[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 213 (Friday, November 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55637-55639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27621]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-421-807]


Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value; Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From The 
Netherlands

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

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

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EFFECTIVE DATE: November 2, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Blackledge, Mike Heaney, or 
Robert James, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Enforcement Group 
III, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230, at (202) 482-3518, (202) 482-4475, or (202) 482-
0649, respectively.

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 Tariff Act) 
by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise 
indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce's (the 
Department's) regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR 
part 351 (2000).

Amendment to the Final Determination

    On September 21, 2001, the Department determined that certain hot-

[[Page 55638]]

rolled carbon steel flat products (hot-rolled) from the Netherlands are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV), as provided in section 735(a) of the Tariff Act. See 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain 
Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From The Netherlands, 66 FR 50408 
(October 3, 2001) (Final Determination). On October 3, 2001, respondent 
Corus Staal BV (Corus Staal) timely filed an allegation that the 
Department had made two ministerial errors in its final determination. 
Petitioners (United States Steel LLC, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, 
Gallatin Steel Company, IPSCO Steel, Inc., LTV Steel Company, Inc., 
National Steel Corporation, Nucor Corporation, and Steel Dynamics, 
Inc.) also timely alleged several ministerial errors on October 3, 
2001. Both interested parties requested that we correct the errors and 
publish a notice of amended final determination in the Federal 
Register. See 19 CFR 351.224(e). In addition, on October 9, 2001, 
petitioners filed comments in rebuttal of one of Corus Staal's alleged 
errors.
    Corus Staal's submission alleges the following errors:
     The Department inadvertently applied the revised inland 
freight expense for sales by Rafferty-Brown of North Carolina (RBN) to 
all U.S. sales; and
     The Department inadvertently treated all U.S. sales as 
export price (EP) sales when it intended to treat only sales of tolled 
subject merchandise as EP sales.

See Letter, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, October 3, 2001 passim.

    In their rebuttal submission petitioners note that the treatment of 
all U.S. sales as EP sales by the Department was not a ministerial 
error, and that the Department intended to treat all U.S. sales as EP 
sales.
    Petitioners' submission alleges the following errors:
     The Department double-counted early payment discounts for 
both Laura Metaal BV and Namascor BV;
     The Department double-counted a rebate for one customer 
which was reported incorrectly as a billing adjustment and correctly as 
a rebate;
     The Department inadvertently applied the revised warranty 
expense factor for sales made by RBN to all U.S. sales instead of only 
to RBN sales;
     The Department failed to correctly adjust the billing 
adjustments for certain U.S. sales on an invoice-specific basis, the 
Department applied an adjustment rate to all U.S. sales and not only to 
the sales in question, the Department then failed to recalculate credit 
for the invoices in question, and the Department applied the incorrect 
factor to adjust the respondent's billing adjustments;
     The Department attempted but failed to adjust further 
manufacturing costs for certain sales by Rafferty-Brown of Connecticut; 
and
     Finally, the Department inadvertently omitted changes in 
the margin calculation and model match programs which would have 
revised costs for one model, as intended by the Department and stated 
in its Memorandum from Heidi Norris to Neal Halper, Director of Office 
of Accounting, re: Cost of Production and Constructed Value Calculation 
Adjustments for the Final Determination (Sept. 19, 2001) at 1-2.

See Letter, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, October 3, 2001 
passim.

    The Department's regulations define a ministerial error as one 
involving ``addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, 
clerical error resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication or the 
like, and any other similar type of unintentional error which the 
Secretary considers ministerial.'' 19 CFR 351.224(f).
    After reviewing both parties' allegations and petitioners' rebuttal 
we have determined, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224, that the Final 
Determination includes several ministerial errors. As to Corus Staal's 
allegations, we agree with Corus Staal that each of the points raised 
by Corus Staal constitutes a ministerial error. See Memorandum For 
Richard Weible; ``Allegations of Ministerial Errors; Final 
Determination in the Investigation of Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel 
Flat Products from the Netherlands' (Ministerial Errors Memorandum), 
dated October 23, 2001, a public version of which is on file in room B-
099 of the main Commerce building, and the Final Determination, 66 FR 
at 50408.
    Finally, we agree that, with the exception of one allegation, the 
errors alleged by petitioners represent ministerial errors and have 
been corrected for this amended final determination. The alleged 
ministerial error with which we do not agree is petitioners' belief 
that the Department's methodology for adjusting the respondent's 
billing adjustments constituted a ministerial error. For a detailed 
description of each of these allegations and, where applicable, our 
resultant corrections, see the Ministerial Errors Memorandum. 
Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e), we are amending the 
final determination of the antidumping duty investigation of certain 
hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from the Netherlands. The revised 
weighted-average dumping margins are in the Amended Final Determination 
section, below.

Scope of the Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are 
certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 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 lengths, 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 of this 
investigation 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 
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 (HTS), 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

[[Page 55639]]

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 of this investigation:

     Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of 
the chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., ASTM 
specifications A543, A387, A514, A517, A506).
     Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American Iron and 
Steel Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
     Ball bearings steels, as defined in the HTS.
     Tool steels, as defined in the HTS.
     Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTS) 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 HTS.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in the 
HTS at subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 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 flat-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 
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 HTS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.

Amended Final Determination

    We are amending the final determination of the antidumping duty 
investigation of Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from the 
Netherlands to reflect the correction of the above-cited ministerial 
errors. The revised final weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                  Manufacturer/exporter                   average margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus Staal BV (Corus Staal)............................            2.59
All Others..............................................            2.59
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act, we are 
directing the United States Customs Service (Customs) to continue 
suspending liquidation on all imports of the subject merchandise from 
the Netherlands. Customs shall require a cash deposit or the posting of 
a bond equal to the weighted-average amount by which normal value 
exceeds the export price as indicated in the chart above. These 
suspension-of-liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Tariff Act, we have 
notified the International Trade Commission of our amended final 
determination. This determination is issued and published in accordance 
with section 736(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended.

    Dated: October 24, 2001.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary, for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-27621 Filed 11-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P