[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15788-15790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8074]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 731-TA-384 (Review)]
Nitrile Rubber From Japan
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Institution of a five-year review concerning the antidumping
duty order on nitrile rubber from Japan.
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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted a
review pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping
duty order on nitrile rubber from Japan would be likely to lead to
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section
751(c)(2) of the Act, interested parties are requested to respond to
this notice by submitting the information specified below to the
Commission 1 to be assured of consideration, the deadline
for responses is May 21, 1999. Comments on the adequacy of responses
may be filed with the Commission by June 14, 1999.
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\1\ No response to this request for information is required if a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 99-5-004,
expiration date June 30, 1999. Public reporting burden for the
request is estimated to average 7 hours per response. Please send
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436.
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For further information concerning the conduct of this review 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, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207). Recent
amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure pertinent to five-
year reviews, including the text of subpart F of part 207, are
published at 63 FR 30599, June 5, 1998, and may be downloaded from the
Commission's World Wide Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/rules.htm.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193) or Vera
Libeau (202-205-3176), 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
On June 16, 1988, the Department of Commerce issued an antidumping
duty order on imports of nitrile rubber from Japan (53 FR 22553). The
Commission is conducting a review to determine whether revocation of
the order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably
foreseeable time. It will assess the adequacy of interested party
responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to conduct
a full review or an expedited review. The Commission's determination in
any expedited review will be based on the facts available, which may
include information provided in response to this notice.
[[Page 15789]]
Definitions
The following definitions apply to this review:
(1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is
within the scope of the five-year review, as defined by the Department
of Commerce.
(2) The Subject Country in this review is Japan.
(3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original
determination, the Commission found a single Domestic Like Product:
nitrile rubber, regardless of acrylonitrile content, excluding nitrile
rubber products that contain additives, rubber processing chemicals, or
other material that is used for functions beyond the copolymerization
of acrylonitrile and butadiene.
(4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total
domestic production of the product. In its original determination, the
Commission defined a single Domestic Industry as producers of nitrile
rubber, regardless of acrylonitrile content, excluding nitrile rubber
products that contain additives, rubber processing chemicals, or other
material that is used for functions beyond the copolymerization of
acrylonitrile and butadiene.
(5) The Order Date is the date that the antidumping duty order
under review became effective. In this review, the Order Date is June
16, 1988.
(6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or
through its selling agent.
Participation in the Review 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 review as parties must
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties
to the review.
Limited Disclosure of Business Proprietary Information (BPI) Under
an Administrative Protective Order (APO) and APO Service List
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the
Secretary will make BPI submitted in this review available to
authorized applicants under the APO issued in the review, provided that
the application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to
the review. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary
for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
Certification
Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's rules, any person
submitting information to the Commission in connection with this review
must certify that the information is accurate and complete to the best
of the submitter's knowledge. In making the certification, the
submitter will be deemed to consent, unless otherwise specified, for
the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel to use the
information provided in any other reviews or investigations of the same
or comparable products which the Commission conducts under Title VII of
the Act, or in internal audits and investigations relating to the
programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix
3.
Written Submissions
Pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules, each
interested party response to this notice must provide the information
specified below. The deadline for filing such responses is May 21,
1999. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the Commission's rules, eligible
parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) may also file
comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the notice of
institution and whether the Commission should conduct an expedited or
full review. The deadline for filing such comments is June 14, 1999.
All written submissions must conform with the provisions of sections
201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's rules and any submissions that
contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 201.6
and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules do not
authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or
electronic means. Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3
of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the review
must be served on all other parties to the review (as identified by
either the public or APO service list as appropriate), and a
certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are not a
party to the review you do not need to serve your response).
Inability To Provide Requested Information
Pursuant to section 207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any
interested party that cannot furnish the information requested by this
notice in the requested form and manner shall notify the Commission at
the earliest possible time, provide a full explanation of why it cannot
provide the requested information, and indicate alternative forms in
which it can provide equivalent information. If an interested party
does not provide this notification (or the Commission finds the
explanation provided in the notification inadequate) and fails to
provide a complete response to this notice, the Commission may take an
adverse inference against the party pursuant to section 776(b) of the
Act in making its determination in the review.
Information To Be Provided In Response To This Notice of
Institution
As used below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
(1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World
Wide Web address if available) and name, telephone number, fax number,
and E-mail address of the certifying official.
(2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S.
producer of the Domestic Like Product to which your response pertains,
a U.S. union or worker group, a U.S. importer of the Subject
Merchandise, a foreign producer or exporter of the Subject Merchandise,
a U.S. or foreign trade or business association, or another interested
party (including an explanation). If you are a union/worker group or
trade/business association, identify the firms in which your workers
are employed or which are members of your association.
(3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to
participate in this review by providing information requested by the
Commission.
(4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the
antidumping duty order on each Domestic Industry for which you are
filing a response in general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In
your response, please discuss the various factors specified in section
752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) including the likely volume of
[[Page 15790]]
subject imports, likely price effects of subject imports, and likely
impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.
(5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of
each Domestic Like Product for which you are filing a response.
Identify any known related parties and the nature of the relationship
as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
(6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in the
Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since 1987.
(7) If you are a U.S. producer of a Domestic Like Product, provide
the following information separately on your firm's operations on each
product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity data in thousands of
pounds and value data in thousands of U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If
you are a union/worker group or trade/business association, provide the
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers
are employed/which are members of your association.
(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product
accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
(b) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s).
(8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country,
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that
product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity data in thousands of
pounds and value data in thousands of U.S. dollars). If you are a
trade/business association, provide the information, on an aggregate
basis, for the firms which are members of your association.
(a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including
antidumping or countervailing duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an
estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise
from the Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') imports; and
(b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject
Merchandise imported from the Subject Country.
(9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s')
operations on that product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity
data in thousands of pounds and value data in thousands of U.S.
dollars, landed and duty-paid at the U.S. port but not including
antidumping or countervailing duties). If you are a trade/business
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the
firms which are members of your association.
(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in the Subject
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
(b) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise
from the Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
(10) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand
conditions or business cycle for each Domestic Like Product that have
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject
Merchandise in the Subject Country since the Order Date, and
significant changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a
reasonably foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include
technology; production methods; development efforts; ability to
increase production (including the shift of production facilities used
for other products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs
into production); and factors related to the ability to shift supply
among different national markets (including barriers to importation in
foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions
to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and
availability of substitute products; and the level of competition among
the Domestic Like Product produced in the United States, Subject
Merchandise produced in the Subject Country, and such merchandise from
other countries.
(11) (OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why
and provide alternative definitions.
Authority: This review is being conducted under authority of
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.
Issued: March 25, 1999.
By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-8074 Filed 3-31-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
