Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Pasta From Italy

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION

[A-475-818]

Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than

Fair Value: Certain Pasta From Italy

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Brinkmann or Michelle Frederick,

Office of Antidumping Investigations, Import Administration,

International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th

Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:

(202) 482-5288 or (202) 482-0186, respectively.

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 Rounds Agreements Act (URAA).

Scope of Investigation

The scope of this investigation consists of certain non-egg dry

pasta in packages of five pounds (or 2.27 kilograms) or less, whether

or not enriched or fortified or containing milk or other optional

ingredients such as chopped vegetables, vegetable purees, milk, gluten,

diastases, 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 investigation 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.

The merchandise under investigation 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, our written description of the scope of this

investigation is dispositive.

Case History

On December 14, 1995, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

made its affirmative preliminary determination of sales at less than

fair value (Preliminary Determination) in the above-referenced

investigation (61 FR 1344, January 19, 1996). We disclosed our

calculations for the preliminary determination on January 18 and 22,

1996, to the respondents and petitioners, respectively, pursuant to

their requests. We disclosed our calculations to Pastificio Guido

Ferrara (Ferrara), an interested party in the investigation on January

25, 1996. After publication of the preliminary determination, the

petitioners, Ferrara, and two of the respondents De Matteis

Agroalimentare S.p.A. (De Matteis), and La Molisana Industrie

Alimentari S.p.A. (La Molisana) alleged that the Department made

ministerial errors in calculating the preliminary margins. We have

determined that ministerial errors were made with regards to the

following respondents.

Arrighi

We agree that a ministerial error was made with regard to the

calculation of the weighted-average percent margin. We also agree that

a ministerial error was made with regard to the interest expense used

for constructed value. (For specific details of this and the other

allegations and our analysis of them, see Memorandum from the Team to

Barbara R. Stafford dated February 9, 1996.)

Delverde

We agree with the petitioners that we made ministerial errors with

respect to the cost of manufacture and the difference in merchandise

adjustment for certain U.S. products. With regard to the calculation of

U.S. packing expenses, we also agree with the petitioners' allegation

that a ministerial error was made.

De Matteis

We agree with De Matteis' allegation that we inadvertently excluded

a number of U.S. sales and double-counted its yield for purchased

semolina.

Pagani

We agree with the petitioners' allegations that we inadvertently

discarded certain sales although not for the reason alleged by the

petitioners. We also agree that we miscoded one variable, excluded one

variable from the price strings in our calculations, treated some of

Pagani's expenses as if they were denominated in Italian lira, and used

an incorrect programming statement which inadvertently caused some U.S.

sales not to match to a normal value.

Amendment of Preliminary Determination

The Department has stated that it will amend a preliminary

determination only to correct for significant ministerial errors (i.e.,

corrections that result in a difference of five absolute percentage

points and that are at least 25 percent greater or less than the

preliminary margin, and corrections resulting in a margin of zero or de

minimis). See, Notice of Amendment to Preliminary Determination of

Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination:

Bicycles From the

[[Page 7473]]

People's Republic of China, 60 FR 64016 (December 13, 1995).

Given the facts of this investigation, as noted above, we are

amending Arrighi's and Pagani's preliminary dumping margins to correct

for the ministerial errors, since the correction of these ministerial

errors results in a difference between a dumping margin of zero (or de

minimis) and a margin of greater than de minimis. The corrected dumping

margins for Arrighi and Pagani are 6.14 and 6.42 percent, respectively.

As a result, the ``All Others'' rate is now 11.94 percent.

We are not amending the preliminary margins of De Matteis and

Delverde because the corrections of the ministerial errors do not

result in a difference of five absolute percentage points from the

preliminary margin rates, nor do they result in a difference between a

de minimis margin and a margin of greater than de minimis.

In its allegation, La Molisana stated that the alleged errors were

not significant, as defined above, therefore, no further analysis was

warranted. However, we are correcting the company's deposit rate. In

the preliminary determination, we stated that the deposit rate was

14.03 percent. While the dumping margin that we calculated was correct,

we incorrectly calculated the deposit rate. The correct rate is 14.75

percent.

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing

the Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries

of pasta from Italy that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after the date of publication of this amended

preliminary determination notice in the Federal Register. As discussed

in the Preliminary Determination, we are subtracting for deposit

purposes, the rate attributable to the export subsidies found in the

concurrent countervailing duty investigation (0.62 percent for Arrighi)

from the antidumping margin percentages for Arrighi. The ``All Others''

deposit rate is based on subtracting the rate attributable to the

export subsidies found in the countervailing duty investigation for

those companies that are respondents in the antidumping investigation

and are found to have dumping margins. In keeping with Article 17.4 of

the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the

Department will terminate the suspension of liquidation in the

companion countervailing duty investigation of Certain Pasta From

Italy, effective February 14, 1996, which is 120 days after the date of

publication of the preliminary determination. Accordingly, on February

14, 1996, the antidumping deposit rate will revert to the full amount

calculated in this amended preliminary determination. These suspension

of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

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

Original Revised Deposit

Manufacturer/producer/exporter margin margin rate

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

Arrighi.......................... .06 6.14 5.52

Pagani........................... .14 6.42 6.42

All Others....................... 15.85 11.94 11.78

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

ITC Notification

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the

International Trade Commission of our amended preliminary

determination.

This amended preliminary determination is published in accordance

with section 733(f) of the Act.

Dated: February 21, 1996.

Susan G. Esserman,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 96-4549 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P