E5-2654. Notice of Final Results of New Shipper Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

On March 1, 2005, the Department of Commerce (“the Department”) published the preliminary results of the new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta from Italy. The review covers Atar, S.r.L. (“Atar”). The period of review (“POR”) is July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004. The Department received no comments concerning our preliminary results; therefore, our final results remain unchanged from our preliminary results. The final results are listed in the section “Final Results of Review” below. For our final results, we have found that, during the POR, Atar did not sell subject merchandise at less than normal value (“NV”).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

May 25, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis McClure or Maura Jeffords, AD/CVD Operations Office 3, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: [phone] and [phone], respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On March 1, 2005, the Department published the preliminary results of the new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta from Italy. See Notice of Preliminary Results of New Shipper Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy, 70 FR 9921 (March 1, 2005) (“Preliminary Results”). We invited interested parties to comment on our Preliminary Results. We received no case briefs.

Scope of Review

Imports covered by this order are shipments of certain non-egg dry pasta in packages of five pounds four ounces or less, whether or not enriched or fortified or containing milk or other optional ingredients such as chopped vegetables, vegetable purees, milk, gluten, diastasis, vitamins, coloring and flavorings, and up to two percent egg white. The pasta covered by this scope is typically sold in the retail market, in fiberboard or cardboard cartons, or polyethylene or polypropylene bags of varying dimensions.

Excluded from the scope of this order are refrigerated, frozen, or canned pastas, as well as all forms of egg pasta, with the exception of non-egg dry pasta containing up to two percent egg white. Also excluded are imports of organic pasta from Italy that are accompanied by the appropriate certificate issued by the Instituto Mediterraneo Di Certificazione, by Bioagricoop Scrl, by QC&I International Services, by Ecocert Italia, by the Consorzio per il Controllo dei Prodotti Biologici, or by the Associazione Italiana per l'Agricoltura Biologica.

The merchandise subject to this order is currently classifiable under item 1902.19.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise subject to the order is dispositive.

Scope Rulings

The Department has issued the following scope rulings to date:

(1) On August 25, 1997, the Department issued a scope ruling determining that multicolored pasta, imported in kitchen display bottles of decorative glass that are sealed with cork or paraffin and bound with raffia, is excluded from the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders. See Memorandum from Edward Easton, Senior Analyst, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement V, to Richard Moreland, Deputy Assistant Secretary, “Scope Ruling Concerning Pasta from Italy,” dated August 25, 1997, which is on file in the Central Records Unit (“CRU”).

(2) On July 30, 1998, the Department issued a scope ruling, finding that multipacks consisting of six one-pound packages of pasta that are shrink-wrapped into a single package are within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders. See Letter from Susan H. Kuhbach, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, to Barbara P. Sidari, Vice President, Joseph A. Sidari Company, Inc., dated July 30, 1998, which is available in the CRU.

(3) On October 23, 1997, the petitioners filed an application requesting that the Department initiate an anti-circumvention investigation of Barilla America, Inc., and Barilla Alimentare, S.p.A. (“Barilla”), an Italian producer and exporter of pasta. The Department initiated the investigation on December 8, 1997 (62 FR 65673). On October 5, 1998, the Department issued its final determination that Barilla's importation of pasta in bulk and subsequent repackaging in the United States into packages of five pounds or less constitutes circumvention with respect to the antidumping duty order on pasta from Italy pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (“the Act”), and 19 CFR 351.225(b). See Anti-circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order, 63 FR 54672 (October 13, 1998).

(4) On October 26, 1998, the Department self-initiated a scope inquiry to determine whether a package weighing over five pounds as a result of allowable industry tolerances is within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders. On May 24, 1999, we issued a final scope ruling finding that, effective October 26, 1998, pasta in packages weighing or labeled up to (and including) five pounds four ounces is within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders. See Memorandum from John Brinkmann, Program Manager, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement VI, to Richard Moreland, Deputy Assistant Secretary, “Final Scope Ruling,” dated May 24, 1999, which is available in the CRU.

(5) On April 27, 2000, the Department self-initiated an anti-circumvention inquiry to determine whether Pastificio Fratelli Pagani S.p.A.'s importation of pasta in bulk and subsequent repackaging in the United States into packages of five pounds or less constitutes circumvention, with respect to the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on pasta from Italy pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(b). See Certain Pasta from Italy: Notice of Initiation of Anti-circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 65 FR 26179 (May 5, 2000). On September 19, 2003, we published an affirmative finding of the anti-circumvention inquiry. See Anti-circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Final Determinations of Circumvention of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 68 FR 54888 (September 19, 2003).

Final Results of Review

We determine that the following weighted-average margin percentage exists for Atar for the period July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004:

Manufacturer/exporter	Margin (percent)
Atar, S.r.L.	0.0

Assessment

The Department will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b). The Department calculated importer-specific duty assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for the examined sales to the total entered value of the examined sales for that importer. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2), we will instruct CBP to liquidate without regard to antidumping duties, all entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which the importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis. The Department will issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to CBP within 15 days of publication of these final results of review.

Cash Deposits Requirements

Bonding will no longer be permitted to fulfill security requirements for shipments from Atar of pasta from Italy entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption in the United States on or after the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The following cash deposit rates shall be required for merchandise subject to the order entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of these final results for this new shipper review, as provided for by section 751(a)(1) of the Act, as amended: (1) The cash deposit rates for Atar (i.e., for subject merchandise both manufactured and exported by Atar) will be zero; (2) the cash deposit rate for exporters who received a rate in a prior segment of the proceeding will continue to be the rate assigned in that segment of the proceeding; (3) the cash deposit rate for entries of subject merchandise exported by Atar but not manufactured by Atar will continue to be the All Others rate (i.e., 11.26 percent) or the rate applicable to the manufacturer, if so established; and (4) if neither the exporter nor the producer is a firm covered in this review or a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will be 11.26 percent, the All Others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation. These deposit requirements shall remain in effect until publication fo the final results of the next administrative review. There are no chages to the rates applicable to any other companies under this antidumping duty order.

This notice also serves as a final reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping and countervailing 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 and countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent increase in antidumping and countervailing duties by the amount of antidumping duties reimbursed.

This notice also is the only reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (“APO”) of their responsibility concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely written notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

We are issuing and publishing these results and notice in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

Dated: May 18, 2005.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.