[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18752-18754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8935]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-560-811; A-455-803; A-823-809]


Notice of Final Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars from Indonesia, Poland and Ukraine

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 11, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maisha Cryor at (202) 482-5831 (for 
Indonesia), Valerie Ellis at (202) 482-2336 (for Poland), or Keir 
Whitson at (202) 482-1777 (for Ukraine), AD/CVD Enforcement, Group II, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute

    Unless otherwise indicated, 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 citations

[[Page 18753]]

to the Department's regulations are to 19 CFR part 351 (2000).

Background

    On January 30, 2001, the Department published the preliminary 
determinations of the antidumping investigations of rebar from 
Indonesia, Poland and Ukraine. See Notice of Preliminary Determinations 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bars from 
Poland, Indonesia and Ukraine, 66 FR 8343 (January 30, 2001) 
(Preliminary Determinations). We gave interested parties an opportunity 
to comment on our preliminary determinations. On March 6, 2001, the 
petitioner filed a case brief in the investigation involving Ukraine. 
No rebuttal brief was submitted on behalf of Ukraine, nor were case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs filed in cases involving Indonesia and 
Poland. The Department received no requests for a public hearing in any 
of the three cases.
    Section 734(m) of the Act states that in the case of regional 
industry investigations, the administering authority shall offer 
exporters the opportunity to enter into suspension agreements. Proposed 
and finalized agreements in these cases must comport with the 
requirements set forth under section 734 of the Act for the suspension 
of antidumping duty investigations. All exporters participating in the 
instant investigations were aware of their opportunity to propose 
suspension agreements. However, the Department did not accept any 
suspension agreements in these proceedings. See Memorandum from Holly 
A. Kuga to The File, dated April 2, 2001.
    The Department has conducted these investigations in accordance 
with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of Investigations

    For purposes of these investigations, the product covered is all 
steel concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) sold in straight lengths, 
currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) under item number 7214.20.00 or any other tariff item 
number. Specifically excluded are plain rounds (i.e., non-deformed or 
smooth bars) and rebar that has been further processed through bending 
or coating. HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description of the scope of this proceeding is 
dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    The only issue raised by any party involved the Ukraine 
investigation and is addressed in the ``Issues and Decision 
Memorandum'' (Decision Memorandum), dated April 2, 2001, 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 the issue raised in these investigations and 
the corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on 
file in the Central Records Unit, room B-099 (``B-099'') of the main 
Department building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov. The paper copy and electronic version of the Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Use of Facts Available

    In the preliminary determinations of these investigations, the 
Department preliminarily determined that the application of total 
adverse facts available was appropriate with respect to each mandatory 
respondent from Indonesia, Poland, and Ukraine. Specifically, the 
Department assigned to the mandatory respondents from Indonesia, Poland 
and Ukraine the highest margins alleged in the amendments to the 
respective petitions. The interested parties did not object to the use 
of adverse facts available for the mandatory respondents in the 
investigations from Indonesia and Poland, or to the Department's choice 
of facts available, and no new facts were submitted which would cause 
the Department to revisit this decision. Therefore, for the reasons set 
out in the Preliminary Determinations, 66 FR 8343, we have continued to 
use the highest margins alleged by the petitioner for the mandatory 
respondents from Indonesia and Poland for the purposes of this final 
determination notice. In addition, the Department has left unchanged 
from the preliminary determinations the ``All Others Rate'' in the 
investigations from Indonesia and Poland.
    We received comments from the petitioner regarding the margin 
assigned in the Ukraine investigation. For the reasons set out in the 
Decision Memorandum, we have continued to use the highest margin 
alleged by the petitioner for the rebar produced/exported by Ukrainian 
firms.

Critical Circumstances

    In the petition, filed on June 28, 2000, the petitioner alleged 
that there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of rebar from Poland. On 
August 30, 2000, the Department preliminarily determined that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to exports of rebar from Poland. See 
Memorandum to Holly A. Kuga Re: Preliminary Affirmative Determinations 
of Critical Circumstances (August 30, 2000); see also Preliminary 
Determinations of Critical Circumstances: Steel Concrete Reinforcing 
Bars From the People's Republic of China and Poland, 65 FR 54228 
(September 7, 2000).
    In a letter filed on August 22, 2000, the petitioner alleged that 
there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of rebar from Ukraine. On 
November 27, 2000, the Department preliminarily determined that 
critical circumstances exist for imports of rebar from Ukraine. See 
Preliminary Determinations of Critical Circumstances: Steel Concrete 
Reinforcing Bars From Ukraine and Moldova, 65 FR 70696 (November 27, 
2000).
    No comments were filed since the preliminary determinations on the 
issue of critical circumstances by any party in the Poland or Ukraine 
proceedings, and there were no new facts discovered by the Department. 
Therefore, for the reasons specified in our preliminary determinations, 
we continue to find that critical circumstances exist in the cases of 
Poland and Ukraine.

Final Determinations of Investigations

    We determine that the following percentage weighted-average margins 
exist for the periods April 1, 1999, through March 31, 2000 (for 
Indonesia and Poland), and October 1, 1999 through March 31, 2000 (for 
Ukraine):

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poland:
    Stalexport.............................................        52.07
    All others.............................................        47.13
Indonesia:
    Sakti..................................................        71.01
    Bhirma.................................................        71.01
    Krakatau...............................................        71.01
    Perdana................................................        71.01
    Hanil..................................................        71.01
    Pulogadung.............................................        71.01
    Tunggal................................................        71.01
    Master Steel...........................................        71.01
    All others.............................................        60.46
Ukraine:
    Ukraine-Wide Rate......................................        41.69
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are instructing the 
U.S. Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries 
of rebar from

[[Page 18754]]

Indonesia that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after January 30, 2001 (the date of publication of 
the Preliminary Determinations in the Federal Register). For Poland and 
Ukraine, in accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of rebar that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after November 1, 2000 (90 days prior to the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determinations in the Federal Register). 
The Customs Service shall continue to require a cash deposit or the 
posting of a bond equal to the estimated amount by which the normal 
value exceeds the U.S. price as shown above. The suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determinations. As our 
final determinations are affirmative, the ITC will determine, within 45 
days, whether these imports are causing material injury, or threat of 
material injury, to an industry in the United States. If the ITC 
determines that material injury, or threat of 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 order directing Customs 
officials 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.
    These determinations are issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: April 2, 2001.
Timothy J. Hauser,
Acting Under Secretary for International Trade.

Appendix--Issues in Decision Memorandum

Comment and Response

1. Basis for Facts Available Margin

[FR Doc. 01-8935 Filed 4-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P