[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7472-7473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4549]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION
[A-475-818]


Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Certain Pasta From Italy

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 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 1344, January 19, 1996). We disclosed our 
calculations for the preliminary determination on January 18 and 22, 
1996, to the respondents and petitioners, respectively, pursuant to 
their requests. We disclosed our calculations to Pastificio Guido 
Ferrara (Ferrara), an interested party in the investigation on January 
25, 1996. After publication of the preliminary determination, the 
petitioners, Ferrara, and two of the respondents De Matteis 
Agroalimentare S.p.A. (De Matteis), and La Molisana Industrie 
Alimentari S.p.A. (La Molisana) alleged that the Department made 
ministerial errors in calculating the preliminary margins. We have 
determined that ministerial errors were made with regards to the 
following respondents.

Arrighi

    We agree that a ministerial error was made with regard to the 
calculation of the weighted-average percent margin. We also agree that 
a ministerial error was made with regard to the interest expense used 
for constructed value. (For specific details of this and the other 
allegations and our analysis of them, see Memorandum from the Team to 
Barbara R. Stafford dated February 9, 1996.)

Delverde

    We agree with the petitioners that we made ministerial errors with 
respect to the cost of manufacture and the difference in merchandise 
adjustment for certain U.S. products. With regard to the calculation of 
U.S. packing expenses, we also agree with the petitioners' allegation 
that a ministerial error was made.

De Matteis

    We agree with De Matteis' allegation that we inadvertently excluded 
a number of U.S. sales and double-counted its yield for purchased 
semolina.

Pagani

    We agree with the petitioners' allegations that we inadvertently 
discarded certain sales although not for the reason alleged by the 
petitioners. We also agree that we miscoded one variable, excluded one 
variable from the price strings in our calculations, treated some of 
Pagani's expenses as if they were denominated in Italian lira, and used 
an incorrect programming statement which inadvertently caused some U.S. 
sales not to match to a normal value.

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 five 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 the 

[[Page 7473]]
People's Republic of China, 60 FR 64016 (December 13, 1995).
    Given the facts of this investigation, as noted above, we are 
amending Arrighi's and Pagani's preliminary dumping margins to correct 
for the ministerial errors, since the correction of these ministerial 
errors results in a difference between a dumping margin of zero (or de 
minimis) and a margin of greater than de minimis. The corrected dumping 
margins for Arrighi and Pagani are 6.14 and 6.42 percent, respectively. 
As a result, the ``All Others'' rate is now 11.94 percent.
    We are not amending the preliminary margins of De Matteis and 
Delverde because the corrections of the ministerial errors do not 
result in a difference of five absolute percentage points from the 
preliminary margin rates, nor do they result in a difference between a 
de minimis margin and a margin of greater than de minimis.
    In its allegation, La Molisana stated that the alleged errors were 
not significant, as defined above, therefore, no further analysis was 
warranted. However, we are correcting the company's deposit rate. In 
the preliminary determination, we stated that the deposit rate was 
14.03 percent. While the dumping margin that we calculated was correct, 
we incorrectly calculated the deposit rate. The correct rate is 14.75 
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 Italy 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 (0.62 percent for Arrighi) 
from the antidumping margin percentages for Arrighi. The ``All Others'' 
deposit rate is based on subtracting the rate attributable to the 
export subsidies found in the countervailing duty investigation for 
those companies that are respondents in the antidumping investigation 
and 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 
Italy, 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     Revised      Deposit  
  Manufacturer/producer/exporter      margin       margin        rate   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrighi..........................          .06         6.14         5.52
Pagani...........................          .14         6.42         6.42
All Others.......................        15.85        11.94        11.78
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 21, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-4549 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P