[Federal Register: September 4, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 170)]
[Notices]
[Page 50661-50662]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04se07-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-357-812]
Honey from Argentina: Notice of Extension of Time Limit for
Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is rescinding in
part the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey
from Argentina for the period December 1, 2005, to November 30, 2006
with respect to Mielar S.A. (Mielar)/ Compania Apicola Argentina
(CAA).\1\ This partial rescission is based on the withdrawal of the
requests for review by the interested parties that requested the
review. Additionally, the Department is extending the preliminary
results of this administrative review to no later than December 20,
2007.
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\1\ Petitioners requested that the Department review Mielar and
CAA as separate entities. However, in a previous segment of this
proceeding, the Department treated these two companies as a single
entity, and no new evidence has been presented in this segment of
the proceeding to warrant changing this treatment.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: September 4, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Scott or Robert James, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2657 and (202) 482-0649, respectively.
BACKGROUND: On December 1, 2006, the Department published a notice of
opportunity to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty
order on, inter alia, honey from Argentina. See Antidumping or
Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation;
Opportunity to Request Administrative Review, 71 FR 69543 (December 1,
2006). In response, the American Honey Producers Association and the
Sioux Honey Association (collectively, petitioners) timely requested an
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from
Argentina for the December 1, 2005, through November 30, 2006 period of
review (POR). The petitioners requested that the Department conduct an
administrative review of entries of subject merchandise made by nine
Argentine producers/exporters. In addition, the Department received
timely requests for review from six Argentine exporters included in the
petitioners' request and one timely request from a producer/exporter
that was not included in petitioners' requests for review.
On February 2, 2007, the Department initiated a review on the ten
companies\2\ for which an administrative review was requested. See
Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative
Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 72 FR 5005 (February 2,
2007). On March 27, 2007, the Department indicated that it was
selecting for review the four producers/exporters with the largest
export volume during the POR: Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas
(ACA), Mielar/CAA, Nexco S.A. (Nexco), and Seylinco, S.A. (Seylinco).
See the memorandum, ``Selection of Respondents'' to Stephen J. Claeys,
dated March 27, 2007 (Selection Memorandum). Based on the timely
withdrawal of requests for review from the requesting parties, on June
19, 2007, the Department rescinded this review with respect to four
companies, one of which was Nexco. See Honey from Argentina: Notice of
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 72 FR
33740 (June 19, 2007).
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\2\ The Federal Register notice lists 11 companies; however, as
explained in the previous footnote, we are treating Mielar and CAA
as a single entity based on our treatment of these two entities in a
previous segment of this proceeding.
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On July 17, 2007, petitioners and respondent company Mielar/CAA
withdrew their requests for review. See Letters from petitioners and
from Mielar/CAA to the Department, dated July 17, 2007, on file in the
Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main Department building.
Rescission, in Part, of Administrative Review
The applicable regulation, 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), states that if a
party that requested an administrative review withdraws the request
within 90 days of the publication of the notice of initiation of the
requested review, the Secretary will rescind the review in whole or in
part. Furthermore, the regulation states the Secretary may extend this
time limit if the Secretary decides that it is reasonable to do so.
Although both petitioners and Mielar/CAA withdrew their requests
for review after the 90-day deadline, the Department finds it
reasonable to extend the withdrawal deadline because the Department has
not yet devoted significant time or resources to this review, e.g., the
Department has not yet conducted a sales-below cost investigation. As
such, based on prior practice, the Department determines it is
reasonable to extend the time limit in this case and rescind the review
with respect to Mielar/CAA. See, e.g., Honey from Argentina: Notice of
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR
61018 (October 17, 2006). The Department will issue appropriate
assessment instructions for Mielar/CAA directly to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) within 15 days of the publication of this
notice. The Department will direct CBP to assess antidumping duties for
Mielar/CAA at the cash deposit rates in effect on the date of entry for
entries during the period December 1, 2005, through November 30, 2006.
Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results
Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Tariff Act), requires the Department to complete the preliminary
results of an administrative review within 245 days after the last day
of the anniversary month of an order for which a review is requested.
However, if it is not practicable to complete the review within this
time period, section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act allows the
Department to extend the time limit for the preliminary results to a
maximum of 365 days after the last day of the anniversary month of an
order for which a review is requested.
The Department has determined it is not practicable to complete
this review within the statutory time limit because we require
additional time to conduct
[[Page 50662]]
our sales-below-cost investigation. The time needed to analyze cost of
production data and to develop fully the record in this administrative
review makes it impracticable to complete the preliminary results of
this review within the originally specified time limit. Accordingly,
the Department is extending the time limit for completion of the
preliminary results of this administrative review until no later than
December 20, 2007. We intend to issue the final results no later than
120 days after publication of the preliminary results notice.
Notification to Parties
This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their
responsibility under section 351.402(f) of the Department's regulations
to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties
prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this period of
time. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the
Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties
occurred and subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.
This notice also 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 section 351.305(a)(3) of the Department's
regulations. Timely written notification of the return or destruction
of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a sanctionable violation.
This notice is issued and published in accordance with section
351.213(d)(4) of the Department's regulations and sections 751(a)(3)(A)
and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act.
Dated: August 28, 2007.
Stephen J. Claeys,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-17462 Filed 8-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S