Shop Towels from Bangladesh; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[A-538-802]

Shop Towels from Bangladesh; 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.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from the petitioner, Milliken &

Company, the Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative

review of the antidumping duty order on shop towels from Bangladesh.

The review period is September 12, 1991 through February 28, 1993. This

review covers six manufacturers/exporters. The preliminary results of

this review indicate the existence of dumping margins for two

manufacturers/exporters during the period.

Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary

results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 28, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Arrowsmith, Matthew

Rosenbaum, or Michael Rill, Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import

Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20230;

telephone (202) 482-4733.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On March 12, 1993, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an Administrative

Review'' (58 FR 13583) of the antidumping duty order on shop towels

from Bangladesh (57 FR 9688, March 20, 1992) for the period September

12, 1991 through February 28, 1993. On March 29, 1993, the petitioner,

Milliken & Company (Milliken), requested an administrative review of

six companies subject to the antidumping order, Eagle Star Mills, Ltd.

(Eagle Star); Greyfab (Bangladesh) Ltd. (Greyfab); Hashem International

(Hashem); Khaled Textile Mills, Ltd. (Khaled); Shabnam Textiles

(Shabnam); and Sonar Cotton Mills (BD), Ltd. (Sonar). We published a

notice of initiation of the review on May 6, 1993 (58 FR 26960). The

Department is now conducting a review of these respondents pursuant to

section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Tariff Act).

Scope of the Review

The product covered by this administrative review is shop towels.

Shop towels are absorbent industrial wiping cloths made from a loosely

woven fabric. The fabric may be either 100 percent cotton or a blend of

materials. Shop towels are currently classifiable under item numbers

6307.10.2005 and 6307.10.2015 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules (HTS).

Although HTS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs

purposes, our written description of the scope of this proceeding

remains dispositive.

United States Price

The Department used purchase price (PP) for Greyfab, Hashem,

Khaled, Shabnam, and Sonar, as defined in section 772(b) of the Tariff

Act, in calculating U.S. price (USP) because the subject merchandise

was sold by the manufacturer, prior to importation, to unrelated

purchasers for exportation to the United States. For Greyfab, Hashem,

and Shabnam, we calculated PP based on packed and delivered C&F prices.

We made deductions where appropriate for forwarding charges and ocean

freight. For Khaled and Sonar, we calculated PP based on packed and

delivered C&F or CIF prices. We made deductions where appropriate for

forwarding charges, ocean freight, and insurance expenses.

Foreign Market Value

We calculated foreign market value (FMV) based on constructed value

(CV) in accordance with section 773(e) of the Tariff Act, because none

of the respondents sold such or similar merchandise in the home market

or in any third-country market during the period of review (POR). The

CV includes the cost of materials and fabrication of the merchandise

exported to the United States, plus general expenses, profit and

packing. To calculate CV we used: (1) actual general expenses, or the

statutory minimum of 10 percent of materials and fabrication, whichever

was greater; (2) actual profit or the statutory minimum of 8 percent of

materials, fabrication costs and general expenses, whichever was

greater; and (3) packing costs for merchandise exported to the United

States. Because the only general expenses incurred were those incurred

for U.S. sales, we used these general expenses in our calculation of

CV. We made no adjustments.

Currency Conversion

In our analysis, we normally make currency conversions in

accordance with 19 CFR 353.60 using the exchange rates certified by the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Since the Federal Reserve Bank of New

York does not provide exchange rate information for Bangladesh, we used

the average monthly exchange rates published in the International

Monetary Fund's International Financial Statistics.

Best Information Available (BIA)

On November 18, 1993, we sent Eagle Star a questionnaire. On

December 30, 1993, we received a letter from Eagle Star explaining that

it was no longer in the shop towel business, and therefore, would not

participate in the first administrative review. Eagle Star stated,

however, that it had made four shipments during the period of review.

Therefore, in accordance with section 776(c) of the Act, we have

determined that the use of BIA is appropriate for Eagle Star.

In determining what to use as BIA, the Department employs a two-

tier methodology. The Department uses one method to determine the BIA

margin for those respondents who cooperate in a review, while it uses a

different method to determine the BIA margin for those respondents who

do not cooperate, or who significantly impede the review. See Final

Results of Antidumping Administrative Review; Antifriction Bearings

(Other Than Tapered Roller Bearings) and Parts Thereof From the Federal

Republic of Germany 56 FR 31704 (July 11, 1991).

In the case of uncooperative respondents, we use as BIA the higher

of (1) the highest of the rates found for any firm for the same class

or kind of merchandise in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation

or prior administrative reviews; or (2) the highest calculated rate in

the current review for any firm. Because Eagle Star refused to respond

to the Department's questionnaire, and therefore was uncooperative, we

have used this method to determine Eagle Star's margin for purposes of

this review in accordance with Departmental practice. Accordingly, a

margin of 42.31 percent, the highest rate for any company from this or

any prior segment of the proceeding, has been applied to this company.

See Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Shop Towels

from Bangladesh, 57 FR 3996 (September 3, 1992).

Preliminary Results of Review

We preliminarily determine that the following margins exist for the

period September 12, 1991 through February 28, 1993:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer/producer/exporter Margin percentage

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Eagle Star Textile Mills, Ltd........................ 42.31

Greyfab (Bangladesh), Ltd............................ 0.00

Hashem International................................. 0.00

Khaled Textile Mills, Ltd............................ 9.61

Shabnam Textiles (de minimis)........................ 0.15

Sonar Cotton (BD), Ltd............................... 17.46

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The Department shall determine, and the U.S. Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Individual

differences between the USP and FMV may vary from the percentages

stated above. Upon completion of this review, the Department will issue

appraisement instructions concerning all respondents directly to U.S.

Customs.

Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective

upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for

all shipments of Bangladeshi shop towels entered, or withdrawn from

warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as

provided by section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act: (1) The cash deposit

rates for the reviewed companies will be those established in the final

results of this administrative review. (Because the rates for Greyfab

and Hashem were zero and the rate for Shabnam was de minimis, the

Department shall not require cash deposits on shipments of subject

merchandise for these firms); (2) for previously reviewed or

investigated companies not listed above, the cash deposit rate will

continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent

period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this 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) the cash deposit rate for any

future entries from all other manufacturers or exporters will continue

to be 4.60 percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the LTFV

investigation of this case, in accordance with the Court of

International Trade's (CIT's) decisions in Floral Trade Council v.

United States, 822 F.Supp. 766 (CIT 1993), and Federal Mogul

Corporation and the Torrington Company v. the United States 822 F.Supp.

782 (CIT 1993).

These deposit requirements when imposed, shall remain in effect

until publication of the final results of the next administrative

review.

Interested parties may request disclosure within five days of

publication of this notice and may request a hearing within 10 days of

the date of publication. Any hearing, if requested, will be held as

early as convenient for the parties, but not later than 44 days after

the date of publication or the first workday thereafter. Interested

parties may submit written comments (case briefs) on these preliminary

results not later than 30 days after the date of publication of this

notice. Rebuttal comments (rebuttal briefs), limited to issues raised

in the case briefs, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date

of publication. The Department will include its analysis of issues

raised in any such written comments when it publishes the final results

of this administrative review.

This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their

responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 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 notice is in accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff

Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 353.22(c)(5).

Dated: December 16, 1994.

Susan G. Esserman,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 94-31796 Filed 12-27-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P