[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57387-57389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28556]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-588-810]


Mechanical Transfer Presses From Japan; Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of antidumping duty 
administrative review; mechanical transfer presses from Japan.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on mechanical 
transfer presses (MTPs) from Japan in response to a request by 
petitioners, Verson Division of Allied Products Corp., the United 
Autoworkers of America, and the United Steelworkers of America (AFL-
CIO/CLC); and by respondent Aida Engineering, Ltd. (Aida). This review 
covers shipments of this merchandise to the United States during the 
period February 1, 1995 through January 31, 1996.
    We have preliminarily determined that sales have not been made 
below normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted in 
our final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs to liquidate entries 
without regard to antidumping duties.
    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: November 6, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elisabeth Urfer or Maureen Flannery, 
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 Department published in the Federal Register an antidumping 
duty order on MTPs from Japan on February 16, 1990 (55 FR 5642). On 
February 9, 1996, we published in the Federal Register (61 FR 4956) a 
notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on MTPs from Japan covering the period February 
1, 1995 through January 31, 1996.
    In accordance with 19 CFR 353.22(a)(1)(1995), petitioners, Verson 
Division of Allied Products Corp., the United Autoworkers of America, 
and the United Steelworkers of America (AFL-CIO/CLC), requested that we 
conduct a review of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. 
(IHI) and Hitachi Zosen Corporation (Hitachi Zosen). Aida requested 
that we conduct an administrative review of its subject merchandise. We 
published a notice of initiation of this antidumping duty 
administrative review on March 19, 1996 (61 FR 11184). The Department 
is conducting this administrative review in accordance with section 751 
of the Act.

Scope of Review

    Imports covered by this review include MTPs currently classifiable 
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers 8462.99.0035 and 
8466.94.5040. The HTS numbers are provided for convenience and for U.S. 
Customs purposes. The written description remains dispositive of the 
scope of the order.
    The term ``mechanical transfer presses'' refers to automatic metal-
forming machine tools with multiple die stations in which the work 
piece is moved from station to station by a transfer mechanism designed 
as an integral part of the press and synchronized with the press 
action, whether imported as machines or parts suitable for use solely 
or principally with these machines. These presses may be imported 
assembled or unassembled. This review does not cover certain parts and 
accessories, which were determined to be outside the scope of the 
order. (See ``Final Scope Ruling on Spare and Replacement Parts,'' U.S. 
Department of Commerce, March 20, 1992; and ``Final Scope Ruling on the 
Antidumping Duty Order on Mechanical Transfer Presses (MTPs) from 
Japan: Request by Komatsu, Ltd.,'' U.S. Department of Commerce, October 
1, 1996.)
    This review covers three manufacturers/exporters of MTPs, and

[[Page 57388]]

the period February 1, 1995 through January 31, 1996.

Non-Shippers

    IHI and Hitachi Zosen stated that they did not have shipments 
during the period of review, and we confirmed these statements with the 
United States Customs Service. Therefore, we are treating IHI and 
Hitachi Zosen as non-shippers in this proceeding. IHI and Hitachi Zosen 
will retain their rates from the last administrative review.

Export Price

    For sales made by Aida we calculated an export price, in accordance 
with section 772(a) of the Act, because the subject merchandise was 
sold directly to the first unaffiliated purchasers in the United States 
prior to importation into the United States, and constructed export 
price was not otherwise indicated.
    We calculated export price based on the delivered price to 
unaffiliated purchasers. We made deductions for foreign inland freight 
and insurance.

Normal Value

    We preliminarily determine that the use of constructed value (CV) 
is warranted to calculate NV for Aida, in accordance with section 
773(a)(4) 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 third 
countries.
    Aida asserts that its home, third country, and U.S. market products 
are distinguished by the many differences in specifications between the 
various presses, and that no merchandise sold in the home market or to 
a third country is identical to the merchandise sold to the United 
States. Aida argues that it is not possible to determine cost 
differences because (1) there is no baseline specification for 
comparison purposes; (2) the design of a press is dictated throughout 
by the combination of specifications applicable to the press, and it is 
not possible to isolate the cost effect of any single specification; 
and (3) differences in cost between two presses result not only from 
differences in specifications, but also from differences in material 
costs, processing costs, fiscal periods, and production efficiency from 
press to press. We note that in past proceedings involving large, 
custom-built capital equipment, including prior reviews of this order, 
we have normally resorted to CV. (See, e.g., Large Power Transformers 
from France; Final Result of Antidumping Administrative Review, 61 FR 
40403, August 2, 1996; Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Large Newspaper Printing Presses and Components 
Thereof, Whether Assembled or Unassembled, From Japan, 61 FR 38139, 
July 23, 1996; and Mechanical Transfer Presses From Japan: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 61 FR 52910, October 
9, 1996.)
    For Aida, CV consists of the cost of materials and fabrication, 
SG&A, profit, and packing. We calculated SG&A and profit based on home 
market sales of MTPs in accordance with section 773(e)(2)(A) of the 
Act. 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, commissions, and 
credit), and adding to CV U.S. direct selling expenses (i.e., 
warranties, commissions, and credit).

Preliminary Results of the Review

    We preliminarily determine that the following dumping margins 
exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin  
          Manufacturer/exporter              Time period      (percent) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aida Engineering, Ltd...................     2/1/95-1/31/96         0.00
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries,                                   
 Ltd....................................     2/1/95-1/31/96     \1\ 0.00
Hitachi Zosen Corporation...............     2/1/95-1/31/96     \1\ 0.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No shipments subject to this review. Rate is from the last relevant 
  segment of the proceeding in which the firm had shipments.            

    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 MTPs from Japan 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 reviewed 
companies 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 the rate established in the investigation of sales at less 
than fair value, which is 14.51 percent.
    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.

[[Page 57389]]

    Dated: October 30, 1996.

Robert S. LaRussa,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-28556 Filed 11-05-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P