[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 192 (Thursday, October 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62112-62114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24790]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-421-810]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value 
and Critical Circumstances: Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat 
Products From The Netherlands

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 3, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Salkeld or Jim Neel, AD/CVD 
Enforcement Office VI, Group II, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1168 
or (202) 482-4161, respectively.

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 (2002).

Final Determination

    We determine that certain cold-rolled carbon steel flat products 
from The Netherlands are being sold, 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 Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation section of this 
notice.

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was published 
on May 9, 2002. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Certain 
Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from the Netherlands, 67 FR 
31268 (May 9, 2002). Since the issuance of the preliminary 
determination, the following events have occurred:

[[Page 62113]]

    On May 1, 2002, Corus Staal BV (``CSBV''), the sole respondent in 
the investigation, and the largest exporter/producer of imports during 
the period of investigation requested that the Department postpone the 
final determination to 135 days after the publication of the 
preliminary determination and requested that the Department extend the 
provisional measures period from four months to a period not longer 
than six months. Pursuant to section 733(b) of the Act, on June 19, 
2002, the Department postponed the final determination until no later 
than September 23, 2002 (i.e. 135 days after publication of the 
preliminary determination). See Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat 
Products from The Netherlands: Postponement of Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 67 FR 43280 (June 27, 2002).
    In May and June 2002, the Department verified the responses 
submitted by the respondent in this investigation, CSBV and its 
affiliates Corus Steel USA, Inc. (``CSUSA''), Rafferty-Brown Inc. of 
Connecticut (``RBC'') and Rafferty-Brown Inc. of North Carolina 
(``RBN''). CSBV and CSUSA are collectively referred to as ``Corus.'' 
Verification reports were issued in July 2002. Public versions of these 
reports, and all other Departmental memoranda referred to herein, are 
on file in the Central Records Unit, room B-099 of the main Commerce 
building. On May 20, 2002, petitioner Nucor Corporation requested a 
public hearing. On August 9, 2002, we received case briefs from the 
petitioners \1\ and the respondent. On August 16, 2002, we received 
rebuttal briefs from the petitioners and the respondent. On August 27, 
2002, petitioner Nucor Corporation withdrew its request for a public 
hearing and asked that the hearing be cancelled. The hearing scheduled 
for September 5, 2002, was cancelled on September 3, 2002.
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    \1\ The active petitioners for this investigation are Bethlehem 
Steel Corporation, National Steel Corporation, Nucor Corporation, 
and United States Steel LLC (collectively, the petitioners). LTV is 
no longer an active participant in this investigation. See Letter 
from Skadden, Arps, Sltate, Meagher & Flom LLP (February 1, 2002). 
Effective January 1, 2002, the party previously known as ``United 
States Steel LLC'' changed its name to ``United States Steel 
Corporation.''
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    With respect to scope, in the preliminary LTFV determinations in 
these cases, the Department preliminarily excluded certain porcelain 
enameling steel from the scope of these investigations. See Scope 
Appendix to the Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from 
Argentina, 67 FR 31181 (May 9, 2002) (Scope Appendix--Argentina 
Preliminary LTFV Determination). On June 13, 2002, we issued a 
preliminary decision on the remaining 75 scope exclusion requests filed 
in a number of the on-going cold-rolled steel investigations (see the 
June 13, 2002, memorandum regarding ``Preliminary Scope Rulings in the 
Antidumping Investigations on Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat 
Products from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, 
India, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the People's 
Republic of China, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, 
Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela, and in the Countervailing Duty 
Investigations of Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from 
Argentina, Brazil, France, and Korea'' (Preliminary Scope Rulings), 
which is on file in the Department's Central Records Unit (CRU), room 
B-099 of the main Department building. We gave parties until June 20, 
2002, to comment on the preliminary scope rulings, and until June 27, 
2002, to submit rebuttal comments. We received comments and/or rebuttal 
comments from petitioners and respondents from various countries 
subject to these investigations of cold-rolled steel. In addition, on 
June 13, 2002, North American Metals Company (an interested party in 
the Japanese proceeding) filed a request that the Department issue a 
``correction'' for an already excluded product. On July 8, 2002, the 
petitioners objected to this request.
    At the request of multiple respondents, the Department held a 
public hearing with respect to the Preliminary Scope Rulings on July 1, 
2002. The Department's final decisions on the scope exclusion requests 
are addressed in the ``Scope of Investigation'' section below.

Scope of Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are 
certain cold-rolled (cold-reduced) flat-rolled carbon-quality steel 
products. A full description of the scope of this investigation is 
contained in ``Appendix I'' attached to the Notice of Correction to 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-
Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Australia, 67 FR 52934 (August 
14, 2002). For a complete discussion of the comments received on the 
Preliminary Scope Rulings, see the memorandum regarding ``Issues and 
Decision Memorandum for the Final Scope Rulings in the Antidumping Duty 
Investigations on Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from 
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, 
Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the People's Republic of China, 
the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, 
Turkey, and Venezuela, and in the Countervailing Duty Investigations of 
Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Argentina, Brazil, 
France, and Korea,'' dated July 10, 2002, which is on file in the CRU.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2000 through June 30, 
2001. This period corresponds to the four most recent fiscal quarters 
prior to the month of the filing of the petition (i.e., September 
2001).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we conducted verification 
of the cost and sales information submitted by the respondent. We used 
standard verification procedures including examination of relevant 
accounting and production records, and original source documents 
provided by the respondent.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this antidumping proceeding are listed in the appendix to this notice 
and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum from Holly A. Kuga 
to Faryar Shirzad RE: the Antidumping Duty (``AD'') Investigation of 
Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from The Netherlands, 
(``Decision Memorandum''), dated September 23, 2002, which is on file 
in room B-099 of the main Department of Commerce building, and which is 
hereby adopted. In addition, a complete version of the Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the World Wide Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/. The paper and electronic versions of the Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our findings at verification, and analysis of comments 
received, we have made adjustments to the preliminary determination in 
calculating the final dumping margin in this proceeding. These 
adjustments are discussed in the Decision Memorandum for this 
investigation, and include:

--Excusing Corus from reporting downstream sales by its bankrupt 
affiliate GalvPro;


[[Page 62114]]


--Excluding Corus' sales to its affiliate GalvPro from the U.S. sales 
database;
--Adding RBC galvanizing costs to the further manufacturing field;
--Calculating a revised bad debt expense for CSBV;
--Correcting clerical errors identified at verification;
--Revising the VCOM field in the cost of production and constructed 
value calculations;
--Revising further manufacturing general and administrative (``G&A'') 
expenses; and
--Calculating a separate G&A rate for each further manufacturing 
company.

Use of Facts Available

    For a discussion of our application of facts available, see the 
``Facts Available'' section of the Decision Memorandum, which is on 
file in B-099 and available on the Web at ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/frnhome.

Critical Circumstances

    Section 733(e)(1) of the Act provides that if a petitioner alleges 
critical circumstances, the Department will determine, on the basis of 
the information available at the time, whether there is a reasonable 
basis to believe or suspect that (i) there is a history of dumping and 
material injury by reason of dumped imports in the United States or 
elsewhere of the subject merchandise, or (ii) the person by whom, or 
for whose account, the merchandise was imported knew, or should have 
known that the exporter was selling the subject merchandise at LTFV and 
that there would be material injury by reason of such sales (see 
733(e)(1)(A)(i) and (ii)), and there have been massive imports of the 
subject merchandise over a relatively short period (section 
733(e)(1)(B).
    In the Notice of Preliminary Determinations of Critical 
Circumstances: Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From 
Australia, the People's Republic of China, India, the Republic of 
Korea, the Netherlands, and the Russian Federation, 67 FR 19157 (April 
18, 2002), we preliminarily found that both criteria for critical 
circumstances, i.e., a history of injurious dumping and massive imports 
of subject merchandise, exist. For the reasons discussed in the 
Decision Memorandum, we continue to find that critical circumstances 
exist in this final determination pursuant to section 735(a)(3) of the 
Act.

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 liquidation of all 
entries of certain cold-rolled carbon steel flat products from The 
Netherlands that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date which is 90 days prior to the date of 
publication of the preliminary determination. The Customs Service shall 
continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond based on 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins shown below. The 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
    We determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins 
exist for The Netherlands:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus Staal BV.............................................         6.28
All Others.................................................         6.28
------------------------------------------------------------------------

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determinations. The ITC 
will determine, within 45 days, whether imports of subject merchandise 
from the Netherlands are causing material injury, or threaten material 
injury, to an industry in the United States. If the ITC determines that 
material injury or threat of injury does not exist, the proceedings 
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 antidumping orders directing Customs Service 
officials 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.
    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 in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: September 23, 2002.
Faryar Shizad,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix--Issues Covered in Decision Memorandum

Sales Issues

1. Excusing Corus from reporting downstream sales by its bankrupt 
affiliate GalvPro, LP (``GalvPro'')
2. Missing payment dates for certain U.S. sales
3. Rafferty-Brown Inc. of Connecticut (``RBC'') galvanizing costs
4. Scrap Recovery Offset to U.S. warranty expenses
5. Applying adverse facts available to calculate Corus' less than 
fair value (``LTFV'') margins
6. Sufficiency of petition to provide the basis for initiation
7. Classifying Corus' U.S. sales as export price (``EP'') sales or 
constructed export price (``CEP'') sales
8. CEP offset
9. Whether GalvPro's unpaid sales should be treated as a bad debt 
expense
10. Critical circumstances
11. ``Zeroing'' methodology
12. Clerical error in the margin program
13. Clerical Errors Identified at Verification
14. Variable Cost of Manufacture (``VCOM'') Calculation

Cost Issues

15. Non-Prime Offset to Standard Costs
16. General and Administrative (``G&A'') Expenses
17. Corporate Rationalization Charges--G&A Expenses
18. Extraordinary Charges--G&A Expenses
19. Further-Manufacturing Overhead
20. Further-Manufacturing G&A Expenses
21. Inter-company Charges--Further-Manufacturing G&A Expenses
22. Corporate Rationalization versus Group G&A--Further-
Manufacturing G&A Expenses

[FR Doc. 02-24790 Filed 10-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P