03-14582. Certain Wax and Wax/Resin Thermal Transfer Ribbons From France, Japan, and Korea

AGENCY:

International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Institution of antidumping investigations and scheduling of preliminary phase investigations.

SUMMARY:

The Commission hereby gives notice of the institution of investigations and commencement of preliminary phase antidumping investigations No. 731-TA-1039-1041 (Preliminary) under section 733(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1673b(a)) (the Act) to determine whether there is a reasonable indication that 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 imports from France, Japan, and Korea of certain wax and wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons,^[1] that are alleged to be sold in the United States at less than fair value. Unless the Department of Commerce extends the time for initiation pursuant to section 732(c)(1)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673a(c)(1)(B)), the Commission must reach a preliminary determination in antidumping investigations in 45 days, or in this case by July 14, 2003. The Commission's views are due at Commerce within five business days thereafter, or by July 21, 2003.

For further information concerning the conduct of these investigations 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 B (19 CFR part 207).

EFFECTIVE DATES:

May 30, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher Cassise (202-708-5408), 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 [phone]. 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). The public record for these investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background.—These investigations are being instituted in response to a petition filed on May 30, 2003, by IIMAK International Imaging Materials, Inc., Amherst, NY.

Participation in the investigations and public service list.—Persons (other than petitioners) wishing to participate in the investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in sections 201.11 and 207.10 of the Commission's rules, not later than seven days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Industrial users and (if the merchandise under investigation is sold at the retail level) representative consumer organizations have the right to appear as parties in Commission antidumping investigations. The Secretary will prepare a public service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to these investigations upon the expiration of the period for filing entries of appearance.

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 these investigations available to authorized applicants representing interested parties (as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9)) who are parties to the investigations under the APO issued in the investigations, provided that the application is made not later than seven days after the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.

Conference.— The Commission's Director of Operations has scheduled a conference in connection with these investigations for 9:30 a.m. on June 20, 2003, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. Parties wishing to participate in the conference should contact Christopher Cassise ([phone]) not later than June 18, 2003, to arrange for their appearance. Parties in support of the imposition of antidumping duties in these investigations and parties in opposition to the imposition of such duties will each be collectively allocated one hour within which to make an oral presentation at the conference. A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission's deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at the conference.

Written submissions.— As provided in sections 201.8 and 207.15 of the Commission's rules, any person may submit to the Commission on or before June 25, 2003, a written brief containing information and arguments pertinent to the subject matter of the investigations. Parties may file written testimony in connection with their presentation at the conference no later than three days before the conference. If briefs or written testimony contain BPI, they must conform with the requirements of sections 201.6, 207.3, 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, except to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of the Commission's rules, as amended, 67 FR 68036 (November 8, 2002).

In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the 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 207.12 of the Commission's rules.

By order of the Commission.

Issued: June 3, 2003.

Marilyn R. Abbott,

Secretary to the Commission.

Footnotes

1.  Products include wax and wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons (“TTR”), in slit or unslit (“jumbo”) form, designed for use in printers generating alphanumeric and machine-readable characters, with a total wax (natural or synthetic) content of all the image side layers equal to or greater than 20 percent by weight and a wax content of the colorant layer equal to or greater than 10 percent by weight, and a black color, as defined by industry standards by the Lab color specification such that L*<35, -20>a*<35 and −40<b*<31. Excluded from product coverage are: (1) Slitted thermal transfer ribbons for fax or for multi-function thermal transfer printing devices with a width equal to or greater than 212 millimeters (“mm”) but not greater than 220 mm (or 8.35 inches and 8.66 inches) and a length of 230 meters or less (including cassettes); (2) pure resin TTR; and (3) color TTR. The products are provided for in heading 3702 and subheadings 3921.90.40 and 9612.10.90 (imported under statistical reporting numbers 3921.90.4025 and 9612.10.9030) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).