[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36666-36667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17221]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-412-814, A-428-816, A-405-802, C-412-815, C-428-817]


Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From Finland, Germany 
and the United Kingdom: Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of 
Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Reviews, 
and Intent To Revoke Orders in Part

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

ACTION: Notice of initiation and preliminary results of changed 
circumstances antidumping duty and countervailing duty reviews, and 
intent to revoke orders in part.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: July 7, 1999.

SUMMARY: On May 12, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
received a request on behalf of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and U.S. 
Steel Group--A Unit of USX Corporation (Bethlehem & U.S. Steel), 
petitioners in these cases, for changed circumstances antidumping (AD) 
and countervailing duty (CVD) reviews and an intent to revoke in part 
the AD and CVD orders with respect to specific cut-to-length carbon 
steel plate from Germany and the United Kingdom and the AD order with 
respect to specific cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Finland. A 
telephone conversation on May 17, 1999, with counsel on behalf of all 
other petitioners (Inland Steel Industries, Inc., LTV Steel Company, 
Inc., National Steel Corporation, AK Steel Corporation, Gulf States 
Steel Inc. of Alabama, Sharon Steel Corporation, and WCI Steel Inc.) 
confirmed petitioners' lack of interest in the continuation of the AD 
and CVD orders with respect to the subject merchandise defined in the 
Scope of the Review section below (See Memorandum to the File).
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Ludwig (AD reviews on Finland 
and the United Kingdom), James Doyle or Becky Hagen (AD review on 
Germany), Robert Copyak (CVD reviews on Germany and the United 
Kingdom), Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-3833, (202) 482-0159, (202) 
482-1102, or (202) 482-2209, 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 of 1930 (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.

Background

    On August 17, 1993, the Department published the CVD orders on 
certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Germany and the United 
Kingdom (58 FR 43756 and 43748, respectively). On August 19, 1993, the 
Department published the AD orders on certain cut-to-length carbon 
steel plate from Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom (58 FR 44165, 
44170, and 44168, respectively).
    On May 12, 1999, Bethlehem Steel and U.S. Steel, petitioners, 
requested partial revocation of the AD and CVD orders pursuant to 
section 751(d)(1) of the Act, with respect to specific carbon steel 
plate imports from the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland described 
below.

Scope of the Review

    The products covered by these AD/CVD orders constitute one ``class 
or kind'' of merchandise: certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate. 
These

[[Page 36667]]

products include hot-rolled carbon steel universal mill plates (i.e., 
flat-rolled products rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a 
width exceeding 150 millimeters but not exceeding 1,250 millimeters and 
of a thickness of not less than 4 millimeters, not in coils and without 
patterns in relief), of rectangular shape, neither clad, plated nor 
coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with 
plastics or other nonmetallic substances; and certain hot-rolled carbon 
steel flat-rolled products in straight lengths, of rectangular shape, 
hot rolled, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal, whether or not 
painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic 
substances, 4.75 millimeters or more in thickness and of a width which 
exceeds 150 millimeters and measures at least twice the thickness, as 
currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) under 
item numbers 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 
7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 
7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 7211.90.0000, 
7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, and 7212.50.0000. Included are flat-rolled 
products of nonrectangular cross-section where such cross-section is 
achieved subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., products which have 
been ``worked after rolling'') for example, products which have been 
beveled or rounded at the edges. Excluded is grade X-70 plate. These 
HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The 
written description remains dispostive.
    Merchandise covered by these changed circumstances reviews and 
partial revocations are shipments of certain carbon cut-to-length steel 
plate with a maximum thickness of 80 mm in steel grades BS 7191, 355 EM 
and 355 EMZ, as amended by Sable Offshore Energy Project specification 
XB MOO Y 15 0001, types 1 and 2.

Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances AD and 
CVD Reviews, and Intent To Revoke Orders in Part

    At the request of the petitioners, in accordance with sections 
751(d)(1) and 751(b)(1) of the Act and section 351.216 of the 
Department's regulations, the Department is initiating changed 
circumstances reviews of certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from 
Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom to determine whether partial 
revocation of the AD and CVD orders is warranted with respect to the 
cut-to-length carbon steel plate subject to these requests. Section 
782(h)(2) of the Act and section 351.222(g)(1)(i) of the Department's 
regulations provide that the Department may revoke an order (in whole 
or in part) if it determines that producers accounting for 
substantially all of the production of the domestic like product have 
no further interest in the order, in whole or in part. In addition, in 
the event the Department determines that expedited action is warranted, 
section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of the regulations permits the Department to 
combine the notices of initiation and preliminary results.
    In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act and sections 
351.222(g)(l)(i) and 351.221(c)(3) of the Department's regulations, we 
are initiating these changed circumstances reviews and have determined 
that expedited action is warranted. Our decision to expedite these 
reviews stems from the domestic industry's lack of interest in applying 
the AD and CVD orders to the specific carbon steel plate covered by 
these requests.
    Based on the expression of no interest by petitioners and absent 
any objection by any other domestic interested parties, we have 
preliminarily determined that substantially all of the domestic 
producers of the like product have no interest in continued application 
of the AD and CVD orders to the plate subject to these requests. 
Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke, in 
part, the AD and CVD orders as they relate to imports of plate 
described above from Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments 
no later than 14 days after the date of publication of these 
preliminary results. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written comments, 
limited to issues raised in such briefs or comments, may be filed no 
later than 21 days after the date of publication. The Department will 
issue the final results of these changed circumstances reviews, which 
will include the results of its analysis raised in any such written 
comments, no later than 270 days after the date on which these reviews 
were initiated, or within 45 days if all parties agree to our 
preliminary determinations. See section 351.216(e) of the Department's 
regulations.
    If final revocation occurs, we will instruct the U.S. Customs 
Service to end the suspension of liquidation and to refund, with 
interest, any estimated AD and CVD duties collected for all 
unliquidated entries of the specific carbon steel plate covered by 
these requests from Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom. The 
current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated AD and CVD duties 
on all subject merchandise will continue unless and until it is 
modified pursuant to the final results of these changed circumstances 
reviews.
    This initiation of review and notice are in accordance with 
sections 751(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(b)) and 19 CFR 351.216, 
351.221, and 351.222.

    Dated: June 25, 1999.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-17221 Filed 7-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P