Commerce also issued the preliminary results of the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on in-shell raw pistachios from Iran, covering the period Jan. 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2003.

Commerce calculated the individual subsidy rate for Nima, the only producer/exporter subject to this review, at 0 percent. The preliminary results have no impact on duty deposits. Any change comes with release of the final results, which are due in approximately four months.

As Nima is an exporter but not a producer, the final results will apply to merchandise exported by Nima and produced by Nima’s supplier of pistachios, Razi. Assuming the final results are the same as the preliminary results, the cash deposit rate for merchandise exported by Nima and produced by Maghsoudi Farms will be 23.18 percent, the rate calculated for Nima and Maghsoudi Farms in a new shipper review. For merchandise exported by Nima but not produced by Razi or Maghsoudi Farms, the cash deposit rate will be the “all others'” rate established in the original CVD investigation, 99.52 percent.