[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46947-46949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23607]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-401-805]
Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From Sweden: Final
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of final results of antidumping duty administrative
review.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On May 14, 1997, the Department of Commerce (the Department)
published the preliminary results of its administrative review of the
antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from
Sweden. This review covers one manufacturer/exporter, SSAB Svenskt Stal
AB (SSAB), of the subject merchandise for the period August 1, 1995
through July 31, 1996. We gave interested parties an opportunity to
comment on our preliminary results. We received no comments and have
not changed the results from those presented in the preliminary results
of review.
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 5, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Blozy, Doreen Chen, or Stephen
Jacques, Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1391, (202) 482-0162, and
(202) 482-3434, respectively.
The Applicable Statute and Regulations: Unless otherwise indicated,
all citations to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Tariff Act),
are to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of
the amendments made to the Tariff Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to
the Department's regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR 353
(1996).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 14, 1997, the Department published in the Federal Register
(62 FR 26473) the preliminary results of its administrative review of
the antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate
from Sweden (58 FR 44162). For the preliminary results, we were unable
to calculate a margin based on SSAB's response and therefore determined
its dumping margin entirely on the basis of facts available. This facts
available determination relied upon adverse inferences, as the
Department determined that SSAB had not cooperated by acting to the
best of its ability in responding to requests for information. We gave
interested parties an opportunity to comment on our preliminary
results. We received no comments. We have now completed the
administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Scope of Review
Certain cut-to-length plate includes hot-rolled carbon steel
universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four faces
or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 millimeters but not
[[Page 46948]]
exceeding 1,250 millimeters and of a thickness of not less than 4
millimeters, not in coils and without patterns in relief), of
rectangular shape, neither clad, plated nor coated with metal, whether
or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic
substances; and certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat-rolled products in
straight lengths, of rectangular shape, hot rolled, neither clad,
plated, nor coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or
coated with plastics or other nonmetallic substances, 4.75 millimeters
or more in thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 millimeters and
measures at least twice the thickness, as currently classifiable in the
HTS under item numbers 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030,
7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000,
7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045,
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000. Included are
flat-rolled products of non-rectangular cross-section where such cross-
section is achieved subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., products
which have been worked after rolling)--for example, products which have
been beveled or rounded at the edges. Excluded is grade X-70 plate.
These HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs
purposes. The written description remains dispositive.
The period of review (POR) is August 1, 1995, through July 31,
1996.
Use of Facts Available
Following the initiation of this review, on September 17, 1996, the
Department sent respondent a questionnaire seeking information
necessary to conduct a review of any shipments that firm may have made
to the United States during the POR. On October 21, 1996, the due date
for section A of the Department's questionnaire, SSAB made a timely
withdrawal of its request for a review of this POR. However, because
petitioners had also requested an administrative review, the review was
not terminated. Additionally, SSAB stated it would not be participating
in the review and requested assignment, as facts available, of the
first administrative review margin, 8.28 percent. Thus, SSAB refused to
respond to all sections of the questionnaire.
On January 8, 1997, petitioners requested that the Department
assign to SSAB as facts available, 34 percent, the highest rate from
the antidumping petition.
SSAB made no attempt in this review to contact the Department to
discuss how it should proceed, nor did it respond to any section of the
questionnaire. Thus, the Department has found that, in not responding
to the questionnaire, SSAB failed to cooperate by not acting to the
best of its ability to comply with requests for information from the
Department. Therefore, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, we may,
in making our determination, use an adverse inference in selecting from
the facts otherwise available.
This adverse inference may include reliance on data derived from
the petition, a previous determination in an investigation or review,
or any other information placed on the record. In the previous segment
of the proceeding, the Department chose an adverse facts available rate
of 24.23%; this represented the average rate based on corroborated
petition data. In this segment of the proceeding, we have chosen as
adverse facts available the highest rate based on corroborated petition
data, i.e., 34%. Our decision to use a rate higher than the average
petition rate is consistent with our decision in the preceding
administrative review because, in that review, ``while SSAB did not act
to the best of its ability in responding to our cost information
requests, it did cooperate with respect to certain aspects of this
review.'' See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Sweden,
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 61 FR
51898, 51900 (October 4, 1996); see also, Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon
Steel Plate from Sweden, Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 62 FR 18396, 18401 (April 15, 1997). In this
case, SSAB, in contrast to its level of cooperation in the previous
segment of the proceeding, has not cooperated at all with our requests
for information.
Section 776(b) authorizes the Department to use as adverse facts
available information derived from the petition, the final
determination, a previous administrative review, or other information
placed on the record. Section 776(c) provides that the Department
shall, to the extent practicable, corroborate ``secondary information''
by reviewing independent sources reasonably at its disposal. The SAA,
at 870, makes it clear that ``secondary information'' includes
information from the petition in the LTFV investigation and information
from a previous section 751 review of the subject merchandise. The SAA
also provides that ``corroborate'' means simply that the Department
will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be used has
probative value. Id.
The Department used an average of the petition rates as total
adverse facts available in the previous segment of this proceeding. The
Department explained in that review that it had corroborated the
petition information. Id. For the purposes of the final results, we
continue to regard the petition information as corroborated.
Duty Absorption
Because we received no comments on duty absorption, we uphold the
preliminary results on this issue. We find duty absorption on all
sales.
Final Results of Review
As a result of our review, we determine the dumping margin (in
percent) for the period August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996 to be as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margin
Manufacturer/exporter (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSAB........................................................ 34.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Department shall determine, and the U.S. Customs Service shall
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department
will issue appraisement instructions directly to the Customs Service.
Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective
upon publication of these final results for all shipments of the
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the publication date as provided by section
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for SSAB will be the
rate stated above; (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or
exporters not covered in this review but covered in the original LTFV
investigation or previous review, the cash deposit will continue to be
the most recent rate published in the final determination or final
results for which the manufacturer or exporter received a company-
specific rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this
review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer is, the
cash deposit rate will be that established for the manufacturer of the
merchandise in these final results of review or the LTFV investigation;
and (4) if neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered
in this or any previous review, the cash deposit rate will be 24.23
percent, the all others rate established in the LTFV investigation.
(See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Sweden, Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 58 FR 37213 (July 9,
1993).) These deposit requirements
[[Page 46949]]
shall remain in effect until publication of the final results of the
next administrative review.
Notification of Interested Parties
This notice also serves as a final reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 to file a certificate regarding the
reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the
relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective orders (APOs) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d)(1). Timely written notification
of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
This administrative review and notice are in accordance with
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR
353.22(c)(5).
Dated: August 27, 1997.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-23607 Filed 9-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
