[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 68 (Friday, April 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17317-17319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8923]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-588-844]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Stainless Steel Round Wire From Japan

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 9, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarrod Goldfeder or John Brinkmann at 
(202) 482-1784 or (202) 482-5288, respectively, Office of AD/CVD 
Enforcement 2, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

The 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 of 1930 (the Act) by the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise

[[Page 17318]]

indicated, all citations to Department of Commerce (Department) 
regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR Part 351 (April 
1998).

Final Determination

    We determine that stainless steel round wire from Japan is being 
sold, or is likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV), as provided in section 733 of the Act. The estimated 
margins are shown in the Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation 
section of this notice.

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was issued on 
November 12, 1998. See Notice of Preliminary Determinations of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determinations--
Stainless Steel Round Wire From Canada, India, Japan, Spain, and 
Taiwan; Preliminary Determination of Sales at Not Less Than Fair Value 
and Postponement of Final Determination--Stainless Steel Round Wire 
From Korea, 63 FR 60402 (November 18, 1998) (preliminary 
determination).

Scope of Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers stainless steel round wire 
(SSRW). SSRW is any cold-formed (i.e., cold-drawn, cold-rolled) 
stainless steel product of a cylindrical contour, sold in coils or 
spools, and not over 0.703 inch (18 mm) in maximum solid cross-
sectional dimension. SSRW is made of iron-based alloys containing, by 
weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of 
chromium, with or without other elements. Metallic coatings, such as 
nickel and copper coatings, may be applied.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable under 
subheadings 7223.00.1015, 7223.00.1030, 7223.00.1045, 7223.00.1060, and 
7223.00.1075 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 under 
investigation is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

    The period of the investigation (POI) is January 1, 1997, through 
December 31, 1997. This period corresponds to the four most recent 
fiscal quarters prior to the month of the filing of the petition (i.e., 
March 1998).

Facts Available

    Suzuki Metal Industry Co., Ltd. (Suzuki) and Nippon Seisen Co., 
Ltd. (Nippon Seisen) did not respond to our questionnaires. Section 
776(a)(2) of the Act provides that, if an interested party (A) 
withholds information that has been requested by the Department; (B) 
fails to provide such information in a timely manner or in the form or 
manner requested subject to sections 782(c)(1) and (e) of the Act; (C) 
significantly impedes a proceeding under the antidumping statute; or 
(D) provides such information but the information cannot be verified, 
the Department shall, subject to subsection 782(d) of the Act, use 
facts otherwise available in reaching the applicable determination. 
Because these firms failed to respond to our questionnaires and because 
the relevant subsections of section 782 of the Act do not apply, we 
must use facts otherwise available to calculate the dumping margins for 
these companies.
    Section 776(b) of the Act provides that adverse inferences may be 
used when an interested party fails to cooperate by not acting to the 
best of its ability to comply with the Department's requests for 
information. See also Statement of Administrative Action accompanying 
the URAA, H.R. Rep. No. 316, Vol.1, 103d Cong., 2d Sess. 870 (1994) 
(SAA). The lack of response by Suzuki and Nippon Seisen to the 
Department's antidumping questionnaires constitutes a failure by these 
respondents to act to the best of their abilities to comply with a 
request for information, within the meaning of section 776 of the Act. 
Thus, the Department has determined that, in selecting among the facts 
otherwise available, an adverse inference is warranted.
    Because we were unable to calculate margins for these respondents 
in this investigation, we assigned these respondents the highest margin 
in the petition (recalculated by the Department, as appropriate). This 
approach is consistent with Department practice. See Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Wire 
Rod from Germany, 63 FR 40433 (July 29, 1998). The highest petition 
margin is 29.56 percent.1
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    \1\ At the time of initiation, we did not accept the U.S. and 
home market packing data set forth in the petition, and we revised 
the dumping margins in that petition so as to not reflect any 
adjustment for packing. In reviewing the petition margin 
calculations for the preliminary determination in the Japan case, we 
noted that the denominator for the margins was erroneously based on 
home market price, rather than U.S. price. We have revised the 
margins accordingly. See Memorandum from Jarrod Goldfeder to the 
file, dated November 19, 1998.
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    Section 776(b) states that an adverse inference may include 
reliance on information derived from the petition or any other 
information placed on the record. See also SAA at 829-831. Section 
776(c) of the Act provides that, when the Department relies on 
secondary information (such as the petition) in using the facts 
otherwise available, it must, to the extent practicable, corroborate 
that information from independent sources that are reasonably at its 
disposal.
    During our pre-initiation analysis of the petition, we reviewed the 
adequacy and accuracy of the secondary information in the petition from 
which the margins were calculated, to the extent that appropriate 
information was available for this purpose. See Initiation of 
Antidumping Duty Investigations: Stainless Steel Round Wire from 
Canada, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, and Taiwan, 63 FR 
26150, 26151 (May 12, 1998). However, we are aware of no other 
independent sources of information that would enable us to corroborate 
the components of the margin calculation in the petition further. The 
implementing regulation to section 776 of the Act, 19 CFR 351.308(c), 
states that ``[t]he fact that corroboration may not be practicable in a 
given circumstance will not prevent the Secretary from applying an 
adverse inference as appropriate and using the secondary information in 
question.'' Additionally, we note that the SAA at 870 specifically 
states that, where ``corroboration may not be practicable in a given 
circumstance,'' the Department may nevertheless apply an adverse 
inference. Finally, the margins calculated for respondents in the other 
round wire investigations are in many instances of the same order of 
magnitude as the margins in the corresponding petitions, suggesting 
that the information contained in the round wire petitions is generally 
reliable.

Interested Party Comments

    No parties commented on the preliminary determination.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of stainless steel round wire from Japan that are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after November 18, 
1998, the date of publication of the preliminary determination in the 
Federal Register. The Customs Service shall continue to require a cash 
deposit or the posting of a bond equal to the weighted-average amount 
by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price, as indicated in

[[Page 17319]]

the chart below. The suspension of liquidation instructions will remain 
in effect until further notice. The weighted-average dumping margins 
are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                   Exporter/manufacturer                        margin
                                                              percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nippon Seisen..............................................        29.56
Suzuki.....................................................        29.56
All Others.................................................        15.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that, where the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for all exporters and 
producers individually investigated are zero or de minimis margins or 
are determined entirely under section 776 of the Act, the Department 
may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others 
rate for exporters and producers not individually investigated. In this 
case, the margin assigned to the two companies investigated is based on 
facts available. Therefore, consistent with the SAA, at 873, we are 
using an alternative method. As our alternative, we have based the all-
others rate on a simple average of the margins in the petition, as 
revised at the time of initiation of this investigation.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will, within 45 days, determine 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will 
be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or canceled. 
If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the Department will 
issue an antidumping duty order directing the Customs Service to assess 
antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective 
date of the suspension of liquidation.
    We are issuing and publishing this determination in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: April 2, 1999.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-8923 Filed 4-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P