[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 217 (Monday, November 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71315-71317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24835]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-475-818]
Certain Pasta From Italy: Initiation and Preliminary Results of
Changed Circumstances Review
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a changed
circumstances review (CCR) to
[[Page 71316]]
determine if Newlat Food S.p.A. (Newlat) is the successor-in-interest
to Delverde Industrie Alimentari S.p.A. (Delverde) in the context of
the antidumping duty order on certain pasta from Italy. We
preliminarily determine that Newlat is not the successor-in-interest to
Delverde.
DATES: Applicable November 9, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Hoffner, AD/CVD Operations,
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-3315.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 14, 1996, Commerce published in the Federal Register an
antidumping duty (AD) order on certain pasta from Italy.\1\ On July 30,
2020, Newlat requested that, pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b), Commerce
initiate and conduct a CCR of the Order to determine if Newlat is the
successor-in-interest to Delverde. Newlat also requested that Commerce
issue the preliminary results of this CCR in conjunction with the
notice of initiation, as permitted under 19 CFR 315.221(c)(3)(ii).\2\
The domestic industry has filed no comments in response to the request
for a CCR.
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\1\ See Notice of Antidumping Duty Order and Amended Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Pasta From
Italy, 61 FR 38544 (July 24, 1996) (Order); see also Notice of
Second Amendment to the Final Determination and Antidumping Duty
Order: Certain Pasta From Italy, 61 FR 42231 (August 14, 1996).
\2\ See Newlat's Letter, ``Certain Pasta from Italy--Request for
Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated July 30, 2020 (Newlat CCR
Request).
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Scope of the Order
Imports covered by this Order are shipments of certain non-egg dry
pasta in packages of five pounds four ounces or less, whether or not
enriched or fortified or containing milk or other optional ingredients
such as chopped vegetables, vegetable purees, milk, gluten, diastasis,
vitamins, coloring and flavorings, and up to two percent egg white. The
pasta covered by the scope of the Order 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 Order 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. 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 Order.\3\ Pursuant to Commerce's August 14, 2009,
changed circumstances review, effective July 1, 2008, gluten free pasta
is also excluded from the scope of the order.\4\ Effective January 1,
2012, ravioli and tortellini filled with cheese and/or vegetables are
also excluded from the scope of the Order.\5\
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\3\ See Memorandum to Richard Moreland, dated August 25, 1997,
which is on file in the Central Records Unit.
\4\ See Certain Pasta from Italy: Notice of Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation, in
Part, 74 FR 41120 (August 14, 2009).
\5\ See Certain Pasta from Italy: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty and Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews and
Revocation, in Part, 79 FR 58319, 58320 (September 29, 2014).
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Also excluded are imports of organic pasta from Italy that are
certified by an EU authorized body in accordance with the United States
Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program for organic
products. The organic pasta certification must be retained by exporters
and importers and made available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection
or the Department of Commerce upon request.
The merchandise subject to this Order is currently classifiable
under items 1901.90.90.95 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.
Initiation of CCR
Pursuant to section 751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d),
Commerce will conduct a CCR upon receipt of a request from an
interested party or receipt of information which shows changed
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of the order. The
information provided by Newlat demonstrates changed circumstances
sufficient to warrant a review to determine if Newlat is the successor-
in-interest to Delverde, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(d).
Therefore, in accordance with section 751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.216(d), Commerce is initiating a CCR to determine whether
Newlat is the successor-in-interest to Delverde for purposes of the
Order.
Section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of Commerce's regulations permits
Commerce to combine the notice of initiation and the preliminary
results if Commerce concludes that expedited action is warranted.\6\ In
this instance, because the record contains information necessary to
make a preliminary finding, we find that expedited action is warranted
and have combined the notice of initiation and the notice of
preliminary results.\7\
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\6\ See Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed
Circumstances Reviews: Antidumping Duty Orders on Crystalline
Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules,
from the People's Republic of China and Antidumping Duty Order on
Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from the People's
Republic of China; 82 FR 12558 (March 6, 2017) and accompanying
Preliminary Decision Memorandum, unchanged in Antidumping Duty
Orders on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not
Assembled Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China and
Antidumping Duty Orders on Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic
Products from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of
Changed Circumstances Reviews, 82 FR 17797 (April 13, 2017).
\7\ See 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii); see also Certain Pasta from
Italy: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Changed Circumstances Review, 80 FR 33480, 33480-41 (June 12,
2015)], unchanged in Certain Pasta from Italy: Final Results of
Changed Circumstances Review, 80 FR 48807 (August 14, 2015).
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Methodology
In this CCR, pursuant to section 751(b) of the Act, Commerce
conducted a successor-in-interest analysis. In making a successor-in-
interest determination, Commerce examines several factors, including,
but not limited to, changes in the following: (1) Management; (2)
production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and (4) customer
base.\8\ While no single factor or combination of factors will
necessarily provide a dispositive indication of succession, generally,
Commerce will consider the company to be a successor to the previous
company if the new company's operation is not materially dissimilar to
that of its predecessor.\9\ Thus, if the record evidence demonstrates
that, with respect to the production and sale of the subject
merchandise, the new company operates as the same business entity as
the prior company, Commerce may assign the new company the cash deposit
rate of its predecessor.\10\
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\8\ See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France:
Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, 75 FR 34688 (June 18,
2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1.
\9\ See, e.g., Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon from Norway;
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 64 FR 9979, 9980 (March 1, 1999) (Salmon from
Norway).
\10\ See, e.g., Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and
Tubes from Taiwan: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review, 70 FR 17063, 17064 (April 4, 2005); and Salmon
from Norway, 64 FR at 9980.
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[[Page 71317]]
Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review
We preliminarily determine that Newlat is not the successor-in-
interest to Delverde. Record evidence submitted by Newlat indicates
that the post-merger entity (i.e., Newlat, which includes Delverde)
does not operate as essentially the same business entity as the pre-
merger Delverde with respect to the subject merchandise.\11\ For the
complete successor-in-interest analysis, refer to the accompanying
successor-in-interest memorandum.\12\
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\11\ See Newlat CCR Request.
\12\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Pasta from Italy: Initiation and
Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated
concurrently with this notice.
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Public Comment
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may
submit case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of publication
of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case
briefs, may be filed no later than seven days after the case briefs, in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(d). Parties who submit case or rebuttal
briefs are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of
authorities.\13\
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\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a
hearing within 30 days of publication of this notice. Interested
parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the
case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of
Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone
number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a
foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at
a date and time to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone
the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the
scheduled date. Parties are reminded that briefs and hearing requests
are to be filed electronically using Enforcement and Compliance's
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service
System, available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov and
that electronically filed documents must be received successfully in
their entirety by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Note that
Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until
further notice.\14\
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\14\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020) (Temporary Rule); and
Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-
19, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we will issue the final results
of this CCR no later than 270 days after the date on which this review
was initiated, or within 45 days of publication of these preliminary
results if all parties agree to our preliminary finding.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(b), 351.221(b) and
351.221(c)(3).
Dated: November 3, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-24835 Filed 11-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P