[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62282-62284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27596]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-122-841]


Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Canada: Initiation 
of Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review

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

ACTION: Notice of initiation of changed circumstances review of the 
countervailing duty order.

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SUMMARY: On October 1, 2003, Georgetown Steel Company (formerly GS 
Industries), Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. Inc. (formerly Co-Steel Raritan), 
Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., and North Star Steel Texas, 
Inc., filed a request for a countervailing duty changed circumstances 
review. Specifically, they request that the Department of Commerce 
revoke the countervailing duty order on carbon and certain alloy steel 
wire rod from Canada. In response, the Department of Commerce is 
initiating a changed circumstances review of the countervailing duty 
order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Canada. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this notice of initiation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 3, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. Anthony Grasso, Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone (202) 482-3853.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 22, 2002, the Department of Commerce (the 
``Department'') published a countervailing duty order on carbon and 
certain alloy steel wire rod from Canada. See Notice of Countervailing 
Duty Orders: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Brazil and 
Canada, 67 FR 64871 (October 22, 2002). On October 1, 2003, the 
Department received a request from Georgetown Steel Company (formerly 
GS Industries), Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. Inc. (formerly Co-Steel 
Raritan), Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., and North Star Steel 
Texas, Inc., the petitioners in the original investigation, that the 
Department initiate a changed circumstances review for purposes of 
revoking the countervailing duty (``CVD'') order. Also the petitioners 
request that, upon revocation of the

[[Page 62283]]

CVD order, the Department fully refund any countervailing duties 
deposited pursuant to the order. The petitioners state that they are no 
longer interested in maintaining the countervailing duty order or in 
the imposition of CVD duties on the subject merchandise.

Scope of the Review

    The merchandise covered by this review is certain hot-rolled 
products of carbon steel and alloy steel, in coils, of approximately 
round cross section, 5.00 mm or more, but less than 19.00 mm, in solid 
cross-sectional diameter.
    Specifically excluded are steel products possessing the above-noted 
physical characteristics and meeting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (``HTSUS'') definitions for (a) stainless steel; (b) 
tool steel; (c) high nickel steel; (d) ball bearing steel; and (e) 
concrete reinforcing bars and rods. Also excluded are (f) free 
machining steel products (i.e., products that contain by weight one or 
more of the following elements: 0.03 percent or more of lead, 0.05 
percent or more of bismuth, 0.08 percent or more of sulfur, more than 
0.04 percent of phosphorus, more than 0.05 percent of selenium, or more 
than 0.01 percent of tellurium).
    Also excluded from the scope are 1080 grade tire cord quality wire 
rod and 1080 grade tire bead quality wire rod. Grade 1080 tire cord 
quality rod is defined as: (i) Grade 1080 tire cord quality wire rod 
measuring 5.0 mm or more but not more than 6.0 mm in cross-sectional 
diameter; (ii) with an average partial decarburization of no more than 
70 microns in depth (maximum individual 200 microns); (iii) having no 
inclusions greater than 20 microns; (iv) having a carbon segregation 
per heat average of 3.0 or better using European Method NFA 04-114; (v) 
having a surface quality with no surface defects of a length greater 
than 0.15 mm; (vi) capable of being drawn to a diameter of 0.30 mm or 
less with 3 or fewer breaks per ton, and (vii) containing by weight the 
following elements in the proportions shown: (1) 0.78 percent or more 
of carbon, (2) less than 0.01 percent of aluminum, (3) 0.040 percent or 
less, in the aggregate, of phosphorus and sulfur, (4) 0.006 percent or 
less of nitrogen, and (5) not more than 0.15 percent, in the aggregate, 
of copper, nickel and chromium.
    Grade 1080 tire bead quality rod is defined as: (i) Grade 1080 tire 
bead quality wire rod measuring 5.5 mm or more but not more than 7.0 mm 
in cross-sectional diameter; (ii) with an average partial 
decarburization of no more than 70 microns in depth (maximum individual 
200 microns); (iii) having no inclusions greater than 20 microns; (iv) 
having a carbon segregation per heat average of 3.0 or better using 
European Method NFA 04-114; (v) having a surface quality with no 
surface defects of a length greater than 0.2 mm; (vi) capable of being 
drawn to a diameter of 0.78 mm or larger with 0.5 or fewer breaks per 
ton; and (vii) containing by weight the following elements in the 
proportions shown: (1) 0.78 percent or more of carbon, (2) less than 
0.01 percent of soluble aluminum, (3) 0.040 percent or less, in the 
aggregate, of phosphorus and sulfur, (4) 0.008 percent or less of 
nitrogen, and (5) either not more than 0.15 percent, in the aggregate, 
of copper, nickel and chromium (if chromium is not specified), or not 
more than 0.10 percent in the aggregate of copper and nickel and a 
chromium content of 0.24 to 0.30 percent (if chromium is specified).
    The designation of the products as ``tire cord quality'' or ``tire 
bead quality'' indicates the acceptability of the product for use in 
the production of tire cord, tire bead, or wire for use in other rubber 
reinforcement applications such as hose wire. These quality 
designations are presumed to indicate that these products are being 
used in tire cord, tire bead, and other rubber reinforcement 
applications, and such merchandise intended for the tire cord, tire 
bead, or other rubber reinforcement applications is not included in the 
scope. However, should petitioners or other interested parties provide 
a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that there exists a pattern of 
importation of such products for other than those applications, end-use 
certification for the importation of such products may be required. 
Under such circumstances, only the importers of record would normally 
be required to certify the end use of the imported merchandise.
    All products meeting the physical description of subject 
merchandise that are not specifically excluded are included in this 
scope.
    The products under investigation are currently classifiable under 
subheadings 7213.91.3010, 7213.91.3090, 7213.91.4510, 7213.91.4590, 
7213.91.6010, 7213.91.6090, 7213.99.0031, 7213.99.0038, 7213.99.0090, 
7227.20.0010, 7227.20.0020, 7227.20.0090, 7227.20.0095, 7227.90.6051, 
7227.90.6053, 7227.90.6058, and 7227.90.6059 of the HTSUS. Although the 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Section 751(d)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
``Act''), and 19 CFR 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations, 
provide that the Department may revoke an antidumping or countervailing 
duty order, in whole or in part, after conducting a changed 
circumstances review pursuant to section 751(b) of the Act and 
concluding from the available information that changed circumstances 
exist sufficient to warrant revocation or termination. The Department 
may conclude that changed circumstances sufficient to warrant 
revocation (in whole or in part) exist when producers accounting for 
substantially all of the production of the domestic like product to 
which the order pertains have expressed a lack of interest in the 
order, in whole or in part. See section 782(h)(2) of the Act and Sec.  
351.222(g)(1) of the Department's regulations.
    The petitioners state that they are producers of carbon and certain 
alloy steel wire rod but do not identify the percentage of production 
of the domestic like product they represent. At present, the Department 
has no information on the record that the other known domestic 
producers of wire rod have no interest in maintaining the 
countervailing duty order with respect to the subject merchandise 
imported from Canada. In particular, the Department does not have 
information on the record of this changed circumstances review that the 
petitioners account for substantially all, or at least 85 percent, of 
the production of the domestic like product. See Certain Tin Mill 
Products From Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 66 
FR 52109 (October 12, 2001); see also, 19 CFR 351.208(c). Accordingly, 
we are not combining this initiation with a preliminary determination, 
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii). This notice of initiation will 
accord all interested parties an opportunity to address this proposed 
revocation.
    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed circumstances review upon receipt of information 
concerning, or a request from an interested party of, a countervailing 
duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a 
review of the order. Pursuant to section 751(b)(4) of the Act, the 
Department finds the petitioners' statement that no further interest 
exists in continuing the order with respect to carbon and certain alloy 
steel wire rod from Canada serves as good cause to

[[Page 62284]]

review a determination that was made less than 24 months after the date 
of publication of notice of that determination. Therefore, in 
accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act, we are initiating a 
changed circumstances review based upon the request made by the 
petitioners.
    If, as a result of this review, we revoke the order, we intend to 
instruct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to liquidate 
without regard to applicable countervailing duties, and refund any 
estimated countervailing duties collected on, all unliquidated entries 
of the merchandise subject to the order, as described above under the 
``Scope of the Review'' section, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after February 8, 2002, i.e., the publication 
date of the Department's preliminary determination (see Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Carbon and Certain Alloy 
Steel Wire Rod from Canada, 67 FR 5984). We will also instruct CBP to 
pay interest on such refunds with respect to the subject merchandise 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
October 22, 2002, in accordance with section 778 of the Act. The 
current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated countervailing 
duties on the subject merchandise will continue unless, and until, we 
publish a final determination to revoke in whole.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on the initiation of this 
changed circumstances review. 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. All written 
comments may be submitted by interested parties not later than 14 days 
after the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.303, with the exception that only three (3) copies need be served 
on the Department, and shall be served on all interested parties on the 
Department's service list in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303.
    The Department will publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
preliminary results of changed circumstances review, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.221(c)(3), which will set forth the factual and legal 
conclusions upon which our preliminary results are based, and a 
description of any action proposed based on those results.
    This notice is published in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of 
the Act and sections 351.216 and 351.222 of the Department's 
regulations.

    Dated: October 28, 2003.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-27596 Filed 10-31-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P