[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 180 (Friday, September 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55941-55942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23794]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-501]


Natural Bristle Paint Brushes and Brush Heads From the People's 
Republic of China: Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of amended final results of administrative review: 
natural bristle paint brushes and brush heads from the People's 
Republic of China.

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DATES: Effective Date: September 15, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Ellerman or Maureen Flannery, 
Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Enforcement, 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.

Applicable Statute

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

Scope of Review

    Imports covered by this review are shipments of natural bristle 
paint brushes and brush heads from the PRC. Excluded from the review 
are paint brushes and brush heads with a blend of 40% natural bristles 
and 60% synthetic filaments. The merchandise under review is currently 
classifiable under item 9603.40.40.40 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the Department's written 
description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Background

    On July 25, 2000, the Department published the final results of its 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on natural bristle 
paint brushes and paint brush heads from the People's Republic of China 
(65 FR 45753). This review covers two manufacturers/exporters of the 
subject merchandise, Hebei Founder Import & Export Company (Founder) 
and Hunan Provincial Native Produce & Animal By-Products Import & 
Export Corporation (Hunan), for the period February 1, 1998 through 
January 31, 1999. The petitioner is the Paint Applicator Division of 
the American Brush Manufacturers Association (petitioner). After 
publication of our final results, we received timely allegations from 
both Founder and petitioner that we made ministerial errors in 
calculating the final results of review. In addition, petitioner made a 
timely response to Founder's ministerial error allegation. We agree 
that ministerial errors were made and have corrected our calculations 
in accordance with section 751 (h) of the Tariff Act.

Analysis of Ministerial Error Allegations Received From Interested 
Parties

    As defined by section 751(h) of the Act, the term ministerial error 
includes errors ``in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic 
function, clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying, 
duplication, or the like, and any other type of unintentional error 
which the [Department] considers ministerial.''
    We received one ministerial error allegation from Founder stating 
that the Department calculated the cost of inland freight for Founder 
on a per-kilogram basis rather than on a per-brush basis. Founder 
argues that, in order to correct this error, the Department should 
divide the cost per kilogram by the weight of the two-inch and four-
inch brush, respectively, to determine the inland freight cost per 
brush. Petitioner counters that, if the Department determined that it 
made a ministerial error in its calculation of inland freight, then the 
Department should not adopt Founder's proposed correction because 
Founder's proposed correction would fail to account for the packed 
weight of each brush. Petitioner argues that the cost of inland freight 
should be based on packed weight because the brushes are shipped from 
the factory to the port in packaged form. Thus, petitioner contends 
that the Department should add the per-unit weights of poly-bags, 
boxes, and cartons to the weight of each brush before calculating a 
weight-based, per-unit inland freight cost.
    We agree with Founder that we calculated the cost of inland freight 
on a per-kilogram basis, rather than on a per-piece basis; however, we 
disagree with Founder's methodology to rectify this error. Rather than 
divide the cost per kilogram by the weight of the two-inch and four-
inch brush respectively, we should multiply the cost per kilogram by 
the weight of the two-inch and four-inch brushes, thereby deriving a 
cost per brush. In addition, we agree with petitioner that Founder's 
methodology fails to account for the packed weight of each brush. 
Therefore, we have added the per-unit weights of poly-bags, boxes, and 
cartons to the weight of the individual brush to base the cost of 
inland freight on packed weights. We have subsequently made these 
changes to the calculations for both the two-inch and four-inch brushes 
for the amended final results. For further information with regard to 
the changes made in our calculations, see Memorandum to the File from 
Michael Strollo through Maureen Flannery: Analysis of Hebei Founder 
Import and Export Corp. (Founder) for the Amended Final Results of 
Review of Natural Bristle Paintbrushes and Brush Heads from the 
People's Republic of China (Founder Amended Analysis Memo), dated 
August XX, 2000.
    We also received ministerial error allegations from petitioner. 
Petitioner stated that (1) the Department did not use the most current 
wage rates for valuing both manufacturing and packing labor, and (2) 
the Department did not implement its intentions with respect to the 
valuation of wooden core for respondent Founder. Petitioner contends 
that, after case and rebuttal briefs were filed in this review, the 
Department published an updated wage rate of $0.80 for China based on 
1998 data. Petitioner maintains that this is the most current and 
contemporaneous wage rate that is available to value labor. Therefore, 
petitioner argues that, consistent with the regulations, the Department 
should amend the final results to incorporate the most current wage 
rate data.
    With regard to the Department's valuation of Founder's wooden core, 
petitioner refers to the Memorandum to the File from Mike Strollo 
through Maureen Flannery: Analysis of Hebei Animal By-Product Import/
Export Corp., now Hebei Founder Import and Export Corp. (Founder), for 
the Final Results of Review of Natural Bristle Paintbrushes and Brush 
Heads from the People's Republic of China, dated July 13, 2000. In that 
memorandum, the

[[Page 55942]]

Department stated that, as facts available, it intended to use the 
surrogate value for bristles to value the bristle/wooden core factor 
for both the two-inch and four-inch brushes weighed during the 
verification of Founder. Petitioner contends, however, that the 
Department valued the weight of the bristle, using the same weights for 
the final results that it used in the preliminary results.
    We agree with petitioner that the Department unintentionally failed 
to use the most current wage rates for valuing labor for both Founder 
and Hunan. Since a more current wage rate is publicly available at the 
Import Administration web-site, we should have updated our analysis for 
the final results to reflect the most current data. We also agree with 
petitioner that we failed to properly implement its intentions with 
respect to the valuation of wooden core for Founder. We have made these 
suggested corrections for the amended final results. For more 
information on these changes with respect to the revised calculations 
of weighted-average dumping margins, please refer to the Founder 
Amended Analysis Memo and Memorandum to the File from Michael Strollo 
through Maureen Flannery: Analysis of Hunan Provincial Native Produce & 
Animal By-Products Import & Export Corp. (Hunan) for the Amended Final 
Results of Review of Natural Bristle Paintbrushes and Brush Heads from 
the People's Republic of China, dated August 24, 2000.

Amended Final Results of Review

    As a result of correcting these ministerial errors, we have revised 
our final results and determine that the following weighted-average 
margins exist for the period February 1, 1998 through January 31, 1999:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hunan Provincial Native Produce & Animal By-Products Import         0.00
 & Export Corp.............................................
Hebei Founder Import & Export Company......................        32.74
PRC-Wide Rate..............................................       351.92
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Accordingly, the Department will determine, and the Customs Service 
will assess, antidumping duties on all entries of subject merchandise 
from Hunan and Founder in accordance with these amended final results. 
For assessment purposes, we have calculated importer-specific duty 
assessment rates for each class or kind of merchandise based on the 
ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for the 
examined sales during the period of review (POR) to the total quantity 
of sales examined during the POR. The Department will issue 
appraisement instructions directly to Customs.

Amended Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following amended deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of this notice of amended final results of administrative 
review for all shipments of natural bristle paint brushes and paint 
brush heads from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the publication date, as provided for by 
section 751(a)(2)(c) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rates for the 
reviewed companies will be the rates shown above except that, for firms 
whose weighted-average margins are less than 0.5 percent and therefore 
de minimis, the Department shall require no deposit of estimated 
antidumping duties; (2) for previously-reviewed PRC and non-PRC 
exporters with separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be the 
company-specific rate established for the most recent period; (3) for 
all other PRC exporters, the cash deposit rate will be the PRC-wide 
rate, 351.92 percent; and (4) for all other non-PRC exporters of the 
subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable 
to the PRC supplier of that exporter.
    This amended final results of administrative review and notice are 
in accordance with section 751(a)(1) and section 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: August 22, 2000.
Troy H. Cribb,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration
[FR Doc. 00-23794 Filed 9-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P