[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 188 (Thursday, September 27, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49344-49345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24246]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-837]


Antidumping Duty Investigation On Greenhouse Tomatoes From 
Canada: Notice of Postponement of Preliminary Determination

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

ACTION: Notice of postponement of preliminary antidumping duty 
determination in antidumping duty investigation.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: September 27, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Ross or Minoo Hatten, AD/CVD 
Enforcement 3, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone; (202) 482-
4794 or (202) 482-1690, respectively.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is postponing the preliminary 
determination of the antidumping duty investigation on greenhouse 
tomatoes from Canada from September 24, 2001, until October 1, 2001. 
This postponement is made pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(B) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

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. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, 
all citations to Department of Commerce's (the Department's)

[[Page 49345]]

regulations are to 19 CFR Part 351 (2000).

Background

    On April 17, 2001, the Department initiated an antidumping duty 
investigation on greenhouse tomatoes from Canada covering producers and 
exporters of the subject merchandise to the United States during the 
period January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000. See Initiation of 
Antidumping Duty Investigation: Greenhouse Tomatoes From Canada, 66 FR 
20630 (April 24, 2001). The notice stated that, unless postponed, the 
Department would issue its preliminary determination no later than 140 
days after the date of the initiation. On August 21, 2001, the 
Department published a partial extension of the time limit for the 
preliminary results of this investigation based on a timely request by 
the petitioner. See Antidumping Duty Investigation Covering Greenhouse 
Tomatoes from Canada: Notice of Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination, 66 FR 43838 (August 21, 2001).

Postponement of Preliminary Determination

    Currently, the preliminary determination is due no later than 
September 24, 2001. However, pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(B) of the 
Act, we have determined that this investigation is ``extraordinarily 
complicated'' and are therefore postponing the preliminary 
determination by seven days to October 1, 2001.
    Under section 733(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department can extend 
the period for reaching a preliminary determination until not later 
than the 190th day after the date on which the administering authority 
initiates an investigation if:
    (B) The administering authority concludes that the parties 
concerned are cooperating and determines that--
    (i) the case is extraordinarily complicated by reason of--
    (I) the number and complexity of the transactions to be 
investigated or adjustments to be considered,
    (II) the novelty of the issues presented; or
    (III) the number of firms whose activities must be investigated; 
and
    (ii) additional time is necessary to make the preliminary 
determination.
    The parties concerned are cooperating in this investigation. 
Additional time is necessary, however, to complete the preliminary 
determination due to the number of firms whose activities must be 
investigated. Specifically, there are over 100 Canadian producers/
exporters that shipped fresh or chilled tomatoes to the United States 
during the period of investigation, and most of these producers/
exporters ship greenhouse tomatoes. Since it was not practicable to 
examine all known producers/exporters of subject merchandise, in 
accordance with section 777A(c)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.204(c)(2), 
we chose to investigate producers and exporters accounting for the 
largest volume of the subject merchandise that can reasonably be 
examined. See the ``Selection of Respondents'' memorandum dated May 15, 
2001, from Laurie Parkhill, Director, Office 3, to Richard W. Moreland, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Group I. Although this limited our 
examination to five producers/exporters of subject merchandise, several 
of these respondents had over a dozen suppliers that we needed to 
evaluate for cost reporting. After identifying the appropriate 
companies for cost reporting and issuing questionnaires to these 
companies, we discovered that two of them were resellers of greenhouse 
tomatoes, not growers. Therefore, we had to request cost-of-production 
data from the growers that supplied these resellers. After selecting 
five producers/exporters for reporting sales data and eight growers for 
reporting cost-of-production data, we discovered several affiliations 
among these companies that resulted in revisions to our requests for 
information. Investigating the activities of this large number of 
companies, and considering the complex sales, cost, and affiliation 
issues associated with them, has significantly delayed our issuance of 
requests for information. In addition, this has delayed our ability to 
review and analyze this information for purposes of calculating dumping 
margins. As such, we determine that additional time is necessary to 
complete the preliminary determination in this investigation.
    Further, certain members of the Department's team in this 
investigation were unable to return to the United States from abroad as 
scheduled during the week of September 10, 2001, due to the closure of 
the U.S. air system. Because these individuals were knowledgeable about 
the issues and facts in this investigation and had the responsibility 
to prepare the preliminary calculations, their delayed return to the 
United States has affected the Department's ability further to prepare 
an accurate preliminary determination for this investigation by 
September 24, 2001.
    Therefore, pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
postponing the preliminary determination in this investigation until 
October 1, 2001. This notice is issued and published pursuant to 
section 733(c)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(f).

    Dated: September 20, 2001.
Faryar Shirzad,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-24246 Filed 9-26-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P