[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 4, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50661-50662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17462]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-812]


Honey from Argentina: Notice of Extension of Time Limit for 
Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is rescinding in 
part the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey 
from Argentina for the period December 1, 2005, to November 30, 2006 
with respect to Mielar S.A. (Mielar)/ Compania Apicola Argentina 
(CAA).\1\ This partial rescission is based on the withdrawal of the 
requests for review by the interested parties that requested the 
review. Additionally, the Department is extending the preliminary 
results of this administrative review to no later than December 20, 
2007.
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    \1\ Petitioners requested that the Department review Mielar and 
CAA as separate entities. However, in a previous segment of this 
proceeding, the Department treated these two companies as a single 
entity, and no new evidence has been presented in this segment of 
the proceeding to warrant changing this treatment.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: September 4, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Scott or Robert James, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2657 and (202) 482-0649, respectively.

BACKGROUND: On December 1, 2006, the Department published a notice of 
opportunity to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty 
order on, inter alia, honey from Argentina. See Antidumping or 
Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; 
Opportunity to Request Administrative Review, 71 FR 69543 (December 1, 
2006). In response, the American Honey Producers Association and the 
Sioux Honey Association (collectively, petitioners) timely requested an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from 
Argentina for the December 1, 2005, through November 30, 2006 period of 
review (POR). The petitioners requested that the Department conduct an 
administrative review of entries of subject merchandise made by nine 
Argentine producers/exporters. In addition, the Department received 
timely requests for review from six Argentine exporters included in the 
petitioners' request and one timely request from a producer/exporter 
that was not included in petitioners' requests for review.
    On February 2, 2007, the Department initiated a review on the ten 
companies\2\ for which an administrative review was requested. See 
Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 72 FR 5005 (February 2, 
2007). On March 27, 2007, the Department indicated that it was 
selecting for review the four producers/exporters with the largest 
export volume during the POR: Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas 
(ACA), Mielar/CAA, Nexco S.A. (Nexco), and Seylinco, S.A. (Seylinco). 
See the memorandum, ``Selection of Respondents'' to Stephen J. Claeys, 
dated March 27, 2007 (Selection Memorandum). Based on the timely 
withdrawal of requests for review from the requesting parties, on June 
19, 2007, the Department rescinded this review with respect to four 
companies, one of which was Nexco. See Honey from Argentina: Notice of 
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 72 FR 
33740 (June 19, 2007).
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    \2\ The Federal Register notice lists 11 companies; however, as 
explained in the previous footnote, we are treating Mielar and CAA 
as a single entity based on our treatment of these two entities in a 
previous segment of this proceeding.
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    On July 17, 2007, petitioners and respondent company Mielar/CAA 
withdrew their requests for review. See Letters from petitioners and 
from Mielar/CAA to the Department, dated July 17, 2007, on file in the 
Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main Department building.

Rescission, in Part, of Administrative Review

    The applicable regulation, 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), states that if a 
party that requested an administrative review withdraws the request 
within 90 days of the publication of the notice of initiation of the 
requested review, the Secretary will rescind the review in whole or in 
part. Furthermore, the regulation states the Secretary may extend this 
time limit if the Secretary decides that it is reasonable to do so.
    Although both petitioners and Mielar/CAA withdrew their requests 
for review after the 90-day deadline, the Department finds it 
reasonable to extend the withdrawal deadline because the Department has 
not yet devoted significant time or resources to this review, e.g., the 
Department has not yet conducted a sales-below cost investigation. As 
such, based on prior practice, the Department determines it is 
reasonable to extend the time limit in this case and rescind the review 
with respect to Mielar/CAA. See, e.g., Honey from Argentina: Notice of 
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR 
61018 (October 17, 2006). The Department will issue appropriate 
assessment instructions for Mielar/CAA directly to U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) within 15 days of the publication of this 
notice. The Department will direct CBP to assess antidumping duties for 
Mielar/CAA at the cash deposit rates in effect on the date of entry for 
entries during the period December 1, 2005, through November 30, 2006.

Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results

    Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Tariff Act), requires the Department to complete the preliminary 
results of an administrative review within 245 days after the last day 
of the anniversary month of an order for which a review is requested. 
However, if it is not practicable to complete the review within this 
time period, section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act allows the 
Department to extend the time limit for the preliminary results to a 
maximum of 365 days after the last day of the anniversary month of an 
order for which a review is requested.
    The Department has determined it is not practicable to complete 
this review within the statutory time limit because we require 
additional time to conduct

[[Page 50662]]

our sales-below-cost investigation. The time needed to analyze cost of 
production data and to develop fully the record in this administrative 
review makes it impracticable to complete the preliminary results of 
this review within the originally specified time limit. Accordingly, 
the Department is extending the time limit for completion of the 
preliminary results of this administrative review until no later than 
December 20, 2007. We intend to issue the final results no later than 
120 days after publication of the preliminary results notice.

Notification to Parties

    This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under section 351.402(f) of the Department's regulations 
to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties 
prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this period of 
time. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the 
Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties 
occurred and subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with section 351.305(a)(3) of the Department's 
regulations. Timely written notification of the return or destruction 
of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a sanctionable violation.
    This notice is issued and published in accordance with section 
351.213(d)(4) of the Department's regulations and sections 751(a)(3)(A) 
and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act.

    Dated: August 28, 2007.
Stephen J. Claeys,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-17462 Filed 8-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S