[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7469-7471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4548]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-588-838]
Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: Clad Steel Plate From Japan
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 1996.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Grebasch or Erik Warga, Office
of Antidumping Investigations, Import Administration, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3773 or (202) 482-0922, respectively.
The Applicable Statute:
Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are
references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective
date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) by the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).
Preliminary Determination:
As explained in the memoranda from the Assistant Secretary for
Import Administration dated November 22, 1995, and January 11, 1996,
the Department of Commerce (the Department) has exercised its
discretion to toll all deadlines for the duration of the partial
shutdowns of the Federal Government from November 15 through November
21, 1995, and December 16, 1995, through January 6, 1996. Thus, all
deadlines in this investigation have been extended by 28 days, i.e.,
one day for each day (or partial day) the Department was closed. As
such, the deadline for this preliminary determination was to be no
later than April 4, 1996. However, because the sole respondent in the
investigation
[[Page 7470]]
failed to answer our questionnaire, we have expedited the
determination.
We preliminarily determine that clad steel plate from Japan is
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV), 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 October 19, 1995, (60
FR 54666, October 25, 1995), the following events have occurred:
On November 13, 1995, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)
notified the Department of its affirmative preliminary determination.
On December 7, 1995, the Department issued the antidumping
questionnaire to The Japan Steel Works Ltd. (JSW), the only known
Japanese producer and exporter to the United States of Clad Steel
Plate. JSW informed the Department on January 19, 1996, that it would
not be responding to the antidumping questionnaire.
Scope of the Investigation
The scope of this investigation is all clad 1 steel plate of a
width of 600 millimeters (``mm'') or more and a composite thickness of
4.5mm or more. Clad steel plate is a rectangular finished steel mill
product consisting of a layer of cladding material (usually stainless
steel or nickel) which is metallurgically bonded to a base or backing
of ferrous metal (usually carbon or low alloy steel) where the latter
predominates by weight.
\1\ Cladding is the association of layers of metals of different
colors or natures by molecular interpenetration of the surfaces in
contact. This limited diffusion is characteristic of clad products
and differentiates them from products metalized in other manners
(e.g., by normal electroplating). The various cladding processes
include pouring molten cladding metal onto the basic metal followed
by rolling; simple hot-rolling of the cladding metal to ensure
efficient welding to the basic metal; any other method of deposition
or superimposing of the cladding metal followed by any mechanical or
thermal process to ensure welding (e.g., electro-cladding), in which
the cladding metal (nickel, chromium, etc.) is applied to the basic
metal by electroplating, molecular interpenetration of the surfaces
in contact then being obtained by heat treatment at the appropriate
temperature with subsequent cold-rolling. See Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes, Chapter 72, General
Note (IV) (C) (2) (e).
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Stainless clad steel plate is manufactured to American Society for
Testing and Materials (``ASTM'') specifications A263 (400 series
stainless types) and A264 (300 series stainless types). Nickel and
nickel-base alloy clad steel plate is manufactured to ASTM
specification A265. These specifications are illustrative but not
necessarily all-inclusive. Clad steel plate within the scope of this
investigation is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (``HTSUS'') 7210.90.10.00. Although the HTSUS
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, our
written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is September 1, 1994, through
August 31, 1995.
Facts Available
Pursuant to section 776 of the Act, the Department will use the
facts otherwise available if necessary information is not available on
the record, or if an interested party or any other person withholds
requested information, fails to provide such information by the
deadlines for submission of the information or in the form and manner
requested, significantly impedes a proceeding, or provides such
information but the information cannot be verified.
In addition, section 776(b) of the Act provides that, if the
Department finds that an interested party has failed to cooperate by
not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for
information, the Department may use information that is adverse to the
interests of that party as the facts otherwise available. The statute
also provides that such an adverse inference may be based on secondary
information, including information drawn from the petition.
Section 776(c) explains that where the Department relies on
secondary information, the Department will, to the extent practicable,
corroborate that information from independent sources reasonably at the
Department's disposal. The Statement of Administrative Action (SAA),
accompanying the URAA, clarifies that the petition is secondary
information. See SAA, published in H. Doc. 103-316, 103d Cong., 2d
Sess. at 807, 870. The SAA also clarifies that corroborate means to
determine that the information used has probative value. However, where
corroboration is not practicable, the Department may use the
uncorroborated information.
The Department finds that, because JSW has not answered our
questionnaire, it has failed to cooperate to the best of its ability to
comply with our request for information. Accordingly, the application
of section 776(b) is warranted. In this case, the petition is the only
information on the record which could form the basis for a dumping
calculation. Therefore, the Department has based the margins for JSW on
information in the petition.
In accordance with section 776(c) of the Act, the Department
attempted to corroborate the petition information by comparing the
petition information on export price to U.S. Customs data and Japanese
export statistics. Both of these sources record prices based on the
HTSUS subheading 7210.90.10.00, and tend to corroborate the prices
contained in the petition. (See memorandum dated February 16, 1996.)
Because Lukens Steel Company (the petitioner) based the normal
value calculation on constructed value in the petition, we were able to
examine the supporting documentation regarding the valuation of
variable costs for labor, electricity, natural gas, and other factors
(principally backing steel and insert metal costs) in Japan and because
that supporting information was from independent, public sources, we
found that those costs have probative value.
Accordingly, we have preliminarily relied upon the information
contained in the petition, and have assigned to JSW a margin of 118.53
percent.
All-Others Rate
Under section 735(c)(5) of the Act, the ``all-others rate'' will
normally be a weighted average of the weighted-average dumping margins
established for all exporters and producers, but will exclude any zero
or de minimis margins, or any margins based entirely on the facts
available. However, this provision also states that if there are no
margins other than those that are zero, de minimis, or based on the
facts available, the Department may use other reasonable methods to
calculate the all-others rate, including a weighted-average of such
margins. In this case, as discussed above, the margin assigned to JSW
is 118.53 percent based on the facts available, and there is no
alternative method upon which to base the all others rate. Therefore,
the Department determines the all-others rate to be 118.53 percent as
well.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we are directing the
Customs Service to suspend liquidation of all entries of Clad Plate
Steel from Japan, 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 amount by which the normal
value exceeds the export price as shown
[[Page 7471]]
below. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in
effect until further notice.
The dumping margins are as follows:
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Margin
Exporter/manufacturer percentage
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The Japan Steel Company..................................... 118.53
All others.................................................. 118.53
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The all others rate applies to all entries of subject merchandise
except for entries from exporters that are identified above.
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 before the later of 120 days after the date of
this preliminary determination or 45 days after our final determination
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry.
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 March 1, 1996, and
rebuttal briefs, no later than March 8, 1996. A list of authorities
used and a summary of arguments made in the briefs should accompany
these briefs. The summary must be limited to five pages total,
including footnotes. In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38, 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 at 10 a.m. Tuesday March 12,
1996, at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3606, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 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 by May 1, 1996.
This determination is published pursuant to section 733(f) of the
Act.
Dated: February 22, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-4548 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P