[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 192 (Thursday, October 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62128-62130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24797]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-351-835]


Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Certain 
Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From Brazil

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) has made a final 
determination that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of certain cold-rolled carbon steel flat 
products from Brazil. The subsidy rates in this final determination 
differ from those in the preliminary determination. The revised final 
subsidy rates for the investigated producers/exporters are listed below 
in the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 3, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Carey at (202) 482-3964 or Holly 
Hawkins at (202) 482-0414, 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are 
references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. In 
addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's 
regulations are to 19 CFR part 351 (2001).

Petitioners

    The petition in this investigation was filed on September 28, 2001, 
by Bethlehem Steel Corporation; United States Steel LLC; LTV Steel 
Company, Inc.; Steel Dynamics, Inc.; National Steel Corporation; Nucor 
Corporation; WCI Steel, Inc.; and Weirton Steel Corporation 
(collectively, ``the petitioners'').

Case History

    The following events have occurred since the publication of the 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register. See Notice of 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 
with Final Antidumping Duty Determinations: Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon 
Steel Flat Products from Brazil, March 4, 2002 (67 FR 9652).
    On March 21, 2002, we issued a fourth supplemental questionnaire 
requesting more information on the National Bank for Economic and 
Social Development (BNDES) loan programs and on the Program to Induce 
Industrial Modernization of the State of Minas Gerais (PROIM). On April 
9, 2002, respondents filed a response to this supplemental 
questionnaire. We issued a fifth supplemental questionnaire on May 22, 
2002 requesting further clarification on the BNDES programs, and we 
received a response to this questionnaire on June 3, 2002.
    From June 10, 2002 to June 28, 2002, we conducted verification of 
the questionnaire responses submitted by the Government of Brazil 
(GOB), Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), Usinas Siderurgicas de 
Minas Gerais (USIMINAS), and Companhia Siderurgica Paulista (COSIPA).
    On August 23, 2002, we received a combined case brief from the GOB, 
USIMINAS, COSIPA, and CSN. On this date, we also received a case brief 
filed by petitioners. On August 29, 2002, we received a combined 
rebuttal brief from the GOB, and the three respondent companies, 
USIMINAS, COSIPA, and CSN, as well as a rebuttal brief from the 
petitioners.
    With respect to scope, in the preliminary LTFV determinations in 
this and the companion cold-rolled steel investigations, 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,

[[Page 62129]]

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 \1\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The petitioners in this investigation are Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation, LTV Steel Company, Inc., National Steel Corporation, 
Nucor Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., United States Steel 
Corporation, WCI Steel, Inc., and Weirton Steel Corporation 
(collectively, the petitioners).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.

Period of Investigation

    The period for which we are measuring subsidies, or period of 
investigation (POI) is calendar year 2000.

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 the Scope Appendix 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 (Aug. 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 CRU.

Analysis of Subsidy Programs

    The complete analysis of the programs under investigation is 
included in the Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination in the Countervailing 
Duty Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products 
from Brazil, from Joseph A. Spetrini, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
AD/CVD Enforcement III to Faryar Shirzad, Assistant Secretary for 
Import Administration, dated September 23, 2002.

Programs Determined To Confer Subsidies

    We have determined that the following programs confer subsidies:

A. Federal Programs
    1. Equity Infusions
    2. ``Presumed'' Tax Credit for the Program of Social Integration 
and the Social Contributions of Billings on Inputs Used in Exports 
(``PIS/COFINS'')
    3. BNDES Loan Programs
    a. FINAME
    b. BNDES Export Import Financing
    c. BNDESPAR
B. Provincial Government Program
    PRO-INDUSTRIA

Program Determined Not To Confer a Subsidy

    We have determined that the FINEM program does not confer a 
subsidy.

Programs Determined Not To Be Used

    We have determined that the following programs have not been used.

A. Federal Program
    PROEX
B. Provincial Government Program
    PROIM

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum 
for the Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel 
Flat Products from Brazil, from Joseph A. Spetrini, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for AD/CVD Enforcement III to Faryar Shirzad, Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration, dated September 23, 2002 (Decision 
Memorandum), which is hereby adopted by this notice. Attached to this 
notice as Appendix I is a list of the programs investigated and a list 
of the issues which parties have raised and to which we have responded 
in the Decision Memorandum. Parties can find a complete discussion of 
all programs and all issues raised in this investigation and the 
corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on 
file in the CRU. In addition, a complete version of the Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/ under the heading ``Brazil.'' The paper copy and 
electronic version of the Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 777A(e)(1) of the Act, we have 
calculated an individual subsidy rate for each producer/exporter under 
investigation. We determine the total estimated net subsidy rate for 
each company to be the following:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Net subsidy
                      Product/exporter                           rate
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
USIMINAS/COSIPA............................................        13.99
CSN........................................................         7.90
All Others.................................................        13.07
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with our preliminary affirmative determination, we 
instructed Customs to suspend liquidation of all entries of cold-rolled 
steel from Brazil, which were entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption on or after March 4, 2002, the date of the publication of 
our preliminary determination in the Federal Register, and to require a 
cash deposit or bond for such entries of the merchandise in the amounts 
indicated in the Preliminary Determination. In accordance with section 
703(d) of the Act, we instructed Customs to discontinue the suspension 
of liquidation for merchandise entered on or after July 3, 2002, but to 
continue the suspension of liquidation of entries

[[Page 62130]]

made between March 4, 2002 and July 3, 2002.
    We will reinstate suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of 
the Act for all entries if the ITC issues a final affirmative injury 
determination, and we will require a cash deposit of estimated 
countervailing duties for such entries of merchandise in the amount 
indicated above. This suspension of liquidation, if reinstated, will be 
effective on the date of publication of the countervailing duty order. 
If the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material 
injury, does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all 
estimated duties deposited or securities posted as a result of the 
suspension of liquidation will be refunded or canceled.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the 
ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information related to this 
investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and 
business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC 
confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or 
under an Administrative Protective Order (``APO''), without the written 
consent of the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of 
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Failure to comply is a violation of the APO.
    This determination is published pursuant to sections 705(d) and 
777(i) of the Act.

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

Appendix I--Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Subsidies Valuation Information
    A. Allocation Period
    B. Cross Ownership and Attribution of Subsidies
    C. Equityworthiness
    D. Equity Methodology
    E. Creditworthiness
    F. Discount Rates
    G. Benchmarks for Loans
    H. Trading Companies
    I. Changes in Ownership
II. Programs Determined to Confer Subsidies
    A. Federal Programs
    1. Equity Infusions
    2. ``Presumed'' Tax Credit for the Program of Social Integration 
and the Social Contributions of Billings on Inputs Used in Exports 
(``PIS/COFINS'')
    3. BNDES Loan Programs
    a. FINAME
    b. BNDES Export Import Financing
    c. BNDESPAR
    B. Provincial Government Program
    PRO-INDUSTRIA
III. Program Determined Not to Confer A Subsidy
    FINEM
IV. Programs Determined Not to be Used
    A. Federal Program
    Programa de Financiamento as Exportacoes (PROEX)
    B. Provincial Government Program
    Program to Induce Industrial Modernization of the State of Minas 
Gerais (PROIM)
V. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: CSN, USIMINAS and COSIPA Privatization
    Comment 2: PIS/COFINS--Direct Taxes v. Indirect Taxes
    Comment 3: PIS/COFINS-Rebate of Prior-Stage Cumulative Indirect 
Taxes
    Comment 4: PIS/COFINS Credit--Excessive Remission
    Comment 5: FINEM Financing and Specificity
    Comment 6: FINAME as an Import Substitution Program
    Comment 7: FINAME Financing and Specificity
    Comment 8: Integral Linkage of FINAME and FINEM
    Comment 9: Financial Contribution and Benefit of BNDES Loan 
Programs
    Comment 10: BNDES-ExIm Financing and Specificity
    Comment 11: BNDESPAR Program
    Comment 12: PRO-Industria-Specificity
    Comment 13: Non-Use of PROEX
VI. Total Ad Valorem Subsidy Rate
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 02-24797 Filed 10-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P