[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 230 (Wednesday, December 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67318-67320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31220]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigations Nos. 701-TA-355 (Review) and 731-TA-659-660 (Review)]


Grain-Oriented Silicon Electrical Steel From Italy and Japan

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of five-year reviews concerning the countervailing 
duty order on grain-oriented silicon electrical steel from Italy and 
the antidumping duty orders on grain-oriented silicon electrical steel 
from Italy and Japan.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted 
reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the 
countervailing duty order on grain-oriented silicon electrical steel 
from Italy and the antidumping duty orders on grain-oriented silicon 
electrical steel from Italy and Japan would be likely to lead to 
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section 
751(c)(2) of the Act, interested parties are requested to respond to 
this notice by submitting the information specified below to the 
Commission; 1 to be assured of consideration, the deadline 
for responses is January 20, 2000. Comments on the adequacy of 
responses may be filed with the Commission by February 11, 2000.
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    \1\ No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 99-5-045, 
expiration date July 31, 2002. Public reporting burden for the 
request is estimated to average 7 hours per response. Please send 
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436.
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    For further information concerning the conduct of these reviews and 
rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 
201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207). Recent 
amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure pertinent to five-
year reviews, including the text of subpart F of part 207, are 
published at 63 FR 30599, June 5, 1998, and may be downloaded from the 
Commission's World Wide Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/rules.htm.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193) or Vera 
Libeau (202-205-3176), Office of Investigations, U.S. International 
Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-
impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting 
the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. 
General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by 
accessing its internet server (http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On the dates listed below, the Department of Commerce issued 
countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on the subject imports:

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             Order date                    Product/Country               Inv. No.                 FR cite
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6/7/94.............................  Grain-oriented silicon       701-TA-355              59 FR 29414
                                      electrical steel/Italy.
6/10/94............................  Grain-oriented silicon       731-TA-660              59 FR 29984
                                      electrical steel/Japan.
8/12/94............................  Grain-oriented silicon       731-TA-659              59 FR 41431
                                      electrical steel/Italy.
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    The Commission is conducting reviews to determine whether 
revocation of the orders would be likely to lead to continuation or 
recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a 
reasonably foreseeable time. It will assess the adequacy of interested 
party responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to 
conduct full reviews or expedited reviews. The Commission's 
determinations in any expedited reviews will be based on the facts 
available, which may include information provided in response to this 
notice.

Definitions

    The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Italy and Japan.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original 
determinations, the Commission found one Domestic Like Product: grain-
oriented silicon electrical steel.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. In its original determinations, the 
Commission found one Domestic Industry: producers of grain-oriented 
silicon electrical steel.
    (5) The Order Dates are the dates that the countervailing duty and 
antidumping duty orders under review became effective. In these 
reviews, the Order Dates are as shown in the preceding tabulation.
    (6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.

Participation in the Reviews and Public Service List

    Persons, including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, 
if the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the reviews as

[[Page 67319]]

parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the 
Commission, as provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's 
rules, no later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. The Secretary will maintain a public service list 
containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their 
representatives, who are parties to the reviews.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are reminded that they are required, pursuant to 19 
CFR 201.15, to seek Commission approval if the matter in which they are 
seeking to appear was pending in any manner or form during their 
Commission employment. The Commission's designated agency ethics 
official has advised that a five-year review is the ``same particular 
matter'' as the underlying original investigation for purposes of 19 
CFR 201.15 and 18 U.S.C. 207, the post employment statute for Federal 
employees. Former employees may seek informal advice from Commission 
ethics officials with respect to this and the related issue of whether 
the employee's participation was ``personal and substantial.'' However, 
any informal consultation will not relieve former employees of the 
obligation to seek approval to appear from the Commission under its 
rule 201.15. For ethics advice, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy 
Agency Ethics Official, at 202-205-3088.

Limited Disclosure of Business Proprietary Information (BPI) Under 
an Administrative Protective Order (APO) and APO Service List

    Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the 
Secretary will make BPI submitted in these reviews available to 
authorized applicants under the APO issued in the reviews, provided 
that the application is made no later than 21 days after publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must 
represent interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. Sec. 1677(9), who 
are parties to the reviews. A separate service list will be maintained 
by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the 
APO.

Certification

    Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's rules, any person 
submitting information to the Commission in connection with these 
reviews must certify that the information is accurate and complete to 
the best of the submitter's knowledge. In making the certification, the 
submitter will be deemed to consent, unless otherwise specified, for 
the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel to use the 
information provided in any other reviews or investigations of the same 
or comparable products which the Commission conducts under Title VII of 
the Act, or in internal audits and investigations relating to the 
programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 
3.

Written Submissions

    Pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules, each 
interested party response to this notice must provide the information 
specified below. The deadline for filing such responses is January 20, 
2000. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the Commission's rules, eligible 
parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) may also file 
comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the notice of 
institution and whether the Commission should conduct expedited or full 
reviews. The deadline for filing such comments is February 11, 2000. 
All written submissions must conform with the provisions of sections 
201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's rules and any submissions that 
contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 201.6 
and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules do not 
authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means. Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 
of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the 
reviews must be served on all other parties to the reviews (as 
identified by either the public or APO service list as appropriate), 
and a certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are 
not a party to the reviews you do not need to serve your response).

Inability To Provide Requested Information

    Pursuant to section 207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any 
interested party that cannot furnish the information requested by this 
notice in the requested form and manner shall notify the Commission at 
the earliest possible time, provide a full explanation of why it cannot 
provide the requested information, and indicate alternative forms in 
which it can provide equivalent information. If an interested party 
does not provide this notification (or the Commission finds the 
explanation provided in the notification inadequate) and fails to 
provide a complete response to this notice, the Commission may take an 
adverse inference against the party pursuant to section 776(b) of the 
Act in making its determinations in the reviews.

Information To Be Provided in Response to This Notice of 
Institution

    If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or trade/
business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more than 
one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than one 
Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so, please 
ensure that your response to each question includes the information 
requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used below, the term 
``firm'' includes any related firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address if available) and name, telephone number, fax number, 
and E-mail address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S. 
producer of the Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a 
U.S. importer of the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or 
exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or 
business association, or another interested party (including an 
explanation). If you are a union/worker group or trade/business 
association, identify the firms in which your workers are employed or 
which are members of your association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in these reviews by providing information requested by the 
Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the 
countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on the Domestic 
Industry in general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In your 
response, please discuss the various factors specified in section 
752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) including the likely volume of 
subject imports, likely price effects of subject imports, and likely 
impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of 
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the 
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Countries that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since 1993.
    (7) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, 
provide the

[[Page 67320]]

following information on your firm's operations on that product during 
calendar year 1998 (report quantity data in short tons and value data 
in thousands of U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you are a union/worker 
group or trade/business association, provide the information, on an 
aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are employed/which 
are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) The quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); and
    (c) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s).
    (8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject Countries, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity data in short tons 
and value data in thousands of U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/
business association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, 
for the firms which are members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including 
antidumping or countervailing duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an 
estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise 
from each of the Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s') 
imports;
    (b) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject 
Merchandise imported from each of the Subject Countries; and
    (c) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from each of the Subject 
Countries.
    (9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Countries, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity 
data in short tons and value data in thousands of U.S. dollars, landed 
and duty-paid at the U.S. port but not including antidumping or 
countervailing duties). If you are a trade/business association, 
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are 
members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each of the 
Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
    (b) The quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from each of the Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s') 
exports.
    (10) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in the Subject Countries since the Order Dates, and 
significant changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a 
reasonably foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include 
technology; production methods; development efforts; ability to 
increase production (including the shift of production facilities used 
for other products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs 
into production); and factors related to the ability to shift supply 
among different national markets (including barriers to importation in 
foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions 
to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and 
availability of substitute products; and the level of competition among 
the Domestic Like Product produced in the United States, Subject 
Merchandise produced in the Subject Countries, and such merchandise 
from other countries.
    (11) (OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: These reviews are being conducted under authority of 
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    Issued: November 24, 1999.

    By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-31220 Filed 11-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P