[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67561-67562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31300]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[C-427-810]


Certain Steel Products from France; Notice of Final Court 
Decision and Amended Final Determination of Countervailing Duty 
Investigation

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

ACTION: Notice of final court decision and amended final determination 
of countervailing duty investigation.

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SUMMARY: On August 24, 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal 
Circuit affirmed the U.S. Court of International Trade's decisions 
sustaining the Department of Commerce's final determination in the 
countervailing duty investigation of certain steel products from 
France, as modified by two remand determinations. As there is now a 
final and conclusive court decision in this action, we are amending our 
final determination.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosa Jeong or Blanche Ziv, Office of 
Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Group I, Import 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3099, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-3853 
and 482-4207, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 9, 1993, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published notice of its final affirmative countervailing duty 
determination of certain steel products from France. The Department's 
final determination is set forth in Final Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determinations; Certain Steel Products from France, 58 FR 37304 
(July 9, 1993), and in relevant parts of the General Issues Appendix to 
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination; Certain Steel 
Products from Austria, 58 FR 37217, 37231-36 (July 9, 1993). Subsequent 
to the publication of the Department's countervailing duty order, the 
petitioners and the respondents challenged the Department's final 
determination before the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).
    Thereafter, the CIT issued its decision in British Steel plc v. 
United States, 879 F. Supp. 1254 (CIT 1995), which addressed general 
issues common to various countervailing duty investigations of certain 
steel products which, including the French investigation, had been 
before the Department concurrently. While affirming the Department's 
final determination on other general issues, the CIT rejected the 
Department's reliance on IRS tables showing industry-specific average 
useful life of assets in determining an allocation period of 15 years. 
In a subsequent remand determination dated June 30, 1995, the 
Department calculated a company-specific allocation period for Usinor 
Sacilor based on the average useful life of non-renewable physical 
assets, and the CIT affirmed it. British Steel plc v. United States, 
929 F. Supp. 426 (CIT 1996).
    Meanwhile, the CIT addressed issues specific to the French 
investigation in three decisions, which affirmed the Department's final 
determination on all but one issue. With regard to that issue, in 
Inland Steel Industries, Inc. v. United States, 967 F. Supp. 1338 
(1997), the CIT accepted the Department's request for a voluntary 
remand. Specifically, during the verification of Usinor Sacilor's 
questionnaire responses, the Department had discovered that six Credit 
National loans included in the 1991 consolidation of outstanding Credit 
National loans were export promotion loans. Although in its final 
concurrence memorandum the Department stated that it would determine 
these loans to be specific, it inadvertently overlooked these loans in 
its final determination and calculations. On July 7, 1997, the 
Department filed its required remand results with the CIT, which were 
affirmed on December 5, 1997. Inland Steel Industries, Inc. v. United 
States, 985 F. Supp. 132 (CIT 1997).
    Consistent with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's 
(CAFC) decision in Timken Co. v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 
1990), once the CIT litigation was concluded, the Department published 
a ``Notice of Court Decision'' in the Federal Register on January 12, 
1998 (63 FR 1827). In that notice, we stated that we would continue to 
suspend liquidation of any subject merchandise entered, or

[[Page 67562]]

withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption until a final and conclusive 
decision in the case was reached. We also announced that we would 
instruct the Customs Service to change the relevant cash deposit rates 
in the event that the CIT's ruling is not appealed or the CAFC issues a 
final decision affirming the CIT's ruling.
    On August 24, 1999, in Inland Steel Industries, Inc. v. United 
States, 188 F.3d 1349 (Fed. Cir. 1999), the CAFC affirmed the CIT's 
decisions on all issues before it. On November 4, 1999, the CAFC issued 
its mandate.
    Therefore, as there is now a final and conclusive court decision in 
this case, we are amending our final determination.

Amendment to Final Determination

    Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1516a(e), we are now amending our final 
determination in certain steel products from France. The recalculated 
net subsidy rate for all programs for Usinor Sacilor and the country-
wide rate is 15.13% ad valorem. We will instruct the Customs Service to 
change the cash deposit requirements accordingly. In addition, because 
there have been no requests for administrative reviews of the 
countervailing duty order, the Department will instruct the Customs 
Service to proceed with liquidation of subject merchandise entered on 
or after December 7, 1992, the date of the Department's preliminary 
determination, and before April 6, 1993, the date on which the 
Department's authority to impose provisional measures lapsed as 
explained in the final determination, 58 FR at 37314, as well as 
subject merchandise entered on or after August 17, 1993, the date on 
which the countervailing duty order was published, and before December 
31, 1998, which is the last day of the most recent period for which no 
administrative review was requested.

    Dated: November 19, 1999.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-31300 Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P