[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 27, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16656-16657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7552]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-818]


Certain Cold-Rolled and Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat 
Products From Korea: Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determinations in Accordance with Decision Upon Remand

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

ACTION: Notice of amendment to final affirmative countervailing duty 
determinations in accordance with decision upon remand.

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SUMMARY: On April 5, 2000, the Court of International Trade (CIT) 
remanded this case to recalculate duties owed in conformity with the 
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's (CAFC's) decision in AK 
Steel Corp., v. United States, 193 F.3d 1367 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (AK 
Steel). In accordance with that remand order, on June 19, 2000, the 
Department issued its Final Results of Redetermination on Remand 
Pursuant to LaClede Steel Co., et al. v. United States, Slip Op. 00-36 
(CIT April 5, 2000) (Second Remand). In the Second Remand, the 
Department recalculated the program rates, the company-specific total 
ad valorem and the country-wide rate.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 27, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tipten Troidl or Richard Herring, AD/
CVD Enforcement Office VI, Group II, Import Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 4012, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In British Steel P.L.C. v. United States, 
941 F. Supp. 119 (CIT 1996) (British Steel IV), the CIT upheld the 
Department's final determination in the Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determinations and Final Negative Critical 
Circumstances Determinations: Certain Steel Products from Korea, 58 FR 
37338 (July 9, 1993) (Steel Products from Korea). Respondents 
challenged the CIT's ruling, and on October 1, 1999, the CAFC issued 
its decision in AK Steel, affirming-in-part and reversing-in-part the 
decision of the CIT in British Steel IV. In AK Steel, the CAFC affirmed 
that the Korean government exercised de jure control of the financial 
system to benefit the steel industry through 1984. AK Steel, 193 F.3d 
at 1371. However, the CAFC determined that the Department's conclusion 
that there is a causal nexus between the Korean government's control of 
the financial system and the domestic loans received by the steel 
industry from private sources after 1985 was unsupported by substantial 
evidence. Id. at 1376. The CAFC reversed the portion of the CIT's 
judgment in British Steel IV concerning the imposition of 
countervailing duties based on domestic credit provided to the Korean 
steel industry by private Korean lenders. Id. In addition, the CAFC 
determined that loans from foreign lenders are not countervailable 
subsidies under the terms of the then existent statute. Id. at 1378. On 
April 5, 2000, the CIT remanded this case to the Department to 
recalculate duties owed in conformity with the CAFC's decision. In 
accordance with that order, on June 19, 2000, the Department issued the 
Second Remand, where the Department recalculated the program rates, the 
company-specific total ad valorem, and the country-wide rate.

Remand Results

    In accordance with the Court's instructions, we recalculated 
respondents' net subsidy rates using a methodology which ensures that 
countervailing duties are not based on domestic credit provided to the 
Korean steel industry by private Korean lenders after 1984 and are not 
based on preferential access to foreign credit. In addition, we 
recalculated the country-wide rate by taking the weighted-average of 
all of the companies' company-specific program rates. We then 
determined whether each company's individual company-specific rate was 
significantly different from the country-wide rate. In the event a 
company's rate was significantly different, we assigned it an 
individually-calculated rate. Otherwise, we assigned the company the 
country-wide rate. Listed below are the rates for corrosion-resistant 
products in the first table and cold-rolled products in the second 
table.
    The final countervailing duty rates for the 1991 period of 
investigation are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Manufacturer/Exporter of  corrosion-
                 resistant                        Ad  Valorem  rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (POSCO)......  1.15
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongbu)............  1.15
Union Steel Manufacturing (Union)..........  De minimis
Country-Wide Rate..........................  1.15
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[[Page 16657]]


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   Manufacturer/Exporter  of cold-rolled          Ad  Valorem  rate
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Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (POSCO)......  1.45
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongbu)............  1.45
Union Steel Manufacturing (Union)..........  De minimis
Country-Wide Rate..........................  1.45
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department has been enjoined from issuing any liquidation 
instructions to the U.S. Customs Service (Customs) until the conclusion 
of litigation of this case. Litigation has been completed, and 
therefore the Department will issue liquidation instructions directly 
to Customs. The Department will instruct Customs to assess 
countervailing duties on all appropriate entries from December 7, 1992, 
the date of the publication of the Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Countervailing 
Duty Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determinations: Certain 
Steel Products from Korea (57 FR 57761), when we first suspended 
liquidation, through December 31, 1999; the period which would have 
been covered by the latest administrative review. We are issuing 
liquidation instructions through December 31, 1999, because, although 
there have been no administrative reviews covering the period through 
December 31, 1999, the Department has been enjoined from issuing 
liquidation instructions pending the resolution of this litigation. 
With the Court's affirmation of the results of the Department's Second 
Remand, we are now able to issue liquidation instructions for this time 
period.
    Union Steel Manufacturing (Union) is excluded from both the cold-
rolled and the corrosion-resistant orders because it received a de 
minimis ad valorem rate in each investigation. Therefore, we will 
instruct Customs to liquidate entries from Union without regard to 
countervailing duties. In addition, the order on cold-rolled carbon 
steel flat products was revoked effective January 1, 2000, pursuant to 
section 751(c) of the Tariff Act, as amended. See Notice of Final 
Results of Sunset Review and Revocation of Countervailing Duty Order: 
Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Products from Korea, 65 FR 78469 (December 15, 
2000). Therefore, we instructed Customs to terminate suspension of 
liquidation for all entries of subject merchandise without regard to 
CVD duties after January 1, 2000, and there are no cash deposit 
requirements in effect for cold-rolled steel products. However, the 
order on corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products remains in 
effect. Since there have not been any intervening administrative 
reviews with respect to the order on corrosion-resistant carbon steel 
flat products, the above rates will affect the cash deposit 
requirements currently in effect. The cash deposit requirement for 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products will be 1.15 percent.
    This amendment to the final results of countervailing duty 
determinations notice is in accordance with section 705(d) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, (19 USC 1671d(d)) and section 
351.210(c) of the Department's regulations. Effective January 20, 2001, 
Bernard T. Carreau is fulfilling the duties of the Assistant Secretary 
for Import Administration.

    Dated: March 20, 2001.
Bernard T. Carreau,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-7552 Filed 3-26-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P