchandise to the United States, and the period January 1, 1993 
through December 31, 1993. The firm failed to submit a timely response 
to our questionnaire. As a result, we have preliminarily determined to 
use best information available for cash deposit and appraisement 
purposes.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results.

effective date: October 20, 1994.

for further information contact: Joseph A. Fargo or Richard Rimlinger, 
Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4733.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On January 5, 1994, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (59 FR 564) a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an 
Administrative Review'' of the antidumping duty order on ASM from 
France. On January 24, 1994, the petitioner, the PQ Corporation, 
requested an administrative review of Rhone Poulenc, a manufacturer/
exporter of this merchandise to the United States. We initiated the 
review, covering the period January 1, 1993, through December 31, 1993, 
on March 14, 1994 (59 FR 11769). The Department is now conducting this 
review in accordance with section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as 
amended (the Tariff Act).

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by the review are shipments of ASM, a crystallized 
silicate (Na2 SiO3) which is alkaline and readily soluble in 
water. Applications include waste paper de-inking, ore-flotation, 
bleach stabilization, clay processing, medium or heavy duty cleaning, 
and compounding into other detergent formulations. This merchandise is 
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedules (HTS) item numbers 
2839.11.00 and 2839.19.00. The HTS item numbers are provided for 
convenience and Customs purposes. The written description remains 
dispositive.
    The review covers Rhone Poulenc and the period January 1, 1993 
through December 31, 1993.

Use of Best Information Available

    We mailed the antidumping questionnaire to Rhone Poulenc, the only 
manufacturer/exporter of this merchandise to the United States. Rhone 
Poulenc failed to submit a timely response to our questionnaire. The 
Department has therefore decided to use the best information available 
(BIA) in determining the rate for this firm.
    When a company fails to provide the information requested in a 
timely manner, or otherwise significantly impedes the Department's 
review, the Department considers the company uncooperative and 
generally assigns to that company the higher of: (1) the highest rate 
assigned to any company in a previous review or the investigation or 
(2) the highest rate for a responding company with shipments during the 
review period. See 19 CFR 353.37(b) and Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review Portable Electric Typewriters from Japan 
(November 4, 1991, 56 FR 56393). In this case, for BIA, we assigned to 
Rhone Poulenc a margin of 60 percent, the highest rate from a prior 
review. See Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 
Anhydrous Sodium Metasilicate from France (52 FR 33856, September 8, 
1987).

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of our review, we preliminarily determine that a margin 
of 60 percent exists for Rhone Poulenc for the period January 1, 1993 
through December 31, 1993.
    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of publication. Case briefs and/or 
written comments from interested parties may be submitted not later 
than 30 days after the date of publication. Rebuttal brief sand 
rebuttals to written comments, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs and comments, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date 
of publication. Any hearing, if requested, will be held 44 days after 
the date of publication, or the first workday thereafter. The 
Department will publish the final results of the administrative review, 
including the results of its analysis of issues raised in any such 
written comments or at a hearing.
    Upon completion of this administrative review, the Department will 
issue appraisement instructions directly to the Customs Service.
    Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective 
upon publication of the final results of administrative review for all 
shipments of ASM from France, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the reviewed 
company will be that established in the final results of this 
administrative review; (2) for exporters not covered in this review, 
but covered in previous reviews or the original less-than-fair-value 
(LTFV) investigation, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the 
company-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the 
exporter is not a firm covered in this review, previous reviews, or the 
original LTFV investigation, but the manufacturer is, the cash deposit 
rate will be that established for the most recent period for the 
manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all 
other manufactures or exporters will be 60 percent. On May 25, 1993, 
the Court of International trade in Floral Trade Council v. United 
States, 822 F. Supp 766 (1993), and Federal-Mogul Corporation and 
Terrington Company v. United States, 822 F. Supp. 822 (1993), 
determined that once an ``all others'' rate is established for a 
company, it can only be changed through an administrative review. The 
Department has determined that in order to implement these decisions it 
is appropriate to maintain the original ``all others'' rate from the 
LTFV investigation or that rate as amended for correction of clerical 
errors or as a result of litigation in proceedings governed by 
antidumping duty orders for the purposes of establishing cash deposits 
in all current and future administrative reviews.
    Because this proceeding is governed by an antidumping duty order, 
the ``all others'' rate for the purposes of this review will be 60 
percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the final notice of the 
LTFV investigation (46 FR 1667, January 7, 1981).
    These requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
publication of the final results of the next administrative review.
    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 to file a certificate regarding the 
reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the 
relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 
353.22.

    Dated: October 5, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-26055 Filed 10-19-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M