[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72244-72245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34708]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-403-801]
Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; 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 fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway.
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SUMMARY: In response to a request from the petitioner, Coalition for
Fair Atlantic Salmon Trade, the Department of Commerce is conducting an
administrative review of the antidumping duty order fresh and chilled
Atlantic salmon from Norway. The period of review is April 1, 1997,
through March 31, 1998. This review covers products manufactured and
exported by Nornir Group A/S (``Nornir'').
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: December 31, 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, N.W., Washington, D.C. 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 (1998).
Background
On April 12, 1991, the Department published in the Federal Register
(56 FR 14920) the antidumping duty order on fresh and chilled Atlantic
salmon from Norway. On April 30, 1998, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.213(b), the petitioner requested that the Department conduct an
administrative review of Nornir's exports of subject merchandise to the
United States. We published the notice of initiation of this review on
May 29, 1998 (63 FR 29370).
Scope of the Review
The merchandise covered by this review is fresh and chilled
Atlantic salmon (salmon). It encompasses the species of Atlantic salmon
(Salmo salar) marketed as specified herein; the subject merchandise
excludes all other species of salmon: Danube salmon; Chinook (also
called ``king'' or ``quinnat''); Coho (``silver''); Sockeye
(``redfish'' or ``blueback''); Humpback (``pink''); and Chum (``dog'').
Atlantic salmon is whole or nearly whole fish, typically (but not
necessarily) marketed gutted, bled, and cleaned, with the head on. The
subject merchandise is typically packed in fresh water ice (chilled).
Excluded from the subject merchandise are fillets, steaks, and other
cuts of Atlantic salmon. Also excluded are frozen, canned, smoked or
otherwise processed Atlantic salmon. Fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon
is currently provided for under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)
[[Page 72245]]
subheading 0302.12.00.02.09. The HTS item number is provided for
convenience and Customs purposes. The written description remains
dispositive.
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 appropriate for
Nornir 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 Nornir and therefore no information to consider as an
alternative to facts available in determining the margin for Nornir.
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, 31.81 percent. This rate was
calculated in the Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
(56 FR 7661), covering the period September 1, 1989, through February
28, 1990. 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, 1995) where the Department
disregarded the highest margin as adverse 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 April 1, 1997, through March 31,
1998:
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Manufacturer/exporter (percent) Margin
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Nornir Group A/S............................................. 31.81
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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 30 days of publication. If requested, a
hearing will be held as early as convenient for the parties but not
later than 37 days after the date of publication or 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 35 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 fresh
and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway 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 23.80 percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the
first notice of final results of administrative review published by the
Department (56 FR 7661, February 25, 1991).
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 December 22, 1998.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-34708 Filed 12-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
