[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 31, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15458-15459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7535]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-475-822]
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Italy
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 31, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lesley Stagliano or Rick Johnson,
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0190 or (202) 482-3818,
respectively.
Applicable Statute and Regulations
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 (``URAA''). In addition,
unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce
(``Department'') regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR part 351
(1998).
Final Determination
We determine that Stainless Steel Plate in Coils (``SSPC'') from
Italy is being sold in the United States at less than fair value
(``LTFV''), as provided in section 735 of the Act. The estimated
margins are shown in the Suspension of Liquidation section of this
notice.
Case History
The preliminary determination in this investigation was published
on November 4, 1998 (see Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Italy, 63
FR 59530 (November 4, 1998) (``Preliminary Determination'')). On
November 16, 1998, Acciai Speciali Terni SpA (``AST'') requested a
postponement of the final determination to 135 days after publication
of the Preliminary Determination and an extension of the provisional
measures to no more than six months, pursuant to section 735(a)(2)(A)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii) and 351.210(e)(2). Because our
Preliminary Determination was affirmative, and AST is a producer/
exporter that accounts for a significant proportion of exports from
Italy of the subject merchandise, the Department postponed the final
determination until March 19, 1999. Notice of postponement was
published in the Federal Register on December 18, 1998. See
Postponement of Final Antidumping Determinations: Stainless Steel Plate
in Coils from Canada, Italy, Republic of Korea, South Africa and
Taiwan, 63 FR 70101. No interested parties have provided comments on
the Preliminary Determination and no request for a hearing has been
received by the Department.
Scope of Investigation
For purposes of this investigation, the product covered is certain
stainless steel plate 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 plate
products are flat-rolled products, 254 mm or over in width and 4.75 mm
or more in thickness, in coils, and annealed or otherwise heat treated
and pickled or otherwise descaled. The subject plate may also be
further processed (e.g., cold-rolled, polished, etc.) provided that it
maintains the specified dimensions of plate following such processing.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are the following: (1)
Plate not in coils, (2) plate that is not annealed or otherwise heat
treated and pickled or otherwise descaled, (3) sheet and strip, and (4)
flat bars.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently
classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) at subheadings: 7219.11.00.30, 7219.11.00.60, 7219.12.00.05,
7219.12.00.20, 7219.12.00.25, 7219.12.00.50, 7219.12.00.55,
7219.12.00.65, 7219.12.00.70, 7219.12.00.80, 7219.31.00.10,
7219.90.00.10, 7219.90.00.20, 7219.90.00.25, 7219.90.00.60,
7219.90.00.80, 7220.11.00.00, 7220.20.10.10, 7220.20.10.15,
7220.20.10.60, 7220.20.10.80, 7220.20.60.05, 7220.20.60.10,
7220.20.60.15, 7220.20.60.60, 7220.20.60.80, 7220.90.00.10,
7220.90.00.15, 7220.90.00.60, and 7220.90.00.80. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (``POI'') is January 1 through December
31, 1997.
Facts Available
Section 776(a)(2) of the Act provides that if an interested party
or any other person (A) withholds information that has been requested
by the administering authority; (B) fails to provide such information
by the deadlines for the submission of the information or in the form
and manner requested, subject to subsections (c)(1) and (e) of section
782 of the Act; (C) significantly impedes a proceeding under the
antidumping statute; or (D) provides such information but the
information cannot be verified as provided in section 782(i) of the
Act, the administering authority shall, subject to section 782(d) of
the Act, use the facts otherwise available in reaching the applicable
determination. As discussed above, AST failed to respond to the
Department's questionnaire. Accordingly, as in the Preliminary
Determination, we have determined,
[[Page 15459]]
under section 776(a)(2)(A) of the Act, that we must base our
determination for that company on the facts available.
Section 776(b) of the Act further provides that adverse inferences
may be used for a party that has failed to cooperate by not acting to
the best of its ability to comply with a request for information (see
also the Statement of Administrative Action (``SAA''), accompanying the
URAA, H. Doc. No. 316, 103rd Cong., 2d Sess. 870). Given its refusal to
comply with the Department's request for information, AST has failed to
cooperate to the best of its ability in this investigation. Therefore,
the Department has determined that an adverse inference is warranted
with respect to AST. As in the Preliminary Determination, the
Department selected a margin of 45.09 percent, which was based on the
highest margin alleged in the petition for any Italian producer. As
discussed in the Preliminary Determination, the Department has, to the
extent practicable, corroborated the information used as adverse facts
available. Furthermore, no record evidence or argument has been
submitted that would cause the Department to call into question the
accuracy of the data in the petition. Therefore, we determine that the
use of this margin as facts available for AST is appropriate.
For further discussion regarding the Department's use, and
selection, of facts available for AST in this investigation, see
Preliminary Determination, 63 FR at 59531-32.
The All Others Rate
The foreign manufacturer/exporter in this investigation is being
assigned a dumping margin entirely on the basis of facts otherwise
available. Section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that, where the
dumping margins established for all exporters and producers
individually investigated are determined entirely under section 776 of
the Act, the Department may use any reasonable method to establish the
estimated All Others rate for exporters and producers not individually
investigated, including weight averaging zero and de minimis rates with
the margins based on facts available. In this case, the margin assigned
to the only company investigated is based on adverse facts available.
Therefore, as stated in the Preliminary Determination, and consistent
with the SAA at 873, we are using an alternative method. As our
alternative, we are basing the All Others rate on a simple average of
the margins in the petition, based both on price-to-price comparisons
and constructed value. As a result, the All Others rate is 39.69
percent.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(1) and 735(c)(4)(A) of the Act,
we are directing the U.S. Customs Service (``Customs'') to continue to
suspend liquidation of all entries of SSPC from Italy, that are
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after
November 4, 1998 (the date of publication of the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register). We will instruct Customs to
require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to the percentage
margins, as indicated in the chart below. These suspension-of-
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
The dumping margins are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margin
Exporter/manufacturer percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acciai Speciali Terni SpA (AST)............................ 45.09%
All Others................................................. 39.69%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The All Others rate, which we derived from the average of the
margins calculated in the petition, applies to all entries of subject
merchandise other than those exported by the named respondent.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final
determination is affirmative, the ITC will, within 45 days, determine
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material
injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist the proceeding
will be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or
canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the
Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing Customs
officials to assess antidumping duties on all imports of the subject
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: March 19, 1999.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-7535 Filed 3-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
