[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49565-49567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23890]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-201-505]


Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; Preliminary Results 
of a Countervailing Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results and termination in part of 
countervailing duty administrative review.

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SUMMARY: In response to requests by a respondent, Acero Porcelanizado, 
S.A. de C.V. (APSA), and by the Government of Mexico on behalf of 
Esmaltaciones San Ignacio S.A. (San Ignacio), the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the 
countervailing duty order on porcelain-on-steel cookingware from Mexico 
for APSA and San Ignacio (60 FR 19017; January 13, 1995). Because the 
Government of Mexico withdrew its request for review of San Ignacio, 
the Department is now terminating this review in part with respect to 
San Ignacio.
    We preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be de minimis for 
APSA for the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994. If the 
final results remain the same as these preliminary results, the 
Department intends to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate, 
without regard to countervailing duties, all shipments of the subject 
merchandise from APSA exported on or after January 1, 1994, and on or 
before December 31, 1994. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
these preliminary results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 26, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norma Curtis or Kelly Parkhill, Office 
of Countervailing Compliance, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; Telephone: (202) 
482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 12, 1986, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (55 FR 51139) the countervailing duty order on porcelain-on-
steel cookingware from Mexico. On December 6, 1994, the Department 
published in the Federal Register a notice of ``Opportunity to Request 
Administrative Review'' (60 FR 62710) of this countervailing duty 
order. We received timely requests for review from APSA, a respondent 
company, and the Government of Mexico on behalf of respondent company, 
San Ignacio.
    On January 13, 1995, we initiated the review for APSA and San 
Ignacio covering the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994 
(POR), (60 FR 19017). On August 8, 1995, the Government of Mexico 
withdrew its request for review for San Ignacio. Under CFR 355.22 (a) 
(3) (1994), a party requesting a review may withdraw that request no 
later than 90 days after the date of publication of the notice of 
initiation or at any later time if the Department decides that it is 
reasonable to do so. Although the Government of Mexico's withdrawal 
occurred outside of the time frame specified in 19 CFR 355.22 (a) (3), 
the Department has decided that because substantial resources had not 
yet been devoted to the review with respect to San Ignacio, it is 
reasonable to terminate this review in part with respect to San 
Ignacio.
    We conducted a verification of the questionnaire responses 
submitted by APSA on July 12, 1995 through July 13, 1995. The review 
now covers one manufacturer/exporter of the subject merchandise, APSA, 
and ten programs.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    The Department is conducting this administrative review in 
accordance with section 751 (a) of the Tariff act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute and 
to the Department's regulations are in reference to the provisions as 
they existed on December 31, 1994.

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by this review are shipments of porcelain-on-steel 

[[Page 49566]]
    cookingware from Mexico. The products are porcelain-on-steel 
cookingware (except teakettles), which do not have self-contained 
electric heating elements. All of the foregoing are constructed of 
steel, and are enameled or glazed with vitreous glasses. During the 
review period, such merchandise was classifiable under item number 
7323.94.0020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS item 
number is provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written 
description remains dispositive.

Analysis of Programs

I. Programs Previously Determined to Confer Subsidies--BANCOMEXT 
Financing for Exporters

    Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C. (Bancomext) is a 
government program through which short-term financing is provided to 
producers or trading companies engaged in export activities. In order 
to be eligible for Bancomext financing, a company must be established 
according to Mexican law, it must be at least 30 percent owned by 
Mexican nationals, and it must be an exporter. Bancomext provides two 
types of financing to exporters, denominated in either U.S. dollars or 
in Mexican pesos: working capital (pre-export loans), and loans for 
export sales (export loans). In addition, Bancomext may provide 
financing to foreign buyers of Mexican goods and services.
    The Department has previously found this program to confer an 
export subsidy to the extent that the loans are provided at 
preferential terms (See Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; 
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (56 FR 
48163; September 24, 1991) and Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From 
Mexico; Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (57 
FR 562; January 7, 1992)). In this review the Government of Mexico 
provided no new information that would lead the Department to alter 
that determination.
    APSA had Bancomext loans on which interest was due during the POR. 
We found that the annual interest rates that Bancomext charged to 
borrowers for certain loans on which interest payments were due during 
the review period were lower than the commercial rates. The dollar-
denominated Bancomext loans under review were granted at annual 
interest rates ranging from 6.25 percent to 8.7 percent. To determine 
the extent to which these loans are provided at preferential terms, we 
compared them to a benchmark which was determined by using the average 
quarterly weighted-average effective interest rates published in the 
Federal Reserve Bulletin, which resulted in an annual average benchmark 
of 6.5 percent in 1993 and 6.9 percent in 1994. This is the same 
benchmark calculation methodology that has been applied in prior 
reviews (See Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; Preliminary 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (56 FR 48163; 
September 24, 1991) and Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; 
Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (57 FR 562; 
January 7, 1992)).
    We consider the benefits from short-term loans to occur at the time 
the interest is paid. Because interest on Bancomext pre-export loans is 
paid at maturity, we calculated benefits based on loans that matured 
during the review period; such loans were obtained between October 1993 
and August 1994.
    To calculate the benefit for APSA, we multiplied the difference 
between the interest rate charged to the exporter for these loans and 
the benchmark interest rate by the principal and then multiplied this 
amount by the term of the loan divided by 365. Since APSA was not able 
to tie their loans to specific sales, we divided the benefit by total 
export sales. On this basis, we preliminarily determine the subsidy 
from this program to be 0.01 percent ad valorem for APSA.

II. Programs Preliminarily Found Not To Be Used

    We also examined the following programs and preliminarily determine 
that the exporters of the subject merchandise did not apply for or 
receive benefits under these programs during the review period:

(A) Certificates of Fiscal Promotion (CEPROFI)
(B) PITEX
(C) Other Bancomext Preferential Financing
(D) Import Duty Reductions and Exemptions
(E) State Tax Incentives
(F) Article 15 Loans
(G) NAFINSA FOGAIN-type Financing
(H) NAFINSA FONEI-type Financing
(I) FONEI

Preliminary Results of Review

    For the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994, we 
preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be 0.01 percent ad valorem 
for APSA. In accordance with 19 CFR 255.7, any rate less than 0.5% ad 
valorem is de minimis.
    If the final results of this review remain the same as these 
preliminary results, the Department intends to instruct the U.S. 
Customs Service to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, 
all shipments of the subject merchandise from APSA exported on or after 
January 1, 1994, and on or before December 31, 1994.
    The Department also intends to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to 
collect a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties of zero 
percent of the f.o.b. invoice price on all shipments of the subject 
merchandise from APSA entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of 
this review. The cash deposit rates for all other producers/exporters 
remain unchanged from the last completed administrative review.
    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure of the calculation 
methodology and interested parties may request a hearing not later than 
10 days after the date of publication of this notice. Interested 
parties may submit written arguments in case briefs on these 
preliminary results within 30 days of the date of publication. Rebuttal 
briefs, limited to arguments raised in case briefs, may be submitted 
seven days after the time limit for filing the case brief. Parties who 
submit written arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit 
with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary 
of the argument. Any hearing, if requested, will be held seven days 
after the scheduled date for submission of rebuttal briefs. Copies of 
case briefs and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties in 
accordance with 19 CFR 355.38(e).
    Representatives of parties to the proceeding may request disclosure 
of proprietary information under administrative protective order no 
later than 10 days after the representative's client or employer 
becomes a party to the proceeding, but in no event later than the date 
the case briefs, under section 355.38(c), are due. The Department will 
publish the final results of this administrative review including the 
results of its analysis of issues raised in any case or rebuttal brief 
or at a hearing.
    This administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 355.22.


[[Page 49567]]

    Dated: September 15, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 95-23890 Filed 9-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P