[Federal Register: June 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 125)]
[Notices]
[Page 37056-37057]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jn06-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
(C-507-501)
Certain In-shell Pistachios from the Islamic Republic of Iran:
Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On February 22, 2006, the Department of Commerce (the
Department) published in the Federal Register its preliminary results
in the countervailing duty (CVD) administrative review of certain in-
shell pistachios from Iran. See Certain In-shell Pistachios from the
Islamic Republic of Iran: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review, 71 FR 9091 (Preliminary Results). The Department
has now completed this administrative review in accordance with section
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Based on information received since the Preliminary Results and our
analysis of the comments received, the Department has not revised the
net subsidy rate for Tehran Negah Nima Trading Company, Inc., trading
as Nima Trading Company (Nima), the respondent company in this
proceeding. For further discussion of our positions, see the ``Issues
and Decision Memorandum'' from Stephen J. Claeys, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Import Administration, to David M. Spooner, Assistant
Secretary for Import Administration, concerning the ``Final Results of
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review: Certain In-shell Pistachios
from the Islamic Republic of Iran'' (Decision Memorandum) dated June
22, 2006. The final net subsidy rate for the reviewed company is listed
below in the section entitled ``Final Results of Review.''
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 29, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darla Brown, AD/CVD Operations, Office
3, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4014, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482-2786.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 7, 2005, the Department published in the Federal
Register its Preliminary Results. We invited interested parties to
comment on these results. Since the preliminary results, we received
case briefs from petitioners\1\ on March 24, 2006. Neither Nima nor the
Government of Iran (GOI) submitted a brief.
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\1\ Petitioners include the California Pistachios Commission
(CPC) and its members and a domestic interested party, Cal Pure
Pistachios, Inc. (Cal Pure).
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In accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), this administrative review
covers only those producers or exporters for which a review was
specifically requested. Accordingly, this administrative review covers
Nima for the period of review (POR) January 1, 2004, through December
31, 2004.
Scope of the Order
For purposes of this order, the product covered is in-shell
pistachio nuts from which the hulls have been removed, leaving the
inner hard shells and edible meat, as currently classifiable in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS) under item
number 0802.50.20.00. The HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience
and customs purposes. The written description of the scope is
dispositive.
Analysis of Comments Received
For a discussion of the programs and the issues raised in the
briefs by parties to this review, see the Decision Memorandum, which is
hereby adopted by this notice. A listing of the issues which parties
raised and to which we have responded, which are in the Decision
Memorandum, is attached to this notice as Appendix I. Parties can find
a complete discussion of the issues raised in this review and the
corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum, which is on
file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main Commerce
building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memorandum
can be accessed directly on the World Wide Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn.
The paper copy and electronic version of the
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
Use of Facts Available
The Department has concluded that the GOI and Nima did not act to
the best of their abilities in providing responses to the Department,
in accordance with sections 776(a) and 776(b) of the Act. Specifically,
neither the GOI nor Nima submitted questionnaire responses to the
Department. By failing to respond to our questionnaire, Nima and the
GOI have failed to provide information regarding subsidy programs in
Iran, as well as Nima's sales, in the manner explicitly requested by
the Department. Therefore, we must resort to the facts otherwise
available pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act. Furthermore, in
selecting from among the facts available, the Department has determined
that an adverse inference is warranted, pursuant to section 776(b) of
the Act because, despite the Department's efforts, Nima and the GOI did
not respond to our questionnaires.
In the instant case, the Department is relying on information from
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing
Duty Order: In-shell Pistachios from Iran, 51 FR 8344 (March 11, 1986)
(In-shell Pistachios); Certain In-Shell Pistachios and Certain Roasted
In-Shell Pistachios from the Islamic Republic of Iran: Final Results of
New Shipper Countervailing Duty Reviews, 68 FR 4997 (January 31, 2003)
(Pistachios New Shipper Reviews); and Certain In-shell Pistachios from
the Islamic Republic of Iran: Final Results
[[Page 37057]]
of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 70 FR 54027 (September
13, 2005) (2003 In-shell Pistachios).
If the Department relies on secondary information (e.g., data from
a petition) as facts available, section 776(c) of the Act provides that
the Department shall, ``to the extent practicable,'' corroborate such
information using independent sources reasonably at its disposal.\2\
The SAA further provides that to corroborate secondary information
means that the Department will satisfy itself that the secondary
information to be used has probative value. See also 19 CFR 351.308(d)
(describing the corroboration of secondary information).
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\2\ The Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the URAA
clarifies that information from the petition is ``secondary
information.'' See Statement of Administrative Action, URAA, H. Doc.
No. 316, Vol. 1, 103d Cong. (1994) (SAA) at 870.
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Thus, in those instances in which it determines to apply adverse
facts available, the Department, in order to satisfy itself that such
information has probative value, will examine, to the extent
practicable, the reliability and relevance of the information used.
However, unlike other types of information, such as publicly available
data on the national inflation rate of a given country or national
average interest rates, there typically are no independent sources for
data on company-specific benefits resulting from countervailable
subsidy programs. The only source for such information normally is
administrative determinations. In the instant case, no evidence has
been presented or obtained which contradicts the reliability of the
evidence relied upon in previous segments of this proceeding.
With respect to the relevance aspect of corroboration, the
Department will consider information reasonably at its disposal as to
whether there are circumstances that would render benefit data not
relevant. Where circumstances indicate that the information is not
appropriate as adverse facts available, the Department will not use it.
See Fresh Cut Flowers from Mexico; Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 61 FR 6812 (February 22, 1996). In the instant
case, no evidence has been presented or obtained which contradicts the
relevance of the benefit data relied upon in previous segments of this
proceeding. Thus, in the instant case, the Department finds that the
information used has been corroborated to the extent practicable.
For further discussion, see the ``Use of Facts Available'' section
of the Decision Memorandum.
Final Results of Review
In accordance with section 777A(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.221(b)(5), we calculated an ad valorem subsidy rate for Nima, the
only producer/exporter subject to this review, for the POR, calendar
year 2004.
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Producer/Exporter Net Subsidy Rate
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Tehran Negah Nima Trading Company, Inc., trading as 71.10 percent ad
Nima Trading Company (Nima)........................ valorem
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As Nima is the exporter but not the producer of subject
merchandise, the Department's final results of review apply only to
subject merchandise exported by Nima and produced by any company which
produces the subject merchandise. See 19 CFR 351.107(b) (providing that
the Department may establish a combination rate for each combination of
exporter and its supplying producer).
Therefore, we will issue the following cash deposit requirements,
within 15 days of publication of the final results of the instant
review, for all shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication:
(1) For merchandise exported by Nima, the cash deposit rate will be
71.10 percent ad valorem, i.e., the rate calculated in the final
results of the instant administrative review; (2) if the exporter is
not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original CVD
investigation, but the producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the
rate established for the most recent period for the producer of the
merchandise; and (3) if neither the exporter nor producer is a firm
covered in this review, a prior review, or the original investigation,
the cash deposit rate will continue to be 99.52 percent ad valorem, the
``All Others'' rate from the final determination in the original
investigation.
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 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written
notification of return/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.
This administrative review and notice are issued and published in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1), 751(a)(3) and 777(i)(1) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).
Dated: June 22, 2006.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Appendix I - Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Methodology and Background Information
Use of Facts Available
II. Analysis of Programs
Programs Determined to Be Countervailable
1. Provision of Fertilizer and Machinery
2. Provision of Credit
3. Tax Exemptions
4. Provision of Water and Irrigation Equipment
5. Technical Support
6. Duty Refunds on Imported Raw or Intermediate Materials Used in the
Production of Export Goods
7. Program to Improve Quality of Exports of Dried Fruit
8. Iranian Export Guarantee Fund
9. GOI Grants and Loans to Pistachio Farmers
10. Crop Insurance for Pistachios
III. Total Ad Valorem Rate
IV. Analysis of Comments
Comment 1: Combination Rate
Comment 2: Additional Subsidy Programs
[FR Doc. E6-10223 Filed 6-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S