[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17774-17775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8629]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-549-809]


Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Thailand

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 7, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Vincent Kane or Julie Anne Osgood, Office of Countervailing 
Investigations, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-2815 
or 482-0167, respectively.

Amended Final Determination

    We are amending the final determination of sales at less than fair 
value of certain carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings (pipe fittings) 
from Thailand to reflect the correction of ministerial errors made in 
the margin calculation in the final determination.

Case History

    In accordance with section 735(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 1673d(a)) (the Act), on February 27, 1995, the 
Department of Commerce (the Department) published its final 
determination that pipe fittings from Thailand were being sold at less 
than fair value (60 FR 10552). On March 13, 1995, respondent, Awaji 
Sangyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (AST), alleged that the Department made 
several clerical errors in its final determination regarding the margin 
calculations and requested that the Department correct these errors.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain carbon steel 
butt-weld pipe fittings having an inside diameter of less than fourteen 
inches (355 millimeters), imported in either finished or unfinished 
condition. Pipe fittings are formed of forged steel products used to 
join pipe sections in piping systems where conditions require permanent 
welded connections, as distinguished from fittings based on other 
methods of fastening (e.g., threaded, grooved, or bolted fittings). 
Butt-weld fittings come in a variety of shapes which include 
``elbows,'' ``tees,'' ``caps,'' and ``reducers.'' The edges of finished 
pipe fittings are beveled, so that when a fitting is placed against the 
end of a pipe (the ends of which have also been beveled), a shallow 
channel is created to accommodate the ``bead'' of the weld which joins 
the fitting to the pipe. These pipe fittings are currently classifiable 
under subheading 7307.93.3000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided 
for convenience and Customs purposes, our written description of the 
scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Amended Final Determination

    On March 13, 1995, respondent alleged that the Department had made 
three ministerial errors in the final calculations performed to 
determine the dumping margin for AST in accordance with section 353.28 
of the Department's regulations. Each alleged error is discussed below.
Comment 1

    Upon exportation of finished pipe fitting, AST received drawback of 
import duties on imported pipe used to produce the pipe fittings. AST 
alleges that the Department incorrectly added the drawback amount to 
the foreign market value (FMV), rather than to the United States price 
(USP).

DOC Position

    We agree with respondent. Section 772(d)(1)(B) of the Act provides 
that the U.S. price shall be increased by the amount of any import 
duties imposed in the country of exportation which have been rebated, 
or not collected, by reason of exportation of the merchandise to the 
United States. In the final determination, we inadvertently added 
drawback to FMV rather than to USP. We have recalculated FMV and USP to 
correct this error.

Comment 2

    AST alleges that in allocating indirect selling expenses to the 
home market, the Department used an incorrect value for home market 
shipments during the period of investigation (POI).

DOC Position

    We agree with respondent. We have now reallocated home market 
selling expenses using the correct value.

Comment 3

    AST alleges the Department erroneously included a quantity of 
seamless pipe in its calculation of total welded pipe consumed. AST 
contends that this quantity of seamless pipe should be excluded from 
the Department's welded pipe consumption calculation.

DOC Position

    We agree with AST that the Department erroneously included some 
seamless pipe quantities in its calculation of per unit welded pipe 
consumed. We intended to include only welded pipe in our welded pipe 
consumption calculation. Thus, we have recomputed per unit welded pipe 
consumed based solely on AST's welded pipe consumption.
    Accordingly, pursuant to section 735(e) of the Act, we have 
corrected the ministerial errors in the final determination of sales at 
less than fair value. The final estimated margin [[Page 17775]] changes 
from 38.41 percent to 17.13 percent.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(1) of the Act, we are directing 
the U.S. Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of butt-weld pipe fittings from Thailand, as defined in the 
``Scope of Investigation'' section of this notice, that are produced 
and sold by AST and that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after October 4, 1994.
    The Customs Service shall require a cash deposit or the posting of 
a bond equal to the estimated weighted-average amount by which the 
foreign market value of AST's subject merchandise exceeds the United 
States price as shown below. The suspension of liquidation will remain 
in effect until further notice. The amended weighted-average dumping 
margin is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Margin  Deposit
            Manufacturer/producer/exporter              percent  percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awaji Sangyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd......................    17.13    16.39
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We did not determine an ``all others'' rate in this investigation, 
because all other producers and exporters of butt-weld pipe fittings 
from Thailand are already subject to an antidumping duty order on this 
merchandise, which was published in the Federal Register on July 6, 
1992 (57 FR 29702).

Adjustment of Deposit Rate for Countervailing Duties

    Article VI, paragraph 5 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade provides that ``[no] product * * * shall be subject to both 
antidumping and countervailing duties to compensate for the same 
situation for dumping or export subsidization.'' This provision is 
implemented by section 772(d)(1)(D) of the Act. Because antidumping 
duties cannot be assessed on the portion of the margin attributable to 
export subsidies, there is no basis to require a cash deposit or bond 
for that amount.
    Accordingly, the level of export subsidies as determined in the 
most recent administrative review of the countervailing duty order, 
Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Thailand; Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, (57 FR 5248, February 13, 
1992), which was 0.74 percent, will be subtracted from the margin for 
cash deposit or bonding purposes. This results in a deposit rate of 
16.39 percent for AST.
    This amended final determination is published in accordance with 
section 735(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 353.21.

    Dated: March 29, 1995.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 95-8629 Filed 4-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-WS-M