Amended Preliminary Antidumping Determination: Live Cattle From Canada

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-833]

Amended Preliminary Antidumping Determination: Live Cattle From

Canada

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gabriel Adler or Kris Campbell, Office

of AD/CVD Enforcement 5, Import Administration, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-1442

or (202) 482-3813, respectively.

Amendment of Preliminary Determination

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is amending the

preliminary determination in the antidumping investigation of live

cattle from Canada. This amended preliminary determination results in

revised antidumping rates.

On June 30, 1999, the Department issued its affirmative preliminary

determination in this proceeding. See Notice of Preliminary

Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Live Cattle from

Canada, 64 FR 36847 (July 8, 1999). In the preliminary determination,

we provided notice that we were considering issuing an amended

preliminary determination based on the following facts:

Immediately prior to the date of the determination (on June 29th

and 30th), the respondents filed revised U.S., home market, and cost

databases. Our initial examination of the information indicates

that, for at least one company, the antidumping rate calculated

using such data may differ significantly from the rates listed

below. We will examine this data further and, if we find that the

errors corrected result in a rate that differs substantially from

the rates as calculated for this preliminary determination, we may

issue an amended preliminary determination for any such company.

Id. at 36848.

On July 1, 1999, we confirmed that the corrections contained in the

revised data filed prior to the preliminary determination result in a

substantial change to the antidumping rate for one company (Schaus).

This company's June 30th filing corrected a number of errors, found in

preparing for verification, to the company's U.S., home market, and

cost databases, including omissions of cost items that had previously

resulted in significantly understated costs prior to the correction of

these errors. The company's corrected data results in a change to its

antidumping rate from 5.43 percent to 15.69 percent.

On July 12, 1999, Schaus filed a submission indicating that it was

ceasing its participation in this investigation. In this submission,

Schaus stated that, ``[f]rom the very beginning of this investigation,

Schaus has sought to cooperate to the best of its ability'' but that it

was unable to continue due to resource constraints. See Letter from

Schaus Land & Cattle Company to the Department, July 12, 1999, at 1-2.

Schaus also stated its intent to withdraw certain information from the

record in this investigation, specifying that it wished to withdraw

``its responses to Sections B, C, and D of the Department's

questionnaire and its supplemental submissions pertaining to those

sections.'' Id.

Given that Schaus declined, subsequent to the preliminary

determination, to cooperate further in this proceeding, we may

determine for the final determination that Schaus will be subject to

the facts available. However, their withdrawal after the preliminary

determination does not prevent corrections of the preliminary

determination to accurately reflect the information on the record at

the time it was made. To do otherwise would allow manipulation of the

administrative process in a manner that prevents the determination of

accurate antidumping rates, and would thwart the proper administration

of the antidumping law. Accordingly, we are implementing the

corrections referred to in our preliminary determination, based on the

significant corrections to errors in Schaus's data as provided in its

June 30th submission. In so doing, we have determined that under these

facts (i.e., a pre-preliminary correction by the respondent of

significant errors as acknowledged in the Department's Notice of

Preliminary Determination, which results in a corrected rate that

differs substantially from the prior rate, and Schaus's post-

preliminary withdrawal of information), correction of the preliminary

antidumping duty rate is warranted.

Therefore, we are amending our preliminary determination to revise

the antidumping rate for Schaus, along with the corresponding

correction to the ``all others'' rate, as listed below. Suspension of

liquidation will be revised accordingly and parties shall be notified

of this determination, in accordance with sections 733(d) and (f) of

the Act.

[[Page 39971]]

The revised weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

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

Weighted-

average

Exporter/producer margin

percentage

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

Cor Van Raay............................................... 4.49

Groenenboom................................................ 3.90

JGL........................................................ 3.94

Pound Maker................................................ * 0.18

Riverside/Grandview........................................ 6.81

Schaus..................................................... 15.69

All Others................................................. 5.57

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

* de minimis.

This determination is published pursuant to sections 733(d) and

777(i)(1) of the Act.

Dated: July 16, 1999.

Richard W. Moreland,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-18855 Filed 7-22-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P