[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36771-36772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17946]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[C-351-406]


Certain Agricultural Tillage Tools From Brazil; Preliminary 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of countervailing duty 
administrative review.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an 
administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain 
agricultural tillage tools from Brazil. We preliminarily determine the 
net subsidy to zero percent ad valorem from Marchesan for the period 
January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995. If the final results remain 
the same as these preliminary results of administrative review, we will 
instruct the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate, without regard to 
countervailing duties, all shipments of the subject merchandise from 
Marchesan exported on or after January 1, 1995 and on or before 
December 31, 1995. Interested parties are invited to comment on these 
preliminary results. (See Public Comment section of this notice.)

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 9, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Longest or Lorenza Olivas, 
Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3338 or (202) 482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 22, 1985, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (57 FR 42743) the countervailing duty order on certain 
agricultural tillage tools from Brazil. On October 1, 1996, the 
Department published a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an 
Administrative Review'' (61 FR 51259) of this countervailing duty 
order. We received a timely request for review, and we initiated the 
review, covering the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, 
on November 15, 1996 (61 FR 58513).
    In accordance with 19 CFR 355.22(a), this review covers only those 
producers or exporters of the subject merchandise for which a review 
was specifically requested. Accordingly, this review covers Marchesan 
Implementos Agricolas, S.A. (Marchesan). This review also covers five 
programs.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are 
references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by 
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) effective January 1, 1995 (the 
Act). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the 
Department's regulations are to regulations, as amended by the interim 
regulations published in the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 
25130). The Department is conducting this administrative review in 
accordance with section 751(a) of the Act.

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by this review are shipments of certain round 
shaped agricultural tillage tools (discs) with plain or notched edge, 
such as colters and furrow-opener blades. During the review period, 
such merchandise was classifiable under item numbers 8432.21.00, 
8432.29.00, 8432.80.00 and 8432.90.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
(HTS). The HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description remains dispositive.

Partial Revocation

    On October 30, 1996, Marchesan requested an administrative review 
pursuant to 19 CFR 355.22(a)(2), and partial revocation of the 
countervailing duty order with regard to Marchesan pursuant to 19 CFR 
355.25. After examining Marchesan's request, the Department determined 
that the company did not meet the minimum revocation requirements of 
Sec. 355.25(b)(3).
    Under 19 CFR 355.25(b)(3), in order to be considered for 
revocation, a producer or exporter must have participated in, and been 
found to have received no subsidies for, five consecutive review 
periods with no intervening review period for which a review was not 
conducted. In October 1992, Marchesan requested an administrative 
review for 1991. Subsequently, Marchesan withdrew its request and the 
Department terminated the administrative review for 1991 (59 FR 56067) 
and there was no administrative review in 1992. Therefore, because 
Marchesan has participated in only three consecutive administrative 
reviews in the past five years, we preliminarily determine that 
Marchesan has not satisfied the five consecutive review periods 
requirement. In addition, with its request for revocation, a company 
must submit both government and company certifications that the company 
neither applied for nor received any net subsidy during the period of 
review and will not apply for or receive any net subsidy in the future, 
as well as the agreement described in 19 CFR 355.25.(a)(3)(iii). 
Marchesan did not provide either the government certification or the 
company agreement required by the Department's regulations. Therefore, 
Marchesan did not meet the threshold requirements for revocation. (See 
letter from Barbara E. Tillman, Director, Office of CVD/AD Enforcement 
VI, dated December 10, 1996, which is a public document on file in the 
Central Records Unit (room B-009 of the Department of Commerce)).

Analysis of Programs

I. Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Not Used

    We examined the following programs and preliminarily determine that 
Marchesan did not apply for or receive benefits under these programs 
during the period of review:
    A. Accelerated Depreciation for Brazilian-Made Capital Goods.
    B. Preferential Financing for Industrial Enterprises by Banco do 
Brasil (FST and EGF loans).
    C. SUDENE Corporate Income Tax Reduction for Companies Located in 
the Northeast of Brazil.
    D. Preferencial Financing under PROEX (formerly under Resolution 68 
and 509 through FINEX).
    E. Preferencial Financing under FINEP.

Preliminary Results of Review

    For the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, we 
preliminarily determine the net subsidy for Marchesan to be zero 
percent ad valorem. If the final results of this review remain the same 
as these preliminary results, the Department intends to instruct the 
U.S. Customs Service to liquidate, without regard to countervailing 
duties, shipments of the subject merchandise from Marchesan exported on 
or after January 1, 1995, and on or before December 31, 1995.
    The Department also intends to instruct Customs to collect a cash

[[Page 36772]]

deposit of estimated countervailing duties of zero percent ad valorem, 
as provided for by section 751(a)(1) of the Act, on all shipments of 
this merchandise from Marchesan, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final 
results of this administrative review.
    Because the URAA replaced the general rule in favor or a country-
wide rate with a general rule in favor of individual rates for 
investigated and reviewed companies, the procedures for establishing 
countervailing duty rates, including those for non-reviewed companies, 
are now essentially the same as those in antidumping cases, except as 
provided for in section 777A(e)(2)(B) of the Act. The requested review 
will normally cover only those companies specifically named. Pursuant 
to 19 CFR 355.22(g), for all companies for which a review was not 
requested, duties must be assessed at the cash deposit rate, and cash 
deposits must continue to be collected, at the rate previously ordered. 
As such, the countervailing duty cash deposit rate applicable to a 
company can no longer change, except pursuant to a request for a review 
of that company. See Federal-Mogul Corporation and The Torrington 
Company v. United States, 822 F. Supp. 782 (CIT 1993) and Floral Trade 
Council v. United States, 822 F. Supp. 766 (CIT 1993) (interpreting 19 
CFR 353.22(e), the antidumping regulation on automatic assessment, 
which is identical to 19 CFR 355.22(g)). Therefore, the cash deposit 
rates for all companies except those covered by this review will be 
unchanged by the results of this review.
    We will instruct Customs to continue to collect cash deposits for 
non-reviewed companies at the most recent company-specific or country-
wide rate applicable to the company. These rates shall apply to all 
non-reviewed companies until a review of a company assigned these rates 
is requested. In addition, for the period January 1, 1995 through 
December 31, 1995, the assessment rates applicable to all non-reviewed 
companies covered by this order are the cash deposit rates in effect at 
the time of entry.

Public Comment

    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure of the calculation 
methodology and interested parties may request a hearing no later than 
10 days after the date of publication of this notice. Interested 
parties may submit written arguments in case briefs on these 
preliminary results within 30 days of the date of publication. Rebuttal 
briefs, limited to arguments raised in case briefs, may be submitted 
seven days after the time limit for filing the case brief. 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. Any hearing, if requested, will be held seven days after the 
scheduled date for submission of rebuttal briefs. Copies of case briefs 
and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties in accordance 
with 19 CFR 355.38.
    Representatives of parties to the proceeding may request disclosure 
of proprietary information under administrative protective order no 
later than 10 days after the representative's client or employer 
becomes a party to the proceeding, but in no event later than the date 
the case briefs, under 19 CFR 355.38, are due. The Department will 
publish the final results of this administrative review including the 
results of its analysis of issues raised in any case or rebuttal brief 
or at a hearing.
    This administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)).

    Dated: July 1, 1997.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-17946 Filed 7-8-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M