[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14213-14214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7215]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-201-817]


Oil Country Tubular Goods From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 
Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of changed circumstances 
antidumping duty administrative review.

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SUMMARY: Since 1997, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') 
has received two requests to revoke the antidumping duty (AD) order 
covering Oil Country Tubular Goods (``OCTG'') from Mexico as it 
pertains to drill pipe with tool joints attached (commonly referred to 
as finished drill pipe). One request came from the International 
Association of Drilling Contractors (``IADC''), requesting that the 
Department self-initiate a changed circumstances review for the 
antidumping duty orders covering OCTG from Mexico, Japan, and 
Argentina. The other request came from Grant Prideco Inc., the leading 
producer of finished drill pipe in the United States. The latter 
request, covering only the antidumping duty order on OCTG from Mexico, 
was withdrawn.
    Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding this product, we 
initiated an antidumping duty changed circumstances administrative 
review to determine the extent of domestic industry support for 
continuing the antidumping duty order on OCTG from Mexico with regard 
to both unfinished and finished drill pipe. We included both finished 
and unfinished drill pipe in the review because the International Trade 
Commission determined, in its injury test, that both finished and 
unfinished drill pipe constituted a ``like product'' with respect to 
the antidumping duty orders on OCTG from Argentina, Japan, and Mexico. 
We solicited comments from parties regarding this review, and also 
requested production figures for 1997 and the first quarter of 1998 for 
all identified domestic producers of the like product (i.e. finished 
and unfinished drill pipe). We conducted verifications of the submitted 
data between September 29 and October 2, 1998.
    Based on the information submitted by producers, and our findings 
at verification, we preliminarily determine that there is insufficient 
domestic industry support for proceeding to revoke the antidumping duty 
order on oil country tubular goods with respect to finished drill pipe.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit argument in this proceeding are requested 
to submit with the argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a 
brief summary of the argument (no longer than five pages, including 
footnotes).

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 24, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John K. Drury or Richard Weible, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-3208 or (202) 482-1103, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    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 by the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations 
to the Department's regulations are to the current regulations.

Scope of the Review

    The merchandise subject to this changed circumstances review is 
finished oil well drill pipe with tool joints attached. This 
merchandise is currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (HTSUS) under item number 8431.43.8010 as ``Parts 
suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 
8425 to 8430, [o]f machinery of heading 8426, 8429 or 8430: [p]arts for 
boring or sinking machinery of subheading 8430.41 or 8430.49: [o]ther: 
[o]f oil and gas field machinery.'' Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, our written description 
of the scope of this review is dispositive.

[[Page 14214]]

Background

    On July 8, 1997, the IADC requested that the Department self-
initiate a changed circumstances review with respect to finished drill 
pipe for all countries with finished drill pipe included in the OCTG 
antidumping duty order. On March 13, 1998, the Department responded to 
the IADC request. On January 28, 1998, Grant Prideco, Inc. requested 
revocation of the AD order on Mexican OCTG with respect to finished 
drill pipe. The Department received letters in opposition to this 
second request from OMSCO Industries and Drill Pipe Industries, Inc. on 
February 12, 1998, and February 13, 1998, respectively. On March 16, 
1998, Grant Prideco withdrew its request for a changed circumstances 
review.
    Subsequent to the Department's response to IADC on March 13, 1998, 
parties raised questions regarding whether ``substantially all'' of the 
domestic industry supports continuation of the AD order on OCTG from 
Mexico with respect to finished drill pipe. In light of the request 
originally filed by Grant Prideco and the information available to the 
Department, the Department believed that Grant Prideco's affirmative 
statement of no interest constituted good cause for conducting a 
changed circumstances review solely to determine if ``substantially 
all'' of the domestic producers of the like product supported partial 
revocation of the antidumping duty order with respect to finished drill 
pipe.

Analysis

    Section 351.222(g)(i) of the Department's regulations provides that 
the Secretary may revoke an order in part based on changed 
circumstances if ``producers accounting for substantially all of the 
production of the domestic like product to which * * * the part of the 
order to be revoked * * * have expressed a lack of interest'' in the 
continued existence of the order, in whole or in part. The Department 
interprets ``substantially all'' production to mean at least 85 percent 
of domestic production of the domestic like product. The Department 
thus conducted the review solely to determine the level of support of 
domestic producers of the domestic like product for maintaining this 
order with respect to finished drill pipe.
    In order to determine whether ``substantially all'' of the domestic 
producers supported revocation in part of the order, the Department 
solicited comments from all parties with an interest in this review. In 
addition, the Department requested production information from 
producers of both finished and unfinished drill pipe. The Department 
received numerous comments regarding interest in the order, including 
comments on the supply and production lead times of finished drill pipe 
in the United States. Additionally, the Department received production 
information from producers of finished drill pipe, as well as producers 
of unfinished drill pipe.
    To verify this information, the Department conducted verifications 
of three of the domestic producers of the like product (Grant Prideco, 
OMSCO, and Drill Pipe Inc.) in September and October of 1998. Copies of 
the public versions of the verification reports for all three companies 
are available in the Import Administration's Central Records Unit.
    Based on the responses by domestic producers, and the results of 
our verification, we have determined that less than 85 percent of the 
domestic industry of the like product supports the partial revocation 
of the order.
    Parties wishing to comment on these results must submit briefs to 
the Department within 30 days after the publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. Parties will have five days subsequent to this 
date to submit rebuttal briefs. Any requests for hearing must be filed 
within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.

Preliminary Results of Review

    Based on the submissions by the producers, the Department has 
preliminarily determined that producers supporting a partial revocation 
of the order account for less than 85 percent of domestic production of 
the like product. Under the definition given above, ``substantially 
all'' of the domestic producers of the like product do not support 
partial revocation of the order with respect to finished drill pipe. As 
a result, we preliminarily determine that there is no basis to revoke, 
in part, the antidumping duty order on oil country tubular goods from 
Mexico with respect to finished drill pipe.

    Dated: March 11, 1999.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-7215 Filed 3-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P