[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54154-54156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26644]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-570-848]


Freshwater Crawfish Tail Meat From the People's Republic of 
China; Initiation of Antidumping Investigation

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

ACTION: Initiation of antidumping duty investigation of freshwater 
crawfish tail meat from the People's Republic of China.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 17, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Trainor at (202) 482-0666, 
Elisabeth Urfer at (202) 482-4052, or Maureen Flannery at (202) 482-
4733, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20230.

INITIATION OF INVESTIGATION:

The Applicable Statute

    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)

[[Page 54155]]

by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, unless 
otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) regulations are to the current regulations as amended by 
the interim regulations published in the Federal Register on May 11, 
1995 (60 FR 25130).

The Petition

    On September 20, 1996, the Department received a petition filed in 
proper form by the Crawfish Processors Alliance (petitioner). 
Petitioner amended the petition on October 7, 1996, in response to the 
Department's request for additional information. On October 8, 1996, 
petitioner submitted a clarification regarding the scope of the 
petition. On October 10, 1996 petitioner amended the public summary of 
the petition.
    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Act, petitioner alleges 
that imports of freshwater crawfish tail meat from the People's 
Republic of China (PRC) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 731 
of the Act, and that such imports are materially injuring, or 
threatening material injury to, an industry within the United States.
    Because the petitioner is an interested party as defined under 
section 771(9)(C) of the Act, it has standing to file a petition for 
the imposition of antidumping duties.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petition

    Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act requires the Department to 
determine, prior to the initiation of an investigation, that a minimum 
percentage of the domestic industry supports an antidumping petition. A 
petition meets these minimum requirements if the domestic producers or 
workers who support the petition account for (1) at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product; and (2) more than 50 
percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by that 
portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the 
petition.
    A review of the production data provided in the petition and other 
information readily available to the Department indicates that 
petitioner accounts for more than 50 percent of the total production of 
the domestic like product. The Department received no expressions of 
opposition to the petition from any domestic producer or workers' 
organization. Accordingly, the Department determines that the petition 
has been filed by or on behalf of the domestic industry.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is freshwater crawfish 
tail meat, in all its forms (whether washed or with fat on, whether 
purged or unpurged), grades, and sizes; whether frozen, fresh, or 
chilled; and regardless of how it is packed, preserved, or prepared. 
Excluded from the scope of the investigation are live crawfish and 
other whole crawfish, whether boiled, frozen, fresh, or chilled. Also 
excluded are saltwater crawfish of any type and parts thereof. 
Freshwater crawfish tail meat is currently classifiable in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) under item 
numbers 0306.19.00.10 and 0306.29.00.00. The HTS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes. Although the HTS numbers 
are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Export Price

    The petitioner based export price on actual FOB and CIF price 
quotations from exporters of Chinese crawfish. Petitioner made 
deductions to the export price for foreign inland freight, using the 
average distance between cities where crawfish are processed in the PRC 
and the port from which the majority of Chinese crawfish are exported. 
We made no other adjustments to export price.

Normal Value

    In previous investigations, the Department has determined that the 
PRC is a non-market economy (NME) country within the meaning of section 
771(18) of the Act. See, e.g., Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Bicycles From the People's Republic of China (61 FR 
19026 (April 30, 1996)). In accordance with section 771(18)(C), the 
presumption of NME status for the PRC has not been revoked by the 
Department and therefore remains in effect for purposes of the 
initiation of this investigation. In the course of this investigation, 
all parties will have the opportunity to provide relevant information 
related to the NME status of the PRC as well as the assignment of 
separate rates to individual exporters and other issues related to the 
PRC's status as an NME country. (See, e.g., Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from the PRC (59 FR 
22585 (May 2, 1994).)
    In antidumping investigations in which the comparison market is not 
a market economy, section 773(c)(1) of the Act requires that the normal 
value (NV) of the foreign like product be based on the producers' 
factors of production valued in a surrogate market economy country or 
countries considered to be appropriate by the Department. In accordance 
with section 773(c)(4), the Department, in valuing the factors of 
production, shall utilize, to the extent possible, the prices or costs 
of factors of production in one or more market economies that are 
significant producers of comparable merchandise and at a level of 
economic development comparable to that of the NME country.
    Petitioner lacked actual information relating to the factors of 
production for material inputs in the PRC. Therefore, petitioner used 
U.S. production factors for materials and labor as an approximation of 
Chinese factors. Petitioner submitted an affidavit from a U.S. crawfish 
producer, who stated that crawfish tail meat must be peeled by hand, 
that peeling crawfish is a skill that can be learned, and that, 
therefore, Chinese peelers should be able to peel crawfish at the same 
rate as peelers in the United States. According to the U.S. producer, 
Chinese facilities are very similar to the facilities and equipment 
used in the United States, although, in some cases, they may be better. 
Petitioner used in its calculations of NV the calculations made by the 
U.S. producer with regard to the average yield, i.e., the number of 
pounds of live crawfish needed to produce one pound of crawfish tail 
meat; the time it takes an average crawfish peeler in the United States 
to produce one pound of peeled product; and the time it takes to pack 
crawfish tail meat in the United States.
    With respect to the selection of a surrogate country in which to 
value the factors, petitioner cites to the Notice of Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of 
Final Determination: Melamine Institutional Dinnerware Products from 
the People's Republic of China (61 FR 43337 (August 22, 1996)), and 
notes that, in that case, the Department identified India, Nigeria, 
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Indonesia as potential surrogate 
countries for China based upon level of economic development. However, 
neither India nor any of these other countries is a significant 
producer or processor of crawfish tail meat.
    However, according to petitioner, India is an appropriate surrogate 
country for valuing most of the relevant factors of production because 
(1) India has a significant seafood processing industry, and (2) the 
seafood processing

[[Page 54156]]

industry in India and elsewhere is comparable to the crawfish 
processing industry in China in that seafood processors throughout the 
world are likely to have similar factory overhead and selling, general 
and administrative expenses (SG&A). Petitioner valued labor using 
Indian labor rates compiled by the International Labour Organization in 
its 1993 Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Petitioner based the factory 
overhead, SG&A expenses, and profit elements of its NV calculation on 
data from financial statements of five publicly held seafood processors 
in India for the fiscal year 1995.
    Petitioner argued that prices for crawfish, the primary material 
input in the processing of crawfish tail meat, are not comparable to 
the prices for other kinds of seafood, and therefore, the Department 
should not value crawfish using Indian seafood prices. Petitioner chose 
Spain as the surrogate country for purposes of valuing crawfish, 
because Spain is a significant producer and processor of crawfish, is a 
market economy country, and, in relation to other crawfish producing 
and processing countries, has the level of economic development most 
comparable to that of the PRC. Petitioner used publicly available 
published information from official Spanish import data to value this 
input.
    Since Chinese exporters sell crawfish tail meat to the United 
States at packed prices, petitioner added U.S. packing costs to NV.
    Based on comparisons of export price to NV, the estimated dumping 
margins range from 274 to 427 percent. If it becomes necessary at a 
later date to consider the petition as a source of facts available 
under section 776 of the Act, we may further review the calculations.

Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by petitioner, there is reason to 
believe that imports of freshwater crawfish tail meat from the PRC are 
being, or are likely to be, sold at less than fair value.

Initiation of Investigation

    We have examined the petition on freshwater crawfish tail meat from 
the PRC and have found that it meets the requirements of section 732 of 
the Act, including the requirements concerning allegations of the 
material injury or threat of material injury to a domestic industry of 
a like product by reason of the complained-of imports, allegedly sold 
at less than fair value. Therefore, we are initiating an antidumping 
duty investigation to determine whether imports of freshwater crawfish 
tail meat from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, sold at less 
than fair value. Unless extended, we will make our preliminary 
determination by February 27, 1997.

Distribution of Copies of the Petition

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act, a copy of the 
public version of the petition has been provided to the representatives 
of the government of the PRC.

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    We have notified the ITC of our initiation, as required by section 
732(d) of the Act.

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC

    The ITC will determine by November 4, 1996, whether there is a 
reasonable indication that imports of freshwater crawfish tail meat 
from the PRC are causing material injury, or threatening to cause 
material injury, to a U.S. industry. A negative ITC determination will 
result in the investigation being terminated; otherwise, the 
investigation will proceed according to statutory and regulatory time 
limits.
    This notice is published pursuant to section 732(c)(2) of the Act.

    Dated: October 10, 1996.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-26644 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P