[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 279-280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-122-601]


Notice of Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review: Brass Sheet and Strip From Canada

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

ACTION: Notice of Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 4, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paige Rivas or James Terpstra, Office 
of Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Office Four, Group II, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0651 or 482-3965, 
respectively.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise stated, 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, unless otherwise 
indicated, all references to the Department's regulations are to 19 CFR 
part 351 (1998).

Amendment to Final Results

    On August 9, 1999, the Department determined that sales of brass 
sheet and strip from Canada were made at less than normal value during 
the 1997 period of review. This review covers one respondent, Wolverine 
Tube Inc. (Wolverine). See Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Notice of Intent 
Not To Revoke Order in Part, 64 FR 46344 (August 25, 1999).
    On August 18, 1999, the petitioners, (Hussey Copper, Ltd.; The 
Miller Company; Olin Corporation; Revere Copper Products, Inc.; 
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; 
International Union-Allied Industrial Workers of America (AFL-CIO); 
Mechanics Educational Society of America (Local 56), and United 
Steelworkers of America), timely filed an allegation that the 
Department had made several clerical errors in the final margin 
computer program. Petitioners requested that we correct the errors and 
publish a notice of amended final determination in the Federal 
Register. See 19 CFR 351.224(e). Petitioners' submission alleges the 
following errors:
     The Department overstated the reduction to Wolverine's 
cost of manufacture to eliminate potential double-counting of 
Wolverine's warranty expense. This reduction to Wolverine's cost of 
manufacture occurred when the Department agreed with Wolverine's claim 
that ``a portion of the warranty expenses associated with the 
manufacturing costs of re-working defective merchandise is already 
included in the reported COP and that the inclusion of such costs in 
warranty expenses would result in double-counting.'' See Final Results 
Analysis Memo, Eleventh Administrative Review 1/1/97-12/31/97 
(``Analysis Memo'') at 4. As a result, the Department reduced ``the 
reported COP expenses to account for these costs'' to ``avoid double 
counting.'' Id. According to petitioners, the overstatement of the 
reduction to Wolverine's cost of manufacture occurred because the 
Department calculated an adjustment factor by dividing Wolverine's 
total variable warranty expense by Wolverine's total labor and overhead 
costs (excluding the cost of materials), and applied this adjustment 
factor to Wolverine's total cost of manufacture (including cost of 
materials). The adjustment factor derived from Wolverine's labor and 
overhead costs should have been applied only to Wolverine's total labor 
and overhead costs to yield the correct amount of the adjustment to 
Wolverine's total cost of manufacture. Instead, the Department applied 
the adjustment factor to the sum of fabrication cost and metal cost in 
its final margin calculation program and overstated the reduction to 
Wolverine's cost of manufacture.
     The Department failed to correct a width for one of 
Wolverine's U.S. sales that the Department acknowledged in its Final 
Results of Review to be incorrect. See 64 FR at 46345 (Comment 2).
     The Department failed to include in its final margin 
program the exchange losses associated with its accounts

[[Page 280]]

payable and reported in the new computer field EXCHNG provided by 
Wolverine to the Department on March 25, 1999. Petitioner states that 
the Department should add the computer field EXCHNG to the revised cost 
of production (RCOP). Wolverine added a new computer field EXCHNG to 
its COP and CV databases for exchange losses associated with its 
accounts payable to include additional costs that were not reported in 
the original computer field TOTCOM. Wolverine did include these 
additional costs in the computer field for revised TOTCOM (RTOTCOM). 
However, because the Department started its cost calculations using the 
original computer field TOTCOM, the additional costs included in EXCHNG 
were not included in the Department's final margin analysis.
    Wolverine did not comment on the clerical error allegations.
    After reviewing the petitioners' allegations, we have determined, 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224, that the final results includes the 
above-mentioned clerical errors. Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(e), we are amending the final results of the antidumping duty 
review of brass sheet and strip from Canada. The revised dumping margin 
is listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Margin
                     Exporter/producer                       percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wolverine.................................................          0.83
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    In addition, we note that the assessment instructions in the 
original final results of review misstated the way in which the 
assessment rates were calculated. Therefore, this amended final results 
of review provides the corrected formulation given below.
    The Department shall determine, and the U.S. Customs Service 
(Customs) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. 
We will issue importer-specific appraisement instructions to Customs. 
For assessment purposes, we have calculated importer-specific ad 
valorem duty assessment rates for the merchandise based on the ratio of 
the total amount of dumping duties calculated for the examined sales to 
the entered value of sales used to calculate those duties. This notice 
serves as a final reminder to importers of their responsibility under 
19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of 
antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during 
this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could 
result in the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping 
duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of doubled antidumping 
duties.
    We are issuing and publishing this determination in accordance with 
section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)), 19 CFR 351.213, 
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

    Dated: December 27, 1999.
Holly A. Kuga,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-28 Filed 1-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P