[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16484-16486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8332]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Exclusion of Particular Products From Actions Under Section 203 
of the Trade Act of 1974 With Regard to Certain Steel Products; and 
Conforming Changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to authority granted to the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) in Presidential Proclamation 7529 of March 5, 
2002 (67 FR 10553), the USTR has found that particular products should 
be excluded from actions under section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2253) (Trade Act) with regard to certain steel products, and is 
modifying subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTS) as set forth in the annex to this 
notice to implement these exclusions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 20, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Industry, Office of the 
United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW, Room 501, 
Washington DC, 20508. Telephone (202) 395-5656.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 22, 2001, the ITC issued 
affirmative determinations under section 202(b) of the Trade Act (22 
U.S.C. 2252(b)) that (1) carbon and alloy steel slabs, plate (including 
cut-to-length plate and clad plate), hot-rolled sheet and strip 
(including plate in coils), cold-rolled sheet and strip (other than 
grain-oriented electrical steel), and corrosion-resistant and other 
coated sheet and strip; (2) carbon and alloy hot-rolled bar and light 
shapes; (3) carbon and alloy cold-finished bar; (4) rebar; (5) carbon 
and alloy welded tubular products (other than oil country tubular 
goods); (6) carbon and alloy flanges, fittings, and tool joints; (7) 
stainless steel bar and light shapes; and (8)

[[Page 16485]]

stainless steel rod are being imported in such increased quantities as 
to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to 
the domestic industries producing those products. The Commissioners 
voting were equally divided with respect to the determination under 
section 202(b) of the Trade Act as to whether increased imports of (9) 
carbon and alloy tin mill products; (10) tool steel, all forms; (11) 
stainless steel wire; and (12) stainless steel flanges and fittings are 
being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial 
cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to the domestic 
industries producing those products.
    On March 5, 2002, the President issued Proclamation 7529, which 
established increases in duty and a tariff-rate quota (safeguard 
measures) pursuant to section 203 of the Trade Act on imports of ten 
steel products described in paragraph 7 of that proclamation. See 67 FR 
10553 (March 7, 2002). Effective with respect to goods entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m., EST, 
on March 20, 2002, Proclamation 7529 modifies the HTS so as to provide 
for such increased duties and a tariff-rate quota. Proclamation 7529 
also delegated to the USTR the authority to consider requests for 
exclusions of particular products submitted in accordance with the 
procedures set out in 66 FR 54321, 54322-54323 (October 26, 2001) and, 
upon publication in the Federal Register of a notice of his finding 
that a particular product should be excluded, to modify the HTS 
provisions created by the Annex to that proclamation to exclude such 
particular product from the pertinent safeguard measure.
    I have further considered exclusion requests for certain products 
designated as X-036, X-045, X-082, X-142, X-171.1, X-171.2, X-184, and 
X-192. I find that the exclusion of the steel products described in 
subdivisions (b)(l) through (b)(liv) of U.S. note 11 to subchapter III 
of chapter 99 of the HTS, as amended in the Annex to this notice, from 
the safeguard measures established in Proclamation 7529 would not 
undermine the goals of those safeguard measures. Therefore, I find that 
these products should be excluded from those safeguard measures. 
Accordingly, under authority vested in the USTR by Proclamation 7529, I 
modify the HTS provisions created by the Annex to Proclamation 7529 as 
set forth in the annex to this notice, which shall be embodied in the 
HTS with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, on or after March 20, 2002.

Robert B. Zoellick,
United States Trade Representative.

Annex

    The HTS is modified as set forth in this annex, with bracketed 
matter included to assist in the understanding of the modifications. 
The following provisions supersede matter now in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTS). The new subheading and superior 
text thereto being inserted by this notice are set forth in columnar 
format, and material in such columns is inserted in the columns of the 
HTS designated ``Heading/Subheading'', ``Article Description'', ``Rates 
of Duty 1 General'', ``Rates of Duty 1 Special'', and Rates of Duty 
2'', respectively.
    Effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m., EST, on March 20, 
2002, the HTS is modified as follows:
    (1) U.S. note 11 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTS is 
modified:
    (a) In subdivision (b)(xxvii), by redesignating subdivision (B) as 
subdivision (C), and inserting the following new subdivision (B) in 
alphabetical sequence:

    ``(B) certain batch annealed and temper-rolled cold-rolled 
continuously cast steel products (including tin mill black plate), 
meeting the following characteristics: chemical composition (in 
percent by weight) of carbon not over 0.08, silicon not over 0.04, 
manganese not over 0.40, phosphorus not over 0.03, sulfur not over 
0.03 and aluminum from 0.010-0.07l; thickness tolerance of +/-5 
percent (aim +/-4 percent), guaranteed inside of 15 mm from mill 
edges; width tolerance of -0/+7 mm; hardness of Hv 85-110; tensile 
strength 275N/mm2 or more; elongation 36 percent or more; grain 
equaixed; grain size minimum 8.5; Lankford value greater than 1.2; 
and delta r value less than +/-0.2; or''

    (b) in subdivision (b)(xxxii), by redesignating subdivision (B) and 
(C) as (C) and (D), respectively, and inserting the following new 
subdivision (B) in alphabetical sequence:

    ``(B) non-oriented, high silicon, magnetic steel flat-rolled 
steel products with the following characteristics: silicon density 
gradient of between 4 percent by weight (center) and 6.5 percent by 
weight (surface); thickness from 0.05-0.30 mm; width 20-600 mm; 
chemical composition (in percent by weight): carbon 0.010 maximum, 
manganese 0.15 maximum, phosphorus 0.015 maximum, sulfur 0.005 
maximum, silicon 4.0 or more but not over 7.0 and aluminum 0.004 
maximum; mechanical properties: hardness of 380-420 HV (micro 
vickers); magnetic properties: strikethrough: saturation induction 
over 1.85 Tesla; and core loss: strikethrough W1/10k less than 
20.4W/kg or W.5/20k less than 24.0 W/kg;''

    (c) by inserting the following new subdivisions in numerical 
sequence at the end of subdivision (b):

    ``(l) hot-rolled flat-rolled steel, designated as X-082, in 
coils, either in widths not over 1,168.4 mm then having coil weights 
of 21.43 kg per mm of width and greater and entered in an aggregate 
annual quantity not to exceed 200,000 metric tons, or in widths over 
1,168.4 mm but not over 1,244.6 mm then having coil weights of 19.64 
kg per mm of width or more and entered in an aggregate annual 
quantity not to exceed 50,000 metric tons, all the foregoing widths 
having a width tolerance of not more than 12.00 mm; having a camber 
tolerance of not more than 15 mm per 1000 cm, in thicknesses ranging 
from 1.80 mm to 3.00 mm with thickness tolerances of 
0.05 mm, and with a maximum flatness deviation measured 
as not to exceed 2.5 percent steepness ratio (defined as height over 
the wave length); the foregoing goods having the following chemical 
compositions and widths:
    (A) Of a width from 733 to 1,244.6 mm, inclusive, and containing 
by weight 0.010-0.08 percent of carbon, 0.16-0.30 percent of 
manganese, 0.025 percent maximum of silicon, 0.020 percent maximum 
of phosphorus, 0.020 percent maximum of sulfur, 0.008 percent 
maximum of nitrogen and 0.02-0.08 percent of aluminum;
    (B) of a width from 915 to 1,244.6 mm, inclusive, and containing 
by weight 0.08-0.13 percent of carbon, 0.30-0.60 percent of 
manganese, 0.035 percent maximum of silicon, 0.025 percent maximum 
of phosphorus, 0.025 percent maximum of sulfur, 0.008 percent 
maximum of nitrogen and 0.02-0.07 percent of aluminum;
    (C) of a width from 762 to 1,244.6 mm, inclusive and containing 
by weight 0.13-0.17 percent of carbon, 0.30-0.60 percent of 
manganese, 0.035 percent maximum of silicon, 0.025 percent maximum 
of phosphorus, 0.025 percent maximum of sulfur, 0.010 percent 
maximum of nitrogen and 0.02-0.07 percent of aluminum; or
    (D) of a width from 733 to 1,244.6 mm, inclusive, and containing 
by weight 0.010 percent maximum of carbon, 0.10-0.20 percent of 
manganese, 0.030 percent maximum of silicon, 0.020 percent maximum 
of phosphorus, 0.020 percent maximum of sulfur, 0.007 percent 
maximum of nitrogen, 0.02-0.075 percent of aluminum and 0.15 percent 
maximum of titanium;

all the foregoing certified by the importer of record to be used for 
rerolling in a reversing cold reduction mill, with a reduction in 
thickness during the cold rolling process of at least 40 percent;
    (li) hot-rolled flat-rolled steel products, in coils, measuring 
5.0 mm  x  533.5 mm per coil; having the chemical composition (in 
percent by weight) carbon 0.11 percent-0.17 percent, silicon not 
over 0.10 percent, manganese 0.30-0.60 percent, phosphorus not over 
0.025 percent, sulfur not over 0.025 percent, molybdenum 0.20-0.50 
percent, vanadium 0.04-0.11 percent and aluminum 0.02-0.08 percent; 
yield strength 400N/mm2 or greater; tensile strength 490-610 N/mm2 
and

[[Page 16486]]

elongation equal to or exceeding 22 percent, the foregoing 
designated as X-142;
    (lii) products designated as X-171, as described below:
    (A) electrolytically chromium coated steel, single reduced, 
temper T-5 CA, from 0.279 mm to 0.300 mm in thickness, in widths 
equal to 1065.213 mm (ordered) or widths equal to 1071.563 mm 
(actual); or
    (B) ultra-wide electrolytically tin-plated drawn and ironed 
(``D&I'') steel, single reduced, T-4 CA, from 0.270 mm to 0.285 mm 
in thickness, in widths equal to 1146.175 mm (ordered) or in widths 
equal to 1152.525 mm (actual);
    (liii) ball-bearing steel (as defined in additional U.S. note 
1(h) to chapter 72 of the tariff schedule) hot-rolled bars and rods, 
in coils, having a diameter less than 47.625 mm; the foregoing 
designated as X-184;
    (liv) special flat-rolled nonalloy carbon steel products, not 
further worked than hot-rolled, of a width of 160 mm or more and a 
thickness of 8 mm to 50 mm, inclusive, with rounded edges and 
corners and certified and die-stamped with the mark of a national 
shipbuilding classification society, the foregoing designated as X-
045 or X-192.''

    (2) The subheadings set forth below are inserted in subchapter III 
of chapter 99 in numerical sequence:


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                         [Flat-rolled...:]      ....................  ....................  ....................
                            [Goods...:].......  ....................  ....................  ....................
``9903.72.54                  Enumerated in     No change             No change             No change
                               U.S. note
                               11(b)(liv) to
                               this subchapter
                               and designated
                               as X-045 or X-
                               192.
                         [Flat-rolled...:]      ....................  ....................  ....................
                            [Goods...:].......  ....................  ....................  ....................
 9903.72.75                   Enumerated in     No change             No change             No change
                               U.S. note
                               11(b)(l) to
                               this
                               subchapter,
                               having a width
                               not over
                               1,168.4 mm, if
                               entered in an
                               aggregate
                               annual quantity
                               not to exceed
                               200,000 metric
                               tons, and
                               designated as X-
                               082.
 9903.72.76                   Enumerated in     No change             No change             No change
                               U.S. note
                               11(b)(l) to
                               this
                               subchapter,
                               having a width
                               over 1,168.4
                               mm, if entered
                               in an aggregate
                               annual quantity
                               not to exceed
                               50,000 metric
                               tons, and
                               designated as X-
                               082.
                         [Flat-rolled...:]      ....................  ....................  ....................
                            [Goods...:].......  ....................  ....................  ....................
 9903.73.31                   Enumerated in     No change             No change             No change
                               U.S. note
                               11(b)(lii) to
                               this subchapter
                               and designated
                               as X-171.
                         [Bars...:]             ....................  ....................  ....................
                            [Goods...:].......  ....................  ....................  ....................
 9903.73.45                   Enumerated in     No change             No change             No change''
                               U.S. note
                               11(b)(liii) to
                               this subchapter
                               and designated
                               as X-184.
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    (3) The expression ``or (li)'' is inserted in the article 
description of subheading 9903.72.73 immediately after 
``11(b)(xxiii).''
[FR Doc. 02-8332 Filed 4-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P