[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 146 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 40698-40699] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-20416] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-423-805] Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Belgium AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of final court decision and amended final determination of sales at less than fair value. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: On March 12, 1998, the Court of International Trade vacated the amended final rate for respondent Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi S.A. and [[Page 40699]] affirmed the margin calculated for this company in the final determination of sales at less than fair value in certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Belgium. As there is now a final and conclusive court decision in this action, we are amending our final determination of sales at less than fair value and we will instruct the Customs Service to change cash deposit rates, where appropriate. EFFECTIVE DATE: July 30, 1998. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sanjay Mullick or Kris Campbell, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0588 or 482-3813, respectively. Applicable Statute Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), are references to the provisions in effect as of December 31, 1994. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce's (the Department's) regulations are to the regulations as codified at 19 CFR part 353 (April 1, 1997). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On July 9, 1993, the Department published the final determination of sales at less than fair value (LTFV) in the investigation of certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Belgium.1 The antidumping duty rate calculated for respondent Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi S.A. (FFC) was 3.65 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Belgium, 58 FR 37083 (July 9, 1993). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On August 19, 1993, the Department published an amended final determination, in which we corrected a ministerial error by recalculating the profit rate used in determining FFC's constructed value (CV).2 The recalculation included profit on home market sales of `Z-type' steel, which is within the general class or kind of merchandise, but which was not sold in the United States during the period of investigation and was not used for matching purposes. The amended final determination rate for FFC was 13.31 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ Antidumping Duty Order and Amendment to Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Belgium, 58 FR 44164 (August 19, 1993). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On January 16, 1998, the Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a remand concerning this segment of the proceeding, in which the CIT found the Department's calculation of the CV profit rate for FFC in the amended final determination to be erroneous. 3 The CIT agreed with the Department that section 773(e)(1) of the Act requires the calculation of CV profit based on sales of the ``general class or kind'' of merchandise, which includes Z-type steel. 4 However, the Court held that, in the Department's amended determination, the profits on Z-type sales were ``extrapolated out of realistic and rational proportion.'' 5 Accordingly, the CIT issued the following instructions: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi S.A. v. United States, Slip Op. 98-4 (CIT January 16, 1998) (``Fabrique''). \4\ Fabrique at 8-9. \5\ Id. at 12. The ITA may have 45 days from the date hereof to consider and report whether, in the exercise of its sound discretion, factoring plaintiff's (FFC) profit on home-market sales of Z-type product in a manner more reflective of the record leads to a weighted-average margin percentage greater than the 3.65 reported at 58 Fed. Reg. 37,091 for FFC. If the court does not receive an affirmative report to this effect by the end of this period, that original margin will be affirmed. 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \6\ Id. at 13. The Department did not issue an affirmative report to the Court. On March 12, 1998, the Court vacated the amended final rate for FFC (13.31 percent) and affirmed the margin calculated for this company in the final determination (3.65 percent). 7 The period to appeal has expired and no appeal was filed. Therefore, as there is now a final and conclusive court decision in this action, we are amending our final determination of sales at LTFV. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \7\ Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi S.A. v. United States, Slip Op. 98-26 (CIT March 12, 1998). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amendment to Final Determination Pursuant to section 516A(e) of the Act, we are now amending the final determination of sales at LTFV of certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Belgium with respect to exports by FFC. In addition, as a result of the change in FFC's margin, we are recalculating the ``All-Others'' rate. The revised weighted-average percentage dumping margins are as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Manufacturer/exporter Percentage ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fabrique de Fer de Charleroi S.A........................... 3.65 All Others................................................. 6.75 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The above rate listed for FFC will not affect that company's deposit or assessment rates for any segment of this proceeding. Since publication of the first amended LTFV final determination and order, the Department has completed, pursuant to section 751 of the Act, an administrative review of the antidumping order covering FFC's entries for the period August 1, 1995 through July 31, 1996. 8 That review established FFC's assessment rates for that period, and also established its current weighted-average deposit rate. Any entries made prior to that review period were subject to automatic liquidation pursuant to 19 C.F.R. 353.22 (e). However, the Department will instruct the Customs Service to change the cash deposit requirements for producers/exporters subject to the ``All-Others'' rate to 6.75 percent. 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \8\ Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Belgium: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 63 FR 2959 (January 20, 1998). \9\ The current ``All-Others'' rate is 6.84 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This notice is published in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 353.21. Dated: July 23, 1998. Joseph A. Spetrini, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration. [FR Doc. 98-20416 Filed 7-29-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P