[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57032-57034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27687]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-588-824]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From 
Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Review, 
and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order

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

ACTION: Notice of final results of changed circumstances antidumping 
duty review, and revocation in part of antidumping duty order.

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SUMMARY: On September 7, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) published a notice of initiation of a changed circumstances 
antidumping review and preliminary results of review with intent to 
revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order on certain corrosion-
resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. We are now revoking 
this order in part, with regard to two products: (1) Steel coil with an 
aluminum alloy lining, and (2) steel coil with a polytetrafluorethylene 
(PTFE)/lead-based lining, as described in the ``Scope'' section of this 
notice, based on the fact that domestic parties have

[[Page 57033]]

expressed no further interest in the relief provided by the order with 
respect to the importation or sale of this steel coil lined with an 
aluminum alloy or with a PTFE/lead-based lining, as so described.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 22, 1999.

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 of the amendments made to the Act by the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, 
all citations to the Department's regulations are to the regulations at 
19 CFR part 351 (1999).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Ellerman or Maureen Flannery, 
AD/CVD Enforcement, Office 7, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-4106 
or (202) 482-3020, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 27, 1999, Taiho Corporation of America (Taiho America) 
requested that the Department revoke in part the antidumping duty order 
on certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan 
with respect to steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and steel coil 
with a PTFE/lead-based lining, used in the manufacture of plain sleeve 
bushings. Taiho America stated in its request that it had contacted the 
counsel for petitioners and they expressed no objection to the changed 
circumstances request and further stated that they had no interest in 
the merchandise. (See Request for Changed Circumstances Review from 
Taiho Corporation of America; Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel 
Flat Products from Japan, August 27, 1999, (Request for Changed 
Circumstance Review)). The following domestic producers of corrosion-
resistant steel products also filed a statement on August 27, 1999: 
Bethlehem Steel Corporation; Ispat Inland Steel; LTV Steel Company, 
Inc.; National Steel Corporation; and U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX 
Corporation. In this statement, domestic producers expressed no 
objection to the initiation of the changed circumstances review, nor 
any interest in the importation or sale of steel from Japan with 
respect to the products described in the request submitted by Taiho 
America. (See Letter from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP; 
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products from Japan: 
Changed Circumstances Review, August 27, 1999.)
    We preliminarily determined that the petitioner's affirmative 
statement of no interest constituted changed circumstances sufficient 
to warrant a review and partial revocation of the order. Consequently, 
on September 7, 1999, the Department published a notice of initiation 
and preliminary results of changed circumstance antidumping duty review 
with an intent to revoke the order, in part (64 FR 48579).
    The merchandise under review is currently classifiable under 
subheading 7212.50.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope 
is dispositive.

Scope of Changed Circumstances Review

    The merchandise covered by the antidumping duty order is certain 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. This changed 
circumstances review covers: (1) Carbon steel flat products measuring 
1.84 mm in thickness and 43.6 mm or 16.1 mm in width consisting of 
carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) clad with an aluminum alloy that is 
balance aluminum, 20% tin, 1% copper, 0.3% silicon, 0.15% nickel, less 
than 1% other materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard 
783 for Bearing and Bushing Alloys; and (2) carbon steel flat products 
measuring 0.97 mm in thickness and 20 mm in width consisting of carbon 
steel coil (SAE 1008) with a two-layer lining, the first layer 
consisting of a copper-lead alloy powder that is balance copper, 9% to 
11% tin, 9% to 11% lead, less than 1% zinc, less than 1% other 
materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard 792 for Bearing 
and Bushing Alloys, the second layer consisting of 45% to 55% lead, 38% 
to 50% PTFE, 3% to 5% molybdenum disulfide and less than 2% other 
materials.1
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    \1\ The Department described the products covered by this review 
incorrectly in one section of its initiation notice of September 7, 
1999 (64 FR 48579). The specifications listed in this notice are the 
specifications of the products under review.
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Comments

    Comment: In the preliminary determination we provided parties the 
opportunity to comment. We received one comment from domestic 
producers. Domestic producers claim that the Department's description 
of the merchandise to be excluded from the order in the substantive 
portion of its preliminary results differed in several important 
respects from the description of the merchandise in Taiho America's 
August 26, 1999 Request for Changed Circumstances Review. The domestic 
producers claim that their statement of no interest was based on the 
description of the products in Taiho America's request, and argue that 
the final results should specifically cover only those products as 
detailed in this document.
    Department's Position: We agree with the domestic producers. The 
products for which we are revoking the antidumping duty order, which we 
describe above, are exactly those described in Taiho America's Request 
for Changed Circumstances Review of August 27, 1999.

Final Results of Review and Partial Revocation of the Antidumping 
Duty Order

    The affirmative statement of no interest by the petitioner 
concerning the steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and the steel 
coil with a PTFE/lead-based lining and the fact that no interested 
parties objected to or otherwise commented on our preliminary results 
of review, except as noted above, constitutes changed circumstances 
sufficient to warrant partial revocation of the order. Therefore, the 
Department is partially revoking the order on certain corrosion-
resistant carbon steel flat products in reference to the two types of 
products described above, in accordance with sections 751(b) and (d) 
and 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(i). This partial revocation 
applies to all unliquidated entries of the above-described merchandise 
not subject to final results of administrative review as of the date of 
publication in the Federal Register of these final results of changed 
circumstances review.
    The Department will instruct the Customs Service (Customs) to 
proceed with liquidation, without regard to antidumping duties, of all 
unliquidated entries of steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and 
steel coil with a PTFE/lead-based lining, as specifically described in 
the ``Scope of Review'' section above, and entered, or withdrawn from 
the warehouse, for consumption on or after August 1, 1997, i.e., all 
unliquidated entries of this merchandise not subject to final results 
of administrative review as of the date of publication in the Federal 
Register of these final results of changed circumstances review. The 
Department will further instruct Customs to refund with interest any 
estimated duties collected with respect to unliquidated

[[Page 57034]]

entries of steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and steel coil with 
a PTFE/lead-based lining entered or withdrawn from the warehouse for 
consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of 
this changed circumstances review, in accordance with section 778 of 
the Act.
    This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protection orders (APOs) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.34(d)(1997). Timely written 
notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion 
to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply 
with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    This changed circumstances review, partial revocation of the 
antidumping duty order, and notice are in accordance with sections 
751(b) and (d) and 782(h) of the Act and sections 351.216, 
351.221(c)(3), and 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations.

    Dated: October 14, 1999.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-27687 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P