Antidumping: Pressure sensitive plastic tape from— Italy,

[Federal Register: June 18, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 117)]

[Notices]

[Page 33350-33351]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr18jn98-28]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-475-059]

Pressure Sensitive Plastic Tape From Italy; 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 pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy.

SUMMARY: In response to a request from an importer, Horizon Plastics, the Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty finding on pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy. The period of review is October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997. This review covers products manufactured and exported by N.A.R.S.p.A. 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: June 18, 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, NW., Washington, DC 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 (62 FR 27296, May 19, 1997).

Background

On October 21, 1997, the Department published in the Federal Register (42 FR 56110) the antidumping duty finding on pressure sensitive plastic tape (PSPT) from Italy. On October 31, 1997, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), an interested party and importer of the subject merchandise, Horizon Plastics, Inc., requested that the Department conduct an administrative review of N.A.R.S.p.A. exports of subject merchandise to the United States. We published the notice of initiation of this review on November 26, 1997 (62 FR 63069).

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by the review are shipments of PSPT measuring 1\3/ 8\ inches in width and not exceeding 4 mils in thickness. During the period of review (POR), the above described PSPT was classified under HTS subheadings 3919.90.20 and 3919.90.50. The HTS subheadings are provided for convenience and for U.S. Customs purposes. The written description remains dispositive as to the scope of the product coverage.

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

[[Page 33351]]

appropriate for N.A.R.S.p.A. 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 N.A.R.S.p.A. and therefore no information to consider as an alternative to facts available in determining the margin for N.A.R.S.p.A.

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, 12.66 percent. This rate was calculated in the Final Results of Administrative Review of Antidumping Finding (48 FR 35666), covering the period February 18, 1977 through September 30, 1980. 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), where the Department disregarded the highest margin as averse 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 October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997:

Margin Manufacturer/exporter

(percent)

N.A.R.S.p.A................................................

12.66

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 ten days of publication. If requested, a hearing will be held as early as convenient for the parties but not later than 39 days after the date of publication of 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 37 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 pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy 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 12.66 percent, the ``new shipper'' rate established in the first notice of final results of administrative review published by the Department (48 FR 35686, August 5, 1983).

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: June 11, 1998. Robert S. LaRussa, Assistant Secretary, Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-16273Filed6-17-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M