60 FR 39933

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[C-351-406]

Certain Agricultural Tillage Tools From Brazil; Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review

Friday, August 4, 1995

*39933

July 28, 1995.

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain agricultural tillage tools from Brazil. We preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be zero for all companies for the period January 1, 1993 through December 31, 1993. If the final results remain the same as these preliminary results; the Department intends to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to assess countervailing duties as indicated above. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 4, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Albright and Kelly Parkhill, Office of Countervailing Compliance, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 22, 1985, the Department published in the Federal Register (50 FR 42743) the countervailing duty order on certain agricultural tillage tools from Brazil. On October 7, 1994, the Department published a notice of "Opportunity to Request an Administrative Review" (59 FR 51166) of this countervailing duty order. We received a timely request for review from Marchesan Implementos Argicolas, S.A. a Brazilian producer of the subject merchandise and a respondent, and Agritech Trading Company, an importer of the subject merchandise.

We initiated the review, covering the period January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1993, on November 14, 1994 (59 FR 56459). The review covers four manufacturers/exporters of the subject merchandise and four programs.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

The Department is conducting this administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) 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 subject to this review (hereinafter "subject merchandise") is certain round shaped agricultural tillage tools (discs) with plain or notched edges, such as colters and furrow-opener blades. The products covered in this review are currently classifiable under the following item numbers of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS): 8432.21.00, 8432.29.00, 8432.80.00 and 8432.90.00. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purpose. The written description remains dispositive.

Analysis of Programs

Programs Preliminarily Found Not to Be Used

We examined the following programs and preliminarily determine that the respondents did not use them during the review period:
A. Preferential Financing under FINEP.
B. Preferential Financing for Industrial Enterprises by the Banco de Brasil (FST and EGF loans).
C. Accelerated Depreciation for Brazilian-made Capital Goods.
D. Preferential Financing under PROEX (Formerly under Resolution 68 and 509 through FINEX).

Preliminary Results of Review

For the period January 1, 1993 through December 31, 1993, we preliminarily determine the net subsidy to be zero for all companies. If the final results of this review remain the same as these preliminary results, the Department intends to instruct the U. S. Customs Service to assess the following countervailing duties:

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Manufacturer/exporter Rate
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All companies .......... Zero.
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The Department also intends to instruct the U. S. Customs Service to collect zero cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties on all shipments of the subject merchandise, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of Publication of the final results of this review.

Parties to the proceeding may request a hearing not later than 10 days after the date of publication of this notice. Interested parties may submit written arguments in case briefs on these preliminary results within 30 days of the date of publication. Rebuttal briefs, limited to arguments raised in case briefs, may be submitted seven days after the time limit for filing the case brief. Parties who submit written arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument. Any hearing, if requested, will be held seven days after the scheduled date for submission of rebuttal briefs. Copies of case briefs and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties in accordance with 19 CFR 355.38(e).

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 no event later than the date the case briefs are due under section 355.38(c). The Department will publish the final results of this administrative review including the results of its analysis of issues raised in any case or rebuttal brief. 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 355.22.

Dated: July 28, 1995.

Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.