[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 178 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49334-49335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24774]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION
[C-475-821]


Notice of Countervailing 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: Kathleen Lockard or Eric B. Greynolds, 
Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 
482-2786.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are 
references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by 
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act effective January 1, 1995 (the Act). 
In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the 
Department's regulations are to the current regulations codified at 19 
CFR 351 and published in the Federal Register on May 19, 1997 (62 FR 
27295).

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, and 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 in diameter. 
Two stainless steel grades SF20T and K-M35FL are excluded from the 
scope of the order. The percentages of chemical makeup for the excluded 
grades are 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.

Countervailing Duty Order

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, on July 29, 1998, the 
Department published its final determination in the countervailing duty 
investigation of certain stainless steel wire rod from Italy (63 FR 
40474). On September 8, 1998, in accordance with section 705(d) of the 
Act, the International Trade Commission (ITC) notified the Department 
of its final determination, pursuant to section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Act, that an industry in the United States suffered material injury as 
a result of subsidized imports of stainless steel wire rod from Italy.
    Therefore, countervailing duties will be assessed on all 
unliquidated entries of SSWR from Italy entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after January 7, 1998, the date on 
which the Department published its preliminary countervailing duty 
determination in the Federal Register, and before May 7, 1998, the date 
the Department instructed the U.S. Customs Service to terminate the 
suspension of liquidation in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, 
and on all entries and withdrawals on or after the date of publication 
of this countervailing duty order in the Federal Register. Section 
703(d) states that the suspension of liquidation pursuant to a 
preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four 
months. Entries of SSWR made on or after May 7, 1998, and prior to the 
date of publication of this order in the Federal Register are not 
liable for the assessment of countervailing duties due to the 
Department's termination, effective May 7, 1998, of the suspension of 
liquidation.
    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, the Department will 
direct U.S. Customs officers to reinstitute suspension of liquidation 
and to assess, upon further advice by the Department pursuant to 
section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties for each entry of 
the subject merchandise in an amount based on the net countervailable 
subsidy rate for the subject merchandise.
    On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, U.S. Customs officers must require, at the same time as 
importers would normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, 
a cash deposit equal to the countervailable subsidy rates noted below. 
The All Others rate applies to all producers and exporters of SSWR from 
Italy not specifically listed below. The cash deposit rates are as 
follows:

                             Ad Valorem Rate                            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Net  
                       Producer/Exporter                         Subsidy
                                                                 Rate % 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cogne Acciai Speciali S.r.l...................................     22.22
Acciaierie Valbruna S.r.l./Acciaierie di Bolzano S.p.A........      1.28
All Others....................................................     13.85
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to stainless steel wire rod from Italy, pursuant to section 706(a) of 
the Act.

[[Page 49335]]

Interested parties may contact the Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of 
the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of 
countervailing duty orders currently in effect.
    This countervailing duty order is published in accordance with 
section 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

    Dated: September 10, 1998.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-24774 Filed 9-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P