[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 211 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61905-61907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21334]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 731-TA-747 (Second Review)]


Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of a five-year review concerning the suspended 
investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted a 
review pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether termination of the suspended 
investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico would be likely to lead to 
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section 
751(c)(2) of the Act, interested parties are requested to respond to 
this notice by submitting the information specified below to the 
Commission; \1\ to be assured of consideration, the deadline for 
responses is December 21, 2007. Comments on the adequacy of responses 
may be filed with the Commission by January 14, 2008. For further 
information concerning the conduct of this review and rules of general 
application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, 
subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).
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    \1\ No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 08-5-175, 
expiration date June 30, 2008. Public reporting burden for the 
request is estimated to average 10 hours per response. Please send 
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436.

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DATES: Effective Date: November 1, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information 
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-
1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special 
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the 
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning 
the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server 
(http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this review may be viewed 
on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background. On November 1, 1996, the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce'') suspended an antidumping duty investigation on imports 
of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (61 FR 56618). On October 1, 2001,

[[Page 61906]]

Commerce initiated a five-year review of the suspended investigation 
(66 FR 49926). On the basis of the withdrawal from the suspension 
agreement by Mexican tomato growers which accounted for a significant 
percentage of all fresh tomatoes imported into the United States from 
Mexico, Commerce terminated the suspension agreement, terminated the 
review, and resumed the antidumping investigation, effective July 30, 
2002 (67 FR 50858, August 6, 2002). On December 16, 2002, Commerce once 
again suspended the antidumping duty investigation on imports of fresh 
tomatoes from Mexico (67 FR 77044). The Commission is now conducting a 
second review to determine whether termination of the suspended 
investigation would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. It will assess the adequacy of interested party 
responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to conduct 
a full review or an expedited review. The Commission's determination in 
any expedited review will be based on the facts available, which may 
include information provided in response to this notice.
    Definitions. The following definitions apply to this review:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year review, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Country in this review is Mexico.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. For the purpose 
of the preliminary investigation, the Commission defined the Domestic 
Like Product as all fresh market tomatoes. Fresh market tomatoes do not 
include processing tomatoes.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. For the purpose of the preliminary 
investigation, the Commission defined the Domestic Industry as growers 
and packers of fresh tomatoes.
    (5) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.
    Participation in the review and public service list.--Persons, 
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the 
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the review as parties must 
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as 
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later 
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names 
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties 
to the review.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are reminded that they are required, pursuant to 19 
CFR 201.15, to seek Commission approval if the matter in which they are 
seeking to appear was pending in any manner or form during their 
Commission employment. The Commission is seeking guidance as to whether 
a second transition five-year review is the ``same particular matter'' 
as the underlying original investigation for purposes of 19 CFR 201.15 
and 18 U.S.C. 207, the post employment statute for Federal employees. 
Former employees may seek informal advice from Commission ethics 
officials with respect to this and the related issue of whether the 
employee's participation was ``personal and substantial.'' However, any 
informal consultation will not relieve former employees of the 
obligation to seek approval to appear from the Commission under its 
rule 201.15. For ethics advice, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy 
Agency Ethics Official, at 202-205-3088.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list. Pursuant 
to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make 
BPI submitted in this review available to authorized applicants under 
the APO issued in the review, provided that the application is made no 
later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. Authorized applicants must represent interested parties, as 
defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the review. A separate 
service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties 
authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Certification. Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's rules, 
any person submitting information to the Commission in connection with 
this review must certify that the information is accurate and complete 
to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In making the certification, 
the submitter will be deemed to consent, unless otherwise specified, 
for the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel to use the 
information provided in any other reviews or investigations of the same 
or comparable products which the Commission conducts under Title VII of 
the Act, or in internal audits and investigations relating to the 
programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 
3.
    Written submissions. Pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's 
rules, each interested party response to this notice must provide the 
information specified below. The deadline for filing such responses is 
December 21, 2007. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the Commission's 
rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) 
may also file comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the 
notice of institution and whether the Commission should conduct an 
expedited or full review. The deadline for filing such comments is 
January 14, 2008. All written submissions must conform with the 
provisions of sections 201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's rules and 
any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the 
requirements of sections 201.6 and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The 
Commission's rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the 
Secretary by facsimile or electronic means, except to the extent 
permitted by section 201.8 of the Commission's rules, as amended, 67 FR 
68036 (November 8, 2002). Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) 
and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to 
the review must be served on all other parties to the review (as 
identified by either the public or APO service list as appropriate), 
and a certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are 
not a party to the review you do not need to serve your response).
    Inability to provide requested information. Pursuant to section 
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot 
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form 
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time, 
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested 
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide 
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this 
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the 
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to 
this notice, the

[[Page 61907]]

Commission may take an adverse inference against the party pursuant to 
section 776(b) of the Act in making its determination in the review.
    Information To Be Provided In Response To This Notice of 
Institution: As used below, the term ``firm'' includes any related 
firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address if available) and name, telephone number, fax number, 
and E-mail address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S. 
producer of the Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a 
U.S. importer of the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or 
exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or 
business association, or another interested party (including an 
explanation). If you are a union/worker group or trade/business 
association, identify the firms in which your workers are employed or 
which are members of your association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in this review by providing information requested by the 
Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the termination of the 
suspended investigation on the Domestic Industry in general and/or your 
firm/entity specifically. In your response, please discuss the various 
factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) 
including the likely volume of subject imports, likely price effects of 
subject imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on 
the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of 
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the 
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries after 2001.
    (7) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, 
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that 
product during calendar year 2006 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you are a union/worker 
group or trade/business association, provide the information, on an 
aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are employed/which 
are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) The quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product grown or packed in your U.S. facility(ies); and
    (c) The quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product grown or packed in your U.S. 
facility(ies).
    (8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during calendar year 2006 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business association, 
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are 
members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid) of U.S. imports and, 
if known, an estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of 
Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country accounted for by your 
firm's(s') imports;
    (b) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port) of U.S. commercial 
shipments of Subject Merchandise imported from the Subject Country; and
    (c) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port) of U.S. internal 
consumption/company transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from the 
Subject Country.
    (9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during calendar year 2006 (report quantity 
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid at 
the U.S. port). If you are a trade/business association, provide the 
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are members of 
your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in the Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
    (b) The quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from the Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
    (10) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in the Subject Country after 2001, and significant changes, 
if any, that are likely to occur within a reasonably foreseeable time. 
Supply conditions to consider include technology; production methods; 
development efforts; ability to increase production (including the 
shift of production facilities used for other products and the use, 
cost, or availability of major inputs into production); and factors 
related to the ability to shift supply among different national markets 
(including barriers to importation in foreign markets or changes in 
market demand abroad). Demand conditions to consider include end uses 
and applications; the existence and availability of substitute 
products; and the level of competition among the Domestic Like Product 
produced in the United States, Subject Merchandise produced in the 
Subject Country, and such merchandise from other countries.
    (11) (OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: This review is being conducted under authority of 
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

     Issued: October 25, 2007.

    By order of the Commission.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
 [FR Doc. E7-21334 Filed 10-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P