69 FR 70657, December 7, 2004
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[ C-475-819 ]
Certain Pasta from Italy:
Final Results of the Seventh Countervailing Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of final results of countervailing duty administrative
review.
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SUMMARY: On July 30, 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce published in
the Federal Register its preliminary results of the administrative
review of the countervailing duty order on certain pasta from Italy for
the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. Based on
information received since the preliminary results and our analysis of
the comments received, we have revised the net subsidy rates for Pasta
Zara S.p.A./Pasta Zara 2 S.p.A. and Pastificio Corticella S.p.A./
Pastificio Combattenti S.p.A. Therefore, the final results differ from
the preliminary results. The final net subsidy rates for the reviewed
companies are listed below in the section entitled "Final Results of
Review."
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 7, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melani Miller Harig or Andrew Smith,
AD/CVD Operations, Office 1, Import Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Room 3099, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-0116 and (202) 482-1276,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Case History
On July 24, 1996, the U.S. Department of Commerce ("the
Department") published a countervailing duty order on certain pasta
("pasta" or "subject merchandise") from Italy. See Notice of
Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing
Duty Determination: Certain Pasta From Italy, 61 FR 38544 (July 24,
1996).
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), this review of the order
covers the following producers or exporters of the subject merchandise
for which a review was specifically requested: Pastificio Fratelli
Pagani
[[Page 70658]]
S.p.A. ("Pagani"), Pastificio Corticella S.p.A./Pastificio
Combattenti S.p.A. (collectively, "Corticella/Combattenti"), Pasta
Zara S.p.A./Pasta Zara 2 S.p.A. ("Pasta Zara 2")\1\ (collectively
"Pasta Zara/Pasta Zara 2"), Pasta Lensi S.r.l. ("Lensi"),\2\ and
Pastificio Carmine Russo S.p.A./Pastificio Di Nola S.p.A..
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\1\ During the first part of the period of review (calendar year
2002) ("POR"), Pasta Zara 2 was named Societa per Azioni Pasta
Giulia S.p.A; on September 9, 2002, the company changed its name to
Pasta Zara 2.
\2\ Lensi is the successor-in-interest to IAPC Italia S.r.l. See
Notice of Final Results of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Changed Circumstances Reviews: Certain Pasta from Italy, 68 FR 41553
(July 14, 2003).
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Based on withdrawal of the request for review, we rescinded this
administrative review for Pastificio Antonio Pallante S.r.l. (See
Certain Pasta from Italy: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of
the Seventh Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 69 FR 45676
(July 30, 2004) ("Preliminary Results").)
Since the publication of the Preliminary Results, case briefs were
submitted on August 30, 2004 by Pasta Zara/Pasta Zara 2 and Corticella/
Combattenti. The Department did not conduct a hearing in this review
because none was requested.
Scope of the Review
Imports covered by this review are shipments of certain non-egg dry
pasta in packages of five pounds (2.27 kilograms) or less, whether or
not enriched or fortified or containing milk or other optional
ingredients such as chopped vegetables, vegetable purees, milk, gluten,
diastases, vitamins, coloring and flavorings, and up to two percent egg
white. The pasta covered by this scope is typically sold in the retail
market, in fiberboard or cardboard cartons, or polyethylene or
polypropylene bags of varying dimensions.
Excluded from the scope of this review are refrigerated, frozen, or
canned pastas, as well as all forms of egg pasta, with the exception of
non-egg dry pasta containing up to two percent egg white. Also excluded
are imports of organic pasta from Italy that are accompanied by the
appropriate certificate issued by the Instituto Mediterraneo Di
Certificazione, Bioagricoop S.r.l., QC&I International Services,
Ecocert Italia, Consorzio per il Controllo dei Prodotti Biologici,
Associazione Italiana per l'Agricoltura Biologica, or Codex S.r.L. In
addition, based on publicly available information, the Department has
determined that, as of August 4, 2004, imports of organic pasta from
Italy that are accompanied by the appropriate certificate issued by
Bioagricert S.r.l. are also excluded from this order. See Memorandum
from Eric B. Greynolds to Melissa G. Skinner, dated August 4, 2004,
which is on file in the Department's Central Records Unit ("CRU") in
Room B-099 of the main Department building.
The merchandise subject to review is currently classifiable under
items 1901.90.9095 and 1902.19.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States ("HTSUS"). Although the HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description
of the merchandise subject to the order is dispositive.
Scope Rulings
The Department has issued the following scope rulings to date:
(1) On August 25, 1997, the Department issued a scope ruling that
multicolored pasta, imported in kitchen display bottles of decorative
glass that are sealed with cork or paraffin and bound with raffia, is
excluded from the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty
orders. See Memorandum from Edward Easton to Richard Moreland, dated
August 25, 1997, which is on file in the CRU.
(2) On July 30, 1998, the Department issued a scope ruling finding
that multipacks consisting of six one-pound packages of pasta that are
shrink-wrapped into a single package are within the scope of the
antidumping and countervailing duty orders. See Letter from Susan H.
Kuhbach to Barbara P. Sidari, dated July 30, 1998, which is available
in the CRU.
(3) On October 23, 1997, the petitioners filed an application
requesting that the Department initiate an anti-circumvention
investigation of Barilla S.r.L. ("Barilla"), an Italian producer and
exporter of pasta. The Department initiated the investigation on
December 8, 1997. See Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry on
Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta From Italy, 62 FR 65673
(December 15, 1997). On October 5, 1998, the Department issued its
final determination that, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act effective
January 1, 1995 ("the Act"), circumvention of the antidumping order
on pasta from Italy was occurring by reason of exports of bulk pasta
from Italy produced by Barilla which subsequently were repackaged in
the United States into packages of five pounds or less for sale in the
United States. See Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty
Order on Certain Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Final Determination of
Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order, 63 FR 54672 (October 13,
1998).
(4) On October 26, 1998, the Department self-initiated a scope
inquiry to determine whether a package weighing over five pounds as a
result of allowable industry tolerances is within the scope of the
antidumping and countervailing duty orders. On May 24, 1999, we issued
a final scope ruling finding that, effective October 26, 1998, pasta in
packages weighing or labeled up to (and including) five pounds four
ounces is within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty
orders. See Memorandum from John Brinkmann to Richard Moreland, dated
May 24, 1999, which is available in the CRU.
(5) On April 27, 2000, the Department self-initiated an anti-
circumvention inquiry to determine whether Pagani's importation of
pasta in bulk and subsequent repackaging in the United States into
packages of five pounds or less constitutes circumvention with respect
to the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on pasta from Italy
pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(b). See
Certain Pasta from Italy: Notice of Initiation of Anti-circumvention
Inquiry of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 65 FR 26179
(May 5, 2000). On September 19, 2003, we published an affirmative
finding of the anti-circumvention inquiry. See Anti-Circumvention
Inquiry of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain
Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Final Determinations of Circumvention of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 68 FR 54888 (September 19,
2003).
Period of Review
The period for which we are measuring subsidies, or POR, is January
1, 2002 through December 31, 2002.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised by the interested parties to this administrative
review in the case briefs are addressed in the November 29, 2004
"Issues and Decision Memorandum" from Barbara E. Tillman, Acting
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, to James J.
Jochum, Assistant Secretary for Import Administration ("Decision
Memorandum"), which is hereby adopted by this notice. Attached to this
notice as an appendix is a list of the issues which parties have raised
and to which we have responded in the Decision Memorandum. Parties can
find a complete discussion of all issues
[[Page 70659]]
raised in this review and the corresponding recommendations in this
public memorandum which is on file in the CRU. In addition, a complete
version of the Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the
Internet at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/ under the heading "Italy."
The paper copy and electronic version of the Decision Memorandum
are identical in content.
Changes to the Preliminary Results
Based on our analysis of the comments submitted in the case briefs,
we have made changes in our calculation of the net subsidy rates for
Pasta Zara/Pasta Zara 2 and Corticella/Combattenti. These changes are
discussed in the relevant section of the Decision Memorandum.
Final Results of Review
In accordance with section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.221(b)(5), we calculated an individual subsidy rate for each
producer/exporter covered by this administrative review. For the period
January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002, we determine the net subsidy
rates for producers/exporters under review to be those specified in the
chart shown below:
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Producer/Exporter Net Subsidy Rate
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Pastificio Fratelli Pagani S.p.A.......... 0.06 percent (de minimis)
Pastificio Corticella S.p.A./Pastificio 0.09 percent (de minimis)
Combattenti S.p.A........................
Pasta Zara S.p.A./Pasta Zara 2 S.p.A./ 0.30 percent (de minimis)
Societa per Azioni Pasta Giulia S.p.A....
Pasta Lensi S.r.l......................... 0.00 percent (de minimis)
Pastificio Carmine Russo S.p.A./Pastificio 0.16 percent (de minimis)
Di Nola S.p.A............................
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The calculations will be disclosed to the interested parties in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Because the countervailing duty rates for all of the above-noted
companies are less than 0.5 percent and, consequently, de minimis, we
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("Customs") to
liquidate entries during the period January 1, 2002 through December
31, 2002 without regard to countervailing duties in accordance with 19
CFR 351.106(c)(1). The Department will issue appropriate instructions
directly to Customs within 15 days of publication of these final
results of this review.
For all other companies that were not reviewed (except Barilla G. e
R. F.lli S.p.A. and Gruppo Agricoltura Sana S.r.L., which are excluded
from the order), the Department has directed Customs to assess
countervailing duties on all entries between January 1, 2002 and
December 31, 2002 at the rates in effect at the time of entry.
The Department will also instruct Customs to collect cash deposits
of estimated countervailing duties for the above-noted companies at the
above-noted rates on the f.o.b. value of all shipments of the subject
merchandise from the producers/exporters under review that are entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of the final results of this administrative review. For all
non-reviewed firms (except Barilla G. e R. F.lli S.p.A. and Gruppo
Agricoltura Sana S.r.L., which are excluded from the order), we will
instruct Customs to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing
duties at the most recent company-specific or all-others 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.
This notice serves as a reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order ("APO") of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written
notification of return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: November 29, 2004.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Appendix
List of Comments and Issues in the Decision Memorandum
Comment 1: Corticella/Combattenti and Sgravi Benefits
Comment 2: Benefit for Pasta Zara/Pasta Zara 2's First Law 908/55 Fondo
di Rotazione Iniziative Economiche (Revolving Fund for Economic
Initiatives) ("FRIE") Loan
Comment 3: Benefit for Pasta Zara 2's Second Law 908/55 FRIE Loan
[FR Doc. E4-3476 Filed 12-6-04; 8:45 am]