[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81823-81825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32978]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-565-801]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From the Philippines

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

ACTION: Notice of final determination of sales at less than fair value.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: December 27, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Baker or Robert James at (202) 
482-2924 and (202) 482-0649, respectively, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

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

Final Determination

    We determine that stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from the 
Philippines are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States 
at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of the Act. 
The estimated margin of sales are shown in the ``Continuation of 
Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

Case History

    The Department published the preliminary determination of sales at 
less-than-fair-value on August 2, 2000. See Notice of Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:

[[Page 81824]]

Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from the Philippines, 65 FR 
47393 (August 2, 2000) (Preliminary Determination). Since then the 
following events have occurred:
    The Department conducted verifications of the cost responses of 
Tung Fong Industrial Co., Ltd. (Tung Fong) from September 25 through 
September 29, 2000 and the sales responses of Tung Fong from October 2 
to October 6, 2000. See the ``Verification'' section (below).
    The Department performed a post-preliminary analysis for Tung Fong. 
It put this analysis on the record of this investigation on November 2, 
2000.
    The petitioners, Tung Fong, and Enlin Steel Corporation (Enlin) 
filed case briefs on November 15, 2000. The petitioners and Enlin filed 
rebuttal briefs on November 22, 2000. Tung Fong filed its rebuttal 
brief on November 24, 2000.

Critical Circumstances

    According to section 733(e) of the Tariff Act, the Department must 
examine whether there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that 
(A)(i) there is a history of dumping and material injury by reason of 
dumped imports in the United States or elsewhere of the subject 
merchandise, or (ii) the person by whom, or for whose account, the 
merchandise was imported knew or should have known that the exporter 
was selling the subject merchandise at less than its fair value and 
there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales, and (B) 
there have been massive imports of the subject merchandise over a 
relatively short period. Section 351.206(h)(1) of the Department's 
regulations provides that, in determining whether imports of the 
subject merchandise have been ``massive,'' the Department normally will 
examine: (i) The volume and value of the imports; (ii) seasonal trends; 
and (iii) the share of domestic consumption accounted for by the 
imports. In addition, section 351.206(h)(2) of the Department's 
regulations provides that an increase in imports during the 
``relatively short period'' of over 15 percent may be considered 
``massive.'' Section 351.206(i) of the Department's regulations defines 
``relatively short period'' normally as the period beginning on the 
date the proceeding begins (i.e., the date the petition is filed) and 
ending at least three months later.
    As in the preliminary determination, we continue to find critical 
circumstances for respondent Enlin. (Enlin did not comment on this 
determination in its case brief.) See the Preliminary Determination at 
47396 for an explanation of the basis for the Department's 
determination.
    With respect to Tung Fong, we impute knowledge of dumping with 
regard to exports by this company based on Tung Fong's final dumping 
margin being greater than 25 percent. See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon 
Steel Plate from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value, 62 FR 31972, 31978 
(June 11, 1997). We also find that there was a massive increase in 
imports over a relatively short period of time. See Tung Fong's export 
volumes provided in its August 8, 2000 submission, p. E447. Based on 
this information we make an affirmative final determination of critical 
circumstances with regard to Tung Fong.
    With respect to companies in the ``all others'' category, it is the 
Department's normal practice to base its determination on the 
experience of investigated companies. See Notice of Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality 
Steel Plate From Japan, 64 FR 73215, 73218 (December 29, 1999), and 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain 
Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars from Turkey, 62 FR 9737, 9741 (March 4, 
1997). However, for companies in the ``all others'' category, we do not 
use adverse facts available. Accordingly, we cannot utilize the dumping 
margins of Tung Fong or Enlin in making this determination because they 
were both based, at least partially, on adverse facts available. 
Therefore, since we have no other basis on which to impute knowledge of 
dumping, we make a negative final determination with respect to ``all 
others.'' See also the Preliminary Determination at 47396.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is October 1, 1998 through September 
30, 1999.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this administrative review are addressed in the ``Issues and Decision 
Memorandum'' (Decision Memorandum) from Joseph Spetrini, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, to Troy Cribb, Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration, dated the same date as publication 
of this notice, which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the 
issues which parties have raised and to which we have responded, all of 
which are in the Decision Memorandum, is attached to this notice as an 
appendix. Parties can find a complete discussion of all issues raised 
in this review and the corresponding recommendations in this public 
memorandum which is on file in room B-099 of the Department of Commerce 
building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memo can be 
accessed directly on the internet at http://ia.ita.doc.gov. The paper 
copy and electronic version of the Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.

Scope of Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the product covered is certain 
stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings. Certain stainless steel butt-
weld pipe fittings are under 14 inches in outside diameter (based on 
nominal pipe size), whether finished or unfinished. The product 
encompasses all grades of stainless steel and ``commodity'' and 
``specialty'' fittings. Specifically excluded from the definition are 
threaded, grooved, and bolted fittings, and fittings made from any 
material other than stainless steel.
    The fittings subject to these investigations are generally 
designated under specification ASTM A403/A403M, the standard 
specification for Wrought Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping Fittings, 
or its foreign equivalents (e.g., DIN or JIS specifications). This 
specification covers two general classes of fittings, WP and CR, of 
wrought austenitic stainless steel fittings of seamless and welded 
construction covered by the latest revision of ANSI B16.9, ANSI B16.11, 
and ANSI B16.28. Pipe fittings manufactured to specification ASTM A774, 
or its foreign equivalents, are also covered by these investigations.
    These investigations do not apply to cast fittings. Cast austenitic 
stainless steel pipe fittings are covered by specifications A351/A351M, 
A743/743M, and A744/A744M.
    The stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings subject to these 
investigations are currently classifiable under subheading 7307.23.0000 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). 
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation is 
dispositive.

Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions into United States dollars in 
accordance with section 77A(a) of the Tariff Act based on exchange 
rates in effect on the dates of the United States sales, as provided by 
the Dow Jones Business Information Services.

[[Page 81825]]

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act, we verified the 
information submitted by the respondent for use in our final 
determination. We used standard verification procedures, including 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, as well as 
original source documents provided by the respondent.

Fair Value Comparisons

    To determine whether sales of stainless steel butt-weld pipe 
fittings from the Philippines were made in the United States at less 
than fair value, we compared U.S. export price sales to the normal 
value (NV). Our calculations followed the methods described in the 
preliminary determination, except as noted below and in the final 
determination calculation memorandum, dated the same date as the date 
of this notice, which has been placed in the file in Room B-099 of the 
Department of Commerce.

1. EP

    For the price to the United States, we used EP as defined in 
section 772 of the Tariff Act. We calculated EP using the same method 
as in the preliminary determination, with the following exception:
    1. We made corrections to Tung Fong's data for individual sales for 
bank charges and imputed credit benefit based on findings at the sales 
verification. For specifics, see the final determination analysis 
memorandum from Fred Baker to the file (analysis memorandum) dated the 
same date as the date of publication of this notice.

2. NV

    We used the same method to calculate NV as that described in the 
preliminary determination, with the following exceptions:
    1. We included all third-country sales in the calculation 
regardless of whether they were above or below the cost of production;
    2. We compared U.S. sales only to third-country sales with 
identical product characteristics;
    3. For all U.S. sales without an identical match in the third-
country market, we assigned an NV comparison equivalent to the highest 
margin for any U.S. sale that had an identical match in the third-
country market;
    4. We made corrections to Tung Fong's data for individual sales for 
sales dates and international freight based on findings at the sales 
verification. See the analysis memorandum for specifics.

Use of Facts Available

    For a discussion of our application of facts available, see the 
``Facts Available'' section of the Decision Memo, which is on file in 
B-099 and available on the internet at ia.ita.doc.gov.

All Others

    Pursuant to section 735(5)(A) of the Tariff Act, the estimated 
``all-others'' rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for Tung Fong.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend the liquidation of 
all entries of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from the 
Philippines manufactured by Enlin that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after May 4, 2000, the date ninety 
days prior to the August 2, 2000 publication of the Preliminary 
Determination in the Federal Register. We will also instruct the 
Customs Service to suspend liquidation of all entries of stainless 
steel butt-weld pipe fittings manufactured by Tung Fong that are 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 
4, 2000. We will instruct the Customs Service to suspend liquidation 
for all other exporters of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings that 
are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, beginning August 2, 2000. The 
Customs Service shall continue to require a cash deposit or the posting 
of a bond equal to the weighted average dumping margin, as indicated in 
the chart below. These cash deposit instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enlin Steel Corporation....................................        33.81
Tung Fong Industrial Co., Ltd..............................        33.81
All Others.................................................        33.81
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Tariff Act, we have 
notified the International Trade Commission (ITC) of the determination. 
As the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will, within 45 
days, determine whether these imports are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines 
that material injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the 
proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted will be 
refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
exist, the Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing 
the Customs Service to assess antidumping duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to section 
735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act.

    Dated: Decemberr 15, 2000.
Troy H. Cribb,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

Comments and Responses

A. Initiation of Sale-Below-Cost Investigation
B. Use of Adverse Facts Available
C. Appropriate Treatment of Miscellaneous Cost Items
D. Model Match Method
E. Critical Circumstances
F. Rescinding the Investigation

[FR Doc. 00-32978 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-U