Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice From Brazil: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Termination in Part; and Intent Not to Revoke in Part

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-351-605]

Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice From Brazil: Preliminary Results

of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Termination in Part; and

Intent Not to Revoke in Part

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of antidumping duty

administrative review; termination in part; and intent to revoke in

part.

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SUMMARY: In response to timely requests from three producer/exporters,

Branco Peres Citrus, S.A. (Branco Peres), CTM Citrus, S.A. (CTM)

(formerly Citro-pectina), and Citrovita, S.A., the Department of

Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the

antidumping duty order on frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) from

Brazil. This review covers the period May 1, 1993, through April 30,

1994. Since Citrovita timely withdrew its request for review in

accordance with 19 CFR 353.22(a)(5), and no other party requested a

review of Citrovita, we are terminating the review with respect to this

firm.

For these results, we preliminarily determine the dumping margins

for Branco Peres and CTM to be 0.52 percent and zero, respectively.

Moreover, we do not intend to revoke the order with respect to CTM

because, although CTM submitted a timely request for revocation, it has

not met the necessary requirements. We invite interested parties to

comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit argument in

this proceeding are requested to submit with the argument (1) a

statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 14, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Fabian Rivelis or Irina Itkin, Office 5, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement,

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3853 or (202) 482-0656,

respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 5, 1987, the Department published in the Federal Register

(52 FR 16426) the antidumping duty order on FCOJ from Brazil. On May 4,

1994, the Department published a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an

Administrative Review'' of this antidumping duty order for the period

May 1, 1993, through April 30, 1994. We received timely requests for

review from three respondents: Branco Peres, Citrovita, and CTM. In

addition, CTM submitted a timely request for revocation of the

antidumping duty order, accompanied by the certification required by 19

CFR 353.25(b)(1) of the Department's regulations.

On June 15, 1994, the Department published a notice of initiation

(59 FR 30770) covering Branco Peres and CTM. On July 15, 1994, we

published a notice of initiation covering Citrovita (59 FR 36161),

which we had inadvertently omitted from the June initiation notice.

Because Citrovita subsequently withdrew its request for review in a

timely manner, the Department is terminating the review of Citrovita

for this period.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

The Department is conducting this administrative review in

accordance with section 751 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

The merchandise covered by this review is frozen concentrated

orange juice from Brazil. The merchandise is currently classifiable

under item 2009.11.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United

States (HTSUS). The HTSUS item number is provided for convenience and

for customs purpose. The written description remains dispositive.

Period of Review

The review period is May 1, 1993, through April 30, 1994.

Verification

As provided in section 776(b) of the Act, we verified information

provided by one respondent, CTM, using standard verification

procedures, including on-site inspection of the manufacturer's

facilities, examination of relevant sales and financial records, and

selection of original documentation containing relevant information.

Our verification results are outlined in the public version of the

verification report.

United States Price

In calculating the United States price (USP), we used purchase

price as defined in section 772 of the Act because all of Branco

Peres's and CTM's sales to the first unrelated purchaser took place

prior to importation to the United States and exporter's sales price

methodology was not otherwise indicated.

We calculated purchase price based on the packed FOB or C&F price

to the first unrelated trading company/wholesale distributor because

respondents had knowledge that their sales to these unrelated parties

were destined for the United States. We made deductions from USP, where

appropriate, for foreign inland freight, Brazilian brokerage and

handling expenses, ocean freight, and insurance, in accordance with

section 772(d)(2) of the Act.

Foreign Market Value

In order to determine whether there were sufficient sales of FCOJ

in the home market to serve as a viable basis for calculating foreign

market value (FMV), we compared each respondent's volume of FCOJ to the

volume of third-country sales, in accordance with section 773(a)(1)(B)

of the Act and 19 CFR 353.48(a). We found that the home market was not

viable for either

[[Page 2203]]

respondent. Based on each respondent's questionnaire response, we

selected the Netherlands as the appropriate third-country market for

each respondent, in accordance with 19 CFR 353.49(b).

A. Branco Peres

In accordances with 19 CFR 353.49(a)(1), we calculated FMV for

Branco Peres based on third-country FOB sales or offers for sale. If a

contemporaneous third country sale was available, we based FMV on the

third country sale. Where contemporaneous third-county sales were not

available, we based FMV on the applicable minimum export price \1\

(MEP) as a third-country offer for sale.\2\ We made deductions, where

appropriate, for foreign inland freight, port expenses, and insurance.

In cases where FMV was based on the MEP, we used the weighted average

of the charges and the adjustments reported for actual third-country

sales.

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\1\ The minimum export price is a floor price set by the

Carteira do Comercio Exterior de Banco do Brasil (CACEX), the export

department of the Bank of Brazil. Minimum export prices are based on

the price of FCOJ on the New York Cotton Exchange. Because the price

movements of FCOJ on the futures market are irregular, the minimum

export price may remain the same or change several times within a

month.

\2\ Since Branco Peres's prices are linked to the MEP, we

followed the methodology used in the sixth review where comparison

periods were based on a change in the minimum export price

throughout the continuum of the POR. See Notice of Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Frozen Concentrated Orange

Juice from Brazil (62 FR 5798 (February 7, 1997)).

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B. CTM

In accordance with 19 CFR 353.49(a)(1), we calculated FMV for CTM

based on third-country FOB and CIF sales. An analysis of CTM's

questionnaire response reveals that it did not set prices for export

sales based on MEPs. Therefore, we did not use the minimum export price

methodology described above with respect to CTM. Where there was no

contemporaneous Dutch sale to compare to a U.S. sale, we based FMV on a

contemporaneous sale to another third country, Belgium. Because we did

not request CTM to submit constructed value information, we find that

use of this sale is appropriate as a reasonable surrogate for

constructed value.

We made deductions, where appropriate, for foreign inland freight,

port expenses, ocean freight, and insurance. In accordance with section

773(a)(1) of the Act, we deducted, where applicable, third-country

packing expenses and added U.S. packing. We made circumstance-of-sale

adjustments, where appropriate, for differences in credit expenses and

commissions.

Currency Conversion

No certified rates of exchange, as furnished by the Federal Reserve

Bank of New York, were available for the POR. In place of the official

certified rates, we used the daily official exchange rates for the

Brazilian currency published by the Central Bank of Brazil which were

provided by CTM in its August 29, 1994, response and verified by the

Department.

Preliminary Results of Review

We preliminarily determine that the following margins exist for the

period May 1, 1993 through April 30, 1994:

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

Percent

Manufacturer/exporter Review period margin

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

Branco Peres............................... 5/1/93-4/30/94 0.52

CTM........................................ 5/1/93-4/30/94 .00

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The Department does not intend to revoke the antidumping duty order

with respect to CTM because CTM has not demonstrated three consecutive

years of sales at not less than FMV (see Notice of Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Frozen Concentrated Orange

Juice from Brazil (62 FR 5798 (February 7, 1997))).

Interested parties may request a disclosure within 5 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 44

days after the date of publication, or the first workday thereafter.

Interested parties may submit case briefs within 30 days of the date of

publication. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs,

may be filed not later than 37 days after the date of publication.

Copies of case briefs and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested

parties in accordance with 19 CFR 353.38(c). 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 any event, not later than the date the case briefs are due,

under 19 CFR 353.38(c). The Department will publish the final results

of this administrative review, which will include the results of its

analysis of issues raised in any such case briefs.

The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Individual

differences between USP and FMV may vary from the percentages stated

above. We have calculated a company-specific duty assessment rate based

on the ratio of the total amount of AD duties calculated for the

examined sales made during the POR to the total value of subject

merchandise entered during the POR. The rate will be assessed uniformly

on all entries of that particular company made during the POR. The

Department will issue appraisement instructions directly to the Customs

Service.

Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective

for all shipments of FCOJ from Brazil, 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) Because a subsequent administrative review of

Branco Peres has been completed, the cash deposit rate for this company

will continue to be the rate calculated in the administrative review

(see Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice from Brazil: Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (62 FR 29328 (May 30, 1997)));

(2) the cash deposit rate for CTM will be the calculated margin in the

final results of this administrative review; (3) 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; (4) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this

review, a prior review, or the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV)

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 (5) for all other producers and/or exporters of

this merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be 1.96 percent, the ``all

others'' rate from the LTFV investigation. These cash deposit

requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until publication of

the final results of the next administrative review.

This notice also 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 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 353.22.

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Dated: January 8, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-946 Filed 1-13-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M