[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15461-15463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8510]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-427-030]


Large Power Transformers From France; Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of the antidumping duty 
administrative review; large power transformers from France.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty finding on large power 
transformers (LPTs) from France in response to a request by respondent, 
Jeumont Schneider Transformateurs (JST). This review covers shipments 
of this merchandise to the United States during the period June 1, 1994 
through May 31, 1995.
    We have preliminarily determined that sales have not been made 
below normal value (NV). Interested parties are invited to comment on 
these preliminary results. Parties who submit argument are requested to 
submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief 
summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 8, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elisabeth Urfer or Maureen Flannery, 
Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-
4733.

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). In addition, unless otherwise 
indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the 
current regulations, as amended by the interim regulations published in 
the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 25130).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Treasury Department published in the Federal Register an 
antidumping finding on LPTs from France on June 14, 1972 (37 FR 11772). 
On June 6, 1995, we published in the Federal Register (60 FR 29821) a 
notice of opportunity to

[[Page 15462]]
request an administrative review of the antidumping finding on LPTs 
from France covering the period June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995.
    In accordance with 19 CFR 353.22(a)(1)(1995), JST requested that we 
conduct an administrative review of its sales. We published a notice of 
initiation of this antidumping duty administrative review on July 14, 
1995 (60 FR 36260). The Department is conducting this administrative 
review in accordance with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of Review

    Imports covered by the review are shipments of LPTs; that is, all 
types of transformers rated 10,000 kVA (kilovolt-amperes) or above, by 
whatever name designated, used in the generation, transmission, 
distribution, and utilization of electric power. The term 
``transformers'' includes, but is not limited to, shunt reactors, 
autotransformers, rectifier transformers, and power rectifier 
transformers. Not included are combination units, commonly known as 
rectiformers, if the entire integrated assembly is imported in the same 
shipment and entered on the same entry and the assembly has been 
ordered and invoiced as a unit, without a separate price for the 
transformer portion of the assembly. This merchandise is currently 
classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers 
8504.22.00, 8504.23.00, 8504.34.33, 8504.40.00, and 8504.50.00. The HTS 
item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The 
written description remains dispositive.
    This review covers one manufacturer/exporter of transformers, JST, 
and the period June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995.

Export Price

    For sales made by JST we calculated an export price, in accordance 
with section 772(a) of the Act, because the subject merchandise was 
sold to unrelated purchasers in the United States prior to importation 
into the United States.
    We calculated export price based on the delivered price to 
unrelated purchasers. We made deductions for international freight, 
foreign inland freight, U.S. inland freight, and U.S. duties.

Normal Value

    We preliminarily determine that the use of constructed value (CV) 
is warranted to calculate NV for JST, in accordance with section 773(a) 
of the Act. While the home market is viable, the particular market 
situation in this case, which requires that the subject merchandise be 
built to each customer's specifications, does not permit proper price-
to price comparisons in either the home market or a third country.
    Petitioner and JST agree that CV should be used to calculate NV. 
Petitioner notes that because LPTs are built to each purchaser's 
specifications, the likelihood of finding identical merchandise in the 
home and U.S. markets is remote, and that changing a single 
specification in an LPT frequently results in literally hundreds of 
changes to the other physical attributes of the unit. We have reviewed 
the specifications submitted, as well as information regarding the 
relationship of certain specifications to costs and have determined 
that the particular market situation does not permit proper price-to-
price comparisons in this case. We have therefore based NV on CV. In 
addition, we note that in past proceedings involving large, custom-
built capital equipment, including prior reviews of this finding, we 
have normally resorted to CV. (See, e.g., Large Power Transformers from 
France; Final Result of Antidumping Administrative Review, 60 FR 62808, 
December 7, 1995; and Mechanical Transfer Presses From Japan: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 58 FR 68117, 
December 23, 1993.)
    CV consists of the cost of materials and fabrication, general 
expenses, profit, and packing. We used packing costs for merchandise 
exported to the United States. We made a circumstance-of-sale 
adjustment by deducting from CV home market direct selling expenses, 
i.e., warranties and commissions, and adding to CV U.S. direct selling 
expenses, i.e., commissions, selling expenses, and credit. We also made 
a circumstance-of-sale adjustment for JST's exchange rate guarantee.
    JST reported an aggregate profit figure based on its home market 
sales. JST urges the Department to use this figure for profit, 
particularly if the Department uses JST's SG&A figures for 1994, 
because SG&A and profit are both derived from JST's financial 
statements, and are, therefore, linked. While we have used JST's actual 
SG&A figures, we question the appropriateness of using JST's submitted 
profit figure, for the reasons explained in the proprietary memo to the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Compliance. Instead, we have calculated 
a profit figure based on JST's parent company, Schneider SA as facts 
otherwise available. However, there may be other profit figures that 
would be more appropriate for use in the calculation of CV. As 
examples, we could calculate JST's profit based only on above-cost 
sales if we had cost data for home market sales, or there may be other 
relevant information in JST's books and records. Therefore, we are 
inviting comment on this issue for the final results.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of our comparison of export price to normal value, we 
preliminarily determine that no dumping margin exists for sales of LPTs 
made to the United States by JST during the period June 1, 1994 to May 
31, 1995.
    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within 5 days of 
the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of publication. Any hearing, if 
requested, will be held 44 days after the publication of this notice, 
or the first workday thereafter. Interested parties may submit case 
briefs within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice. 
Rebuttal briefs, which must be limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date of 
publication. The Department will publish a notice of final results of 
this administrative review, which will include the results of its 
analysis of issues raised in any such comments.
    The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall 
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Upon completion 
of this review, the Department will issue appraisement instructions 
directly to the Customs Service.
    Furthermore, the following deposit rates will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review for all 
shipments of LPTs from France entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the publication date, as provided for by 
section 751(a)(2)(c) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the 
reviewed company will be the rate established in the final results of 
this review; (2) for previously reviewed or investigated companies not 
listed above, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-
specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter 
is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original 
less-than-fair-value investigation, but the manufacturer is, the cash 
deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent period 
for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) for all other 
producers and/or exporters of this merchandise, the cash deposit rate 
shall be 24 percent, the rate established in the first notice of final 
results of

[[Page 15463]]
administrative review published by the Department (47 FR 10268, March 
10, 1982).
    These deposit rates, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
publication of the final results of the next administrative review.
    This notice also serves as a preliminary 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 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.

Paul L. Joffe,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
    Dated: March 29, 1996.
[FR Doc. 96-8510 Filed 4-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P