[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44174-44175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16508]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-824]


Notice of Amended Final Antidumping Duty Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Polyethylene 
Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip (PET Film) from Taiwan

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:  We are amending our final determination (see Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyethylene 
Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip (PET Film) from Taiwan, 67 FR 
35474 (May 20, 2002) (Final Determination)), to reflect the correction 
of a ministerial error made in the final determination. This correction 
is in accordance with section 735(e) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act) and section 351.224 of the Department of Commerce's 
(the Department's) regulations. The period of investigation (POI) 
covered by this amended final determination is April 1, 2000, through 
March 31, 2001. This notice also constitutes the antidumping duty order 
with respect to polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip (PET 
film) from Taiwan.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  July 1, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Ron Trentham or Tom Futtner at (202) 
482-6320 or (202) 482-3814, respectively; AD/CVD Enforcement, Office 4, 
Group II, Import Administration, Room 1870, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to 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. In 
addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's 
regulations are to 19 CFR part 351 (April 2001).

Scope of The Order

    For purposes of this order, the products covered are all gauges of 
raw, pretreated, or primed PET film, whether extruded or coextruded. 
Excluded are metallized films and other finished films that have had at 
least one of their surfaces modified by the application of a 
performance-enhancing resinous or inorganic layer of more than 0.00001 
inches thick. Imports of PET film are classifiable in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item number 
3920.62.00. HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs 
purposes. The written description of the scope of this proceeding is 
dispositive.

Amended Final Determination

    On May 20, 2002, in accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) 
of the Act, the Department published its final determination in this 
proceeding. See Final Determination, 67 FR 35474. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.224(c), on May

[[Page 44175]]

20, 2002, we received a timely filed submission from Nan Ya alleging 
that, in the final determination, the Department made two ministerial 
errors in calculating its margin. On May 28, 2002, we received rebuttal 
comments from the petitioners.\1\
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    \1\ The petitioners in this investigation are Dupont Teijin 
Films, Mitsubishi Polyester Film of America and Toray Plastics 
(America) Inc. (collectively the petitioners).
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    Nan Ya claims that the figure the Department chose to apply as 
adverse facts available (AFA) is inconsistent with the Department's 
underlying rational for its decision to apply AFA. According to Nan Ya, 
the Department's methodology for deriving the AFA figure fails to 
calculate this figure on the basis of different products with different 
product thicknesses.
    In rebuttal the petitioners contend that Nan Ya's allegation must 
be rejected because it is outside the scope of a ministerial error. The 
petitioners argue that Nan Ya challenges the Department's chosen 
``methodology for deriving the adverse facts available figure....'' 
According to the petitioners, taking issue with the Department's 
substantial findings or methodological decisions are not valid claims 
of ministerial error.
    We disagree with Nan Ya's allegation that our cost adjustment ratio 
is a ministerial error and, thus, have not recalculated our AFA cost 
adjustment ratio.
    Further, Nan Ya claims that the Department has erroneously excluded 
the material adjustment offset field in the calculation of its revised 
total cost of manufacture (COM). In rebuttal, the petitioners agree 
that the Department's method of calculating conversion costs failed to 
properly account for Nan Ya's adjustment to material costs. The 
petitioners argue, however, that if the Department revises its 
calculation of COM, it should calculate the conversion cost by summing 
the labor, variable and fixed overhead costs incurred in the stretching 
and slitting stages.
    In accordance with section 735(e) of the Act, we have determined 
that with respect to the calculation revising total COM, we agree with 
Nan Ya that a ministerial error was made in our final margin 
calculations. Thus, we are amending our final determination in order to 
correct this ministerial error and consequently to revise the 
antidumping duty rate for Nan Ya. The revised weighed-average dumping 
margins for Nan Ya and for All Others are listed below. We did not 
adopt petitioners' recommended solution because it would require a 
change to the Department's chosen methodology for calculating NanYa's 
COM and is outside the scope of a ministerial error.
    For a detailed analysis of the ministerial errors that we 
addressed, and the Department's position on each, see the Memorandum to 
Bernard T. Carreau from Holly A. Kuga and Neal M. Halper, dated 
concurrently with this notice, regarding Ministerial Error Allegations 
on file in room B-099 of the Main Commerce building.

Antidumping Duty Order

    On June 24, 2002, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, the 
International Trade Commission (the Commission) notified the Department 
of its final determination that an industry in the United States is 
materially injured by reason of less-than-fair-value imports of subject 
merchandise from Taiwan, pursuant to section 735(b)(1)(A) of the Act. 
Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, the 
Department will direct U.S. Customs to assess, upon further advice by 
the Department, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the 
normal value of the merchandise exceeds the export price of the 
merchandise for all relevant entries of PET film from Taiwan. These 
antidumping duties will be assessed on all unliquidated entries of 
subject merchandise from Nan Ya entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after May 20, 2002, the date of publication of 
the final determination in the Federal Register. For Shinkong Synthetic 
Fibers Corporation and all other companies, antidumping duties will be 
assessed on all unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 21, 
2001, the date on which the Department published its Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, 
Sheet, and Strip (PET Film) From Taiwan, 66 FR 65889 (December 21, 
2001).
    On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, U.S. Customs must require, at the same time as importers 
would normally deposit estimated duties, cash deposits for the subject 
merchandise equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
listed below. The ``All Others'' rate applies to all exporters of 
subject merchandise not specifically listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Revised Margin
       Manufacturer/exporter         Margin (percent)      (percent)
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Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, Ltd..               2.70               2.49
Shinkong Synthetic Fibers                        2.05               2.05
 Corporation......................
All Others........................               2.56               2.40
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    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to 
PET film from Taiwan. Interested parties may contact the Department's 
Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of the main Commerce building, for 
copies of an updated list of antidumping duty orders currently in 
effect.
    This order is issued and published in accordance with section 
736(a) of the Act and
    19 CFR 351.211.

    Dated: June 25, 2002
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-16508 Filed 6-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S