[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46341-46343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22082]



[[Page 46341]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-427-816, A-533-817, A-560-805, A-475-826, A-588-847, A-580-836, C-
427-817, C-533-818, C-560-806, C-475-827, C-580-837]


Postponement of Final Antidumping Duty Determinations: Certain 
Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From France, India, 
Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Korea; Postponement of Final Countervailing 
Duty Determinations: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate 
Products From France, India, Indonesia, Italy, and Korea; and Amendment 
of the Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From 
Indonesia

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

SUMMARY: On July 26, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published in the Federal Register its preliminary affirmative 
determinations in the countervailing duty investigations of certain 
cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate products from France, India, 
Indonesia, Italy, and the Republic of Korea (see Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Countervailing Duty Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From 
France, 64 FR 40430 (July 26, 1999), India (64 FR 40438), Indonesia (64 
FR 40457), Italy (64 FR 40416), and the Republic of Korea (64 FR 
40445)). These notices aligned the schedules for the final 
determinations with the companion antidumping investigations. On July 
29, 1999, the Department published in the Federal Register its 
preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations 
of certain cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate products from 
France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (see 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain 
Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From France, 64 FR 
41198 (July 29, 1999), India (64 FR 41202) Indonesia (64 FR 41206), 
Italy (64 FR 41213), Japan (64 FR 41218), and the Republic of Korea (64 
FR 41224)). Respondents in each of the AD investigations requested that 
the Department postpone its final determinations by sixty days. In 
addition, the respondents in the AD investigations of France, Italy, 
and Korea alleged that the Department made ministerial errors in its 
preliminary determinations for those countries. Furthermore, the 
petitioners alleged that the Department made ministerial errors in its 
preliminary AD determination for Indonesia.
    In response to the respondents' requests, the Department is 
postponing the final determinations in the above-referenced 
investigations. Furthermore, after reviewing the ministerial error 
allegations, the Department is amending its preliminary AD 
determination with respect to Indonesia only.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 25, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The following individuals of Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20230: 
James Terpstra at (202) 482-3965 regarding cases A-427-816, A-533-817, 
and A-580-836; Wendy Frankel at (202) 482-5849 regarding cases A-475-
826, and A-588-847; Irene Darzenta Tzafolias at (202) 482-0922 
regarding case A-560-805; Roy Malmrose at (202) 482-5414 regarding case 
C-427-817; and Richard Herring at (202) 482-4149 regarding cases C-533-
818, C-560-806, C-475-827, and C-580-837.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), are references to the provisions effective 
January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Act 
by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, all citations 
to the Department's regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR Part 
351 (1999).

Scope of the Investigations

    The products covered by the scope of these investigations are 
certain hot-rolled carbon-quality steel: (1) Universal mill plates 
(i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four faces or in a closed box 
pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm but not exceeding 1250 mm, and of a 
nominal or actual thickness of not less than 4 mm, which are cut-to-
length (not in coils) and without patterns in relief), of iron or non-
alloy-quality steel; and (2) flat-rolled products, hot-rolled, of a 
nominal or actual thickness of 4.75 mm or more and of a width which 
exceeds 150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness, and which are 
cut-to-length (not in coils). Steel products to be included in the 
scope are of rectangular, square, circular or other shape and of 
rectangular or non-rectangular cross-section where such non-rectangular 
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. Steel 
products that meet the noted physical characteristics that are painted, 
varnished or coated with plastic or other non-metallic substances are 
included within this scope. Also, specifically included in this scope 
are high strength, low alloy (HSLA) steels. HSLA steels are recognized 
as steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium, 
copper, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum. Steel products to 
be included in this scope, regardless of Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS) definitions, are products in which: (1) Iron 
predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements, (2) 
the carbon content is two percent or less, by weight, and (3) none of 
the elements listed below is equal to or exceeds the quantity, by 
weight, respectively indicated: 1.80 percent of manganese, or 1.50 
percent of silicon, or 1.00 percent of copper, or 0.50 percent of 
aluminum, or 1.25 percent of chromium, or 0.30 percent of cobalt, or 
0.40 percent of lead, or 1.25 percent of nickel, or 0.30 percent of 
tungsten, or 0.10 percent of molybdenum, or 0.10 percent of niobium, or 
0.41 percent of titanium, or 0.15 percent of vanadium, or 0.15 percent 
zirconium. All products that meet the written physical description, and 
in which the chemistry quantities do not equal or exceed any one of the 
levels listed above, are within the scope of these investigations 
unless otherwise specifically excluded. The following products are 
specifically excluded from these investigations: (1) Products clad, 
plated, or coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished or 
coated with plastic or other non-metallic substances; (2) SAE grades 
(formerly AISI grades) of series 2300 and above; (3) products made to 
ASTM A710 and A736 or their proprietary equivalents; (4) abrasion-
resistant steels (i.e., USS AR 400, USS AR 500); (5) products made to 
ASTM A202, A225, A514 grade S, A517 grade S, or their proprietary 
equivalents; (6) ball bearing steels; (7) tool steels; and (8) silicon 
manganese steel or silicon electric steel.
    The merchandise subject to these investigations is classified in 
the HTSUS under subheadings: 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 
7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000,

[[Page 46342]]

7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 7225.40.3050, 
7225.40.7000, 7225.50.6000, 7225.99.0090, 7226.91.5000, 7226.91.7000, 
7226.91.8000, 7226.99.0000.
    Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
Customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under 
investigation is dispositive.

Postponement of the Final Determinations

    In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act, during July and 
August, 1999, exporters accounting for a significant proportion of the 
exports of subject merchandise from each of the countries named in the 
above-referenced AD investigations requested that the Department 
postpone its final determinations until 135 days after publication of 
its preliminary determinations. These same exporters also requested 
that the Department extend provisional antidumping measures from a 
four-month period to not more than six months pursuant to section 
733(d) of the Act. Accordingly, the Department has decided to extend 
the final determinations in the above-referenced AD investigations 
because for each investigation (1) the Department's preliminary 
determination was affirmative for at least one exporter requesting a 
postponement, (2) the exporters requesting the postponement account for 
a significant proportion of the exports of subject merchandise from 
their respective countries, and (3) no compelling reasons exist for the 
Department to deny the exporters' requests for a postponement. 
Therefore, the Department has decided to postpone the final 
determinations until not later than 135 days after publication of the 
preliminary determinations in the Federal Register. The postponed final 
determinations will be due on December 11, 1999. Suspension of 
liquidation will be extended accordingly.
    In addition, because the countervailing duty investigations of 
Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From France, 
India, Indonesia, Italy and Korea have been aligned with the 
antidumping duty investigations under section 705(a)(1) of the Act, the 
time limit for completion of the final determinations in the 
countervailing duty investigations will be the same date, December 11, 
1999, as the final determinations of the concurrent antidumping 
investigations.

Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From 
Indonesia

    On July 28, 1999, Bethlehem Steel Corporation and U.S. Steel Group, 
a unit of USX Corporation, two of the petitioners, alleged that the 
Department made certain ministerial errors in calculating the cost of 
production used in the preliminary AD determination for the Indonesian 
respondent PT Gunawan Dianjaya Steel (Gunawan)/PT Jaya Pari Steel 
Corporation (Jaya Pari). None of the respondents in the AD 
investigation of Indonesia alleged any ministerial errors nor did they 
comment on petitioners' ministerial error allegation. The Department 
has reviewed its preliminary calculations for Gunawan/Jaya Pari and 
agrees that it made certain ministerial errors within the meaning of 19 
CFR 351.224(f) (for further detail see the Memorandum Regarding 
Ministerial Error Allegations from The Team to Louis Apple, Director, 
Office II, AD/CVD Enforcement I, dated August 9, 1999). In addition, 
the Department finds these ministerial errors to be significant as 
defined by 19 CFR 351.224(g). A significant ministerial error is 
defined as a correction which, singly or in combination with other 
errors, (1) would result in a change of at least five absolute 
percentage points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the weighted 
average dumping margin calculated in the original (erroneous) 
preliminary determination; or (2) would result in a difference between 
a weighted-average dumping margin of zero or de minimis and a weighted-
average dumping margin of greater than de minimis or vice versa. 
Therefore, the Department is amending its preliminary AD determination 
with respect to Gunawan/Jaya Pari in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e). 
Because the Department based the weighted-average margin for all 
Indonesian manufactures/exporters of the merchandise under 
investigation, other than PT Krakatau Steel, on Gunawan/Jaya Pari's 
weighted-average margin, the Department is also amending the ``all 
others'' margin. As a result of the correction of these ministerial 
errors, the Department has determined that the following amended 
weighted-average dumping margins apply for Indonesia:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Amended
                                                              weighted-
                   Manufacturer/Exporter                       average
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gunawan Dianjaya Steel/PT Jaya Pari Steel Corporation......        43.59
All Others.................................................        43.59
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, the Department has 
notified the ITC of the amended AD determination. If the final 
determinations are affirmative, the ITC will determine whether imports 
of the merchandise under investigation are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry before the later of 120 
days after the date of the preliminary determinations or 45 days after 
the final determinations.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs or other written comments 
for a particular investigation to the Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration by no later than seven days after receipt of all 
verification reports issued in that investigation. Parties may submit 
rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, within five 
days after the deadline for filing case briefs. A list of authorities 
used and an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs 
submitted to the Department. This summary should be limited to five 
pages total, including footnotes. In accordance with section 774 of the 
Act, the Department will hold a public hearing for each investigation, 
if requested, in order to afford interested parties an opportunity to 
comment on arguments raised in case or rebuttal briefs. Any hearings 
will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230. The date, time, and 
room number for the hearings is to be determined. Parties should 
confirm by telephone the date, time, and room number for each hearing 
48 hours before the hearing is to begin. Interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1870, no later than August 28, 1999. 
Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to 
be discussed. At the hearing, each party may make an affirmative 
presentation only on issues raised in that party's case brief, and may 
make rebuttal presentations only on arguments included in that party's 
rebuttal brief. See 19 CFR 351.310(c).

[[Page 46343]]

    The Department is publishing this notice of postponement of the 
final determinations and amendment to the preliminary AD determination 
for Indonesia pursuant to section 735(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(g) and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

    Dated: August 17, 1999.
Bernard Carreau,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-22082 Filed 8-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P