(Cite as: 62 FR 36771)

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-351-406]

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

Wednesday, July 9, 1997

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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 zero percent ad valorem from Marchesan for the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995. If the final results remain the same as these preliminary results of administrative review, we will instruct the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, all shipments of the subject merchandise from Marchesan exported on or after January 1, 1995 and on or before December 31, 1995. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. (See Public Comment section of this notice.)

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 9, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Longest or Lorenza Olivas, Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14^th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3338 or (202) 482- 2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 22, 1985, the Department published in the Federal Register (57 FR 42743) the countervailing duty order on certain agricultural tillage tools from Brazil. On October 1, 1996, the Department published a notice of "Opportunity to Request an Administrative Review" (61 FR 51259) of this countervailing duty order. We received a timely request for review, and we initiated the review, covering the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, on November 15, 1996 (61 FR 58513). In accordance with 19 CFR 355.22(a), this review covers only those producers or exporters of the subject merchandise for which a review was specifically requested. Accordingly, this review covers Marchesan Implementos Agricolas, S.A. (Marchesan). This review also covers five programs.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) effective January 1, 1995 (the Act). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to regulations, as amended by the interim regulations published in the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 25130). The Department is conducting this administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Act.

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by this review are shipments of certain round shaped agricultural tillage tools (discs) with plain or notched edge, such as colters and furrow-opener blades. During the review period, such merchandise was classifiable under item numbers 8432.21.00, 8432.29.00, 8432.80.00 and 8432.90.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written description remains dispositive.

Partial Revocation

On October 30, 1996, Marchesan requested an administrative review pursuant to 19 CFR 355.22(a)(2), and partial revocation of the countervailing duty order with regard to Marchesan pursuant to 19 CFR 355.25. After examining Marchesan's request, the Department determined that the company did not meet the minimum revocation requirements of §355.25(b)(3). Under 19 CFR 355.25(b)(3), in order to be considered for revocation, a producer or exporter must have participated in, and been found to have received no subsidies for, five consecutive review periods with no intervening review period for which a review was not conducted. In October 1992, Marchesan requested an administrative review for 1991. Subsequently, Marchesan withdrew its

request and the Department terminated the administrative review for 1991 (59 FR 56067) and there was no administrative review in 1992. Therefore, because Marchesan has participated in only three consecutive administrative reviews in the past five years, we preliminarily determine that Marchesan has not satisfied the five consecutive review periods requirement. In addition, with its request for revocation, a company must submit both government and company certifications that the company neither applied for nor received any net subsidy during the period of review and will not apply for or receive any net subsidy in the future, as well as the agreement described in 19 CFR 355.25. (a)(3)(iii). Marchesan did not provide either the government certification or the company agreement required by the Department's regulations. Therefore, Marchesan did not meet the threshold requirements for revocation. (See letter from Barbara E. Tillman, Director, Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, dated December 10, 1996, which is a public document on file in the Central Records Unit (room B-009 of the Department of Commerce)).

Analysis of Programs

I. Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Not Used

We examined the following programs and preliminarily determine that Marchesan did not apply for or receive benefits under these programs during the period of review:

A. Accelerated Depreciation for Brazilian-Made Capital Goods.

B. Preferential Financing for Industrial Enterprises by Banco do Brasil (FST and

EGF loans).

C. SUDENE Corporate Income Tax Reduction for Companies Located in the

Northeast of Brazil.

D. Preferencial Financing under PROEX (formerly under Resolution 68 and 509

through FINEX).

E. Preferencial Financing under FINEP.

Preliminary Results of Review

For the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, we preliminarily determine the net subsidy for Marchesan to be zero percent ad valorem. 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 liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, shipments of the subject merchandise from Marchesan exported on or after January 1, 1995, and on or before December 31, 1995.

The Department also intends to instruct Customs to collect a cash *36772

deposit of estimated countervailing duties of zero percent ad valorem, as provided for by section 751(a)(1) of the Act, on all shipments of this merchandise from Marchesan, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of this administrative review.

Because the URAA replaced the general rule in favor or a country-wide rate with a general rule in favor of individual rates for investigated and reviewed companies, the procedures for establishing countervailing duty rates, including those for non-reviewed companies, are now essentially the same as those in antidumping cases, except as provided for in section 777A(e)(2)(B) of the Act. The requested review will normally cover only those companies specifically named. Pursuant to 19 CFR 355.22(g), for all companies for which a review was not requested, duties must be assessed at the cash deposit rate, and cash deposits must continue to be collected, at the rate previously ordered. As such, the countervailing duty cash deposit rate applicable to a company can no longer change, except pursuant to a request for a review of that company. See Federal-Mogul Corporation and The Torrington Company v. United States, 822 F. Supp. 782 (CIT 1993) and Floral Trade Council v. United States, 822 F. Supp. 766 (CIT 1993) (interpreting 19 CFR 353.22(e), the antidumping regulation on automatic assessment, which is identical to 19 CFR 355.22(g)). Therefore, the cash deposit rates for all companies except those covered by this review will be unchanged by the results of this review.

We will instruct Customs to continue to collect cash deposits for non-reviewed companies at the most recent company-specific or country-wide rate applicable to the company. These rates shall apply to all non-reviewed companies until a review of a company assigned these rates is requested. In addition, for the period January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1995, the assessment rates applicable to all non-reviewed companies covered by this order are the cash deposit rates in effect at the time of entry.

Public Comment

Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure of the calculation methodology and interested parties may request a hearing no 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 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. 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. 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, under 19 CFR 355.38, are due. 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 or at a hearing. This administrative review and notice are in accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)).

Dated: July 1, 1997.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.