[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49565-49567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23890]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-201-505]
Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; Preliminary Results
of a Countervailing Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of preliminary results and termination in part of
countervailing duty administrative review.
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SUMMARY: In response to requests by a respondent, Acero Porcelanizado,
S.A. de C.V. (APSA), and by the Government of Mexico on behalf of
Esmaltaciones San Ignacio S.A. (San Ignacio), the Department of
Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the
countervailing duty order on porcelain-on-steel cookingware from Mexico
for APSA and San Ignacio (60 FR 19017; January 13, 1995). Because the
Government of Mexico withdrew its request for review of San Ignacio,
the Department is now terminating this review in part with respect to
San Ignacio.
We preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be de minimis for
APSA for the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994. If the
final results remain the same as these preliminary results, the
Department intends to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate,
without regard to countervailing duties, all shipments of the subject
merchandise from APSA exported on or after January 1, 1994, and on or
before December 31, 1994. Interested parties are invited to comment on
these preliminary results.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 26, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Norma Curtis or Kelly Parkhill, Office
of Countervailing Compliance, Import Administration, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; Telephone: (202)
482-2786.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 12, 1986, the Department published in the Federal
Register (55 FR 51139) the countervailing duty order on porcelain-on-
steel cookingware from Mexico. On December 6, 1994, the Department
published in the Federal Register a notice of ``Opportunity to Request
Administrative Review'' (60 FR 62710) of this countervailing duty
order. We received timely requests for review from APSA, a respondent
company, and the Government of Mexico on behalf of respondent company,
San Ignacio.
On January 13, 1995, we initiated the review for APSA and San
Ignacio covering the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994
(POR), (60 FR 19017). On August 8, 1995, the Government of Mexico
withdrew its request for review for San Ignacio. Under CFR 355.22 (a)
(3) (1994), a party requesting a review may withdraw that request no
later than 90 days after the date of publication of the notice of
initiation or at any later time if the Department decides that it is
reasonable to do so. Although the Government of Mexico's withdrawal
occurred outside of the time frame specified in 19 CFR 355.22 (a) (3),
the Department has decided that because substantial resources had not
yet been devoted to the review with respect to San Ignacio, it is
reasonable to terminate this review in part with respect to San
Ignacio.
We conducted a verification of the questionnaire responses
submitted by APSA on July 12, 1995 through July 13, 1995. The review
now covers one manufacturer/exporter of the subject merchandise, APSA,
and ten programs.
Applicable Statute and Regulations
The Department is conducting this administrative review in
accordance with section 751 (a) of the Tariff act of 1930, as amended
(the Act). Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute and
to the Department's regulations are in reference to the provisions as
they existed on December 31, 1994.
Scope of the Review
Imports covered by this review are shipments of porcelain-on-steel
[[Page 49566]]
cookingware from Mexico. The products are porcelain-on-steel
cookingware (except teakettles), which do not have self-contained
electric heating elements. All of the foregoing are constructed of
steel, and are enameled or glazed with vitreous glasses. During the
review period, such merchandise was classifiable under item number
7323.94.0020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS item
number is provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written
description remains dispositive.
Analysis of Programs
I. Programs Previously Determined to Confer Subsidies--BANCOMEXT
Financing for Exporters
Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C. (Bancomext) is a
government program through which short-term financing is provided to
producers or trading companies engaged in export activities. In order
to be eligible for Bancomext financing, a company must be established
according to Mexican law, it must be at least 30 percent owned by
Mexican nationals, and it must be an exporter. Bancomext provides two
types of financing to exporters, denominated in either U.S. dollars or
in Mexican pesos: working capital (pre-export loans), and loans for
export sales (export loans). In addition, Bancomext may provide
financing to foreign buyers of Mexican goods and services.
The Department has previously found this program to confer an
export subsidy to the extent that the loans are provided at
preferential terms (See Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico;
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (56 FR
48163; September 24, 1991) and Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From
Mexico; Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (57
FR 562; January 7, 1992)). In this review the Government of Mexico
provided no new information that would lead the Department to alter
that determination.
APSA had Bancomext loans on which interest was due during the POR.
We found that the annual interest rates that Bancomext charged to
borrowers for certain loans on which interest payments were due during
the review period were lower than the commercial rates. The dollar-
denominated Bancomext loans under review were granted at annual
interest rates ranging from 6.25 percent to 8.7 percent. To determine
the extent to which these loans are provided at preferential terms, we
compared them to a benchmark which was determined by using the average
quarterly weighted-average effective interest rates published in the
Federal Reserve Bulletin, which resulted in an annual average benchmark
of 6.5 percent in 1993 and 6.9 percent in 1994. This is the same
benchmark calculation methodology that has been applied in prior
reviews (See Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico; Preliminary
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (56 FR 48163;
September 24, 1991) and Porcelain-on-Steel Cookingware From Mexico;
Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (57 FR 562;
January 7, 1992)).
We consider the benefits from short-term loans to occur at the time
the interest is paid. Because interest on Bancomext pre-export loans is
paid at maturity, we calculated benefits based on loans that matured
during the review period; such loans were obtained between October 1993
and August 1994.
To calculate the benefit for APSA, we multiplied the difference
between the interest rate charged to the exporter for these loans and
the benchmark interest rate by the principal and then multiplied this
amount by the term of the loan divided by 365. Since APSA was not able
to tie their loans to specific sales, we divided the benefit by total
export sales. On this basis, we preliminarily determine the subsidy
from this program to be 0.01 percent ad valorem for APSA.
II. Programs Preliminarily Found Not To Be Used
We also examined the following programs and preliminarily determine
that the exporters of the subject merchandise did not apply for or
receive benefits under these programs during the review period:
(A) Certificates of Fiscal Promotion (CEPROFI)
(B) PITEX
(C) Other Bancomext Preferential Financing
(D) Import Duty Reductions and Exemptions
(E) State Tax Incentives
(F) Article 15 Loans
(G) NAFINSA FOGAIN-type Financing
(H) NAFINSA FONEI-type Financing
(I) FONEI
Preliminary Results of Review
For the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994, we
preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be 0.01 percent ad valorem
for APSA. In accordance with 19 CFR 255.7, any rate less than 0.5% ad
valorem is de minimis.
If the final results of this review remain the same as these
preliminary results, the Department intends to instruct the U.S.
Customs Service to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties,
all shipments of the subject merchandise from APSA exported on or after
January 1, 1994, and on or before December 31, 1994.
The Department also intends to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to
collect a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties of zero
percent of the f.o.b. invoice price on all shipments of the subject
merchandise from APSA entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of
this review. The cash deposit rates for all other producers/exporters
remain unchanged from the last completed administrative review.
Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure of the calculation
methodology and interested parties may request a hearing not later than
10 days after the date of publication of this notice. Interested
parties may submit written arguments in case briefs on these
preliminary results within 30 days of the date of publication. Rebuttal
briefs, limited to arguments raised in case briefs, may be submitted
seven days after the time limit for filing the case brief. Parties who
submit written arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit
with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary
of the argument. Any hearing, if requested, will be held seven days
after the scheduled date for submission of rebuttal briefs. Copies of
case briefs and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties in
accordance with 19 CFR 355.38(e).
Representatives of parties to the proceeding may request disclosure
of proprietary information under administrative protective order no
later than 10 days after the representative's client or employer
becomes a party to the proceeding, but in no event later than the date
the case briefs, under section 355.38(c), are due. The Department will
publish the final results of this administrative review including the
results of its analysis of issues raised in any case or rebuttal brief
or at a hearing.
This administrative review and notice are in accordance with
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 355.22.
[[Page 49567]]
Dated: September 15, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 95-23890 Filed 9-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
