[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13872-13873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7423]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigations Nos. 701-TA-373 (Final) and 731-TA-769-775 (Final)]
Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea,
Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Scheduling of the final phase of countervailing duty and
antidumping investigations.
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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the
final phase of countervailing duty investigation No. 701-TA-373 (Final)
under section 705(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b))
(the Act) and the final phase of antidumping investigations Nos. 731-
TA-769-775 (Final) under section 735(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673d(b))
to determine whether an industry in the United States is materially
injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an
industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of
subsidized and less-than-fair-value imports from Germany, Italy, Japan,
Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan of stainless steel wire rod, provided
for in subheading 7221.00.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States.1
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\1\ For purposes of these investigations, Commerce has defined
the subject merchandise as articles of stainless steel that are hot-
rolled or hot-rolled annealed and/or pickled and/or descaled rounds,
squares, octagons, hexagons, or other shapes, in coils, that may
also be coated with a lubricant containing copper, lime, or oxalate.
Stainless steel wire rod is made of alloy steels containing, by
weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of
chromium, with or without other elements. It is manufactured only by
hot-rolling or hot-rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or
descaling, is normally sold in coiled form, and is of solid cross-
section. Most stainless steel wire rod sold in the United States is
round in cross-sectional shape, annealed and pickled, and later
cold-finished into stainless steel wire or small-diameter bar. The
most common size for stainless steel wire rod is 5.5 millimeters or
0.217 inch in diameter. The range of stainless steel wire rod sizes
normally sold in the United States is between 0.20 inch (5.08
millimeters) and 1.312 inches (33.32 millimeters) in diameter. Two
stainless steel grades, SF20T and K-M35FL, are excluded from the
scope of the investigations.
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For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the
investigations, hearing procedures, and rules of general application,
consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201,
subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A and C
(19 CFR part 207).
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 5, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Noreen (202-205-3167), Office
of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street
SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal
on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
internet server (http://www.usitc.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The final phase of these investigations is being scheduled as a
result of affirmative preliminary determinations by the Department of
Commerce that certain benefits which constitute subsidies within the
meaning of section 703 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1671b) are being provided
to manufacturers, producers, or exporters in Italy of stainless steel
wire rod, and that such products from Germany, Italy, Japan,
[[Page 13873]]
Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan are being sold in the United States at
less than fair value within the meaning of section 733 of the Act (19
U.S.C. 1673b). The investigations were requested in a petition filed on
July 30, 1997, by Al Tech Specialty Steel Corp., Dunkirk, NY; Carpenter
Technology Corp., Reading, PA; Republic Engineered Steels, Massillon,
OH; Talley Metals Technology, Inc., Hartsville, SC; and the United
Steelworkers of America, AFL- CIO/CLC.
Participation in the Investigations and Public Service list
Persons, including industrial users of the subject merchandise and,
if the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer
organizations, wishing to participate in the final phase of these
investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the
Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the
Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date
specified in this notice. A party that filed a notice of appearance
during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an
additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary
will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses
of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the
investigations.
Limited Disclosure of Business Proprietary Information (BPI) Under
an Administrative Protective Order (APO) and BPI Service List
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the
Secretary will make BPI gathered in the final phase of these
investigations available to authorized applicants under the APO issued
in the investigations, provided that the application is made no later
than 21 days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice.
Authorized applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by
19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party
granted access to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations
need not reapply for such access. A separate service list will be
maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI
under the APO.
Staff Report
The prehearing staff report in the final phase of these
investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on July 9, 1998,
and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to section
207.22 of the Commission's rules.
Hearing
The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the final
phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on July 22, 1998,
at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Requests to appear
at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the
Commission on or before July 15, 1998. A nonparty who has testimony
that may aid the Commission's deliberations may request permission to
present a short statement at the hearing. All parties and nonparties
desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should
attend a prehearing conference to be held at 9:30 a.m. on July 17,
1998, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral
testimony and written materials to be submitted at the public hearing
are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 207.24 of the
Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a
portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 days prior
to the date of the hearing.
Written Submissions
Each party who is an interested party shall submit a prehearing
brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must conform with the
provisions of section 207.23 of the Commission's rules; the deadline
for filing is July 16, 1998. Parties may also file written testimony in
connection with their presentation at the hearing, as provided in
section 207.24 of the Commission's rules, and posthearing briefs, which
must conform with the provisions of section 207.25 of the Commission's
rules. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is July 29, 1998;
witness testimony must be filed no later than three days before the
hearing. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a
party to the investigations may submit a written statement of
information pertinent to the subject of the investigations on or before
July 29, 1998. On August 18, 1998, the Commission will make available
to parties all information on which they have not had an opportunity to
comment. Parties may submit final comments on this information on or
before August 20, 1998, but such final comments must not contain new
factual information and must otherwise comply with section 207.30 of
the Commission's rules. All written submissions must conform with the
provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions
that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections
201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules.
In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's
rules, each document filed by a party to the investigations must be
served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by
either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service
must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for
filing without a certificate of service.
Authority: These investigations are being conducted under
authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is
published pursuant to section 207.21 of the Commission's rules.
Issued: March 17, 1998.
By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-7423 Filed 3-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
