[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 147 (Monday, August 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41916-41918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19752]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-428-815, C-428-817]


Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed 
Circumstances Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Reviews and 
Intent To Revoke Orders in Part: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon 
Steel Flat Products From Germany

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: August 2, 1999.

SUMMARY: On June 11, 1999, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the 
Department) received a request on behalf of Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation, Ispat Inland Steel, LTV Steel Company, Inc., National 
Steel Corporation, and U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX Corporation, 
petitioners in the above mentioned cases, for changed circumstances 
antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) reviews for the purpose 
of revoking in part the AD and CVD orders with respect to specific 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Germany. 
Petitioners' letter confirmed a 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.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Chaves (202-482-0414) or Linda 
Ludwig (202-482-3833), Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Enforcement 
Group III, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of

[[Page 41917]]

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 
20230.

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 (April, 1998).

Background

    On August 17, 1993, the Department published the CVD order on 
certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Germany (58 
FR 43756). On August 19, 1993, the Department published the AD order on 
certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Germany (58 
FR 44170).
    On June 11, 1999, petitioners requested partial revocation of the 
AD and CVD orders pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act and section 
351.222(g) of the Department's regulations, with respect to specific 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Germany described 
below.

Scope of the Review

    The corrosion-resistant steel products covered by these AD/CVC 
orders include flat-rolled carbon steel products, of rectangular shape, 
either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant metals such as 
zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-based alloys, 
whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished or coated with plastics 
or other nonmetallic substances in addition to the metallic coating, in 
coils (whether or not in successively superimposed layers) and of a 
width of 0.5 inch or greater, or in straight lengths which, if of a 
thickness less than 4.75 millimeters, are of a width of 0.5 inch or 
greater and which measures at least 10 times the thickness or if of a 
thickness of 4.75 millimeters or more are of a width which exceeds 150 
millimeters and measures at least twice the thickness, as currently 
classifiable in the HTS under item numbers 7210.31.0000, 7210.39.0000, 
7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 7210.49.0090, 7210.60.0000, 7210.70.6030, 
7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.1000, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000, 
7212.21.0000, 7212.29.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 7212.30.3000, 
7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 7212.60.0000, 
7215.90.1000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.12.1000, 7217.13.1000, 7217.19.1000, 
7217.19.5000, 7217.22.5000, 7217.23.5000, 7217.29.1000, 7217.29.5000, 
7217.32.5000, 7217.33.5000, 7217.39.1000, and 7217.39.5000. Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes, the written description of the merchandise under review is 
dispositive.
    Included in these orders 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 bevelled or rounded 
at the edges. Excluded from these orders are flat-rolled steel products 
either plated or coated with tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both 
tin and lead (``terne plate''), or both chromium and chromium oxides 
(``tin-free steel''), whether or not painted, varnished or coated with 
plastics or other nonmetallic substances in addition to the metallic 
coating. Also excluded are clad products in straight lengths of 0.1875 
inch or more in composite thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 
millimeters and measures at least twice the thickness, and certain clad 
stainless flat-rolled products, which are three-layered corrosion-
resistant carbon steel flat-rolled products less than 4.75 millimeters 
in composite thickness that consist of a carbon steel flat-rolled 
product clad on both sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-20% ratio.
    Merchandise covered by these changed circumstances reviews and 
partial revocations are shipments of certain corrosion-resistant carbon 
steel flat products that are deep-drawing carbon steel strip, roll-clad 
on both sides with aluminum (AlSi) foils in accordance with St3 LG as 
to EN 10139/10140. The merchandise's chemical composition encompasses a 
core material of U St 23 (continuous casting) in which carbon is less 
than 0.08; manganese is less than 0.30; phosphorous is less than 0.20; 
sulfur is less than 0.015; aluminum is less than 0.01; and the cladding 
material is a minimum of 99% aluminum with silicon/copper/iron of less 
than 1%. The products are in strips with thicknesses of 0.07mm to 4.0mm 
(inclusive) and widths of 5mm to 800mm (inclusive). The thickness ratio 
of aluminum on either side of steel may range from 3%/94%/3% to 10%/
80%/10%.

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 corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat 
products from Germany to determine whether partial revocation of the AD 
and CVD orders is warranted. 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 corrosion-resistant steel 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 
certain corrossion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Germany, 
as described above.

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

[[Page 41918]]

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 corrosion-resistant carbon steel 
flat products from Germany covered by these requests that are not 
subject to final results of an administrative review. 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 of the Department's regulations.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-19752 Filed 7-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P