[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 194 (Friday, October 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51910-51912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25532]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-403-801]


Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; 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, 
Nordic Group A/L (Nordic), the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
is conducting a new shipper administrative review of the antidumping 
duty order on fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon (salmon) from Norway. 
The review covers the period May 1, 1995 through October 31, 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: October 4, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Peterson, or Thomas F. Futtner, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20230, telephone: (202) 482-4195.

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

[[Page 51911]]

interim regulations published in the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 
(60 FR 25130).

Background

    On October 30, 1995, the Department received a request from Nordic 
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 Act and section 353.22(h) of the 
Department's regulations govern determinations of 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.
    Nordic's request was accompanied by information and certifications 
establishing the date on which it first shipped and entered subject 
merchandise, the names of Nordic's affiliated parties, and statements 
from Nordic and its affiliated parties that they did not, under any 
name, export the subject merchandise during the POI. Based on the above 
information, on December 13, 1995, the Department initiated this new 
shipper review of Nordic (60 FR 64018). The Department is now 
conducting this review in accordance with section 751 of the Act and 
section 353.22 of its regulations.
    Petitioners have raised an issue pertaining to the bona fide nature 
of the U.S. sale under review. The Department has issued a supplemental 
questionnaire to Nordic's affiliated U.S. party, and is awaiting a 
response. The Department will incorporate any changes, as a result of 
this supplemental questionnaire, in the final results of review.

Scope of the Review

    The product covered by this order is the species Atlantic salmon 
(Salmo salar) marketed as specified herein; the subject merchandise 
excludes all other species of salmon: Danube salmon; Chinook (also 
called ``king'' or ``quinnat''); Coho (silver); Sockeye (``redfish'' or 
``blueback''); Humpback (``pink''); and Chum (``dog''). Atlantic salmon 
is whole or nearly-whole fish, typically (but not necessarily) marketed 
gutted, bled, and cleaned, with the head on. The subject merchandise is 
typically packed in fresh-water ice (``chilled''). Excluded from the 
subject merchandise are fillets, steaks, and other cuts of Atlantic 
salmon. Also excluded are frozen, canned, smoked or otherwise processed 
Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon is currently provided for under the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading: 0302.12.00.02.09.

Verification

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

Export Price

    We calculated the export price (EP) based on the price from Nordic 
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 EP based on packed CIF prices to unaffiliated 
purchasers in the United States. We made deductions, where appropriate, 
for foreign inland freight, brokerage and handling, Norwegian export 
taxes, U.S. duties and air freight, in accordance with section 
772(c)(2) of the Act. No other adjustments were claimed or allowed.

Normal Value

    Because there were no other sales of the subject merchandise in the 
home or third country markets, we based normal value (NV) on 
constructed value, in accordance with section 773(e) of the Act.
    Given that the statute is concerned specifically with the cost of 
production of the merchandise, we used the production costs incurred by 
the fish farmer, the actual producer of the subject merchandise, to 
calculate the cost of production (COP) benchmark. Nordic does not 
produce the salmon that it sells. Department practice in such 
situations is to sum the production costs of the producer (the fish 
farmer), the producer's selling, general and administrative expenses 
(SG&A), plus the SG&A of the seller, Nordic.
    We calculated the COP for the farm by summing the costs for the 
1993 generation salmon. These costs include smolt, feed, labor, and 
overhead. We allocated the costs on a per kilogram basis over net 
production quantities. We then adjusted these costs to reflect losses 
in the processing stage. The farmer's general and administrative 
expenses and net interest expenses incurred for the sale of salmon in 
1995 were allocated to the salmon sold during the period of review. To 
the farmer's individual COP we added the cost of processing and packing 
to obtain a subtotal which was multiplied by a profit ratio, based on 
Nordic's profit on sales in 1995 of the same general category of 
products in accordance with section 773 (e)(2)(B)(i). To obtain the 
total constructed value, we added Nordic's SG&A expenses. 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 May 1, 1995, through October 31, 
1995:

                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Percent
                Manufacturer/producer/exporter                   margin 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nordic Group A/L (Nordic Group ASA)...........................      0.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 51912]]

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 Nordic will be the rate determined in the 
final results of this new shipper review, effective upon publication of 
those final results for all of Nordic'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)(2) 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. 1675(a)(2)) and 19 
CFR 353.22.

    Dated: September 27, 1996.
Barbara Stafford,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-25532 Filed 10-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P