03-6090. Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils From The Republic of Korea: Notice of Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Amended final results of antidumping duty administrative review of stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from the Republic of Korea.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

March 13, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laurel LaCivita or Robert Bolling, Enforcement Group III, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone], or [phone], respectively.

Amendment of Final Results

On February 10, 2003, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Department”) published in the Federal Register the results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils (“SSSS”) from the Republic of Korea covering the period July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2001. See Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils From the Republic of Korea; Final Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68 FR 6713 (February 10, 2003) (“Final Results”).

On February 10, 2003, respondent Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (“POSCO”) filed a ministerial error allegation pursuant to section 351.224(c)(2) of the Department's regulations. Petitioners did not comment on any ministerial errors concerning the final results of this review. As a result of our analysis of POSCO's allegations, we are amending the Final Results in the antidumping review of SSSS from the Republic of Korea.

Scope of the Review

For purposes of this administrative review, the products covered are certain stainless steel sheet and strip in coils. Stainless steel is an alloy steel containing, by weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with or without other elements. The subject sheet and strip is a flat-rolled product in coils that is greater than 9.5 mm in width and less than 4.75 mm in thickness, and that is annealed or otherwise heat treated and pickled or otherwise descaled. The subject sheet and strip may also be further processed (e.g., cold-rolled, polished, aluminized, coated, etc.) provided that it maintains the specific dimensions of sheet and strip following such processing.

The merchandise subject to this review is classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) at subheadings: 7219.13.0031, 7219.13.0051, 7219.13.0071, 7219.1300.81,^[1] 7219.14.0030, 7219.14.0065, 7219.14.0090, 7219.32.0005, 7219.32.0020, 7219.32.0025, 7219.32.0035, 7219.32.0036, 7219.32.0038, 7219.32.0042, 7219.32.0044, 7219.33.0005, 7219.33.0020, 7219.33.0025, 7219.33.0035, 7219.33.0036, 7219.33.0038, 7219.33.0042, 7219.33.0044, 7219.34.0005, 7219.34.0020, 7219.34.0025, 7219.34.0030, 7219.34.0035, 7219.35.0005, 7219.35.0015, 7219.35.0030, 7219.35.0035, 7219.90.0010, 7219.90.0020, 7219.90.0025, 7219.90.0060, 7219.90.0080, 7220.12.1000, 7220.12.5000, 7220.20.1010, 7220.20.1015, 7220.20.1060, 7220.20.1080, 7220.20.6005, 7220.20.6010, 7220.20.6015, 7220.20.6060, 7220.20.6080, 7220.20.7005, 7220.20.7010, 7220.20.7015, 7220.20.7060, 7220.20.7080, 7220.20.8000, 7220.20.9030, 7220.20.9060, 7220.90.0010, 7220.90.0015, 7220.90.0060, and 7220.90.0080. Although the HTS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the Department's written description of the merchandise under review is dispositive.

Excluded from the scope of this review are the following: (1) Sheet and strip that is not annealed or otherwise heat treated and pickled or otherwise descaled, (2) sheet and strip that is cut to length, (3) plate (i.e., flat-rolled stainless steel products of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more), (4) flat wire (i.e., cold-rolled sections, with a prepared edge, rectangular in shape, of a width of not more than 9.5 mm), and (5) razor blade steel. Razor blade steel is a flat-rolled product of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced), in coils, of a width of not more than 23 mm and a thickness of 0.266 mm or less, containing, by weight, 12.5 to 14.5 percent chromium, and certified at the time of entry to be used in the manufacture of razor blades. See chapter 72 of the HTS, “Additional U.S. Note” 1(d).

In response to comments by interested parties, the Department has determined that certain specialty stainless steel products are also excluded from the scope of this review. These excluded products are described below.

Flapper valve steel is defined as stainless steel strip in coils containing, by weight, between 0.37 and 0.43 percent carbon, between 1.15 and 1.35 percent molybdenum, and between 0.20 and 0.80 percent manganese. This steel also contains, by weight, phosphorus of 0.025 percent or less, silicon of between 0.20 and 0.50 percent, and sulfur of 0.020 percent or less. The product is manufactured by means of vacuum arc remelting, with inclusion controls for sulphide of no more than 0.04 percent and for oxide of no more than 0.05 percent. Flapper valve steel has a tensile strength of between 210 and 300 ksi, yield strength of between 170 and 270 ksi, plus or minus 8 ksi, and a hardness (Hv) of between 460 and 590. Flapper valve steel is most commonly used to produce specialty flapper valves in compressors.

Also excluded is a product referred to as suspension foil, a specialty steel product used in the manufacture of suspension assemblies for computer disk drives. Suspension foil is described as 302/304 grade or 202 grade stainless steel of a thickness between 14 and 127 microns, with a thickness tolerance of plus-or-minus 2.01 microns, and surface glossiness of 200 to 700 percent Gs. Suspension foil must be supplied in coil widths of not more than 407 mm, and with a mass of 225 kg or less. Roll marks may only be visible on one side, with no scratches of measurable depth. The material must exhibit residual stresses of 2 mm maximum deflection, and flatness of 1.6 mm over 685 mm length.

Certain stainless steel foil for automotive catalytic converters is also excluded from the scope of this review. This stainless steel strip in coils is a specialty foil with a thickness of between 20 and 110 microns used to produce a metallic substrate with a honeycomb structure for use in automotive catalytic converters. The steel contains, by weight, carbon of no more than 0.030 percent, silicon of no more than 1.0 percent, manganese of no more than 1.0 percent, chromium of between 19 and 22 percent, aluminum of no less than 5.0 percent, phosphorus of no more than 0.045 percent, sulfur of no more than 0.03 percent, lanthanum of less than 0.002 or greater than 0.05 percent, and total rare earth elements of more than 0.06 percent, with the balance iron.

Permanent magnet iron-chromium-cobalt alloy stainless strip is also excluded from the scope of this review. This ductile stainless steel strip contains, by weight, 26 to 30 percent chromium, and 7 to 10 percent cobalt, with the remainder of iron, in widths 228.6 mm or less, and a thickness between 0.127 and 1.270 mm. It exhibits magnetic remanence between 9,000 and 12,000 gauss, and a coercivity of between 50 and 300 oersteds. This product is most commonly used in electronic sensors and is currently available under proprietary trade names such as “Arnokrome III.” ^[2]

Certain electrical resistance alloy steel is also excluded from the scope of this review. This product is defined as a non-magnetic stainless steel manufactured to American Society of Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) specification B344 and containing, by weight, 36 percent nickel, 18 percent chromium, and 46 percent iron, and is most notable for its resistance to high temperature corrosion. It has a melting point of 1390 degrees Celsius and displays a creep rupture limit of 4 kilograms per square millimeter at 1000 degrees Celsius. This steel is most commonly used in the production of heating ribbons for circuit breakers and industrial furnaces, and in rheostats for railway locomotives. The product is currently available under proprietary trade names such as “Gilphy 36.” ^[3]

Certain martensitic precipitation-hardenable stainless steel is also excluded from the scope of this review. This high-strength, ductile stainless steel product is designated under the Unified Numbering System (“UNS”) as S45500-grade steel, and contains, by weight, 11 to 13 percent chromium, and 7 to 10 percent nickel. Carbon, manganese, silicon and molybdenum each comprise, by weight, 0.05 percent or less, with phosphorus and sulfur each comprising, by weight, 0.03 percent or less. This steel has copper, niobium, and titanium added to achieve aging, and will exhibit yield strengths as high as 1700 Mpa and ultimate tensile strengths as high as 1750 Mpa after aging, with elongation percentages of 3 percent or less in 50 mm. It is generally provided in thicknesses between 0.635 and 0.787 mm, and in widths of 25.4 mm. This product is most commonly used in the manufacture of television tubes and is currently available under proprietary trade names such as “Durphynox 17.” ^[4]

Finally, three specialty stainless steels typically used in certain industrial blades and surgical and medical instruments are also excluded from the scope of this review. These include stainless steel strip in coils used in the production of textile cutting tools (e.g., carpet knives).^[5] This steel is similar to AISI grade 420 but containing, by weight, 0.5 to 0.7 percent of molybdenum. The steel also contains, by weight, carbon of between 1.0 and 1.1 percent, sulfur of 0.020 percent or less, and includes between 0.20 and 0.30 percent copper and between 0.20 and 0.50 percent cobalt. This steel is sold under proprietary names such as “GIN4 Mo.” The second excluded stainless steel strip in coils is similar to AISI 420-J2 and contains, by weight, carbon of between 0.62 and 0.70 percent, silicon of between 0.20 and 0.50 percent, manganese of between 0.45 and 0.80 percent, phosphorus of no more than 0.025 percent and sulfur of no more than 0.020 percent. This steel has a carbide density on average of 100 carbide particles per 100 square microns. An example of this product is “GIN5” steel. The third specialty steel has a chemical composition similar to AISI 420 F, with carbon of between 0.37 and 0.43 percent, molybdenum of between 1.15 and 1.35 percent, but lower manganese of between 0.20 and 0.80 percent, phosphorus of no more than 0.025 percent, silicon of between 0.20 and 0.50 percent, and sulfur of no more than 0.020 percent. This product is supplied with a hardness of more than Hv 500 guaranteed after customer processing, and is supplied as, for example, “GIN6”.^[6]

Ministerial Error

A ministerial error is defined in section 351.224(f) of our regulations as “an error in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical error resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other similar type of unintentional error which the Secretary considers ministerial.” Section 351.224(e) of our regulations provides that we “will analyze any comments received and, if appropriate * * * correct any ministerial error by amending * * * the final results of review. * * *” After reviewing POSCO's allegations, we have determined in accordance with section 351.224 of the Department's regulations, that the final results of review include the ministerial error discussed below.

Comment 1: L-Grade Adjustment for Models Sold Exclusively in the United States

POSCO contends that the Department made an error in merging the cost of production (“COP”) and constructive value (“CV”) files that failed to implement its stated decision in the final results of review to apply the minor corrections to the L-grade adjustment reported at verification to those models sold exclusively in the United States. As a result, POSCO claims that certain models sold exclusively in the U.S. market did not have variable or total cost of manufacturing (“VCOM” or “TCOM”) applied to them during the model match sequence of the computer program. Consequently, these models did not find an appropriate match in the home market and were compared to CV in error for the final results of review.

To correct this error, POSCO proposed a number of programming changes: (1) Insert language creating a duplicate cost file for the U.S. sales; (2) create the VCOM and TCOM information for the U.S. sales before merging the cost files with the home market sales files; and, (3) delete the calculation of VCOM and TCOM after the merge of the COP and home market sales databases. See POSCO's February 10, 2003 ministerial error allegation letter.

Department's Position

We agree with POSCO that the program used in the final results of review failed to correctly apply the L-grade adjustment to the models sold exclusively in the United States, and therefore, to determine the appropriate model matches for the final results of review. However, our analysis reveals that POSCO erroneously equated the total cost of production in the United States (“TCOMU”) with the total cost of manufacturing rather than the total cost of production, thereby omitting selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) from the calculation of TCOMU. Therefore, we have revised our calculations to appropriately merge the COP and CV files, and to correctly calculate TCOMU. See Analysis memorandum for the amended final results of review for stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from Korea—Pohang Iron and Steel Company (“POSCO”) dated March 6, 2003.

Amended Final Results

We are amending the final results of the administrative review on SSSS from the Republic of Korea covering the period July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2001, pursuant to section 751(h) of the Act. As a result of this redetermination, the recalculated final weighted-average margin for POSCO is as follows:

Exporter/manufacturer	Weighted average margin in the final (percent)	Revised weighted average margin (percent)
POSCO	.98	.92

The cash deposit rate for POSCO of 0.92 percent ad valorem is effective on all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice, and will remain in effect until publication of the final results of the next administrative review.

Accordingly, the Department will determine, and the Customs Service will assess, antidumping duties on all entries of subject merchandise from POSCO during the period July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2001, in accordance with this amended final results.

This amended final results and notice are in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and section 351.221 of the Department's regulations.

Dated: March 4, 2003.

Faryar Shirzad,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Footnotes

1.  Due to changes to the HTS numbers in 2001, 7219.13.0030, 7219.13.050, 7219.13.0070, and 7219.13.0080 are now 7219. 13.0031, 7219.13.0051,7219.13.0071, and 7219.13.0081, respectively.

2.  “Arnikrome III” is a trademark of the Arnold Engineering Company.

3.  “Gilphy 36” is a trademark of Imply, S.A

4.  “Durphnox 17” is a trademark of Imphy, S.A.

5.  This list of uses is illustrative and provided for descriptive purposes only.

6.  “GIN4 Mo,” “GIN5” and “GIN6” are the proprietary grades of Hitachi Metals America, Ltd.