[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55589-55591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24396]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-882]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Refined Brown Aluminum Oxide (Otherwise known as Refined Brown 
Artificial Corundum or Brown Fused Alumina) from the People's Republic 
of China

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 26, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Goldberger, Jim Mathews or 
Tinna E. Beldin, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-
4136, (202) 482-2778 or (202) 482-1655, respectively.

FINAL DETERMINATION:

    We determine that refined brown aluminum oxide (RBAO) from the 
People's Republic of China (PRC) is being sold, or is 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). In 
addition, we determine that critical circumstances exist with respect 
to all PRC producers/exporters of the subject merchandise. The 
estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the ``Continuation of 
Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was published 
on May 6, 2003. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Refined 
Brown Aluminum Oxide (Otherwise known as Refined Brown Artificial 
Corundum or Brown Fused Alumina) from the People's Republic of China, 
68 FR 23966 (Preliminary Determination). Since the preliminary 
determination, the following events have occurred.
    In July 2003, we conducted verification of the questionnaire 
responses of the sole participating respondent in this case, Zibo Jinyu 
Abrasive Co., Ltd. (Jinyu).
    We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the 
preliminary determination. In August 2003, we received case and 
rebuttal briefs from the following parties: the petitioners, C-E 
Minerals, Treibacher Schleifmittel Corporation, and Washington Mills 
Company, Inc.; the respondent Jinyu; and interested third parties 
Allied Mineral Products, Inc., Cometals, a Division of Commercial 
Metals Co., Saint Gobain Corporation, Dauber Company, Inc., Golden 
Dynamic Inc., China Abrasives Import and Export Corporation, and White 
Dove Group Import and Export Inc. (hereinafter interested third 
parties). The Department held a public hearing on August 20, 2003, at 
the request of the petitioners and the interested third parties.
    Due to the closure of the federal government on September 18-19, 
the deadline for this final determination is September 22, 2003.

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is ground, pulverized 
or refined brown artificial corundum, also known as refined brown 
aluminum oxide or brown fused alumina, in grit size of 3/8 inch or 
less. Excluded from the scope of the investigation is crude artificial 
corundum in which particles with a diameter greater than 3/8 inch 
constitute at least 50 percent of the total weight of the entire batch. 
The scope includes brown artificial corundum in which particles with a 
diameter greater than 3/8 inch constitute less than 50 percent of the 
total weight of the batch. The merchandise under investigation is 
currently classifiable under subheading 2818.10.20.00 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS 
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.

Period of Investigation

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation is 
April 1, 2002, through September 30, 2002, which corresponds to the two 
most recent fiscal quarters prior to the month of the filing of the 
petition (i.e., October 2002).

Nonmarket Economy Status for the PRC

    The Department has treated the PRC as a nonmarket economy (NME) 
country in all past antidumping investigations. See, e.g., Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Pure Magnesium in 
Granular Form from the People's Republic of China, 66 FR 49345, 49346 
(September 27, 2001). A designation as an NME remains in effect until 
it is revoked by the Department. See section 771(18)(C) of the Act. No 
party in this investigation has requested a revocation of the PRC's NME 
status. Therefore, we have continued to treat the PRC as an NME in this 
investigation. For further details, see Preliminary Determination at 
23968.

Separate Rate

    In our preliminary determination, we found that Jinyu had met the 
criteria for receiving a separate antidumping rate. We have not 
received any information since the preliminary determination which 
would warrant reconsideration of our separate-rate determination with 
respect to this company. Therefore, we continue to find that Jinyu 
should be assigned an individual dumping margin.

Surrogate Country

    For purposes of the final determination, we continue to find that 
India is the appropriate primary surrogate country for the PRC. For 
further discussion and analysis regarding the surrogate country 
selection for the PRC, see Preliminary Determination at 23970.

PRC-Wide Rate and Use of Facts Otherwise Available

    As discussed in the Department's Preliminary Determination, Jinyu 
was the only exporter to respond to the Department's questionnaire and 
to cooperate in this investigation. Therefore, we have continued to 
calculate a company-specific rate for Jinyu only. However, in the 
preliminary determination, we stated that our review of U.S. import 
statistics from the PRC revealed that Jinyu did not account for all 
imports into the United States from the PRC. For this reason, we 
determined that some PRC exporters of subject merchandise failed to 
cooperate in this

[[Page 55590]]

investigation and assigned to them a rate based on adverse facts 
available pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act. See Preliminary 
Determination at 23969. These facts have not changed since the 
preliminary determination. Therefore, in accordance with our standard 
practice, as adverse facts available, we are continuing to assign as 
the PRC-wide rate the higher of: (1) the highest margin listed in the 
notice of initiation; or (2) the margin calculated for Jinyu. See, 
e.g., Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality Steel Products From The 
People's Republic of China, 65 FR 34660 (May 31, 2000), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1. For purposes 
of the final determination of this investigation, we are using the 
margin calculated for Jinyu as adverse facts available because it is 
higher than the margin of 131.38 percent stated in the notice of 
initiation.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case 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 adopted by 
this notice. A complete discussion of all issues raised in this 
investigation and the corresponding recommendations in this public 
memorandum is on file in the Central Records Unit, room B-099, of the 
main Department building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov. The paper copy and electronic version of the Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of comments received, we have made certain 
changes to the margin calculations. These changes include:
[sbull] We used the value reported in the Defense Logistics Agency 
FY2000 Annual Report as the surrogate value for crude brown aluminum 
oxide.
[sbull] Based on our verification findings, we have included an 
additional sale of the subject merchandise in our final determination 
analysis, which Jinyu had inadvertently omitted in its original 
reporting.
[sbull] We revised Jinyu's reported consumption of electricity by 
allocating electricity consumption only to the brown and white aluminum 
oxide production, based on our verification findings.
[sbull] We recalculated Jinyu's labor factor by allocating labor based 
on actual production, rather than theoretical production, based on our 
verification findings.
[sbull] We did not add a separate packing labor factor to our 
calculation of normal value to avoid double-counting because we found 
at verification that the reported packing labor is part of the 
production line labor, which is already included in the direct labor 
factor.
    For a discussion of these changes, see the ``Margin Calculations'' 
section of the Decision Memorandum and the Decision Memorandum 
comments.

Critical Circumstances

    In our preliminary determination, we found, pursuant to section 
733(e)(1) of the Act, that there was a reasonable basis to believe or 
suspect that critical circumstances exist with respect to the subject 
merchandise from the respondent and all other producers/exporters. As 
discussed in detail in the preliminary determination, we first found 
that there is a history of dumping and material injury by reason of 
dumped imports. We then analyzed the import volume and value data 
placed on the record, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.206, and 
preliminarily determined that imports of the subject merchandise have 
been massive over the short period of time subsequent to the filing of 
the petition. See Preliminary Determination at 23971. In accordance 
with section 735(a)(3) of the Act, and based upon our verification of 
Jinyu's shipment data placed on the record, we determine that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to RBAO from Jinyu. We applied adverse 
facts available for all other producers / exporters as an adverse 
inference that critical circumstances apply for companies that refused 
to cooperate with the Department's requests for information. See 
September 18, 2003, Memorandum to File entitled Jinyu Shipment Data 
Analysis for the Final Determination and Decision Memorandum at 
Comments 1 and 2. Therefore, we are directing the U.S. Bureau of 
Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) to continue to suspend liquidation 
of any unliquidated entries of subject merchandise on or after the date 
90 days prior to the date of publication of the preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register, as discussed below in the 
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified the 
information submitted by the respondent 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 Jinyu.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
directing the BCBP to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries of 
RBAO from the PRC that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after February 5, 2003, the date 90 days prior to the 
date of publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal 
Register, in accordance with our critical circumstances finding.
    Effective on or after the date of publication of the Department's 
final determination, BCBP shall continue to require a cash deposit or 
the posting of a bond equal to the weighted-average amount by which the 
normal value exceeds the export price or constructed export price, as 
appropriate, as indicated in the chart below. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
    The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Weighted-Average Margin
                Exporter/Manufacturer                       [chyph]Percentage          Critical Circumstances
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zibo Jinyu Abrasive Co., Ltd........................                        135.18                           Yes
PRC-wide Rate.......................................                        135.18                           Yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of the subject merchandise 
except for entries from Jinyu.

Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of the 
date of the announcement of the final determination to parties in this 
proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

[[Page 55591]]

ITC 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, within 45 days, determine 
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 canceled. 
If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the Department will 
issue an antidumping duty order directing the BCBP to assess 
antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective 
date of the suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding APO

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (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 pursuant to sections 
735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: September 22, 2003.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix Issues in the Decision Memorandum

Comments

1. Use of Adverse Facts Available for Critical Circumstances
2. Seasonal Trend for Jinyu's Shipments
3. Surrogate Value for Crude Brown Aluminum Oxide
4. Application of Verification Findings
[FR Doc. 03-24396 Filed 9-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S