[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23964-23966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11175]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-810]


Notice of Preliminary Results and Preliminary Partial Recision of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Oil Country Tubular Goods, 
Other Than Drill Pipe, from Argentina

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

ACTION:  Notice of Preliminary Results and Preliminary Partial Recision 
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review.

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SUMMARY:  In response to a request from the petitioner, the Department 
of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of 
the antidumping duty order on oil country tubular goods from Argentina. 
This review covers two manufacturers/exporters of the subject 
merchandise, Siderca S.A.I.C. (Siderca) and Acindar Industria Argentina 
de Aceros S.A. (Acindar). As a result of our review, we have 
preliminarily determined that Siderca had no shipments during the 
period of review (POR). Acindar failed to respond to our questionnaire. 
As a result, we are basing our preliminary results for Acindar on 
adverse facts available. If these preliminary results are adopted in 
our final results of administrative review, we will instruct the U.S. 
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) to assess antidumping 
duties on entries during the POR. The POR is August 1, 2002, through 
July 31, 2003.
    We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit argument in this proceeding are requested 
to submit with the argument: (1) a statement of the issue; and (2) a 
brief summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  May 6, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Fred Baker or Robert James, AD/CVD 
Enforcement Group III Office 8, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482 
2924 (Baker), (202) 482-0649 (James).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 11, 1995, the Department published the antidumping duty 
order on oil country tubular goods from Argentina. See Antidumping Duty 
Order: Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, 60 FR 41055 (August 
11, 1995). On August 30, 2002, United States Steel Corporation 
(petitioner) requested that the Department conduct an administrative 
review of sales of the subject merchandise made by Siderca and Acindar.
    On September 20, 2002, the Department initiated the administrative 
review. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews and Requests for Revocation in Part, 67 FR 60210 
(September 25, 2002).
    On September 25, 2002, the Department issued its antidumping duty 
questionnaire to Acindar and Siderca. In response to the Department's 
September 25, 2002, questionnaire, Siderca stated in a October 23, 
2002, submission that it had no consumption entries of subject 
merchandise during the POR. Between February 20 and February 22, 2003, 
the Department verified Siderca's ``no-shipment'' claim. See the 
``Verification'' section below.
    The margin for Acindar indicated below under ``Preliminary Results 
of Review'' is based on adverse facts available, as discussed below.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act, we verified 
Siderca's claim of no shipments to the United States using standard 
verification procedures, including on-site inspection of the 
manufacturer's facilities and the examination of relevant sales and 
financial records. Our verification results are outlined in the public 
and proprietary versions of the verification report, dated March 4, 
2003, which are on file in the Central Records Unit of the Department.

Period of Review

    The POR is August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002.

Scope of the Review

    Oil country tubular goods (OCTG) are hollow steel products of 
circular cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing of iron 
(other than cast iron) or

[[Page 23965]]

steel (both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, whether or 
not conforming to American Petroleum Institute (API) or non-API 
specifications, whether finished or unfinished (including green tubes 
and limited service OCTG products).
    This scope does not cover casing or tubing pipe containing 10.5 
percent or more of chromium. Drill pipe was excluded from this order 
beginning August 11, 2001. See Continuation of Countervailing and 
Antidumping Duty Orders on Oil Country Tubular Goods From Argentina, 
Italy, Japan, Korea and Mexico, and Partial Revocation of Those Orders 
From Argentina and Mexico With Respect to Drill Pipe, 66 FR 38630 (July 
25, 2001).
    The OCTG subject to this order are currently classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item 
numbers: 7304.29.10.10, 7304.29.10.20, 7304.29.10.30, 7304.29.10.40, 
7304.29.10.50, 7304.29.10.60, 7304.29.10.80, 7304.29.20.10, 
7304.29.20.20, 7304.29.20.30, 7304.29.20.40, 7304.29.20.50, 
7304.29.20.60, 7304.29.20.80, 7304.29.30.10, 7304.29.30.20, 
7304.29.30.30, 7304.29.30.40, 7304.29.30.50, 7304.29.30.60, 
7304.29.30.80, 7304.29.40.10, 7304.29.40.20, 7304.29.40.30, 
7304.29.40.40, 7304.29.40.50, 7304.29.40.60, 7304.29.40.80, 
7304.29.50.15, 7304.29.50.30, 7304.29.50.45, 7304.29.50.60, 
7304.29.50.75, 7304.29.60.15, 7304.29.60.30, 7304.29.60.45, 
7304.29.60.60, 7304.29.60.75, 7305.20.20.00, 7305.20.40.00, 
7305.20.60.00, 7305.20.80.00, 7306.20.10.30, 7306.20.10.90, 
7306.20.20.00, 7306.20.30.00, 7306.20.40.00, 7306.20.60.10, 
7306.20.60.50, 7306.20.80.10, and 7306.20.80.50.
    The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes. Our written description of the scope of this order is 
dispositive.

Use of Facts Available

    Section 776(a)(2) of the Tariff Act provides that ``if an 
interested party or any other person (A) withholds information that has 
been requested by the administering authority; (B) fails to provide 
such information by the deadlines for the submission of the information 
or in the form and manner requested, subject to subsections (c)(1) and 
(e) of section 782; (C) significantly impedes a proceeding under this 
title; or (D) provides such information but the information cannot be 
verified as provided in section 782(i), the administering authority and 
the Commission shall, subject to section 782(d), use the facts 
otherwise available in reaching the applicable determination under this 
title.''
    On September 25, 2002 the Department issued its standard 
antidumping questionnaire to Acindar. Acindar made no written response 
to the questionnaire. Therefore, we determine that the use of facts 
available is warranted pursuant to section 776(a)(2)(A) and (C) of the 
Tariff Act because Acindar withheld information requested by the 
Department by not responding to the Department's questionnaire, thereby 
significantly impeding this proceeding. See Memorandum from Fred Baker 
to the File dated April 1, 2003. Thus, the curative provisions of 
section 782 of the Tariff Act are not applicable since Acindar did not 
provide any response.
    Section 776(b) of the Tariff Act provides that, if the Department 
finds that an interested party ``has failed to cooperate by not acting 
to the best of its ability to comply with a request for information,'' 
the Department may use information that is adverse to the interests of 
the party as facts otherwise available. Adverse inferences are 
appropriate ``to ensure that the party does not obtain a more favorable 
result by failing to cooperate than if it had cooperated fully.'' See 
Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) accompanying the URAA, H.R. 
Doc. No. 316, 103d Cong., 2d Session at 870 (1994). Furthermore, ``an 
affirmative finding of bad faith on the part of the respondent is not 
required before the Department may make an adverse inference.'' 
Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 
27340 (May 19, 1997), (Final Rule).
    The Department finds that in not responding to the September 25, 
2002, questionnaire, Acindar failed to cooperate by not acting to the 
best of its ability to comply with requests for information. The 
Department requires that respondents provide answers to the 
questionnaire because the Department uses the information to determine 
accurate dumping margins for the company. Since the information is 
within the sole control of Acindar, when the company fails to provide 
such information we cannot otherwise obtain the information necessary 
to calculate a dumping margin. Further, at no time did Acindar indicate 
during the POR that it was having difficulty in complying with the 
Department's request for information. Consequently, Acindar should not 
be allowed to benefit by its non-cooperation. Therefore, pursuant to 
section 776(b) of the Tariff Act, we may, in making our determination, 
use an adverse inference in selecting from the facts otherwise 
available. This adverse inference may include reliance on data derived 
from the petition, a previous determination in an investigation or 
review, or any other information placed on the record. For this review 
we have determined to assign 60.73 percent as the facts available rate 
to Acindar. This rate represents the highest rate for any respondent in 
any prior segment of this proceeding. See Oil Country Tubular Goods: 
Final Results and Partial Recision of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review, 67 FR 13262 (March 19, 2003).
    Information from prior segments of the proceeding constitutes 
secondary information, and section 776(c) of the Tariff Act provides 
that the Department shall, to the extent practicable, corroborate 
secondary information from independent sources reasonably at its 
disposal. The Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) provides that 
``corroborate'' means simply that the Department will satisfy itself 
that the secondary information to be used has probative value. See 
Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316 at 870 (1994) and 19 CFR 
351.308(d).
    To corroborate secondary information, the Department will, to the 
extent practicable, examine the reliability and relevance of the 
information to be used. However, unlike other types of information, 
such as input costs or selling expenses, there are no independent 
sources for calculated dumping margins. Thus, in an administrative 
review, if the Department chooses as adverse facts available a 
calculated dumping margin from a prior segment of the proceeding, it is 
not necessary to question the reliability of the margin for that time 
period. With respect to the relevance aspect of corroboration, however, 
the Department will consider information reasonably at its disposal as 
to whether there are circumstances that would render a margin 
inappropriate. Where circumstances indicate that the selected margin is 
not appropriate as adverse facts available, the Department will 
disregard the margin and determine an appropriate margin (see, e.g., 
Fresh Cut Flowers from Mexico; Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, 61 FR 6812, 6814 (Feb. 22, 1996) (where the 
Department disregarded the highest margin as adverse facts available 
because the margin was based on another company's

[[Page 23966]]

uncharacteristic business expense resulting in an unusually high 
margin)).
    As discussed above, it is not necessary to question the reliability 
of a calculated margin from a prior segment of the proceeding. Further, 
there are no circumstances indicating that this margin is inappropriate 
as facts available. In fact, this margin is Acindar's own from the 
just-completed 2000-2001 administrative review of OCTG. See Notice of 
Final Results and Recision in Part of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; Oil Country Tubular Goods, Other Than Drill Pipe, From 
Argentina, 67 FR 13262 (March 19, 2003) (Final Results). Therefore, we 
preliminarily find that the 60.73 percent rate has probative value for 
use as adverse facts available.

Preliminary Partial Recision

    On October 23, 2002, Siderca informed the Department that it did 
not ship OCTG to the United States during the POR, and requested 
recision of its administrative review. Information on the record 
indicates that there were no entries of this merchandise from Siderca 
during the POR. See the Department's verification report dated March 4, 
2003, and the Final Results and the accompanying Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 7. Accordingly, we are preliminarily rescinding the review with 
respect to Siderca.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that a 
weighted-average dumping margin of 60.73 percent exists for Acindar for 
the period August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002. Furthermore, we 
preliminarily determine to rescind this administrative review with 
respect to Siderca.
    Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments 
no later than 30 days after the date of publication of these 
preliminary results of review. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written 
comments, limited to issues raised in the case briefs and comments, may 
be filed no later than 35 days after the date of publication of this 
notice. Parties who submit argument in these proceedings are requested 
to submit with the argument: 1) a statement of the issue, 2) a brief 
summary of the argument, and (3) a table of authorities. An interested 
party may request a hearing within 30 days of publication. See CFR 
351.310(c). Any hearing, if requested, will be held 37 days after the 
date of publication, or the first business day thereafter, unless the 
Department alters the date per 19 CFR 351.310(d). The Department will 
issue the final results of this administrative review, including the 
results of our analysis of the issues raised in any such written 
comments or at a hearing, within 120 days of publication of these 
preliminary results.

Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of this administrative review, the Department will 
determine, and the BCBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all 
appropriate entries. The Department will issue appropriate assessment 
instructions directly to the BCBP within 15 days of publication of the 
final results of review. If these preliminary results are adopted in 
the final results of review, we will direct the BCBP to apply the 
assessment rate against the entered customs values for the subject 
merchandise on each of the importer's entries during the review period.
    Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective 
upon completion of the final results of this administrative review for 
all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the reviewed 
company will be the rate established in the final results of this 
administrative review (except that no deposit will be required if the 
rate is zero or de minimis, i.e., less than 0.5 percent); (2) for 
merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters not covered in this 
review but covered in the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) 
investigation or a previous review, the cash deposit will continue to 
be the most recent rate published in the final determination or final 
results for which the manufacturer or exporter received a company-
specific rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this 
review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer is, the 
cash deposit rate will be that established for the most recent period 
for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) if neither the 
exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this review, any 
previous reviews, or the LTFV investigation, the cash deposit rate will 
be 1.36 percent, the ``all others'' rate established in the LTFV 
investigation. See Antidumping Duty Order: Oil Country Tubular Goods 
from Argentina, 60 FR 41055 (August 11, 1995).
    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act.

    Dated: April 30, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-11175 Filed 5-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S