[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20214-20216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11122]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-428-602]


Brass Sheet and Strip from Germany; Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Notice of Intent To Revoke 
Order in Part

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

ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and Notice of Intent to Revoke Order in Part.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request by the respondent, the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Germany. The 
review covers one manufacturer/exporter of this merchandise to the 
United States, Wieland-Werke AG (Wieland). The period covered is March 
1, 1994 through February 28, 1995. As a result of the review, the 
Department has preliminarily determined that no dumping margins exist 
for this respondent. We intend to revoke the order with respect to 
brass sheet and strip from Germany manufactured by Wieland, based on 
our preliminary determination that Wieland has had a three-year period 
of no or de minimis sales at less than foreign market value.
    We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit argument in this proceeding are requested 
to submit with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a 
brief summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 6, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Killiam or John Kugelman, 
Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2704 or 482-0649, respectively.

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

    On March 6, 1987, the Department published in the Federal Register 
(52 FR 6997) the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from 
Germany. The Department published a notice of ``Opportunity to Request 
an Administrative Review'' of the antidumping duty order for the 1994-
1995 period on March 7, 1995 (60 FR 12540). On March 31, 1995, we 
received a request for review from Wieland covering the period March 1, 
1994 through February 28, 1995. We published a notice of initiation of 
this antidumping duty administrative review on April 14, 1995 (60 FR 
19017).
    As explained in the memoranda from the Assistant Secretary for 
Import Administration dated November 22, 1995, and January 11, 1996, 
all

[[Page 20215]]

deadlines were extended to take into account the partial shutdowns of 
the Federal Government from November 15 through November 21, 1995 and 
December 15, 1995, through January 6, 1996. Therefore, the deadline for 
these preliminary results is no later than April 29, 1996, and the 
deadline for the final results of review is no later than August 27, 
1996.
    The Department is now conducting this administrative review in 
accordance with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by this review are sales or entries of brass sheet 
and strip, other than leaded and tinned brass sheet and strip. The 
chemical composition of the products under review is currently defined 
in the Copper Development Association (C.D.A.) 200 Series or the 
Unified Numbering System (U.N.S.) C20000 series. This review does not 
cover products for which the chemical compositions are defined by other 
C.D.A. or U.N.S. series. The merchandise is currently classified under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers 7409.21.00 and 
7409.29.20. The HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and 
Customs purposes. The written description remains dispositive.
    The review period is March 1, 1994 through February 28, 1995. The 
review involves one manufacturer/ exporter, Wieland.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act, we verified 
information provided by the respondent, Wieland, by using our standard 
verification procedures, including the examination of relevant sales 
and financial records and selection of original documentation 
containing relevant information. Our verification results are outlined 
in the public version of the verification report.

Intent To Revoke

    Wieland submitted a request, in accordance with 19 C.F.R. 
353.25(b), to revoke the order covering brass sheet and strip from 
Germany with respect to Wieland's sales of this merchandise.
    In accordance with 19 C.F.R. 353.25(a)(2)(iii), this request was 
accompanied by certifications from the firm that it had not sold the 
relevant class or kind of merchandise at less than normal value (NV) 
for a three-year period including this review period, and would not do 
so in the future. Wieland also agreed to its immediate reinstatement in 
the relevant antidumping duty order, as long as any firm is subject to 
this order, if the Department concludes under 19 C.F.R. 353.22(f) that, 
subsequent to revocation, it sold the subject merchandise at less than 
NV.
    In the two prior reviews of this order, we determined that Wieland 
did not sell brass sheet and strip from Germany at less than foreign 
market value. The Department conducted a verification of Wieland's 
response for this period of review. In this review, we preliminarily 
determine that Wieland has not sold brass sheet and strip from Germany 
at less than NV in the United States. Therefore, we intend to revoke 
the order with respect to Wieland's sales of this merchandise, if these 
preliminary findings are affirmed in our final results.

United States Price (USP)

    In calculating USP for Wieland, we used export price (EP), as 
defined in section 772 of the Act, because the merchandise was sold to 
unaffiliated U.S. purchasers prior to the date of importation and 
because no other circumstances indicated that constructed export price 
was appropriate. We calculated EP based on prices that were delivered 
to the customers' premises. In accordance with section 772(c)(1) of the 
Act, we adjusted USP, less early payment discounts, for brokerage and 
handling, foreign and U.S. inland freight, and customs duty. We did not 
adjust for packing expense, which was included in reported U.S. prices.
    No other adjustments to EP were claimed or allowed.

Normal Value

A. Viability

    In order to determine whether there was a sufficient volume of 
sales in the home market to serve as a viable basis for calculating NV, 
we compared Wieland's volume of home market sales of the foreign like 
product to the volume of U.S. sales of the subject merchandise, in 
accordance with section 773(a)(1)(B) of the Act. Because Wieland's 
aggregate volume of home market sales of the foreign like product was 
greater than five percent of its aggregate volume of U.S. sales of the 
subject merchandise, we determined that the home market provides a 
viable basis for calculating NV for Wieland.

B. Model-Matching

    We calculated NV using prices of sales of brass sheet having the 
same characteristics as to form, coat, gauge, width, and alloy. We used 
the same gauge and width groupings and the same model-match methodology 
in this review as in the last completed administrative reviews (1990-
1994).

C. Price-to-Price Comparisons

    We calculated NV using monthly weighted-average prices of brass 
sheet and strip having the same characteristics as to form, coat, 
gauge, width, and alloy. We based NV on the price at which the foreign 
like product is first sold for consumption in the exporting country, in 
the usual commercial quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, 
and at the same level of trade as the export price, as defined by 
section 773(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act.
    We reduced NV for early payment discounts and credit, in accordance 
with section 773(a)(6)(C)(iii), due to differences in circumstances of 
sale. We reduced NV for movement expenses, in accordance with section 
773(a)(6)(B)(ii), and for packing costs incurred in the home market, in 
accordance with section 773(a)(6)(B)(i). We increased NV for export 
packing costs, in accordance with section 773(a)(6)(A), and for U.S. 
credit expenses, in accordance with section 773(a)(6)(C)(iii) of the 
Act. We added to NV adjustments for physical differences in the 
merchandise, in accordance with section 773(a)(6)(C)(ii) of the Act.
    No other adjustments to NV were claimed or allowed.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of our comparison of EP to NV, we preliminarily 
determine that a zero dumping margin exists for Wieland for the period 
3/1/94-2/28/95.
    Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of publication of this notice. Any 
hearing will be held 44 days after the date of publication or the first 
workday thereafter. Interested parties may submit case briefs within 30 
days of the publication date of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, 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 the final results of this administrative review, which will 
include the results of its analysis of issues raised in any such case 
briefs or at a hearing.
    The following deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Wieland will be the 
rate established in the final results of this

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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 (LTFV) 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. (4) If neither the 
manufacturer nor the exporter is a firm covered in this or any previous 
review, the cash deposit rate will be 8.87 percent, the ``all others'' 
rate established in the LTFV investigation. These deposit requirements, 
when imposed, shall remain in effect until publication of the final 
results of the next administrative review.
    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR Sec. 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 this notice are in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 353.22.

    Dated: April 26, 1996.
Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-11122 Filed 5-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P