[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 178 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49327-49328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24769]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-475-820]


Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Stainless Steel Wire Rod From 
Italy

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 15, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn Thompson or Irina Itkin, Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-1776 or (202) 482-0656, respectively.

The Applicable Statute

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), are references to the provisions effective 
January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the 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 part 351, 62 FR 27296 (May 19, 1997).

Scope of Order

    For purposes of this order, stainless steel wire rod (SSWR) 
comprises products that are hot-rolled or hot-rolled annealed and/or 
pickled and/or descaled rounds, squares, octagons, hexagons or other 
shapes, in coils, that may also be coated with a lubricant containing 
copper, lime or oxalate. SSWR is made of alloy steels containing, by 
weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of 
chromium, with or without other elements. These products are 
manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-rolling, annealing, and/or 
pickling and/or descaling, are normally sold in coiled form, and are of 
solid cross-section. The majority of SSWR sold in the United States is 
round in cross-sectional shape, annealed and pickled, and later cold-
finished into stainless steel wire or small-diameter bar.
    The most common size for such products is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217 
inches in diameter, which represents the smallest size that normally is 
produced on a rolling mill and is the size that most wire-drawing 
machines are set up to draw. The range of SSWR sizes normally sold in 
the United States is between 0.20 inches and 1.312 inches diameter. Two 
stainless steel grades, SF20T and K-M35FL, are excluded from the scope 
of the order. The chemical makeup for the excluded grades is as 
follows:

SF20T

Carbon--0.05 max
Manganese--2.00 max
Phosphorous--0.05 max
Sulfur--0.15 max
Silicon--1.00 max
Chromium--19.00/21.00
Molybdenum--1.50/2.50
Lead--added (0.10/0.30)
Tellurium--added (0.03 min)

K-M35FL

Carbon--0.015 max
Silicon--0.70/1.00
Manganese--0.40 max
Phosphorous--0.04 max
Sulfur--0.03 max
Nickel--0.30 max
Chromium--12.50/14.00
Lead--0.10/0.30
Aluminum--0.20/0.35

    The products subject to this order are currently classifiable under 
subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, and 
7221.00.0075 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is 
dispositive.

Antidumping Order

    In accordance with section 735(a) of the Act, on July 20, 1998, the 
Department made its final determination that SSWR from Italy, is being, 
or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value 
(63 FR 40422 (July 29, 1998)). On September 8, 1998, in accordance with 
section 735(d) of the Act, the U.S. International Trade Commission 
(ITC) notified the Department of its final determination, pursuant to 
section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, that a U.S. industry is materially 
injured by reason of imports of stainless steel wire rod from Italy.
    In accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, the Department 
will direct Customs officers to assess, upon further advice by the 
administering authority, antidumping duties equal to the amount by 
which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the export price of 
the merchandise for all relevant entries of stainless steel wire rod 
from Italy, except for imports manufactured and exported by Acciaierie 
Valbruna S.r.l. or its subsidiary Acciaierie di Bolzano SpA. For all 
other manufacturers/exporters, antidumping duties will be assessed on 
all unliquidated entries of stainless steel wire rod from Italy 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 
5, 1998, the date on which the Department published its preliminary 
determination notice in the Federal Register (63 FR 10831).
    On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, Customs officers must require, at the same time as importers 
would normally deposit estimated duties, the following cash deposits 
for the subject merchandise:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Cash   
               Manufacturer/producer/exporter                  deposit  
                                                                 rate   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cogne Acciai Speciali S.r.l................................        12.73
All Others.................................................        12.73
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ``All Others'' rate applies to all manufacturers/exporters of 
stainless steel wire rod not specifically listed above, except for 
Acciaierie Valbruna S.r.l. and Acciaierie di Bolzano SpA.
    Article VI (5) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1947) 
prohibits assessing dumping duties on the portion of the margin 
attributable to an export subsidy. In this case, the product under 
investigation is subject to a countervailing duty investigation (see 
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Certain Stainless 
Steel Wire Rod From Italy, 63 FR 40474 (July 29, 1998)). Therefore, for 
all entries of SSWR from Italy, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption on or after the date on which the order in the companion 
countervailing duty investigation is published in the Federal Register, 
we will request for duty deposit purposes that the Customs Service 
deduct the portion of the margin attributable to export subsidies from 
the countervailing duty investigation. The antidumping cash deposit 
rates, as adjusted for export subsidies, are as follows:

[[Page 49328]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Cash   
               Manufacturer/producer/exporter                  deposit  
                                                                 rate   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cogne Acciai Speciali S.r.l................................        12.72
All Others.................................................        12.72
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to 
stainless steel wire rod from Italy, pursuant to section 736(a) of the 
Act. Interested parties may contact the Central Records Unit, Room B-
099 of the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of 
antidumping duty orders currently in effect.
    This order is published in accordance with section 736(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

    Dated: September 10, 1998.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-24769 Filed 9-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P