[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6348-6349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3618]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-489-805]
Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Certain Pasta From Turkey
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 20, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Brinkmann or Michelle Frederick,
Office of Antidumping Investigations, Import Administration,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482-5288 or (202) 482-0186, respectively.
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 Rounds Agreements Act
(URAA).
Scope of Investigation
The scope of this investigation consists of certain non-egg dry
pasta in packages of five pounds (or 2.27 kilograms) or less, whether
or not enriched or fortified or containing milk or other optional
ingredients such as chopped vegetables, vegetable purees, milk, gluten,
diastases, vitamins, coloring and flavorings, and up to two percent egg
white. The pasta covered by this scope is typically sold in the retail
market, in fiberboard or cardboard cartons or polyethylene or
polypropylene bags, of varying dimensions.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are refrigerated,
frozen, or canned pastas, as well as all forms of egg pasta, with the
exception of non-egg dry pasta containing up to two percent egg white.
The merchandise under investigation is currently classifiable under
item 1902.19.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and
customs purposes, our written description of the scope of this
investigation is dispositive.
Case History
On December 14, 1995, the Department of Commerce (the Department)
made its affirmative preliminary determination of sales at less than
fair value (Preliminary Determination) in the above-referenced
investigation (61 FR 1351, January 19, 1996). On January 18 and 19,
1996, we disclosed our calculations for the preliminary determination
to the respondents, Filiz Gida Sanayii ve Ticaret (Filiz) and Maktas
Makarnacilik ve Ticaret T.A.S (Maktas), and to the petitioners,
respectively, pursuant to their requests. On January 25, 1996, we
received a submission from the petitioners alleging ministerial errors
in the Department's preliminary determination calculations. The
respondents, in their January 26, 1996, submission alleged that the
Department made a ministerial error by failing to include appropriate
language instructing Customs to limit the duration of provisional
measures to four months.
For both Filiz and Maktas, the petitioners alleged two ministerial
errors. First, the petitioners alleged that the Department understated
U.S. packing expenses by mistakenly converting the expenses from
Turkish lira to U.S. dollars twice. Second, the petitioners alleged
that the Department inadvertently omitted selling expenses from its
calculation of an amount for profit included in constructed value (CV).
With regard to U.S. packing expenses, we agree that the error as
alleged by the petitioners constitutes a ministerial error within the
meaning of 19 CFR 353.28(d). With regard to the petitioners' allegation
concerning the calculation of CV profit, we disagree that the error
alleged by the petitioners is a ministerial error. The Department in
its margin programs correctly calculated the amount for CV profit for
both respondents. (For specific details of these allegations and our
analysis of them, see Memorandum from the Team to Barbara R. Stafford
dated February 6, 1996.) With regard to the respondents' allegation
concerning provisional measures, we have determined that their
allegation does not constitute a ministerial error. For further
discussion on this issue, see Memorandum from Marguerite Trossevin to
Susan G. Esserman dated February 7, 1996.
Amendment of Preliminary Determination
The Department has stated that it will amend a preliminary
determination only to correct for significant ministerial errors (i.e.,
corrections that result in a difference of at least 5 absolute
percentage points and that are at least 25 percent greater or less than
the preliminary margin, and corrections resulting in a margin of zero
or de minimis). See Notice of Amendment to Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination:
Bicycles From
[[Page 6349]]
the People's Republic of China, 60 FR 64016 (December 13, 1995).
Given the facts of this investigation, as noted above, we are
amending Filiz's and Maktas' preliminary dumping margins to correct for
the ministerial error regarding U.S. packing expenses, since the
correction of this ministerial error results in a difference of at
least five absolute percentage points and is at least 25 percent
greater than the preliminary margin. The corrected dumping margins for
Filiz and Maktas are 34.04 and 45.84 percent, respectively. As a result
the ``All Others'' rate is now 41.33 percent.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing
the Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries
of pasta from Turkey that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of this amended
preliminary determination notice in the Federal Register. As discussed
in the Preliminary Determination, we are subtracting for deposit
purposes, the rate attributable to the export subsidies found in the
concurrent countervailing duty investigation (14.72 percent and 19.80
percent for Filiz and Maktas, respectively) from the antidumping margin
percentages for Filiz and Maktas. The ``All Others'' deposit rate is
based on subtracting the rate attributable to the export subsidies
included in the countervailing duty investigation for those companies
that are respondents in the antidumping investigation and that are
found to have dumping margins. In keeping with Article 17.4 of the WTO
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the Department will
terminate the suspension of liquidation in the companion countervailing
duty investigation of Certain Pasta From Turkey, effective February 14,
1996, which is 120 days after the date of publication of the
preliminary determination. Accordingly, on February 14, 1996, the
antidumping deposit rate will revert to the full amount calculated in
this amended preliminary determination. These suspension of liquidation
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original
Manufacturer/producer/exporter margin Revised margin Deposit
percentages percentages percentages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filiz........................................................... 10.44 34.04 19.32
Maktas.......................................................... 18.80 45.84 26.04
All Others...................................................... 15.61 41.33 23.41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the
International Trade Commission of our amended preliminary
determination.
This amended preliminary determination is published in accordance
with section 733(f) of the Act.
Dated: February 12, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-3618 Filed 2-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P