[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4957-4959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2910]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-201-504]


Porcelain-on-Steel Cooking Ware From Mexico; Preliminary Results 
of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper 
Administrative Review.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from one manufacturer/exporter, 
Esmaltaciones San Ignacio, S.A. (San Ignacio), the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) is conducting a new shipper administrative 
review of the antidumping duty order on porcelain-on-steel cooking ware 
(POS cooking ware) from Mexico. The review covers the period January 1, 
1995 through June 30, 1995.
    We have preliminarily determined that sales have not been made 
below the normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted 
in our final results of administrative review, we will instruct the 
U.S. Customs Service to liquidate subject entries without regard to 
antidumping duties.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit argument in this proceeding are requested 
to submit with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a 
brief summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 9, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Merchant, or Thomas F. Futtner, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20230, telephone: (202) 482-5253.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are 
references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective 
date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act), by the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise 
indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the 
current regulations, as amended by the interim regulations published in 
the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 25130).

Background

    On June 20, 1995, the Department received a request from San 
Ignacio for a new shipper review pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(B) of 
the Act and section 353.22(h) of the Department's interim regulations.
    Section 751(a)(2) of the Tariff Act and section 353.22(h) of the 
Department's regulations govern determinations of 

[[Page 4958]]
antidumping duties for new shippers. These provisions state that, if 
the Department receives a request for review from an exporter or 
producer of the subject merchandise stating that it did not export the 
merchandise to the United States during the period of investigation 
(POI) and that such exporter or producer is not affiliated with any 
exporter or producer who exported the subject merchandise during that 
period, the Department shall conduct a new shipper review to establish 
an individual weighted-average dumping margin for such exporter or 
producer, if the Department has not previously established such a 
margin for the exporter or producer. To establish these facts, the 
exporter or producer must include with its request, with appropriate 
certification: (i) the date on which the merchandise was first entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, or, if it cannot certify 
as to the date of first entry, the date on which it first shipped the 
merchandise for export to the United States; (ii) a list of the firms 
with which it is affiliated; and (iii) a statement from such exporter 
or producer, and from each affiliated firm that it did not, under its 
current or a former name, export the merchandise during the POI.
    San Ignacio's request was accompanied by information and 
certifications establishing the date on which it first shipped and 
entered subject merchandise, the names of San Ignacio's affiliated 
parties, and statements from San Ignacio and its affiliated parties 
that they did not, under any name, export the merchandise during the 
POI. Based on the above information, on July 20, 1995, the Department 
initiated this new shipper review of San Ignacio (60 FR 37426). The 
Department is now conducting this review in accordance with section 751 
of the Tariff Act and section 353.22 of its regulations.

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by the review are shipments of POS cooking ware, 
including tea kettles, 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.
    This merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule (HTS) item number 7323.94.00. Kitchenware currently entering 
under HTS item number 7323.94.00.30 is not subject to the order. The 
HTS item number is provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The 
written description remains dispositive.

Verification

    As provided in section 776(b) of the Tariff Act, we verified 
information provided by the respondent by using standard verification 
procedures, including on site inspection of the manufacturer's 
facilities, the examination of relevant sales and financial records, 
and selection of original documentation containing relevant 
information. Our verification results are outlines in the public 
versions of the verification report.

Export Price

    We calculated the EP based on the price from San Ignacio to 
unaffiliated parties where these sales were made prior to importation 
into the United States, in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act.
    We calculated the constructed EP based on packed ex-factory prices 
to unaffiliated purchasers in the United States. We made deductions, 
where appropriate, for foreign brokerage, foreign customs handling 
fees, and credit costs in accordance with section 772(c)(2) of the Act.
    No other adjustments were claimed or allowed.

Normal Value

    Based on a comparison of the aggregate quantity of home market and 
U.S. sales, and absent any information that a particular market 
situation in the exporting country does not permit a proper comparison, 
we determined that the quantity of foreign like product sold in the 
exporting country was sufficient to permit a proper comparison with the 
sales of the subject merchandise to the United States, pursuant to 
section 773(a)(1)(C) of the Act. Therefore, in accordance with section 
773(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we based NV on sales in Mexico, the home 
market.
    We calculated NV based on FOB-factory or delivered prices to 
unaffiliated customers, and made decisions from the starting price for 
freight, discounts, and rebates. We deducted home market packing costs 
from the home market price and added U.S. packing costs. When shipments 
were made to Mexican customers outside the Tijuana customs border zone 
we made adjustments for Mexican customs handling fees. We made a 
circumstance-of-sale adjustment, where appropriate, for differences in 
credit expenses and commissions.
    No other adjustments were claimed or allowed.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the 
following margin exists for the period January 1, 1995, through June 
30, 1995:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Margin 
                Manufacturer/producer/exporter                  percent 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Ignacio..................................................       0.00
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    Interested parties may request disclosure within 5 days of the date 
of publication of this notice and may request a hearing within 10 days 
of publication. Any hearing, if requested, will be held as early as 
convenient for the parties but not later than 34 days after the date of 
publication or the first business day thereafter. Case briefs and/or 
written comments from interested parties may be submitted not later 
than 20 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal 
briefs and rebuttal comments, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed no later than 27 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. The Department will issue the final results 
of this new shipper administrative review, including the results of its 
analysis of issues raised in any such written comments or at a hearing.
    Upon completion of this new shipper review, the Department will 
issue appraisement instructions directly to the U.S. Customs Service. 
The results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the 
determination and for future deposits of estimated duties.
    The cash deposit rate for San Ignacio will be the rate determined 
in the final results of this new shipper review, effective upon 
publication of those final results for all of San Ignacio's shipments 
of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of 
this new shipper administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Act.
    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility 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 new shipper administrative review and notice are in accordance 
with section 751(a)(2) of the Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1657(a)(2)) and 19 
CFR 353.22.


[[Page 4959]]

    Dated: January 26, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-2910 Filed 2-8-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M