[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