[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 231 (Friday, November 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60682-60683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30479]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-570-845]
Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Brake Drums From the People's Republic of China
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 29, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian C. Smith or Dennis McClure,
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department
of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1766 or (202) 482-3530, respectively.
The Applicable Statute
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 Rounds Agreements Act.
Amendment to the Brake Drums Preliminary Determination
We are amending the preliminary determination of sales at less than
fair value for brake drums \1\ from the People's Republic of China (the
PRC) to reflect the correction of ministerial errors made in the margin
calculations in that determination. We are publishing this amendment to
the preliminary determination, consistent with Departmental policy as
reflected in the proposed regulations. 19 CFR Parts 351, 353, and 355,
Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Proposed Rule, 61 FR 7308,
7373, (February 27, 1996), at 19 CFR Sec. 351.224.
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\1\ No amendments have been made to the margins in the companion
investigation of Brake Rotors from the PRC.
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Case History and Amendment of the Brake Drums Preliminary Determination
On October 3, 1996, the Department of Commerce (the Department)
preliminarily determined, in separate investigations pursuant to
section 733 of the Act, that brake drums and brake rotors from the PRC
are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than
fair value (61 FR 53190 (October 10, 1996)). On October 18, 1996,
certain respondents \2\ alleged that the Department made ministerial
errors in the brake drums and brake rotors preliminary determinations.
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\2\ China National Automotive Industry Import & Export
Corporation, Shandong Laizhou CAPCO Industry Corporation, and CAPCO
International USA, Yantai Import & Export Corporation (Yantai),
Qingdao Metal & Machinery Import & Export Corporation (Qingdao),
Beijing Xinchangyuan Automobile Fittings Corporation,
Ltd.(Xinchangyuan), China National Machinery Import & Export
Corporation (CMC), China National Machinery and Equipment Import &
Export(Xinjiang) Corporation, Ltd., Hebei Metals and Machinery
Import & Export Corporation, Longjing Walking Tractor Works Foreign
Trade Import & Export Corporation, Shanxi Machinery and Equipment
Import & Export Corporation, China North Industries Dalian
Corporation (Dalian Norinco) and China North Industries Guangzhou
Corporation.
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The Department's proposed regulations provide that the Department
will correct any significant ministerial error by amending the
preliminary determination. A significant ministerial error is an error
the correction of which, either singly or in combination with other
errors:
(1) Would result in a change of at least five absolute percentage
points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the weighted-average
dumping margin or the countervailable subsidy rate (whichever is
applicable) calculated in the original (erroneous) preliminary
determination; or
(2) Would result in a difference between a weighted-average dumping
margin or countervailable subsidy rate (whichever is applicable) of
zero (or de minimis) and a weighted-average dumping margin or
countervailable subsidy rate of greater than de minimis, or vice versa.
Proposed 19 CFR 351.224(g), 61 FR at 7374.
The respondents made three clerical error allegations, which are
addressed individually below. See also November 4, 1996, Memorandum to
Barbara Stafford. The petitioners did not make any clerical error
allegations.
Valuation of Steel Sheet
The respondents assert that the Department inadvertently selected a
surrogate price for steel plate to value steel sheet used by the
following three factories: (1) Longkou Botai Machinery Co., Ltd.; (2)
Changzhi Automotive Parts Factory; and (3) Xingchangyuan.
We agree with the respondents that our selection of the price used
to value steel sheet constitutes a ministerial error. In our
supplemental questionnaires, we requested each respondent to describe
further its factor inputs, including what they initially reported as
steel plate. In the respondent's supplemental responses, three
factories reported the use of steel with dimensions corresponding to
steel sheet. Therefore, we are using the surrogate value for steel
sheet shown on page 20 of the October 3, 1996, General Issues and
Factors Valuation Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations, to
value the material originally reported by these three factories as
steel plate.
Tax Treatment of Scrap Value
The respondents argue that the Department erred in using domestic
prices for steel scrap and iron scrap that included taxes when tax-
exclusive import prices were available. The respondents further assert
that if the Department did intend to use domestic scrap prices, the
Department should have deducted the tax amount from domestic prices
just as it did for pig iron.
We agree with the respondents that the domestic prices of iron
scrap and steel scrap should be exclusive of taxes. Therefore, based on
information on the record, we have recalculated the surrogate values
for iron scrap and steel scrap to be exclusive of taxes.
Denial of Separate Rate
In the companion brake rotors investigation, Dalian Norinco asserts
that the Washington Post articles, upon which the Department relied in
its decision to deny a separate rate to Dalian Norinco, do not refer to
Dalian Norinco. It argues that these articles refer to the national
corporation, NORINCO, which is located in Dalian, not Dalian Norinco.
Therefore, Dalian argues that the Department based its decision on a
factual misreading of Dalian Norinco's response, which constitutes a
ministerial error.
We disagree with the respondent that not granting Dalian Norinco a
separate rate in the preliminary determination was a ministerial error.
In our October 3, 1996, concurrence memorandum, we stated that we had
concerns regarding de facto government control of Dalian Norinco. We
did not base our decision solely on articles appearing in the
[[Page 60683]]
Washington Post. Our decision not to grant a separate rate to Dalian
Norinco was also based on other information on the record which did not
establish that Dalian Norinco was separate from the national
corporation, NORINCO.
We do not find this issue to be ministerial in nature. However, we
will examine this issue further for the final determination.
Conclusion
Our analysis of the clerical allegations included an analysis of
the calculations for all the selected respondents and the respondents
not selected.
For brake drum respondents Yantai, Xinchangyuan, and Qingdao, we
are correcting the clerical errors mentioned above at this time,
because we have found them to be significant. Based upon the revised
margins for Yantai, Xinchangyuan, and Qingdao, we will also amend the
weighted-average dumping margin used for the respondents not
selected.3 We will not amend the preliminary margin for the
selected respondent CMC, because the change in the margin calculated
for CMC would be less than five absolute percentage points;
furthermore, CMC's margin will not change from not de minimis to de
minimis, since it is already de minimis. See proposed regulation
351.224(g)(2). The China-Wide Rate used in the brake drums
investigation remains unchanged.
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\3\ Given that we did not have the administrative resources to
analyze the responses of all participating exporters, we determined
that our investigations would be limited to the analysis of the
sales of the seven largest PRC brake rotor exporters and the five
largest brake drum exporters to the United States. For the
responding firms that were not selected, we have assigned a
weighted-average dumping margin based on the calculated margins
which were not de minimis.
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In the companion investigation of Brake Rotors from the PRC, we are
not making any corrections at this time, because the correction of the
two ministerial errors described above would result in a change of less
than five absolute percentage points for all the selected respondents
except Southwest Technical Import & Export Corporation, and Yangtze
Machinery Corporation (Southwest). However, the change in margin for
Southwest would be less than 25 percent of the weighted-average dumping
margin calculated in the original brake rotors preliminary
determination for that firm, and thus does not meet our criteria for a
significant ministerial error.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation, and Termination of
Suspension of Liquidation, in Part
The weighted-average dumping margins have changed for the following
companies in the brake drums investigation. For the exporter Beijing
Xinchangyuan Automobile Fittings Corporation, Ltd., the amended
preliminary weighted-average margin is de minimis. Accordingly, we are
directing Customs to terminate the suspension of liquidation for
shipments of brake drums entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after October 10, 1996, and to release any bond or
other security, and refund any cash deposit, posted for entries of
subject merchandise produced and exported by Beijing Xinchangyuan
Automobile Fittings Corporation, Ltd. For the remaining exporters, in
accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, the Department will direct
the Customs Service to continue to require a cash deposit or posting of
a bond equal to the estimated dumping margins by which the normal value
exceeds the U.S. price, as shown below.
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Weighted-average
Manufacturer/producer/exporter margin percentage
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Yantai Import & Export Corporation................... 6.88
Qingdao Metal & Machinery Import & Export Corporation 2.36
Beijing Xinchangyuan Automobile Fittings Corporation,
Ltd................................................. 1.33 (de minimis)
Respondents Not Selected:
China National Automotive Industry Import & Export
Corporation, Shandong Laizhou CAPCO Industry
Corporation, and CAPCO International USA.......... 4.62
Shandong Jiuyang Enterprise Corporation............ 4.62
Hebei Metals and Machinery Import & Export
Corporation....................................... 4.62
Longjing Walking Tractor Works Foreign Trade Import
& Export Corporation.............................. 4.62
Shanxi Machinery and Equipment Import & Export
Corporation....................................... 4.62
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This amended preliminary determination is published pursuant to
section 733(f) of the Act.
Dated: November 21, 1996.
Barbara R. Stafford,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-30479 Filed 11-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
