Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-403-801]

Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; 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 fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from the petitioner, Coalition for

Fair Atlantic Salmon Trade, the Department of Commerce is conducting an

administrative review of the antidumping duty order fresh and chilled

Atlantic salmon from Norway. The period of review is April 1, 1997,

through March 31, 1998. This review covers products manufactured and

exported by Nornir Group A/S (``Nornir'').

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: December 31, 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, N.W., Washington, D.C. 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 (1998).

Background

On April 12, 1991, the Department published in the Federal Register

(56 FR 14920) the antidumping duty order on fresh and chilled Atlantic

salmon from Norway. On April 30, 1998, in accordance with 19 CFR

351.213(b), the petitioner requested that the Department conduct an

administrative review of Nornir's exports of subject merchandise to the

United States. We published the notice of initiation of this review on

May 29, 1998 (63 FR 29370).

Scope of the Review

The merchandise covered by this review is fresh and chilled

Atlantic salmon (salmon). It encompasses the species of Atlantic salmon

(Salmo salar) marketed as specified herein; the subject merchandise

excludes all other species of salmon: Danube salmon; Chinook (also

called ``king'' or ``quinnat''); Coho (``silver''); Sockeye

(``redfish'' or ``blueback''); Humpback (``pink''); and Chum (``dog'').

Atlantic salmon is whole or nearly whole fish, typically (but not

necessarily) marketed gutted, bled, and cleaned, with the head on. The

subject merchandise is typically packed in fresh water ice (chilled).

Excluded from the subject merchandise are fillets, steaks, and other

cuts of Atlantic salmon. Also excluded are frozen, canned, smoked or

otherwise processed Atlantic salmon. Fresh and chilled Atlantic salmon

is currently provided for under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)

[[Page 72245]]

subheading 0302.12.00.02.09. The HTS item number is provided for

convenience and Customs purposes. The written description remains

dispositive.

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 appropriate for

Nornir 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 Nornir and therefore no information to consider as an

alternative to facts available in determining the margin for Nornir.

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, 31.81 percent. This rate was

calculated in the Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

(56 FR 7661), covering the period September 1, 1989, through February

28, 1990. 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, 1995) where the Department

disregarded the highest margin as adverse 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 April 1, 1997, through March 31,

1998:

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

Manufacturer/exporter (percent) Margin

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Nornir Group A/S............................................. 31.81

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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 30 days of publication. If requested, a

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

later than 37 days after the date of publication or 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 35 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 fresh

and chilled Atlantic salmon from Norway 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 23.80 percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the

first notice of final results of administrative review published by the

Department (56 FR 7661, February 25, 1991).

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 December 22, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-34708 Filed 12-30-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P