[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 83 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10453]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 2, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-559-806]

 

Portable Electric Typewriters From Singapore; Termination of 
Suspended Antidumping Duty Investigation

AGENCY: International Trade Administration/Import Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On July 26, 1993, the Department of Commerce published a 
notice of the ``Suspension of Investigation; Certain Portable Electric 
Typewriters from Singapore''. On February 9, 1994, the Department 
received from Brother Industries (USA) Inc. (``BIUSA'') notice of its 
intention to withdraw the petition and to request termination of the 
suspended investigation pursuant to section 734(a) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (``the Act'') based upon withdrawal of the petition. 
BIUSA expressly conditioned the petition withdrawal upon the 
contemporaneous revocation of the antidumping duty orders on Portable 
Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and Personal Word 
Processors from Japan (A-588-818). The Department is now terminating 
this suspended investigation in accordance with these conditions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Will Sjoberg or Linda Pasden, Office 
of Agreements Compliance, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3793.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 14, 1991, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') 
initiated an antidumping duty investigation under section 732(a) of the 
Act, to determine whether certain portable electric typewriters 
(``PETs'') from Singapore are being, or are likely to be sold, in the 
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 731 
of the Act. (56 FR 22150).
    On February 8, 1993, after extensive litigation concerning BIUSA's 
legal authority to file a petition against imports of PETs from 
Singapore, the Department issued its preliminary determination that 
PETs from Singapore were being sold at less than fair value in the 
United States (58 FR 7534). On July 26, 1993, the Department published 
a notice of suspension of investigation (58 FR 39786). The basis for 
the suspension was an agreement by the Singapore producer/exporter, 
which accounts for substantially all of the known exports of these 
products from Singapore, to revise its prices so as to eliminate sales 
of this merchandise to the United States at less than fair value.
    As a result of receiving a timely request to continue the 
investigation, the Department, pursuant to section 734(g) of the Act, 
issued its affirmative final determination (58 FR 43334, August 16, 
1993).
    On February 9, 1994, the Department received notice from BIUSA of 
its intention to withdraw the petition and to request termination of 
the suspended investigation pursuant to section 734(a) based upon 
withdrawal of the petition. BIUSA expressly conditioned the petition's 
withdrawal upon the contemporaneous revocation of the antidumping duty 
orders on Portable Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and 
Personal Word Processors from Japan (A-588-818).
    By letter of April 8, 1994, the Department notified parties to the 
proceeding of its intent to terminate the suspended investigation 
pursuant to section 353.17(a)(1) of the Department's regulations. The 
Department received no comments as a result of this notification. In 
addition, simultaneously with the publication of this notice, the 
Department is publishing revocations of the antidumping duty orders on 
Portable Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and Personal Word 
Processors from Japan (A-588-818).

Scope of Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation consists of certain 
(PETs) from Singapore which are defined as machines that produce 
letters and characters in sequence directly on a piece of paper or 
other media from a keyboard input and meeting the following criteria:
    (1) Easily portable, with a handle and/or carrying case, or similar 
mechanism to facilitate its portability;
    (2) Electric, regardless of source of power;
    (3) Comprised of a single, integrated unit;
    (4) Having a keyboard embedded in the chassis or frame of the 
machine;
    (5) Having a built-in printer;
    (6) Having a platen to accommodate paper; and
    (7) Only accommodating its own dedicated or captive software, if 
any.
    PETs which meet all of the following criteria are excluded from the 
scope of this investigation: (1) Seven lines or more of display; (2) 
more than 32K of text memory; (3) the ability to perform ``block 
move;'' and (4) a ``search and replace'' function. A machine having 
some, but not all, of these four characteristics is included within the 
scope of the investigation.
    The PETs subject to this investigation are currently classifiable 
under subheadings 8469.21.00 and 8469.10.00 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule (``HTS''). (Note that personal word processors also are 
classifiable under subheading 8469.10.00.) Although the HTS subheadings 
are provided for convenience and customs purposes, our written 
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Termination of Investigation

    Based on the information contained in the record, the Department 
has decided to terminate the antidumping duty investigation of PETs 
from Singapore. The record contains statements supporting the proposed 
termination from all known domestic producers, BIUSA and Smith Corona 
Corporation (``Smith Corona''), supporting the proposed termination.
    Under Sec. 353.17(a) of the Department's regulations, the 
Department may terminate an investigation based on the withdrawal of 
the petition by the petitioner, after notifying all parties to the 
proceeding and after consultation with the International Trade 
Commission (``ITC''). Section 353.17 further provides that the 
Department may not terminate an investigation unless it concludes that 
the termination is in the public interest. We have notified all parties 
to the proceeding and have consulted with the ITC. We conclude that 
termination of the investigation is in the public interest (See April 
20, 1994, memorandum from David P. Mueller to Susan Esserman). 
Accordingly, we are terminating the suspended antidumping duty 
investigation of PETs from Singapore.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice also serves as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (``APO'') of their responsibility 
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with Sec. 353.34(d) of the 
Department's regulations. Failure to comply is a violation of the APO.
    This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 734(a)(1) of the Act and 
Sec. 353.17(a)(2) of the Department's regulations.

    Dated: April 22, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman.
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-10453 Filed 4-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P