01-28533. Structural Steel Beams From the Republic of Korea: Notice of Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of preliminary results of changed circumstances antidumping duty administrative review.

SUMMARY:

On October 1, 2001, the Department of Commerce (“Department”) published a notice of initiation in the above-named case. As a result of this review, the Department preliminarily finds for the purposes of this proceeding that INI Steel Company is the successor-in-interest to Inchon Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

November 14, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cheryl Werner or Laurel LaCivita, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone [phone] and [phone], respectively.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of 1930 (“the Act”) by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR part 351 (2001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In an August 6, 2001, letter to the Department, INI Steel Company (“INI”), formerly Inchon Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (“Inchon”), notified the Department that as of August 1, 2001, Inchon's corporate name had changed to INI Steel Company. INI requested that the Department conduct an expedited changed circumstances review to confirm that INI is the successor-in-interest to Inchon. Since the Department had insufficient information on the record concerning this corporate name change, the Department concluded that it would be inappropriate to conduct an expedited changed circumstances review and issue a preliminary results concurrent with the initiation of a changed circumstance review. Thus the Department published only a notice of initiation. (See Notice of Initiation of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 66 FR 49929 (October 1, 2001) (“Notice of Initiation”). On October 17, 2001, the Department sent a questionnaire to INI requesting more information. On October 24, 2001, the Department received INI's response to the questionnaire. INI provided documentation on the name change requested by the Department consisting of: the minutes of Inchon's July 27, 2001 shareholders' meeting where the name change was approved; the Inchon District Court's official certification of the name change registered on July 31, 2001; INI's Business Registration Certificate issued on August 1, 2001 by the Inchon Tax Office; organization charts before and after the corporate name change; a list of the Board of Directors before and after the corporate name change; a chart of suppliers before and after the corporate name change; and a customer list before and after the name change.

Scope of the Review

The products covered by this review include structural steel beams that are doubly-symmetric shapes, whether hot-or cold-rolled, drawn, extruded, formed or finished, having at least one dimension of at least 80 mm (3.2 inches or more), whether of carbon or alloy (other than stainless) steel, and whether or not drilled, punched, notched, painted, coated or clad. These products include, but are not limited to, wide-flange beams (“W” shapes), bearing piles (“HP” shapes), standard beams (“S” or “I” shapes), and M-shapes.

All products that meet the physical and metallurgical descriptions provided above are within the scope of this investigation unless otherwise excluded. The following products are outside and/or specifically excluded from the scope of this investigation: structural steel beams greater than 400 pounds per linear foot or with a web or section height (also known as depth) over 40 inches.

The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) at subheadings: 7216.32.0000, 7216.33.0030, 7216.33.0060, 7216.33.0090, 7216.50.0000, 7216.61.0000, 7216.69.0000, 7216.91.0000, 7216.99.0000, 7228.70.3040, 7228.70.6000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Preliminary Results

In making successor-in-interest determinations, the Department examines several factors including, but not limited to, changes in: (1) Management; (2) production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and (4) customer base. See e.g., Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 57 FR 20460, 20461 (May 13, 1992). While no single factor, or combination of factors, will necessarily be dispositive, the Department will generally consider the new company to be the successor to its predecessor company if the resulting operations are essentially the same as the predecessor company. E.g, id. and Industrial Phosphoric Acid from Israel; Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 59 FR 6944, 6945 (February 14, 1994). Thus, if the evidence demonstrates that, with respect to the production and sale of the subject merchandise, the new company operates as the same business entity as its predecessor, the Department will treat the new company as the successor-in-interest to the predecessor.

Based on the information submitted by INI during the course of this changed circumstances review, we preliminarily find that INI is the successor-in-interest to Inchon because we preliminarily find that the company's organizational structure, senior management, production facilities, supplier relationships, and customers have remained essentially unchanged after the name change with respect to the subject merchandise. Furthermore, INI has provided sufficient internal and public documentation of the name change. If there are no changes in the final results of the changed circumstances review, INI shall retain the antidumping duty deposit rate assigned to Inchon by the Department in the most recent administrative review of the subject merchandise.

We are issuing and publishing this finding and notice in accordance with sections 751(b) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3) and 19 CFR 351.216.

Public Comment

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310, any interested party may request a hearing within 10 days of publication of this notice. Case briefs and/or written comments from interested parties may be submitted no later than 21 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals comments, limited to the issues raised in those case briefs or comments, may be filed no later than 28 days after the publication of this notice. All written comments must be submitted and served on all interested parties on the Department's service list in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303. Any hearing, if requested, will be held no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice, or the first working day thereafter. Persons interested in attending the hearing should contact the Department for the date and time of the hearing. The Department will publish in the Federal Register a notice of final results of this changed circumstances antidumping duty administrative review, including the results of its analysis of any issues raised in any written comments.

During the course of this changed circumstances review, we will not change any cash deposit instructions on the merchandise subject to this changed circumstances review, unless a change is determined to be warranted pursuant to the final results of this review.

This notice is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3).

Dated: November 7, 2001.

Faryar Shirzad,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.