ITA Issues Proposed Rule to Conform AD/CV Sunset Reviews to WTO Obligations
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a proposed rule to amend its regulations at 19 CFR Part 351 on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty sunset reviews in order to conform them to a December 2004 World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) decision.
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Written comments on this proposed rule are due by September 14, 2005.
ITA Proposes to Modify Sunset Regulations to No Longer Make Assumptions, Etc.
Specifically, the ITA is proposing three modifications to the AD/CV sunset review "waiver" provisions in order to ensure that there would no longer be the possibility that the ITA's order-wide likelihood determinations might be based on assumptions about likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping or a countervailable subsidy.
The ITA is also proposing a clarifying change to specify that a due date for certain sunset review case briefs will be established. The proposed changes are as follows:
Statement of Waiver would include additional statement, etc. The ITA is proposing to amend 19 CFR 351.218(d)(2)(ii) in order to require that a party filing a Statement of Waiver include a statement that it is likely to dump or benefit from a countervailable subsidy (as the case may be) or, in the case of a foreign government in a countervailing (CV) duty sunset review, provide a CV subsidy, if the order is revoked or the investigation is terminated.
"Deemed" waiver assumption would be eliminated. The ITA is also proposing to eliminate 19 CFR 351.218(d)(2)(iii) and references to this paragraph. The ITA states that 19 CFR 351.218(d)(2)(iii) provides that an interested party is "deemed" to have waived participation in the sunset review by failing to file a complete substantive response to a notice of initiation. Thus, the ITA would no longer make company-specific likelihood findings for companies that fail to file a statement of waiver and fail to fill a substantive response to the notice of initiation.
Waiver of foreign governments in CV sunset reviews, etc. The ITA states that it is also proposing to modify 19 CFR 351.218(d)(2)(iv)(C) and (e)(1)(ii)(B)(3) which address waiver of participation by a foreign government in a CV duty sunset review to eliminate cross-references to 19 CFR 351.218(d)(2)(iii) and to eliminate certain language that might suggest the possibility that the ITA's order-wide likelihood determination in a CV duty sunset review would be based on assumptions about likelihood of continuation or recurrence of a CV subsidy.
Clarification regarding case briefs in expedited sunset reviews. The ITA is proposing to amend 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(iii) in order to clarify that the Secretary of Commerce would specify a due date for case briefs in an expedited sunset review. The ITA explains that case briefs provide the basis for parties' affirmative presentations at a hearing.
-Written comments due by 09/14/05
ITA Contact - Stacy Ettinger (202) 482-4618
ITA Proposed Rule (D/N 050803215-5215-01, FR Pub 08/15/05) available athttp://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-16133.pdf