Pressure Sensitive Plastic Tape From Italy; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-475-059]

Pressure Sensitive Plastic Tape From Italy; 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 pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from an importer, Horizon Plastics,

the Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of

the antidumping duty finding on pressure sensitive plastic tape from

Italy. The period of review is October 1, 1996 through September 30,

1997. This review covers products manufactured and exported by

N.A.R.S.p.A. 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: June 18, 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, NW., Washington, DC

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 (62 FR 27296, May 19, 1997).

Background

On October 21, 1997, the Department published in the Federal

Register (42 FR 56110) the antidumping duty finding on pressure

sensitive plastic tape (PSPT) from Italy. On October 31, 1997, in

accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), an interested party and importer of

the subject merchandise, Horizon Plastics, Inc., requested that the

Department conduct an administrative review of N.A.R.S.p.A. exports of

subject merchandise to the United States. We published the notice of

initiation of this review on November 26, 1997 (62 FR 63069).

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by the review are shipments of PSPT measuring 1\3/

8\ inches in width and not exceeding 4 mils in thickness. During the

period of review (POR), the above described PSPT was classified under

HTS subheadings 3919.90.20 and 3919.90.50. The HTS subheadings are

provided for convenience and for U.S. Customs purposes. The written

description remains dispositive as to the scope of the product

coverage.

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

[[Page 33351]]

appropriate for N.A.R.S.p.A. 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 N.A.R.S.p.A. and therefore no information

to consider as an alternative to facts available in determining the

margin for N.A.R.S.p.A.

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, 12.66 percent. This rate was

calculated in the Final Results of Administrative Review of Antidumping

Finding (48 FR 35666), covering the period February 18, 1977 through

September 30, 1980. 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), where the Department disregarded

the highest margin as averse 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 October 1, 1996, through

September 30, 1997:

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

Margin

Manufacturer/exporter (percent)

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N.A.R.S.p.A................................................ 12.66

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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 ten days of publication. If requested, a

hearing will be held as early as convenient for the parties but not

later than 39 days after the date of publication of 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 37 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

pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy 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 12.66 percent, the ``new shipper'' rate established in the

first notice of final results of administrative review published by the

Department (48 FR 35686, August 5, 1983).

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: June 11, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary, Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-16273 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M