[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72244-72245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34708]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-403-801]


Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of antidumping duty 
administrative review of fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from the petitioner, Coalition for 
Fair Atlantic Salmon Trade, the Department of Commerce is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order fresh and chilled 
Atlantic salmon from Norway. The period of review is April 1, 1997, 
through March 31, 1998. This review covers products manufactured and 
exported by Nornir Group A/S (``Nornir'').
    We have preliminarily found that sales of subject merchandise have 
been made below normal value. If these preliminary results are adopted 
in our final results, we will instruct the Customs Service to assess 
antidumping duties based on the difference between the export price or 
constructed export price and normal value.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit arguments are requested to submit with the 
argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the 
argument. We will issue the final results not later than 120 days from 
the date of publication of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 31, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Peterson or Thomas Futtner, AD/
CVD Enforcement Office 4, 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, and 482-3814, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The 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 of Commerce's (the 
Department's) regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR 
Part 351 (1998).

Background

    On April 12, 1991, the Department published in the Federal Register 
(56 FR 14920) the antidumping duty order on fresh and chilled Atlantic 
salmon from Norway. On April 30, 1998, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.213(b), the petitioner requested that the Department conduct an 
administrative review of Nornir's exports of subject merchandise to the 
United States. We published the notice of initiation of this review on 
May 29, 1998 (63 FR 29370).

Scope of the Review

    The merchandise covered by this review is fresh and chilled 
Atlantic salmon (salmon). It encompasses the species of 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. Fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon 
is currently provided for under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)

[[Page 72245]]

subheading 0302.12.00.02.09. The HTS item number is provided for 
convenience and Customs purposes. The written description remains 
dispositive.

Use of Facts Otherwise Available

    We preliminarily determine that, in accordance with section 
776(a)(2)(A) of the Act, the use of facts available is appropriate for 
Nornir because this firm did not respond to the Department's 
antidumping questionnaire. In addition, there is no information on the 
record within the meaning of section 782(e) of the Act with regard to 
sales by Nornir and therefore no information to consider as an 
alternative to facts available in determining the margin for Nornir.
    The Department finds that, in not responding to the questionnaire, 
this firm failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability 
to comply with requests for information from the Department. Where the 
Department must base the entire dumping margin for a respondent in an 
administrative review on the facts available because the respondent 
failed to cooperate, section 776(b) authorizes the Department to use an 
inference adverse to the interests of the respondent in choosing the 
facts available. Section 776(b) also authorizes the Department to use 
as adverse facts available information derived from the petition, the 
final determination, a previous administrative review, or other 
information placed on the record.
    As adverse facts available, we have used the highest rate from any 
prior segment of the proceeding, 31.81 percent. This rate was 
calculated in the Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value 
(56 FR 7661), covering the period September 1, 1989, through February 
28, 1990. Information from prior segments of the proceeding constitutes 
``secondary information'' within the meaning of section 776(c) of the 
Act. Section 776(c) provides that the Department shall, to the extent 
practicable, corroborate secondary information by comparing it with 
independent sources reasonably at its disposal. The Statement of 
Administrative Action (SAA) provides that corroborate means simply that 
the Department will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be 
used has probative value.
    To corroborate secondary information, the Department will, to the 
extent practicable, examine the reliability and relevance of the 
information to be used. However, unlike other types of information, 
such as input costs or selling expenses, there are no independent 
sources for calculated dumping margins. The only source for margins is 
administrative determinations. Thus, in an administrative review, if 
the Department chooses as total adverse facts available a calculated 
dumping margin from a prior segment of the proceeding, it is not 
necessary to question the reliability of the margin for that time 
period. With respect to the relevance aspect of corroboration, however, 
the Department will consider information reasonably at its disposal as 
to whether there are circumstances that would render a margin not 
relevant. Where circumstances indicate that the selected margin is not 
appropriate as adverse facts available, the Department will disregard 
the margin and determine an appropriate margin (see, e.g., Fresh Cut 
Flowers from Mexico; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review (60 FR 49567, 1995) where the Department 
disregarded the highest margin as adverse facts available because the 
margin was based on another company's uncharacteristic business expense 
resulting in an unusually high margin). No such circumstances exist in 
this case which would cause the Department to disregard a prior margin.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the 
following margin exists for the period April 1, 1997, through March 31, 
1998:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Manufacturer/exporter (percent)                   Margin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nornir Group A/S.............................................      31.81
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    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice. Interested parties may also 
request a hearing within 30 days of publication. If requested, a 
hearing will be held as early as convenient for the parties but not 
later than 37 days after the date of publication or the first work day 
thereafter. Interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 30 
days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, 
which must be limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed 
not later than 35 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
The Department will issue a notice of the final results of this 
administrative review, which will include the results of its analysis 
of issues raised in any such briefs, within 120 days from the 
publication of these preliminary results.
    The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall 
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Furthermore, the 
following deposit requirements will be effective upon completion of the 
final results of this administrative review for all shipments of fresh 
and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the reviewed 
company will be the rate established in the final results of this 
administrative review (except no cash deposit will be required where 
weighted-average margin is de minimis, i.e., less than 0.5 percent); 
(2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters not covered 
in this review but covered in the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) 
investigation or a previous review, the cash deposit will continue to 
be the most recent rate published in the final determination or final 
results for which the manufacturer or exporter received an individual 
rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a 
previous review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer 
is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most 
recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) if 
neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this or 
any previous reviews or the original investigation, the cash deposit 
rate will be 23.80 percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the 
first notice of final results of administrative review published by the 
Department (56 FR 7661, February 25, 1991).
    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 administrative review and notice are in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated December 22, 1998.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-34708 Filed 12-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P