[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5835-5837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2630]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-863]
Honey From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of New
Shipper Antidumping Duty Reviews
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Initiation of new shipper antidumping duty reviews.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: February 6, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shireen Pasha or Brandon Farlander at
(202) 482-0913 or (202) 482-0182, respectively; Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Enforcement Group III, Import Administration,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department received timely requests from the following
companies: Anhui Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co., Ltd. (Anhui Honghui),
Eurasia Bee's Products Co., Ltd. (Eurasia), Foodworld International
Club Limited (Foodworld), Inner Mongolia Youth Trade Development Co.,
Ltd. (Inner Mongolia Youth), Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods Co.,
Ltd. (Jiangsu Kanghong), and Shanghai Shinomiel International Trade
Corporation (Shanghai Shinomiel), in accordance with 19 CFR 351.214(c),
for new shipper reviews of the antidumping duty order on honey from the
People's Republic of China (PRC), which has a December annual
anniversary month and a June semiannual anniversary month. See Notice
of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Antidumping Duty Order; Honey from the People's Republic of China, 66
FR 63670 (December 10, 2001). Anhui Honghui identified itself as both
the exporter and producer of the subject merchandise. Eurasia
identified itself as the exporter and producer of the subject
merchandise, as well as the exporter of subject merchandise produced by
its supplier Chuzhou Huadi Foodstuffs Co., Ltd. (Chuzhou). Foodworld
identified itself as the exporter of honey produced by its producer
Anhui Tianxin Bee Products Co., Ltd. (Anhui Tianxin). Inner Mongolia
Youth identified itself as the exporter of the subject merchandise
produced by Qinhuangdao Municipal Dafeng Industrial Co. Ltd.
(Qinhuangdao). Jiangsu Kanghong identified itself as both the exporter
and producer of the subject merchandise. Shanghai Shinomiel identified
itself as the exporter of subject merchandise produced by Hangzhou
Green Forever Apiculture Co. (Hangzhou Green), and Hubei Yangzijian
Apiculture Co. (Hubei Yangzijian).
As required by 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(i), (ii), and (iii)(A), Anhui
Honghui, Eurasia, Foodworld, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu Kanghong, and
Shanghai Shinomiel certified that they did not export honey to the
United States during the period of investigation (POI), and that they
have never been affiliated with any exporter or producer which exported
honey during the POI. Furthermore, Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Foodworld,
Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu Kanghong, and Shanghai Shinomiel certified that
their export activities are not controlled by the central government of
the PRC, satisfying the requirements of 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(iii)(B).
Pursuant to the Department's regulations at 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(iv),
Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu Kanghong, and Shanghai
Shinomiel submitted documentation establishing the date on which the
subject merchandise was first entered for consumption in the United
States, the volume of that first shipment, and the date of the first
sale to an unaffiliated customer in the United States. We note that
Foodworld only submitted the volume and date of the first sale to an
unaffiliated customer in the United States, and did not submit
documentation establishing the date the merchandise was first entered
for consumption in the United States. Moreover, Shanghai Shinomiel
indicated in its new shipper review request that both of its suppliers
(Hubei Yangzijian and Hangzhou Green Forever) had also previously
supplied an exporter that exported subject merchandise to the United
States during the period of investigation and subsequently.
On December 19, 2003, the Department issued pre-initiation
supplemental questionnaires to all companies to clarify company
information submitted in their requests to the Department for new
shipper reviews. We received supplemental questionnaire responses from
each company. In Foodworld's supplemental questionnaire response, dated
December 31, 2003, Foodworld indicated that its shipment had not
entered the United States during the POR, but that it was expected to
arrive in the United States before the end of the year, and that the
official date of entry would likely be in January 2004. Further,
Foodworld indicated that it would submit a copy of the Customs Form
7501 when it became available. As of January 30, 2004, Foodworld had
not submitted to the Department a copy of the Customs Form 7501 for
this shipment.
The Department conducted multiple Customs run queries in December
2003 and January 2004 to determine whether Foodworld's shipment had
officially entered the United States via assignment of an entry date in
the Customs database by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
We also made multiple phone calls to CBP, including a phone call on
January 30, 2004, to inquire whether this shipment had entered the
United States. As of January 30, 2004, and based on available
information on the record, it appears that Foodworld's shipment did not
enter the United States for consumption during the POR, nor has it
entered by the initiation date, which is 60 days after the end of the
POR. See Memoranda to the File through Richard O. Weible, ``New Shipper
Review Initiation Checklist,'' dated January 30, 2004, for Foodworld.
Scope
The merchandise under review is honey from the PRC. The products
covered are natural honey, artificial honey containing more than 50
percent natural honey by weight, preparations of natural honey
containing more than 50 percent natural honey by weight, and flavored
honey. The subject merchandise includes all grades and colors of honey
whether in liquid, creamed, comb, cut comb, or chunk form, and whether
packaged for retail or in bulk form. The merchandise under review is
currently classifiable under item 0409.00.00, 1702.90.90, and
2106.90.99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and
customs
[[Page 5836]]
purposes, the written description of the merchandise under review is
dispositive.
Initiation of Review
In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act, as amended, and
19 CFR 351.214(d)(1), and based on information on the record, we are
initiating new shipper reviews for Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Inner
Mongolia, and Jiangsu Kanghong. See Memoranda to the File through
Richard O. Weible, ``New Shipper Review Initiation Checklist,'' dated
January 30, 2004, for each respective company. We intend to issue the
preliminary results of these reviews not later than 180 days after the
date on which these reviews were initiated, and the final results of
these reviews within 90 days after the date on which the preliminary
results were issued.
The Department is not initiating new shipper reviews for the
remaining two companies (i.e., Foodworld and Shanghai Shinomiel). With
regard to Foodworld, as noted above, Foodworld's shipment did not enter
the United States during the POR. Under section 351.214(f)(2)(ii) of
the Department's regulations, when the sale of the subject merchandise
occurs within the POR, but the entry occurs after the normal POR, the
POR may be extended unless it would be likely to prevent the completion
of the review within the time limits set by the Department's
regulations. While the regulations do not provide a definitive date by
which the entry must occur, the preamble to the Department's
regulations state that both the entry and the sale should occur during
the POR, and that only under ``appropriate'' circumstances should the
POR be extended when the entry is made after the POR. See Antidumping
Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27319 (May 19,
1997). In this instance, Foodworld's shipment has not entered by the
date of initiation. Accordingly, we are not initiating the new shipper
review request for Foodworld for the period December 1, 2002 through
November 30, 2003. For further information, see the Letter to Foodworld
from Richard O. Weible, dated January 30, 2004. See Memoranda to the
File through Richard O. Weible, ``New Shipper Review Initiation
Checklist,'' dated January 30, 2004, for Foodworld. We note that an
administrative review was requested for Foodworld. See Initiation of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Request
for Revocation in Part, 69 FR 3117 (January 22, 2004).
With regard to Shanghai Shinomiel, we note that both of its
suppliers (Hangzhou Green Forever and Hubei Yangzijian) previously
supplied subject merchandise to an exporter during the original
investigation, which was subsequently exported to the United States.
Moreover, the Department examined the factors of production data for
both of Shanghai Shinomiel's suppliers in the original investigation.
For further information, see the Letter to Shanghai Shinomiel from
Richard O. Weible, dated January 30, 2004. See Memoranda to File
through Richard O. Weible, ``New Shipper Review Initiation Checklist,''
dated January 30, 2004.
Based on these facts, we determine that Shanghai Shinomiel is not a
new shipper within the meaning of Section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act, and
section 351.214 of the Department's regulations. Because Shanghai
Shinomiel's two suppliers had established a chain of distribution for
exporting their subject merchandise to the United States during the
POI, Shanghai Shinomiel may not claim new shipper status for
merchandise supplied by these same two suppliers. We note that this
decision is consistent with our established practice of limiting the
benefits of new shipper reviews to particular producer/exporter
combinations. See Import Administration Policy Bulletin 03.2--
Combination Rates in New Shipper Reviews (March 4, 2003). We note also
that an administrative review was requested for Shanghai Shinomiel. See
Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative
Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 69 FR 3117 (January 22,
2004).
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.214(g)(1)(i)(A) of the Department's
regulations, the period of review (POR) for a new shipper review
initiated in the month immediately following the anniversary month will
be the twelve-month period immediately preceding the anniversary month.
Therefore, the POR for these new shipper reviews is:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antidumping duty proceeding Period to be reviewed
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Exporter: Anhui Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co., 12/01/02-11/30/03
Ltd..........................................
Producer: Anhui Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co.,
Ltd..........................................
Exporter: Eurasia Bee's Products Co., Ltd..... 12/01/02-11/30/03
Producer: Eurasia Bee's Products Co., Ltd.....
Producer: Chuzhou Huadi Foodstuffs Co., Ltd...
Exporter: Inner Mongolia Youth Trade 12/01/02-11/30/03
Development Co., Ltd.........................
Producer: Qinhuangdao Municipal Dafeng
Industrial Co., Ltd..........................
Exporter: Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods 12/01/02-11/30/03
Co., Ltd.....................................
Producer: Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods
Co., Ltd.....................................
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It is the Department's usual practice in cases involving non-market
economies to require that a company seeking to establish eligibility
for an antidumping duty rate separate from the country-wide rate to
provide evidence of de jure and de facto absence of government control
over the company's export activities. Accordingly, we will issue
questionnaires to Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Inner Mongolia, and Jiangsu
Kanghong, including a separate rates section. The review will proceed
if the responses provide sufficient indication that Anhui Honghui,
Eurasia, Inner Mongolia, and Jiangsu Kanghong are not subject to either
de jure or de facto government control with respect to their exports of
honey. However, if Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Inner Mongolia, and Jiangsu
Kanghong do not demonstrate their eligibility for a separate rate, then
they will be deemed not separate from other companies that exported
during the POI and the new shipper review of that respondent will be
rescinded.\1\
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\1\ We note that Anhui Honghui, Eurasia, Inner Mongolia, and
Jiangsu Kanghong requested administrative reviews, in addition to
the new shipper reviews. If for any reason the Department rescinds
any of the aforementioned companies' new shipper reviews, we will
then include any such company in the administrative review.
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In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B)(iii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.214(e), we will instruct the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection (BCBP) to allow, at the option of the importer, the posting,
until the
[[Page 5837]]
completion of the review, of a single entry bond or security in lieu of
a cash deposit for certain entries of the merchandise exported by the
above-listed companies, e.g.: Exporter Anhui Honghui certified that it
produced and exported the subject merchandise for the sale under
review; thus, we will instruct Customs to limit Anhui Honghui's bonding
option only to entries of such merchandise for which it is both the
producer and exporter. Exporter Eurasia certified itself and Chuzhou as
the producer of subject merchandise for the sale under review; thus, we
will instruct Customs to limit the bonding option only to entries of
subject merchandise exported by Eurasia and produced either by Eurasia
or Chuzhou. Exporter Inner Mongolia Youth certified Qinhuangdao as the
producer of subject merchandise; thus, we will limit the bonding option
to entries of subject merchandise produced by Qinhuangdao and exported
by Inner Mongolia Youth. Exporter Jiangsu Kanghong certified that it
produced and exported the subject merchandise; thus, we will instruct
Customs to limit Jiangsu Kanghong's bonding option only to entries of
subject merchandise for which it is both the producer and exporter.
Interested parties that need access to proprietary information in
these new shipper reviews should submit applications for disclosure
under administrative protective orders in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305 and 351.306. This initiation and notice are in accordance with
section 751(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)) and 19 CFR 351.214(d).
Dated: January 30, 2004.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Group III.
[FR Doc. 04-2630 Filed 2-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P