[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7238-7240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4418]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-122-601]
Brass Sheet and Strip From Canada; Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review.
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SUMMARY: In response to a request from one respondent, the Department
of Commerce (the Department) has conducted an administrative review of
the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Canada. The
review covers one manufacturer/exporter of the subject merchandise to
the United States for the period January 1, 1994 through December 31,
1994.
We have preliminarily determined that U.S. sales have not been made
below the normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted
in our final results of administrative review, we will instruct U.S.
Customs to assess antidumping duties equal to the difference between
the United States price (USP) and the NV. Interested parties are
invited to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit
arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit with the argument
(1) a statement of the issue, and (2) a brief summary of the argument.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 27, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen H. Park or John Kugelman, Office
of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230, telephone: (202)
482-5253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 12, 1987, the Department published in the Federal
Register (52 FR 1217) the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and
strip (BSS) from Canada. On January 12, 1995, the Department published
in the Federal Register a notice of ``Opportunity to Request an
Administrative Review'' of this antidumping duty order for the period
of January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994 (60 FR 2941). We received
a timely request for review from the respondent, Wolverine Tube
(Canada), Inc. (Wolverine). On February 15, 1995, the Department
initiated a review of Wolverine (60 FR 8629). The period of review
(POR) is January 1, 1994 though December 31, 1994.
The Applicable Statute
Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), are references to the provisions effective
January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Act
by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
Scope of the Review
Imports covered by the review are shipments of BSS, other than
leaded and tin BSS. The chemical composition of the covered products is
currently defined in the Copper Development Association (C.D.A.) 200
Series or the Unified Numbering System (U.N.S.) C2000. Products whose
chemical composition is defined by other C.D.A. or U.N.S. series are
not covered by this order.
The physical dimensions of the products covered by this review are
BSS of solid rectangular cross section over 0.006 inches (0.15
millimeters) through 0.188 inches (4.8 millimeters) in finished
thickness or gauge, regardless of width. Coil, wound-on-reels (traverse
wound), and cut-to-length products are included. During the review
period such merchandise was classifiable under Harmonized Tariff
Schedule (HTS) subheadings 7409.21.00 and 7409.29.00. Although the HTS
subheadings are provided for convenience and for Customs purposes, the
written description of the scope of this order remains dispositive.
Pursuant to the final affirmative determination of circumvention of
antidumping duty order, we determined that brass plate used in the
production of BSS falls within the scope of the antidumping duty order
on BSS from Canada. See Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada: Final
Affirmative Determination of Circumvention of Antidumping Duty Order,
58 FR 33610 (June 18, 1993).
The review covers one Canadian manufacturer/exporter, Wolverine,
and the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994.
United States Price (USP)
In calculating USP for Wolverine, the Department treated
respondent's sales as export price (EP), as defined in section 772(a)
of the Act, because the subject merchandise was sold to unaffiliated
U.S. purchasers prior to the date of importation.
We calculated EP based on packed, delivered, duty-paid prices to
unaffiliated customers in the United States. We made deductions from
the gross unit price, where appropriate, for inland freight--plant/
warehouse to port of exit, brokerage and handling, international
freight, and U.S. customs duty, in accordance with section 772(c)(2)(A)
of the Act. We added to the gross unit price packing costs for shipment
to the United States, where applicable, pursuant to section
772(c)(1)(A) of the Act.
No other adjustments to USP were claimed or allowed.
Cost of Production Analysis
Because the Department disregarded sales below the cost of
production (COP) in the last completed review of Wolverine, we have
reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales below the COP may
have occurred during this review. See Section 773(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the
Act and Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada; Final Results of Antidumping
Administrative Review, 60 FR 49582 (September 26, 1995). Therefore,
pursuant to section 773(b)(1) of the Act, we initiated a COP
investigation of Wolverine.
In accordance with section 773(b)(3) of the Act, we calculated the
COP based on the sum of the costs of materials and fabrication employed
in producing the foreign like product, plus selling, general and
administrative expenses (SG&A) and the cost of all expenses incidental
to placing the foreign like product in condition packed ready for
shipment. We relied on the home market sales and COP information
provided by Wolverine in its questionnaire responses.
We compared COP to the reported home market prices on a product-
specific basis, less any applicable movement charges, and rebates. In
accordance with section 773(b)(1) of the Act, in determining whether to
disregard home market sales made at prices below the COP, we examined
whether such sales were made within an extended period of time in
substantial quantities, and whether such sales were made at prices
which permitted recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of
time.
Pursuant to section 773(b)(2)(C) of the Act, where less than 20
percent of
[[Page 7239]]
Wolverine's home market sales of a given product were at prices less
than the COP, we did not disregard any below-cost sales of that product
because we determined that the below-cost sales were not made within an
extended period of time in ``substantial quantities.'' Where 20 percent
or more of Wolverine's home market sales of a given product were at
prices less than the COP, we disregarded the below-cost sales because
we determined that the below-cost sales were made within an extended
period of time in ``substantial quantities'', in accordance with
section 773(b)(2)(B) of the Act, and because we determined that the
below-cost home market sales of a given product were at prices which
would not permit recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of
time, in accordance with section 773(b)(2)(D) of the Act.
The results of our cost test indicated that within an extended
period of time, for certain home market products, more than 20 percent
of the home market sales were sold at prices below the COP. In
addition, no evidence was presented to indicate that below-cost prices
would permit the recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of
time. Thus, we excluded these below-cost sales and used the remaining
above-cost sales as the basis for determining NV, in accordance with
section 773(b)(1) of the Act.
Normal Value (NV)
Based on a comparison of the aggregate quantity of home market and
U.S. sales, and absent any information that a particular market
situation in the exporting country does not permit a proper comparison,
we determined that the quantity of foreign like product sold in the
exporting country was sufficient to permit a proper comparison with the
sales of the subject merchandise to the United States, pursuant to
section 773(a) of the Act. Therefore, in accordance with section
773(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we based NV on the prices at which the
foreign like products were first sold for consumption in the exporting
country.
Pursuant to section 777A(d)(2) of the Act, we compared the EPs of
individual transactions to the monthly weighted-average price of sales
of the foreign like product. We compared EP sales to sales in the home
market of identical merchandise.
We based NV on the price at which the foreign like product is first
sold for consumption in the exporting country, in the usual commercial
quantities and in the ordinary course of trade and, to the extent
practicable, at the same level of trade as the EP, in accordance with
section 773(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act. We made adjustments, where
applicable, for expenses incident to placing the foreign like product
in condition packed ready for shipment to the place of delivery to the
purchaser and home market credit expenses, in accordance with section
773(a)(6)(B)(ii) of the Act. We increased home market price by U.S.
packing costs in accordance with section 773(a)(6)(A) of the Act and
reduced it by home market packing costs in accordance with section
773(a)(6)(B) of the Act. Prices were reported net of value-added taxes
(VAT) and, therefore, no adjustment for VAT was necessary. In
accordance with section 773(a)(6)(C) of the Act, we increased NV by
adding U.S. credit expense. No other adjustments were claimed or
allowed.
Preliminary Results of the Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the
following weighted-average dumping margin exists:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margin
Manufacturer/Exporter Period (percent)
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Wolverine Tube (Canada), Inc.................... 1/01/94-12/
31/94 0.00
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Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within five days
of the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may
request a hearing within 10 days of publication. Any hearing, if
requested, will be held 44 days after the date of publication, or the
first workday thereafter. Case briefs and/or written comments from
interested parties may be submitted not later than 30 days after the
date of publication. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written comments,
limited to issues raised in the case briefs and comments, may be filed
not later than 37 days after the date of publication. Parties who
submit argument in this proceeding are requested to submit with the
argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the
argument. The Department will issue the final results of the
administrative review, including the results of its analysis of issues
raised in any such written comments or at a hearing, within 180 days of
issuance of these preliminary results.
The Department shall determine, and Customs shall assess,
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Individual differences
between USP and NV may vary from the percentages stated above. The
Department will issue appraisement instructions directly to Customs.
The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment
of antidumping dumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the
determination and for future deposits of estimated duties.
Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective
upon completion of the final results of these administrative reviews
for all shipments of BSS from Canada entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the
final results of these administrative reviews, as provided by section
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Wolverine will be
the rate established in the final results of administrative review; (2)
for merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters not covered in
these reviews but covered in the original LTFV investigation or a
previous review, the cash deposit will continue to be the most recent
rate published in the final determination or final results for which
the manufacturer or exporter received a company-specific rate; (3) if
the exporter is not a firm covered in these reviews, or the original
investigation, but the manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be
that established for the manufacturer of the merchandise in the final
results of these reviews, or the LTFV investigation; and (4) if neither
the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in these or any
previous reviews, the cash deposit rate will be 8.10 percent, the ``all
others'' rate established in the LTFV investigation (52 FR 1217,
January 12, 1987).
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective orders (APOs) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d). Timely written notification of
the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of
antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during
this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could
result in the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping
duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping
duties.
This administrative review and notice are in accordance with
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)).
[[Page 7240]]
Dated: February 22, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-4418 Filed 2-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
