[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40433-40434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20019]
[[Page 40433]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-428-824]
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Stainless Steel Wire Rod from Germany
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 29, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Smith or Everett Kelly, Office
of AD/CVD Enforcement, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1766 or (202) 482-4194.
The Applicable Statute
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's (``Department'') regulations are to the regulations at 19
CFR Part 351 (62 FR 27296, May 19, 1997).
Final Determination
We determine that stainless steel wire rod (``SSWR'') from Germany
is being sold in the United States at less than fair value (``LTFV''),
as provided in section 735 of the Act. The estimated margins of sales
at LTFV are shown in the ``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation''
section of this notice.
Case History
On February 25, 1998, we issued our preliminary determination in
this investigation (63 FR 10847, March 5, 1998) (``Notice of
Preliminary Determination'').
On March 10, 1998, at the request of Krupp Edestahlprofile GmbH and
Krupp Hoesch Steel Products Inc. (collectively ``Krupp''), producers/
exporters of the subject merchandise, the Department postponed the
final determination to 135 days after the publication of the
Department's preliminary determination (see Notice of Postponement of
Final Antidumping Determination (63 FR 13082, March 17, 1998)).
We received no case briefs or other written comments from
interested parties in this investigation.
Scope of Investigation
For purposes of this investigation, SSWR comprises products 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.
SSWR 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. These products are manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-
rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or descaling, are normally sold
in coiled form, and are of solid cross-section. The majority of SSWR
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 such products is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217
inches in diameter, which represents the smallest size that normally is
produced on a rolling mill and is the size that most wire-drawing
machines are set up to draw. The range of SSWR sizes normally sold in
the United States is between 0.20 inches and 1.312 inches in diameter.
Two stainless steel grades, SF20T and K-M35FL, are excluded from the
scope of the investigation. The chemical makeup for the excluded grades
is as follows:
SF20T
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carbon.................................... 0.05 max.
Manganese................................. 2.00 max.
Phosphorous............................... 0.05 max.
Sulfur.................................... 0.15 max.
Silicon................................... 1.00 max.
Chromium.................................. 19.00/21.00.
Molybdenum................................ 1.50/2.50.
Lead added................................ (0.10/0.30).
Tellurium added........................... (0.03 min).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
K-M35FL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carbon.................................... 0.015 max.
Silicon................................... 0.70/1.00.
Manganese................................. 0.40 max.
Phosphorous............................... 0.04 max.
Sulfur.................................... 0.03 max.
Nickel.................................... 0.30 max.
Chromium.................................. 12.50/14.00.
Lead...................................... 0.10/0.30.
Aluminum.................................. 0.20/0.35.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The products under investigation are currently classifiable under
subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, and
7221.00.0075 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope
of this investigation is dispositive.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (``POI'') is July 1, 1996 through June
30, 1997.
Facts Available
In its preliminary determination, the Department found that both
Krupp and BGH Edelstahl Freital GmbH (``BGH Edelstahl'') failed to
cooperate to the best of their ability in this investigation, as they
refused to respond to the Department's antidumping questionnaire (see
Notice of Preliminary Determination). Accordingly, the Department based
the antidumping margin for these companies on facts otherwise available
and assigned them the highest margin from the petition (as adjusted by
the Department), 21.28 percent. In making its preliminary
determination, the Department corroborated the information contained in
the petition within the meaning of section 776(c) of the Act, to the
extent possible, and found the information to have probative value.
Since the preliminary determination, no party (including Krupp and BGH
Edelstahl) has presented to the Department any information to challenge
the appropriateness of using the information contained in the petition
as facts available in determining the dumping margin for Krupp and BGH
Edelstahl. Accordingly, for the final determination, we continue to
assign Krupp and BGH Edelstahl the highest margin from the petition (as
adjusted by the Department), 21.28 percent.
The All-Others Rate
As discussed in the Notice of Preliminary Determination, we based
the all-others rate on a simple average of the margins in the petition
(as adjusted by the Department), 19.45 percent. Section 735(c)(5) of
the Act provides that where the dumping margins established for all
exporters and producers individually investigated are determined
entirely under section 776, the Department ``. . . may use any
reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others rate for
exporters and producers not individually investigated, including
averaging the estimated weighted average dumping margins determined for
the exporters and producers individually investigated.'' This provision
contemplates that we weight average the facts-available margins to
establish the
[[Page 40434]]
all-others rate. Where the data is not available to weight average the
facts available rates, the Statement of Administrative Action
accompanying the URAA, H.R. Rep. No. 103-316, (``SAA''), at 873,
provides that we may use other reasonable methods. Inasmuch as we do
not have the data necessary to weight average the respondents' facts
available margins, we are continuing to base the all-others rate on a
simple average of the margins in the petition (as adjusted by the
Department), 19.45 percent.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we are
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all
entries of stainless steel wire rod from Germany, as defined in the
``Scope of Investigation'' section of this notice, that are entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 5, 1998,
the date of publication of our preliminary determination in the Federal
Register. For these entries, the Customs Service will require a cash
deposit or posting of a bond equal to the estimated amount by which the
normal value exceeds the export price as shown below. This suspension
of liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margin
MFR/Producer/Exporter percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Krupp Edelstahlprofile GmbH, Krupp Hoesch Steel Products 21.28
BGH Edelstahl Freital GmbH.............................. 21.28
All-Others.............................................. 19.45
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The all-others rate applies to all entries of subject merchandise
except for the entries of merchandise produced by the exporters/
manufacturers listed above.
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 determine whether
these imports are causing material injury, or threat of material
injury, to the industry within 45 days of its receipt of this
notification.
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 published pursuant to section 777(i) of the
Act.
Dated: July 20, 1998.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-20019 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
