[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 232 (Monday, December 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60201-60202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29813]



[[Page 60201]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-791-810]


Notice of Countervailing Duty Order: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon 
Steel Flat Products From South Africa

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 3, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon at (202) 482-0162, 
Mark Hoadley at (202) 482-0666, or Julio Fernandez at (202) 482-0190, 
Office of AD/CVD Enforcement VII, Group III, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 
7866, 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 Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act), as amended. In 
addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's 
regulations are to the regulations codified at 19 CFR part 351 (2000).

Scope of Order

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is 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 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 
as silicon and aluminum.
    Steel products 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 descriptions 
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., 
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 bearings 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, 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 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 
Department's written description of the merchandise under investigation 
is dispositive.

Countervailing Duty Order

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, on October 3, 2001, 
the Department published in the Federal Register its final affirmative 
determination in the countervailing duty investigation of certain hot-
rolled carbon steel flat products from South Africa (66 FR 50412). On 
November 13, 2001, the International Trade Commission (ITC) notified 
the Department of its final determination, pursuant to section 
705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, that an industry in the United States is 
materially injured by reason of imports of certain hot-rolled carbon 
steel flat products from South Africa.
    Therefore, countervailing duties will be assessed on all 
unliquidated entries of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 
from South Africa entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption 
on or after April 20, 2001, the date on which the Department

[[Page 60202]]

published its preliminary countervailing duty determination in the 
Federal Register, and before August 18, 2001, the date on which the 
Department instructed the U.S. Customs Service to terminate the 
suspension of liquidation in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, 
and on all entries and withdrawals on or after the date of publication 
of this countervailing duty order in the Federal Register. Section 
703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation pursuant to 
a preliminary determination may not remain in effect for longer than 
four months. Entries of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 
made on or after August 18, 2001, and prior to the date of publication 
of this order in the Federal Register are not liable for the assessment 
of countervailing duties as a result of the Department's termination, 
effective August 18, 2001, of the suspension of liquidation.
    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, the Department will 
direct U.S. Customs (Customs) to reinstate the suspension of 
liquidation effective on the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register and to assess, upon further advice by the Department 
pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties for 
each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the 
countervailable subsidy rate for the subject merchandise. In its 
instructions, the Department will direct Customs to exclude Highveld 
Steel and Vanadium Corporation Limited (Highveld), which received a de 
minimis subsidy rate in the Department's final determination, from this 
reinstatement of the suspension of liquidation and any subsequent 
assessment of countervailing duties.
    On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, Customs must require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit 
equal to the countervailable subsidy rates noted below. The ``All 
Others'' rate applies to all producers and exporters, except for 
Highveld, of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from South 
Africa not specifically listed below. The cash deposit rates are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Producer/exporter                    Net subsidy rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saldanha Steel/Iscor......................  5.76% Ad Valorem.
All Others................................  5.76% Ad Valorem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from South Africa, 
pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. Interested parties may contact 
the Central Records Unit, for copies of an updated list of 
countervailing duty orders currently in effect.
    This countervailing duty order is published in accordance with 
section 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

    Dated: November 26, 2001.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-29813 Filed 11-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P