[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11524-11525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5892]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-423-809, C-475-823, C-791-806]


Notice of Amended Countervailing Duty Orders; Certain Stainless 
Steel Plate in Coils From Belgium, Italy, and South Africa

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

ACTION: Notice of Amended Countervailing Duty Orders.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: March 11, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Smith at (202) 482-1276 for 
Belgium and Italy, Eric Greynolds at (202) 482-6071 for South Africa, 
or Robert James at (202) 482-0649, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Enforcement, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

Background

    On May 11, 1999, the Department published in the Federal Register 
the countervailing duty orders on certain stainless steel plate in 
coils (stainless steel plate) from Belgium, Italy, and South Africa. 
See Notice of Amended Final Determinations: Stainless Steel Plate in 
Coils from Belgium and South Africa; and Notice of Countervailing Duty 
Orders: Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Belgium, Italy and South 
Africa, 64 FR 25288, (May 11, 1999) (Countervailing Duty Orders).
    Respondents appealed the affirmative material injury findings of 
the International Trade Commission (the Commission) with respect to 
hot-rolled stainless steel plate. The Court of International Trade (the 
Court) affirmed those findings in Acciai Speciali Terni v. United 
States, 118 F. Supp. 2d 1298 (CIT 2000).
    The Commission's negative material injury determination with 
respect to cold-rolled stainless steel plate was the subject of a 
separate appeal. The Court upheld the Commission's determination in 
Allegheny Ludlum Corp. v. United States, 116 F. Supp 2d 1276 (CIT 
2000). However, on a subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeals for the 
Federal Circuit, the Federal Circuit vacated the Court's decision and 
remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with its decision.
    On remand the Commission reversed its original negative injury 
findings with respect to cold-rolled stainless steel plate and 
``determined that an industry in the United States is materially 
injured by reason of imports of certain stainless steel plate from 
Belgium, Canada, Italy, Korea, South Africa and Taiwan * * *.'' Certain 
Stainless Steel Plate From Belgium, Canada, Italy, Korea, South Africa, 
and Taiwan; Notice of Final Court Decision Affirming Remand 
Determinations, 68 FR 8925 (February 26, 2003). On December 12, 2002, 
the Court affirmed the remand redetermination as ``being in accordance 
with the Court's remand order.'' Id. at 8926. The result of this 
decision is to include both hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel 
plate in coils within the scope of these orders.
    As there was no timely appeal of the Court's order to the Federal 
Circuit, the judicial proceedings have ended. Therefore, we are 
amending the scope of the countervailing duty orders to remove the 
original language which excluded cold-rolled stainless steel plate in 
coils, in accordance with the Court's final decision. See 
Countervailing Duty Orders. This amendment did not require any changes 
in the HTS subheadings listed below in the ``Scope of the Orders'' 
section.

Scope of the Orders

    The product covered by these orders is certain stainless steel 
plate in coils. Stainless steel is an alloy steel containing, by 
weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of 
chromium, with or without other elements. The subject plate products 
are flat-rolled products, 254 mm or over in width and 4.75 mm or more 
in thickness, in coils, and annealed or otherwise heat treated and 
pickled or otherwise descaled. The subject plate may also be further 
processed (e.g., cold-rolled, polished, etc.) provided that it 
maintains the specified dimensions of plate following such processing. 
Excluded from the scope of these orders are the following: (1) Plate 
not in coils, (2) plate that is not annealed or otherwise heat treated 
and pickled or otherwise descaled, (3) sheet and strip, and (4) flat 
bars.
    The merchandise subject to these orders is currently classifiable 
in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) at 
subheadings: 7219.11.00.30, 7219.11.00.60, 7219.12.00.05, 
7219.12.00.20, 7219.12.00.25, 7219.12.00.50, 7219.12.00.55, 
7219.12.00.65, 7219.12.00.70, 7219.12.00.80, 7219.31.00.10, 
7219.90.00.10, 7219.90.00.20, 7219.90.00.25, 7219.90.00.60, 
7219.90.00.80, 7220.11.00.00, 7220.20.10.10, 7220.20.10.15, 
7220.20.10.60, 7220.20.10.80, 7220.20.60.05, 7220.20.60.10, 
7220.20.60.15,

[[Page 11525]]

7220.20.60.60, 7220.20.60.80, 7220.90.00.10, 7220.90.00.15, 
7220.90.00.60, and 7220.90.00.80. Although the HTS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description 
of the merchandise subject to these orders is dispositive.

Amended Countervailing Duty Orders and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 706(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Tariff Act), the Department will direct Customs officers 
to assess, upon further advice by the Department, countervailing duties 
for each entry of the stainless steel plate in coils, as described in 
the ``Scope of the Orders'' section above, from Belgium, Italy and 
South Africa in an amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rate 
for the subject merchandise. These countervailing duties will be 
assessed on all unliquidated entries of stainless steel plate in coils, 
other than cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils, from Belgium, 
Italy and South Africa entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after September 9, 1998, the date on which the 
Department published its notices of preliminary determination in the 
Federal Register (63 FR 47239 (Belgium), 63 FR 47263 (South Arica) and 
63 FR 63900 (Italy)).\1\
    Furthermore, effective the date of publication of this notice, we 
will instruct the Customs service to require cash deposits on all 
entries of cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils, as well as other 
stainless steel plate in coils subject to these orders, in accordance 
with the Court's December 12, 2002 opinion in Allegheny Ludlum v. 
United States.
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    \1\ In accordance with section 703(d) of the Tariff Act, 
suspension of liquidation was lifted for entries made between 
January 2, 1999 and May 11, 1999, the date of publication of the 
Countervailing Duty Orders. See Countervailing Duty Orders at 25289.
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    For unreviewed producers, and for ``All Others,'' the applicable 
weighted-average margins are those established in the final 
determinations. For those producers that have been reviewed the 
applicable weighted-average margins are those established in the 
investigation or the most recently completed final results of a 
countervailing duty administrative review, as noted below:

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  Producer/manufacturer/exporter             Cash Deposit Rate
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Belgium:
    ALZ, N.V.....................  1.78% (66 FR 45007).
    All Others...................  2.00%.
Italy:
    ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali   15.16%.
     Terni SpA (TKAST).
    All Others...................  15.16%.
South Africa:
    Columbus Stainless...........  3.95%.
    All Others...................  3.95%.
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    Customs officers must require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, cash deposits 
equal to the rates presently in effect. This notice constitutes the 
amended countervailing duty orders with respect to certain stainless 
steel plate in coils from Belgium, Italy and South Africa. 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 
countervailing duty orders currently in effect.
    These amended orders are published in accordance with section 
706(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

    Dated: March 5, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-5892 Filed 3-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P