Import investigations: Cotton yarn from Brazil,
[Federal Register: September 1, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 169)]
[Notices]
[Page 46471-46473]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01se98-92]
INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 104-TAA-21 (Review)]
Cotton Yarn From Brazil
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Institution of a five-year review concerning the countervailing duty order on cotton yarn from Brazil.
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. Sec. 1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the countervailing duty order on cotton yarn from Brazil 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; the deadline for responses is October 21, 1998. Comments on the adequacy of responses may be filedwith the Commission by November 13, 1998.
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). Recent amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure pertinent to five- year reviews, including the text of subpart F of part 207, are published at 63 F.R. 30599, June 5, 1998, and may be downloaded from the Commission's World Wide Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/rules.htm.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Haines (202-205-3200) or Vera Libeau (202-205-3176), 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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background.
On March 15, 1977, the Department of the Treasury issued a countervailing duty order on imports of cotton yarn from Brazil (42 FR 14089). There was no Commission determination of material injury by reason of subsidized imports prior to issuance of the order because imports from Brazil were not eligible for an injury test unless they were duty free. However, pursuant to section 104 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the Commission made a determination in May 1984 that the domestic industry producing 100 percent cotton carded yarn would be materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of such yarn from Brazil if the portion of the countervailing duty order covering such imports were to be revoked, but that domestic producers of 100 percent cotton combed yarn, blended combed yarn, and blended carded yarn would not be materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of subsidized imports from Brazil if the part of the order covering such imports were to be revoked. In light of the Commission's 1984 determination, the countervailing duty order was revoked except as it pertained to 100 percent cotton carded yarn. The Commission is now conducting a review to determine whether revocation of the portion of the order that remains effective would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably foreseeable time.
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 Brazil.
(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. In its 1984 determination, the Commission defined the Domestic Like Product on which it made an affirmative determination as 100 percent cotton carded yarn.
(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. In its 1984 determination, the Commission defined the pertinent Domestic Industry as producers of 100 percent cotton carded yarn.
(5) The Order Date is the date that the countervailing duty order under review became effective. In this review, the Order Date is March 15, 1977.
(6) 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.
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. Sec. 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 October 21, 1998. 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 whether the Commission should conduct an expedited review. The deadline for filing such comments is November 13, 1998. 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. Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filedby 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 Commission may take an adverse
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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
(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 revocation of the countervailing duty order 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. Sec. 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. Sec. 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 Brazil that currently export or have exported Subject Merchandise to the United States or other countries since 1976.
(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 1997 (report quantity data in thousands of pounds and value data in thousands of U.S. dollars). 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; and
(b) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s).
(8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from Brazil, provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that product during calendar year 1997 (report quantity data in thousands of pounds and value data in thousands of 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 of U.S. imports and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise from Brazil accounted for by your firm's(s') imports; and
(b) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject Merchandise imported from Brazil.
(9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in Brazil, provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that product during calendar year 1997 (report quantity data in thousands of pounds and value data in thousands of 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) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in Brazil 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 Brazil 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 since the Order Date, 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 100 percent cotton carded yarn 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: August 21, 1998.
By order of the Commission. Donna R. Koehnke, Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-23467Filed8-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
