[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 112 (Monday, June 13, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14311]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 13, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-423-807]

 

Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Steel 
Wire Rod From Belgium

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 13, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Grebasch or Erik Warga, Office 
of Antidumping Investigations, Import Administration, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone (202) 482-3773 or (202) 482-0922.

Preliminary Determination

    We preliminarily determine that imports of steel wire rod from 
Belgium are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value, as provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated margins are shown in the 
``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

Case History

    Since the initiation of this investigation on March 7, 1994, (59 FR 
11773, March 14, 1994), the following events have occurred:
    On March 31, 1994, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) 
issued an affirmative preliminary injury determination in this case.
    On April 7, 1994, the Department issued an antidumping duty 
questionnaire to Forges de Thy-Marcinelle (``Thy-Marcinelle'') for the 
investigation. The questionnaire had four sections: section A, 
requesting general information; section B, requesting information on 
U.S. sales; section C, requesting information on home market sales; and 
section D, requesting information on cost of production and constructed 
value. In that same month, the Department presented the antidumping 
duty questionnaire to Thy-Marcinelle, because it represented at least 
60 percent of exports to the United States during the POI.
    On April 22, 1994, Thy-Marcinelle requested a two-week extension 
for filing the response to the Department's questionnaire. The 
Department granted this extension request.
    In May 1994, Thy-Marcinelle notified the Department that it would 
not be participating in this investigation.

Scope of Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are hot-rolled carbon 
steel and alloy steel wire rod, in coils, of approximately round cross 
section, between 0.20 and 0.75 inches in solid cross-sectional 
diameter. The following products are excluded from this investigation:
     Free-machining steel containing 0.03% or more of lead, 
0.05% or more of bismuth, 0.08% or more of sulfur, more than 0.4% of 
phosphorus, more than 0.05% of selenium, and/or more than 0.01% of 
tellurium;
     Wire rod, which is 5.5 mm or less in diameter, with 
tensile strength greater than or equal to 1040 Mega-Pascals (MPa), and 
the following chemical content, by weight: carbon greater than or equal 
to 0.79 percent, aluminum less than or equal to 0.005 percent, 
phosphorous plus sulfur less than or equal to 0.040 percent and 
nitrogen less than or equal to 0.006 percent;
     Wire rod, which is 7.9 to 18.0 mm in diameter, containing 
0.48 to 0.73 percent carbon by weight and certified as having partial 
decarburization and seams no more than 0.075 mm in depth; and
     Stainless steel rods, tool steel rods, ball bearing steel 
and deformed concrete reinforcing bars (as defined in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)).
    The products under investigation are currently classifiable under 
subheadings 7213.31.3000, 7213.31.6000, 7213.39.0030, 7213.39.0090, 
7213.41.3000, 7213.41.6000, 7213.49.0030, 7213.49.0090, 7213.50.0020, 
7213.50.0040, 7213.50.0080, 7227.20.000, 7227.90.6000, and 7227.90.6050 
of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope 
of this investigation is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is September 1, 1993, through February 
28, 1994.

Such or Similar Comparisons

    We have determined that the merchandise covered by this 
investigation constitutes a single category of ``such or similar'' 
merchandise.

Best Information Available

    Because Thy-Marcinelle failed to respond to our questionnaire, we 
based our determination on best information available (BIA) pursuant to 
section 776(c) of the Act which provides that the Department shall use 
BIA when a party refuses to provide requested information.
    In determining what rate to use as BIA, the Department follows a 
two-tiered methodology, whereby the Department normally assigns lower 
margins to those respondents who cooperated in an investigation and 
margins based on more adverse assumptions for those respondents who did 
not cooperate in an investigation. According to the Department's two-
tiered BIA methodology outlined in the Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products, 
Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products, and Certain Cut-to-
Length Carbon Steel Plate From Belgium, 58 FR 37083 (July 9, 1993), 
when a company refuses to provide the information requested in the form 
required, or otherwise significantly impedes the Department's 
investigation, it is appropriate for the Department to assign to that 
company the higher of (1) The highest margin alleged in the petition, 
or (2) the highest calculated rate of any respondent in the 
investigation. (See Allied Signal Aerospace Co. v. United States, 996 
F. 2d 1185, 1191-92 (Fed. Cir. 1993).) Because there were no 
cooperative respondents in this investigation, we are assigning to all 
exporters, as BIA, a margin of 52.34 percent, the highest margin 
calculated in the petition (adjusted for methodological errors as 
explained in the initiation notice).

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(1) of the Act, we are directing 
the Customs Service to suspend liquidation of all entries of steel wire 
rod from Belgium that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. The Customs Service shall require a cash deposit or 
posting of a bond equal to the estimated preliminary dumping margin, as 
shown below. The suspension of liquidation will remain in effect until 
further notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin  
               Manufacturer/producer/exporter                 percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Companies...............................................       52.34
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our determination. If our final determination is affirmative, 
the ITC will determine whether these imports are materially injuring, 
or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry before the later of 
120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days 
after our final determination.

Public Comment

    In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38, case briefs or other written 
comments in at least ten copies must be submitted to the Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration no later than June 28, 1994, and 
rebuttal briefs, no later than July 1, 1994. In accordance with 19 CFR 
353.38(b), we will hold a public hearing, if requested, to afford 
interested parties an opportunity to comment on arguments raised in 
case or rebuttal briefs. Tentatively, the hearing will be held on July 
7, 1994, at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Department of Commerce, room 3708, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Parties 
should confirm by telephone the time, date, and place of the hearing 48 
hours before the scheduled time.
    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing, or to participate 
if one is requested, must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 
B-099, within ten days of the publication of this notice. Requests 
should contain: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; 
(2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be 
discussed. In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38(b), oral presentations will 
be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If this investigation 
proceeds normally, we will make our final determination within 75 days 
of the signing of this preliminary determination.
    This determination is published pursuant to section 733(f) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 353.15(a)(4).

    Dated: June 6, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-14311 Filed 6-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P