[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 80 (Friday, April 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20373-20376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10257]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-877]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Lawn and Garden Steel Fence Posts From the People's Republic of China

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

ACTION: Notice of final determination of sales at less than fair value.

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SUMMARY: We determine that lawn and garden steel fence posts (fence 
posts) from the People's Republic of China (PRC) 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 Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the Final 
Determination of Investigation section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 25, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Salim Bhabhrawala or Chris Welty, 
Group II, Office 5, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1784, (202) 482-0186, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was published 
on December 4, 2002. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Lawn 
and Garden Steel Fence Posts from the People's Republic of China, 67 FR 
72141 (December 4, 2002) (Preliminary Determination). Since the 
preliminary determination, the following events have occurred.
    We conducted verification of the questionnaire responses of 
Shanghai BaoSteel International Economic and Trading Corporation, Ltd. 
(BaoSteel),\1\ Hebei Metals and Minerals Import and Export Corporation 
(Hebei), and China Nanyang Import & Export Corporation (Nanyang),\2\ 
from January 13 through

[[Page 20374]]

January 24, 2003. See Verification of Sales and Factors of Production 
Data Submitted by Shanghai BaoSteel International Economic and Trading 
Corporation, Ltd. (Feb. 20, 2003); Verification of Sales and Factors of 
Production Data Submitted by Hebei Metals and Minerals Import and 
Export Corporation and its Suppliers, (Mar. 4, 2003); and Verification 
of Sales and Factor of Production Data Submitted by China Nanyang 
Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Mar. 4, 2003).
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    \1\ Hangzhou Hongyuan Sporting Goods Company, Ltd. was the 
producer of the subject merchandise sold by BaoSteel during the 
period of investigation (POI).
    \2\ Tianjin Shenyuan Steel Company, Ltd. and Tianjin Sunny Steel 
Products Company, Ltd. were the producers of the subject merchandise 
sold by Nanyang during the POI.
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    On January 15, 2003, the petitioner \3\ submitted information to 
support its contention that the price of BaoSteel's market-economy 
supplied input should not be included in the calculation of normal 
value. See Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Determination 
of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Lawn and Garden Steel Fence 
Posts from the People's Republic of China, from Holly A. Kuga, Acting 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, to Joseph A. 
Spetrini, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration 
(Decision Memorandum) dated April 18, 2003, at Comment 2.
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    \3\ The petitioner in this investigation is Steel City 
Corporation.
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    Respondents Hebei and Nanyang filed surrogate value information and 
data on January 21, 2003.
    On February 23, 2003, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
issued a correction to the Preliminary Determination, correcting the 
scope of the investigation to be consistent with the International 
Trade Commission's preliminary determination. See Lawn and Garden Steel 
Fence Posts from China, 67 FR 42581 (June 24, 2002). No other changes 
were made to the Preliminary Determination. See Correction: Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination: Lawn and Garden Steel Fence Posts 
from the People's Republic of China, 68 FR 8737 (Feb. 25, 2003).
    On March 13, 2003, Hebei, Nanyang, and the petitioner filed case 
briefs. BaoSteel did not file a case brief. On March 17, 2003, the 
Department filed a letter rejecting the petitioner's March 13, 2003, 
case brief because it contained untimely filed new information. We 
asked the petitioner to resubmit its case brief in compliance with the 
Department's specific redaction instructions contained within that 
letter. (See Letter from the Department to Steel City Corporation dated 
March 17, 2003). On March 18, 2003, the petitioner submitted a revised 
version of its case brief, complying with the Department's instructions 
in the Department's March 17, 2003, letter. The petitioner also filed 
its rebuttal brief on March 18, 2003. All three respondents filed 
rebuttal briefs on March 24, 2003.
    No hearing was requested by the interested parties in this 
proceeding.

Scope of Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the products covered consist of 
all ``U'' shaped or ``hat'' shaped lawn and garden fence posts made of 
steel and/or any other metal, weighing 1 pound or less per foot, and 
produced in the PRC. The fence posts included within the scope of this 
investigation weigh up to 1 pound per foot and are made of steel and/or 
any other metal. Imports of these products are classified under the 
following categories: fence posts, studded with corrugations, knobs, 
studs, notches or similar protrusions with or without anchor posts and 
exclude round or square tubing or pipes.
    These posts are normally made in two different classes, light and 
heavy duty. Light duty lawn and garden fence posts are normally made of 
14 gauge steel (0.068 inches--0.082 inches thick), 1.75 inches wide, in 
3, 4, 5, or 6 foot lengths. These posts normally weigh approximately 
0.45 pounds per foot and are packaged in mini-bundles of 10 posts and 
master bundles of 400 posts. Heavy duty lawn and garden steel fence 
posts are normally made of 13 gauge steel (0.082 inches--0.095 inches 
thick), 3 inches wide, in 5, 6, 7, and 8 foot lengths. Heavy duty posts 
normally weigh approximately 0.90 pounds per foot and are packaged in 
mini-bundles of 5 and master bundles of 200. Both light duty and heavy 
duty posts are included within the scope of the investigation.
    Imports of these products are classified under the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 7326.90.85.35. 
Fence posts classified under subheading 7308.90 are also included 
within the scope of the investigation if the fence posts are made of 
steel and/or metal.
    Specifically excluded from the scope are other posts made of steel 
and/or other metal including ``tee'' posts, farm posts, and sign posts, 
regardless of weight.\4\ Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and U.S. Customs Service (Customs) purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.
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    \4\ Tee posts are made by rolling red hot steel into a ``T'' 
shape. These posts do not have tabs or holes to help secure fencing 
to them and have primarily farm and industrial uses.
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Period of Investigation

    The POI is October 1, 2001, through March 31, 2002.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this proceeding and to which we have responded are listed in the 
Appendix to this notice and addressed in the Decision Memorandum, which 
is hereby adopted by this notice. Parties can find a complete 
discussion of the issues raised in this investigation and the 
corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on 
file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main 
Department building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at http://ia.ita.doc.gov. The paper copy and electronic version of the Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Non-Market Economy

    The Department has treated the PRC as an non-market economy (NME) 
country in all its past antidumping investigations. See e.g., Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Ferrovanadium 
From the People's Republic of China, 67 FR 71137, 71138 (Nov. 29, 
2002); and Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Certain Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the 
People's Republic of China, 67 FR 36570, 36571 (May 24, 2002). An NME 
country designation remains in effect until it is revoked by the 
Department. See section 771(18)(C) of the Act. The respondents in this 
investigation have not requested revocation of the PRC's NME status. 
Therefore, we have continued to treat the PRC as an NME country in this 
investigation. For further details, see the Preliminary Determination.

Separate Rates

    In our Preliminary Determination, we found that all three 
responding companies met the criteria for the application of separate, 
company-specific antidumping duty rates. We have not received any other 
information since the preliminary determination which would warrant 
reconsideration of our separates rates determination with respect to 
these companies. For a complete discussion of the Department's 
determination that the respondents are entitled to a separate rate, see 
the Preliminary Determination.

The PRC-Wide Rate

    In the preliminary determination, we found that the use of adverse 
facts

[[Page 20375]]

available for the PRC-wide rate was appropriate for other exporters in 
the PRC based on our presumption that those respondents who failed to 
demonstrate entitlement to a separate rate constitute a single 
enterprise under common control by the Chinese government. The PRC-wide 
rate applies to all entries of the merchandise under investigation 
except for entries from Hebei, entries from Nanyang which were produced 
by Tianjin Shenyuan Steel Company, Ltd. or Tianjin Sunny Steel Products 
Company, Ltd., and entries from BaoSteel which were produced by 
Hangzhou Hongyuan Sporting Goods Company, Ltd.
    When analyzing the petition for purposes of the initiation, the 
Department reviewed all of the data upon which the petitioners relied 
in calculating the estimated dumping margin and determined that the 
margin in the petition was appropriately calculated and supported by 
adequate evidence in accordance with the statutory requirements for 
initiation. In order to corroborate the petition margin for purposes of 
using it as adverse facts available, we examined the price and cost 
information provided in the petition in the context of our preliminary 
determination. For further details, see Memorandum from Christopher 
Smith to Gary Taverman, Corroboration of Secondary Information, dated 
November 27, 2002 (Preliminary Corroboration Memorandum). We received 
no comments on this decision and continue to find in this final 
determination that the rate contained in the petition, as recalculated, 
has probative value. We have continued to apply this rate in the final 
determination. For further discussion, see Preliminary Determination.
    Since the preliminary determination, we have obtained new 
information regarding several surrogate values. In order to take into 
account the more recent information, we recalculated the petition 
margin using, where possible, revised surrogate values to value the 
petitioners' consumption rates. As a result of this recalculation, the 
PRC-wide rate is, for the final determination, 15.61 percent. See 
Memorandum from Christopher Smith to the File, Corroboration of 
Secondary Information, dated April 18, 2003.

Surrogate Country

    For purposes of the final determination, we continue to find that 
India remains the appropriate surrogate country for the PRC. For 
further discussion and analysis regarding the surrogate country 
selection for the PRC, see the Preliminary Determination.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified the 
information submitted by the respondents for use in our final 
determination. We used standard verification procedures including 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, and original 
source documents provided by the respondents. For changes from the 
Preliminary Determination as a result of verification, see the Changes 
Since the Preliminary Determination section below.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our findings at verification and on our analysis of the 
comments received, we have made the following adjustments to the 
calculation methodologies used in the preliminary determination. These 
adjustments are discussed in detail in the Decision Memorandum; Final 
Calculation of Antidumping Duty Investigation of Lawn and Garden Steel 
Fence Posts From the People's Republic of China for Shanghai BaoSteel 
International Economic and Trading Co., Ltd. (Apr. 18, 2003) 
(BaoSteel's Final Calculation Memorandum); Final Calculation of 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Lawn and Garden Steel Fence Posts 
From the People's Republic of China for Hebei Metals and Minerals 
Import and Export Corporation (Apr. 18, 2003) Hebei's Final Calculation 
Memorandum); and Final Calculation of Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Lawn and Garden Steel Fence Posts From the People's Republic of China 
for China Nanyang Import & Export Corporation (Apr. 18, 2003) 
(Nanyang's Final Calculation Memorandum).

BaoSteel

    1. We revised our calculation of freight costs for the factors of 
production to include the revised distances identified during 
verification. See BaoSteel's Final Calculation Memorandum.
    2. We revised the calculations for the following packing materials 
for BaoSteel as a result of changes discovered at verification: packing 
labels, plastic hanging ties, and plastic ties. See id.

Hebei

    1. Hebei omitted certain bank fees from its reporting of U.S. 
sales. Accordingly, we have included these verified fees as adjustments 
to U.S. price. See Hebei's Final Calculation Memorandum.
    2. We removed non-subject ``T-posts'' from Hebei's U.S. sales 
database. See id.
    3. We revised our calculation of freight costs for the factors of 
production to include the revised distances identified during 
verification. See id.
    4. We revised certain packing material weights to account for 
remeasurements conducted at verification. See id.
    5. We revised the electricity factor for one of Hebei's suppliers 
in accordance with our verification findings. See id.

Nanyang

    1. As reported by Nanyang during the company's presentation of 
minor corrections at verification, the company omitted certain bank 
fees from its reporting of U.S. sales. Accordingly, we have included 
these verified fees as adjustments to U.S. price. See Nanyang's Final 
Calculation Memorandum.
    2. At verification, certain differences were found between reported 
transportation distances and remeasured distances. We have revised the 
transportation distances previously used to reflect the remeasured 
amounts. See id.
    3. We revised our calculation for certain rivet costs to reflect 
changes in weight, loss rate, and consumption rates discovered at 
verification. See id.
    4. We revised our acid bath and phosphate acid calculations to 
reflect changes in input allocations discovered at verification. See 
id.
    5. At verification, certain differences were found between reported 
packing material weights and remeasured weights. We have revised the 
packing material weights previously used to reflect the remeasured 
amounts. See id.
    6. We revised certain electricity calculations to reflect changes 
in electricity consumption discovered as a result of verification. See 
id.
    7. We revised certain labor calculations to reflect changes in 
labor allocations discovered as a result of verification. See id.
    8. We revised certain calculations for steel coil scrap production 
to reflect changes in steel allocations discovered as a result of 
verification. See id.

Surrogate Values

    1. We adjusted the surrogate value for steel coil to reflect 
updated surrogate data. See Decision Memorandum at Comment 3.
    2. We adjusted the surrogate values for the following packing 
materials to reflect updated surrogate data: steel screws, nails, wood 
pallets, wood, plastic sheet/strips, foam, plastic twine, and steel 
pallets. See id.

[[Page 20376]]

    3. We revised the surrogate value for hydrochloric acid to reflect 
less aberrational data. See Decision Memorandum at Comment 4.
    4. We revised the surrogate value for brokerage and handling to 
include a more representative and contemporaneous source of surrogate 
data. See Decision Memorandum at Comment 5.
    5. We revised the surrogate value for labor to reflect the 
Department's updated wage rate regression calculation. See Decision 
Memorandum at Comment 6.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue suspension liquidation of 
entries of subject merchandise from the PRC, with the exception of 
merchandise exported by Shanghai BaoSteel International Economic and 
Trading Co., Ltd. which was produced by Hangzhou Hongyuan Sporting 
Goods Company, Ltd., and merchandise exported by China Nanyang Import & 
Export corporation which was produced by Tianjin Shenyuan Steel 
Company, Ltd. or Tianjin Sunny Steel Products Company, Ltd., that are 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
December 4, 2002 (the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determination in the Federal Register). We will instruct the Customs 
Service to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to the 
weighted-average amount by which NV exceeds the U.S. price, as 
indicated in the chart below. These suspension-of-liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Final Determination

    We determine that the following weighted-average percentage margins 
exist for the period October 1, 2001, through March 31, 2002:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                   Manufacturer/Exporter                        margin
                                                              (percent)
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Shanghai BaoSteel International Economic and Trading Co.,           0.00
 Ltd.......................................................
Hebei Metals and Minerals Imports and Export Corporation...         6.60
China Nanyang Import & Export Corporation..................         1.42
PRC-Wide Rate..............................................        15.61
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The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of the merchandise under 
investigation except for entries from Hebei, entries from Nanyang which 
were produced by Tianjin Shenyuan Steel company, Ltd. or Tianjin Sunny 
Steel Products Company, Ltd., and entries from BaoSteel which were 
produced by Hangzhou Hongyuan Sporting Goods Company, Ltd.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material 
injury, or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding 
will be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or 
cancelled. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the 
Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing Customs 
officials to assess antidumping duties on all imports of subject 
merchandise entered for consumption on or after the effective date of 
the suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order (APO)

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 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: April 18, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix--Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Department's Acceptance of New Information
Comment 2: Use of BaoSteel's Market Economy Steel Value
Comment 3: Surrogate Value Selection for Steel Coil and Packing 
Materials
Comment 4: Surrogate Value Selection for Powder Coating, Coal, and 
Hydrochloric Acid
Comment 5: Surrogate Value Selection for Selection for Brokerage and 
Handling
Comment 6: Surrogate Value Selection for Labor
Comment 7: Exclusion of Labor Costs from Calculation of Surrogate 
Overhead and SG&A Ratios
Comment 8: Use of Gross, Rather Than Net, Material Costs in the 
Calculation of Surrogate Overhead and SG&A Ratios

[FR Doc. 03-10257 Filed 4-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M