[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 136 (Monday, July 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37001-37002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17717]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-814]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Hot-RolledCarbon Steel Flat Products From Argentina

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 16, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Constance Handley at (202) 482-0631 or 
David Bede at (202) 482-3693, respectively, Import Administration, Room 
1870, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

    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 Department of Commerce (the Department) 
regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR part 351 (April 
2000).

Final Determination

    We determine that certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 
(HRS) from Argentina 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 margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the 
Suspension of Liquidation section of this notice.

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was issued on 
April 23, 2001. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products 
from Argentina, 66 FR 22180 (May 3, 2001) (``Preliminary 
Determination''). No case briefs were filed.\1\ On May 16, 2001, 
Siderar Saic (Siderar) requested that the final determination be 
postponed. This request was denied. See Memorandum from Gary Taverman 
to Faryar Shirzad: Request for Postponement of Final Determination 
(June 19, 2001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Normally, when the Department issues a final determination, 
the Federal Register notice is accompanied by a separate Issues and 
Decision Memorandum. Since no briefs were filed in this case, a 
separate memorandum is not required.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are 
certain HRS of a rectangular shape, of a width of 0.5 inch or greater, 
neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal and whether or not painted, 
varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances, in 
coils (whether or not in successively superimposed layers), regardless 
of thickness, and in straight length, of a thickness of less than 4.75 
mm and of a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness. Universal 
mill plate (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four faces or in a 
closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm, but not exceeding 1250 
mm, and of a thickness of not less than 4.0 mm, not in coils and 
without patterns in relief) of a thickness not less than 4.0 mm is not 
included within the scope of this investigation.
    Specifically included within the scope are vacuum degassed, fully 
stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free (IF)) steels, 
high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, and the substrate for motor 
lamination steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon steels with 
micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium or niobium (also 
commonly referred to as columbium), or both, added to stabilize carbon 
and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as steels with micro-
alloying levels of elements such as chromium, copper, niobium, 
vanadium, and molybdenum. The substrate for motor lamination steels 
contains micro-alloying levels of elements such as silicon and 
aluminum.
    Steel products to be included in the scope of this investigation, 
regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS), are products in which: (i) Iron predominates, by 
weight, over each of the other contained elements; (ii) the carbon 
content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (iii) none of the elements 
listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:
    1.80 percent of manganese, or
    2.25 percent of silicon, or
    1.00 percent of copper, or
    0.50 percent of aluminum, or
    1.25 percent of chromium, or
    0.30 percent of cobalt, or
    0.40 percent of lead, or
    1.25 percent of nickel, or
    0.30 percent of tungsten, or
    0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
    0.10 percent of niobium, or
    0.15 percent of vanadium, or
    0.15 percent of zirconium.
    All products that meet the physical and chemical description 
provided above are within the scope of this investigation unless 
otherwise excluded. The following products, by way of example, are 
outside or specifically excluded from the scope:
     Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of 
the chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., 
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications A543, 
A387, A514, A517, A506).
     Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American Iron & 
Steel Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
     Ball bearing steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Tool steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTSUS) or silicon 
electrical steel with a silicon level exceeding 2.25 percent.
     ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
     USS abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
     All products (proprietary or otherwise) based on an alloy 
ASTM specification (sample specifications: ASTM A506, A507).
     Non-rectangular shapes, not in coils, which are the result 
of having been processed by cutting or stamping and which have assumed 
the character of articles or products classified outside chapter 72 of 
the HTSUS.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in the 
HTSUS at subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00,

[[Page 37002]]

7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60, 7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 
7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60, 7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 
7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30, 7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 
7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90, 7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 
7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00, 7208.90.00.00, 7211.14.00.90, 
7211.19.15.00, 7211.19.20.00, 7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 
7211.19.60.00, 7211.19.75.30, 7211.19.75.60, and 7211.19.75.90. Certain 
hot-rolled carbon steel flat products covered by this investigation, 
including vacuum degassed fully stabilized, high strength low alloy, 
and the substrate for motor lamination steel may also enter under the 
following tariff classification numbers: 7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00, 
7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90, 
7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00, 
7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and 
7226.99.00.00. Subject merchandise may also enter under 7210.70.30.00, 
7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 7212.40.10.00, 7212.40.50.00, and 
7212.50.00.00.
    Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
U.S. Customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise 
subject to this proceeding is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (POI) for this investigation is October 
1, 1999 through September 30, 2000. This period corresponds to the four 
most recent fiscal quarters prior to the month of the filing of the 
petition (i.e., November 2000).

Facts Available

    In the preliminary determination, the Department based the dumping 
margin for Siderar on facts otherwise available pursuant to section 
776(a)(2)(A) of the Act. The use of facts otherwise available was 
warranted because Siderar failed to respond to the Department's 
questionnaire, and failed to provide any indication that it was unable 
to respond. Therefore, the Department found that Siderar failed to 
cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability. As a result, 
pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, the Department used an adverse 
inference in selecting from the facts available. Specifically, the 
Department assigned Siderar the highest margin alleged in the petition. 
We continue to find this margin corroborated, pursuant to section 
776(c) of the Act, for the reasons discussed in the Preliminary 
Determination. No interested parties have objected to the use of 
adverse facts available for Siderar in this investigation, nor to the 
Department's choice of the facts available margin. Accordingly, for the 
final determination, the Department is continuing to use, for Siderar, 
the highest margin alleged in the petition. See Preliminary 
Determination. In addition, the Department has left unchanged from the 
preliminary determination the ``All Others Rate'' in this 
investigation.
    On January 17, 2001, the other mandatory respondent, Acindar 
Industria Argentina de Aceros SA (Acindar), informed the Department 
that it did not sell the subject merchandise to the United States 
during the period of investigation (POI) and, therefore, had no sales 
to report. Upon reviewing U.S. Customs data, the Department confirmed 
that Acindar did not sell the subject merchandise to the United States 
during the POI and, as such, any future exports from Acindar will be 
subject to the ``All Others Rate.''

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend all entries of HRS 
from Argentina, that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after May 3, 2001, the date of publication of our 
preliminary determination. The Customs Service shall require a cash 
deposit or bond equal to the dumping margin, as indicated in the chart 
below. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect 
until further notice.
    The dumping margins are provided below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siderar Saic (Siderar)....................................        44.59
All Others................................................        40.60
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our 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.

Notification Regarding APO

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely notification of return/
destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order 
is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the 
terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: July 7, 2001.
Faryar Shirzad,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-17717 Filed 7-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P