[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33472-33474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14039]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-830]
Preliminary Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review:
Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Taiwan
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of the Preliminary Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review of Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Taiwan.
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SUMMARY: On June 25, 2002, the Department of Commerce (``Department'')
published a notice of initiation of an antidumping duty administrative
review on stainless steel plate in coils from Taiwan. See Notice of
Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative
Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part (``Notice of Initiation'')
67 FR 42753 (June 25, 2002). This review covers two manufacturers/
exporters of the subject merchandise, Yieh United Steel
[[Page 33473]]
Corporation (``YUSCO''), a Taiwan producer and exporter of subject
merchandise, and Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co., Ltd. (``Ta Chen''), a
Taiwan producer and exporter of subject merchandise. The period of
review (``POR'') is May 1, 2001 through April 30, 2002. We are
preliminarily rescinding this review based on evidence on the record
indicating that there were no entries into the United States of subject
merchandise during the POR from the respondents.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 4, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Bertrand, Enforcement Group
III, Office 9, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone 202-482-3207.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 21, 1999, the Department of Commerce (``Department'')
published the antidumping duty order on stainless steel plate in coils
from Taiwan. See Antidumping Duty Orders; Certain Stainless Steel Plate
in Coils From Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Republic of Korea, South
Africa, and Taiwan, 64 FR 27756 (May 21, 1999). On May 6, 2002, the
Department published a notice of opportunity to request an
administrative review of this order for the period May 1, 2001 through
April 30, 2002. See Notice of Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review of Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation, 67 FR 30356 (May 6, 2002). On May 7, 2002,
Petitioners\1\ timely requested that the Department conduct an
administrative review of sales by YUSCO, a Taiwan producer and exporter
of subject merchandise, and Ta Chen, a Taiwan producer and exporter of
subject merchandise. On June 25, 2002, in accordance with section
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended (``the Act''), the
Department published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation of
this antidumping duty administrative review of sales by YUSCO and Ta
Chen for the period May 1, 2001 through April 30, 2002. See Notice of
Initiation.
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\1\ Allegheny Ludlum, AK Steel Corporation, Butler Armco
Independent Union, United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO/CLC, and
Zanesville Armco Independent Organization are collectively
``Petitioners'' for this review.
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On July 10, 2002, the Department issued its antidumping duty
questionnaire to YUSCO and Ta Chen. On July 15, 2002, Ta Chen stated
that it did not have any U.S. sales, shipments or entries of subject
merchandise during the POR, and requested that it not be required to
answer the Department's questionnaire. On July 18, 2002, YUSCO stated
that it did not have any U.S. sales, shipments or entries of subject
merchandise during the POR. On October 8, 2002, we sent an inquiry to
the U.S. Customs Service (as of March 1, 2003, renamed the U.S. Bureau
of Customs and Border Protection) (``BCBP'') to confirm that YUSCO and
Ta Chen had no shipments of subject merchandise into the United States
during the POR. On October 29, 2002, BCBP responded to the inquiry.
BCBP determined that there were no entries of subject merchandise by Ta
Chen during the POR. However, BCBP informed the Department that
potential shipment(s) of subject merchandise from YUSCO to the United
States during the POR existed. On January 15, 2003, the Department
requested that YUSCO explain the potential shipment(s). See letter from
the Department to YUSCO, dated January 15, 2003. On January 16, 2003,
Petitioners requested that the Department place the proprietary
information regarding the potential shipment(s) on the record. See
Petitioners letter to the Department, dated January 16, 2003. On
January 22, 2003, YUSCO informed the Department that it would like the
Department to place proprietary information on the record so that YUSCO
may be able to identity the potential shipment(s). See YUSCO's letter
to the Department, dated January 22, 2003. On January 27, 2003, the
Department placed certain proprietary information on the record
regarding the potential shipment(s) of subject merchandise from YUSCO.
See Department's letter to YUSCO, dated January 27, 2003. Additionally,
during the months of January and February 2003, the Department
contacted BCBP to confirm that no shipments from Ta Chen entered the
United States during the POR. During that time, BCBP provided the
Department with information regarding the potential Ta Chen shipments.
See Department's letter to BCBP on February 3, 2003, and Memorandum to
the File on February 25, 2003, in which the Department determined that
each potential shipment from Ta Chen that we analyzed was not subject
merchandise.
On February 5, 2003, we extended the preliminary results by sixty
days. See Notice of Extension of Time Limit for the Preliminary Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68 FR 5869 (February 5,
2003). On March 21, 2003, we extended the preliminary results by sixty
days. See Notice of Extension of Time Limit for the Preliminary Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68 FR 13897 (March 21,
2003).
On February 11, 2003, the Department sent BCBP a letter to inquire
about a possible discrepancy in the documentation sent to the
Department by BCBP relating to YUSCO and the existence/non-existence of
entries of subject merchandise during the POR. On March 19, 2003, BCBP
sent the Department a response to its February 11, 2003 letter, in
which BCBP stated that it was re-classifying the material in question
and that, upon review of its records, it no longer considered the
material to be subject merchandise.
Petitioners have placed various submissions on the record alleging
that Ta Chen and YUSCO are affiliated with other companies that may
have shipped subject merchandise to the United States during the POR.
Respondent YUSCO has denied Petitioner's allegations. See e.g.,
Petitioners' March 30, 2003 and Respondent's April 16, 2003
submissions.
Scope of the Review
For purposes of this review, the product covered 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 this review 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.
In addition, certain cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils is also
excluded from the scope of these orders. The excluded cold-rolled
stainless steel plate in coils is defined as that merchandise which
meets the physical characteristics described above that has undergone a
cold-reduction process that reduced the thickness of the steel by 25
percent or more, and has been annealed and pickled after this cold
reduction process. The merchandise subject to this review is currently
classifiable in the 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, 7219.12.0070, 7219.12.00.80,
7219.31.00.10,
[[Page 33474]]
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, 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 BCBP purposes, the written
description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.
Period of Review
The POR is May 1, 2001 through April 30, 2002.
Preliminary Rescission of Review in Part
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), the Department may rescind an
administrative review, in whole or with respect to a particular
exporter or producer, if the Secretary concludes that, during the
period covered by the review, there were no entries, exports, or sales
of the subject merchandise. Both Ta Chen and YUSCO certified on the
record that they did not export subject merchandise to the United
States during the POR. The Department then conducted a BCBP inquiry and
pursued additional questions following the BCBP inquiry pertaining to
Ta Chen and YUSCO. In response to our requests, BCBP supplied further
information to the Department. For Ta Chen, all the documentation
provided to the Department by BCBP indicates that there were no
shipments of subject merchandise during the POR. See Memorandum to the
File dated February 25, 2003.
Petitioners allege Ta Chen was affiliated with other Taiwanese
companies during the POR. See Petitioners submission to the Department,
dated April 4, 2003. Absent entries of subject merchandise produced and
exported to the Unites States by Ta Chen during the POR, however, the
Department has preliminarily determined to rescind this administrative
review. See Memorandum to the File on February 25, 2003. The parties
being reviewed in this case are Ta Chen and YUSCO, not the other
parties which have been alleged to be affiliated with Ta Chen and
YUSCO. Neither the Petitioners nor any other party requested an
administrative review of Ta Chen's alleged affiliates. As it is, Ta
Chen has been found preliminarily to have exported no subject
merchandise to the Unites States during the POR. Therefore, absent
entries, there is no reason for the Department to conduct an
affiliation analysis. If the Petitioners believe other parties
potentially affiliated with Ta Chen and YUSCO are exporting subject
merchandise to the United States, then a review in subsequent periods
of reviews for those companies should be requested. However, for
purposes of this administrative review, the Department preliminarily
finds that Ta Chen had no entries of subject merchandise in the United
States during the POR. See 19 CFR 351.213(b) providing that the
domestic industry must specify the exporter or producer it wishes the
Department to review in its request for an administrative review.
For YUSCO, the Department found a discrepancy in the BCBP database
and contacted BCBP on this matter. BCBP agreed that a discrepancy
existed and resolved it. See BCBP letter to Edward Yang from Alfred
Morawski, placed on the record of this proceeding on March 20, 2003. As
a result of BCBP's efforts, the BCBP's database now confirms that YUSCO
had no shipments of subject merchandise to the Unites States during the
POR.
Petitioners provided affiliation arguments for YUSCO as well, but
again, absent entries to the United States by YUSCO during the POR, the
Department has preliminarily determined to rescind this administrative
review. Petitioners did not request a review of the alleged affiliated
parties. Had they made such an allegation, we would have conducted a
review accordingly. The record indicates YUSCO had no entries to the
United States of subject merchandise during the POR. Thus, the
Department has preliminarily determined to rescind this administrative
review. See 19 CFR 351.213(b).
As discussed above, in this case the Department is satisfied, after
a review of information on the record, certification from YUSCO and Ta
Chen of no exports to the United States during the POR, the inquiry on
data from BCBP, and further communications with BCBP, that there were
no entries of stainless steel plate in coils produced or exported from
Ta Chen or YUSCO during the POR to the United States. Therefore, the
Department is preliminarily rescinding this administrative review. The
cash deposit rate for YUSCO will remain at 8.02 percent, for Ta Chen
the cash deposit rate will remain at 10.20 percent, and for ``all
other'' producers/exporters of the subject merchandise the cash deposit
rate will remain at 7.39 percent, the rates established in the most
recently completed segment of this proceeding. See Notice of Final
Results and Rescission in Part of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review: Stainless Steel Plate in Coils From Taiwan, 67 FR 40914 (June
14, 2002).
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309, interested parties may submit written
comments in response to this preliminary rescission. Case briefs must
be submitted within 30 days after the date of publication of this
notice and rebuttal briefs, limited to arguments raised in the case
briefs, must be submitted no later than 7 days after the time limit for
filing case briefs. Case and rebuttal briefs must be served on
interested parties in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303(f).
This administrative review and notice is published in accordance
with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: May 27, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-14039 Filed 6-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S