[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46947-46949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23607]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-401-805]


Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From Sweden: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of final results of antidumping duty administrative 
review.

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SUMMARY: On May 14, 1997, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published the preliminary results of its administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from 
Sweden. This review covers one manufacturer/exporter, SSAB Svenskt Stal 
AB (SSAB), of the subject merchandise for the period August 1, 1995 
through July 31, 1996. We gave interested parties an opportunity to 
comment on our preliminary results. We received no comments and have 
not changed the results from those presented in the preliminary results 
of review.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 5, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Blozy, Doreen Chen, or Stephen 
Jacques, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1391, (202) 482-0162, and 
(202) 482-3434, respectively.
    The Applicable Statute and Regulations: Unless otherwise indicated, 
all citations to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Tariff Act), 
are to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of 
the amendments made to the Tariff Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to 
the Department's regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR 353 
(1996).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 14, 1997, the Department published in the Federal Register 
(62 FR 26473) the preliminary results of its administrative review of 
the antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate 
from Sweden (58 FR 44162). For the preliminary results, we were unable 
to calculate a margin based on SSAB's response and therefore determined 
its dumping margin entirely on the basis of facts available. This facts 
available determination relied upon adverse inferences, as the 
Department determined that SSAB had not cooperated by acting to the 
best of its ability in responding to requests for information. We gave 
interested parties an opportunity to comment on our preliminary 
results. We received no comments. We have now completed the 
administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

Scope of Review

    Certain cut-to-length plate includes hot-rolled carbon steel 
universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four faces 
or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 millimeters but not

[[Page 46948]]

exceeding 1,250 millimeters and of a thickness of not less than 4 
millimeters, not in coils and without patterns in relief), of 
rectangular shape, neither clad, plated nor coated with metal, whether 
or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic 
substances; and certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat-rolled products in 
straight lengths, of rectangular shape, hot rolled, neither clad, 
plated, nor coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or 
coated with plastics or other nonmetallic substances, 4.75 millimeters 
or more in thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 millimeters and 
measures at least twice the thickness, as currently classifiable in the 
HTS under item numbers 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 
7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000, 
7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000. Included are 
flat-rolled products of non-rectangular cross-section where such cross-
section is achieved subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., products 
which have been worked after rolling)--for example, products which have 
been beveled or rounded at the edges. Excluded is grade X-70 plate. 
These HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description remains dispositive.
    The period of review (POR) is August 1, 1995, through July 31, 
1996.

Use of Facts Available

    Following the initiation of this review, on September 17, 1996, the 
Department sent respondent a questionnaire seeking information 
necessary to conduct a review of any shipments that firm may have made 
to the United States during the POR. On October 21, 1996, the due date 
for section A of the Department's questionnaire, SSAB made a timely 
withdrawal of its request for a review of this POR. However, because 
petitioners had also requested an administrative review, the review was 
not terminated. Additionally, SSAB stated it would not be participating 
in the review and requested assignment, as facts available, of the 
first administrative review margin, 8.28 percent. Thus, SSAB refused to 
respond to all sections of the questionnaire.
    On January 8, 1997, petitioners requested that the Department 
assign to SSAB as facts available, 34 percent, the highest rate from 
the antidumping petition.
    SSAB made no attempt in this review to contact the Department to 
discuss how it should proceed, nor did it respond to any section of the 
questionnaire. Thus, the Department has found that, in not responding 
to the questionnaire, SSAB failed to cooperate by not acting to the 
best of its ability to comply with requests for information from the 
Department. Therefore, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, we may, 
in making our determination, use an adverse inference in selecting from 
the facts otherwise available.
    This adverse inference may include reliance on data derived from 
the petition, a previous determination in an investigation or review, 
or any other information placed on the record. In the previous segment 
of the proceeding, the Department chose an adverse facts available rate 
of 24.23%; this represented the average rate based on corroborated 
petition data. In this segment of the proceeding, we have chosen as 
adverse facts available the highest rate based on corroborated petition 
data, i.e., 34%. Our decision to use a rate higher than the average 
petition rate is consistent with our decision in the preceding 
administrative review because, in that review, ``while SSAB did not act 
to the best of its ability in responding to our cost information 
requests, it did cooperate with respect to certain aspects of this 
review.'' See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Sweden, 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 61 FR 
51898, 51900 (October 4, 1996); see also, Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon 
Steel Plate from Sweden, Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, 62 FR 18396, 18401 (April 15, 1997). In this 
case, SSAB, in contrast to its level of cooperation in the previous 
segment of the proceeding, has not cooperated at all with our requests 
for information.
    Section 776(b) authorizes the Department to use as adverse facts 
available information derived from the petition, the final 
determination, a previous administrative review, or other information 
placed on the record. Section 776(c) provides that the Department 
shall, to the extent practicable, corroborate ``secondary information'' 
by reviewing independent sources reasonably at its disposal. The SAA, 
at 870, makes it clear that ``secondary information'' includes 
information from the petition in the LTFV investigation and information 
from a previous section 751 review of the subject merchandise. The SAA 
also provides that ``corroborate'' means simply that the Department 
will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be used has 
probative value. Id.
    The Department used an average of the petition rates as total 
adverse facts available in the previous segment of this proceeding. The 
Department explained in that review that it had corroborated the 
petition information. Id. For the purposes of the final results, we 
continue to regard the petition information as corroborated.

Duty Absorption

    Because we received no comments on duty absorption, we uphold the 
preliminary results on this issue. We find duty absorption on all 
sales.

Final Results of Review

    As a result of our review, we determine the dumping margin (in 
percent) for the period August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996 to be as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin  
                    Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSAB........................................................       34.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department shall determine, and the U.S. Customs Service shall 
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department 
will issue appraisement instructions directly to the Customs Service.
    Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective 
upon publication of these final results for all shipments of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the publication date as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for SSAB will be the 
rate stated above; (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or 
exporters not covered in this review but covered in the original LTFV 
investigation or previous review, the cash deposit will continue to be 
the most recent rate published in the final determination or final 
results for which the manufacturer or exporter received a company-
specific rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this 
review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer is, the 
cash deposit rate will be that established for the manufacturer of the 
merchandise in these final results of review or the LTFV investigation; 
and (4) if neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered 
in this or any previous review, the cash deposit rate will be 24.23 
percent, the all others rate established in the LTFV investigation. 
(See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Sweden, Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 58 FR 37213 (July 9, 
1993).) These deposit requirements

[[Page 46949]]

shall remain in effect until publication of the final results of the 
next administrative review.

Notification of Interested Parties

    This notice also serves as a final 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 notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APOs) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d)(1). Timely written notification 
of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the 
regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    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(c)(5).

    Dated: August 27, 1997.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-23607 Filed 9-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P