[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 681-682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-70]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-489-805]


Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review: Certain Pasta From Turkey

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request from Marsan Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret 
A.S. (Marsan), a producer of pasta, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216 and 
351.221(c)(3), the Department is initiating a changed circumstances 
review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta (pasta) from 
Turkey. This review is being conducted to determine whether Marsan is 
the successor-in-interest to Gidasa Sabanci Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. 
(Gidasa) for purposes of determining antidumping duty liability.

DATES: Effective Date: January 7, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Hargett, Office of AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 3, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4161.

Background

    On July 24, 1996, the Department published in the Federal Register 
the antidumping duty order on pasta from Turkey. See Notice of 
Antidumping Duty Order and Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Certain Pasta From Turkey, 61 FR 38545 (July 24, 1996) 
(Pasta from Turkey Order). On December 3, 2008, Marsan filed a request 
for an expedited changed circumstances review to determine whether it 
is the successor-in-interest to Gidasa, in accordance with section 
751(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216. Marsan submitted certain 
information in support of its claim that it is the successor-in-
interest to Gidasa and, therefore, is entitled to Guidasa's current 
antidumping duty cash deposit rate of 0.29 percent.\1\
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    \1\ See Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review: Certain Pasta from Turkey, 64 FR 69493 
(December 13, 1999); see also Notice of Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Reviews: Certain Pasta From Turkey, 68 FR 41554 (July 14, 2003).
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Scope of the Order

    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.
    The merchandise subject to review is currently classifiable under 
item 1902.19.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is

[[Page 682]]

provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description 
of the merchandise subject to the order is dispositive.

Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed circumstances review upon receipt of a request from 
an interested party or receipt of information concerning an antidumping 
duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a 
review of the order. On December 3, 2008, Marsan submitted its request 
for an expedited changed circumstances review. With its request, Marsan 
submitted certain information related to its claim that Gidasa changed 
its name to Marsan, including information describing the acquisition of 
Gidasa by MGS Marmara Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. Based on the 
information Marsan submitted, the Department has determined that 
changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a review exist. See 19 CFR 
351.216(d). In antidumping duty changed circumstances reviews involving 
a successor-in-interest determination, the Department typically 
examines several factors including, but not limited to, changes in: (1) 
Management; (2) production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and 
(4) customer base. See Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada: Final Results 
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 57 FR 20460, 20462 (May 13, 
1992) and Certain Cut-To-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Romania: 
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 70 FR 22847 (May 3, 2005) (Plate from 
Romania), unchanged in Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate 
from Romania, 70 FR 35624 (June 21, 2005). While no single factor or 
combination of factors will necessarily be dispositive, the Department 
generally will consider the new company to be the successor to the 
predecessor company if the resulting operations are essentially the 
same as those of the predecessor company. See, e.g., Industrial 
Phosphoric Acid from Israel: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed 
Circumstances Review, 59 FR 6944, 6945 (February 14, 1994), and Plate 
from Romania, 70 FR 22847. Thus, if 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 predecessor 
company, the Department may assign the successor company the cash 
deposit rate of its predecessor. 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). Although 
Marsan submitted documentation related to its name change and some 
limited information regarding the four factors that the Department 
considers in its successor-in-interest analysis, it did not provide 
complete supporting documentation for the four elements listed above. 
Accordingly, the Department has determined that it would be 
inappropriate to expedite this action by combining the preliminary 
results of review with this notice of initiation, as permitted under 19 
CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii). Thus, the Department is not issuing the 
preliminary results of its antidumping duty changed circumstances 
review at this time.
    The Department will issue questionnaires requesting additional 
information for the review and will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of the preliminary results of the antidumping duty changed 
circumstances review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(2) and (4), 
and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(i). That notice will set forth the factual and 
legal conclusions upon which our preliminary results are based and a 
description of any action proposed. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties will have an opportunity to 
comment on the preliminary results of review. In accordance with 19 CFR 
351.216(e), the Department will issue the final results of its 
antidumping duty changed circumstances review not later than 270 days 
after the date on which the review is initiated.
    During the course of this antidumping duty changed circumstances 
review, deposit requirements for the subject merchandise exported and 
manufactured by Marsan will continue to be the rate established in the 
antidumping duty order, as amended, for all manufacturers and exporters 
not investigated. See Pasta from Turkey Order, 61 FR 38545. The cash 
deposit will be altered, if warranted, pursuant only to the final 
results of this review.
    This notice of initiation is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) 
of the Act, 19 CFR 351.216(b) and (d), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(1).

    Dated: December 31, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-70 Filed 1-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P >