[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74214-74216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00616]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-421-807]


Notice of Amended Antidumping Duty Order; Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products From The Netherlands

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

ACTION: Notice of amended antidumping duty order.

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SUMMARY: On November 29, 2001, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) published the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled 
carbon steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from the Netherlands. See 
Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products 
From the Netherlands, 66 FR 59565 (November 29, 2001). As a result of 
the Court of International Trade's (the Court's) decisions in Corus 
Staal BV, et al. v. United States, 283 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (CIT 2003) 
(Corus Staal BV III) and Corus Staal BV, et al. v. United States, 279 
F. Supp. 2d 1363 (CIT 2003) (Corus Staal BV II), we are publishing this 
notice of amended antidumping duty order.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Scott (202) 482-2657 or Robert 
James at (202) 482-0649, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Enforcement Group III, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 23, 2003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Order

    For purposes of this order, the products covered are certain hot-
rolled carbon steel flat products of a rectangular shape, of a width of 
0.5 inch or greater, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal and 
whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other 
non-metallic substances, in coils (whether or not in successively 
superimposed layers), regardless of thickness, and in straight lengths, 
of a thickness of less than 4.75 mm and of a width measuring at least 
10 times the thickness. Universal mill plate (i.e., flat-rolled 
products rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width 
exceeding 150 mm, but not exceeding 1250 mm, and of a thickness of not 
less than 4.0 mm, not in coils and without patterns in relief) of a 
thickness not less than 4.0 mm is not included within the scope of this 
order.

[[Page 74215]]

Specifically included within the scope of this order are vacuum 
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free 
(IF)) steels, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, and the substrate 
for motor lamination steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon 
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium or 
niobium (also commonly referred to as columbium), or both, added to 
stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as 
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium, copper, 
niobium, vanadium, and molybdenum. The substrate for motor lamination 
steels contains micro-alloying levels of elements such as silicon and 
aluminum.
    Steel products to be included in the scope of this order, 
regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTS), are products in which: (i) Iron predominates, by 
weight, over each of the other contained elements; (ii) the carbon 
content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (iii) none of the elements 
listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:

1.80 percent of manganese, or
2.25 percent of silicon, or
1.00 percent of copper, or
0.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
1.25 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten, or
0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium, or
0.15 percent of vanadium, or
0.15 percent of zirconium.
All products that meet the physical and chemical description provided 
above are within the scope of this order unless otherwise excluded. The 
following products, by way of example, are outside or specifically 
excluded from the scope of this order:

    Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of the 
chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., ASTM 
specifications A543, A387, A514, A517, A506).
    Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American Iron and Steel 
Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
    Ball bearings steels, as defined in the HTS.
    Tool steels, as defined in the HTS.
    Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTS) or silicon electrical 
steel with a silicon level exceeding 2.25 percent.
    ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
    USS Abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
    All products (proprietary or otherwise) based on an alloy ASTM 
specification (sample specifications: ASTM A506, A507).
    Non-rectangular shapes, not in coils, which are the result of 
having been processed by cutting or stamping and which have assumed the 
character of articles or products classified outside chapter 72 of the 
HTS.
    The merchandise subject to this order is classified in the HTS at 
subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60, 
7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60, 
7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30, 
7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90, 
7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00, 
7208.90.00.00, 7211.14.00.90, 7211.19.15.00, 7211.19.20.00, 
7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 7211.19.60.00, 7211.19.75.30, 
7211.19.75.60, and 7211.19.75.90. Certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon 
steel flat products covered by this order, including: vacuum degassed 
fully stabilized; high strength low alloy; and the substrate for motor 
lamination steel may also enter under the following tariff numbers: 
7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00, 7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 
7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90, 7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 
7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00, 7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 
7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and 7226.99.00.00. Subject merchandise 
may also enter under 7210.70.30.00, 7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 
7212.40.10.00, 7212.40.50.00, and 7212.50.00.00. Although the HTS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under this order is dispositive.

Amended Antidumping Duty Order

    In accordance with section 735(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (Tariff Act), the Department published its final determination 
that sales of hot-rolled steel from the Netherlands were being made at 
less than fair value in the United States. See Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products, 66 FR 50408 (October 3, 2001) and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum, as amended, Notice of 
Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain 
Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products, 66 FR 55637 (November 2, 2001) 
(collectively, Final Determination). On November 13, 2001, the 
International Trade Commission notified the Department of its final 
determination pursuant to section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Tariff Act 
that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason 
of less-than-fair-value imports of certain hot-rolled steel from the 
Netherlands. On November 29, 2001, the Department published in the 
Federal Register the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel from 
the Netherlands. See Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon 
Steel Flat Products From the Netherlands, 66 FR 59565 (November 29, 
2001) (Antidumping Duty Order).
    Subsequent to the publication of the Department's antidumping duty 
order, the petitioners (National Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation, and United States Steel Corporation) and the respondent 
(Corus Staal BV and Corus Steel USA Inc. (collectively, Corus)) 
challenged certain aspects of the Department's Final Determination 
before the Court. In addition, the Department requested a voluntary 
remand with respect to the inadvertent omission of the proper language 
from the antidumping duty order to cease collection of provisional 
measures six months after the publication of the preliminary 
determination, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Tariff Act. On 
March 7, 2003, the Court issued a remand order to the Department for 
the sole purpose of revising its antidumping duty order to preclude 
collection of provisional measures beyond the six-month period pursuant 
to section 733(d) of the Tariff Act, and also to explain its practice 
of interpreting the provisional measures time period, i.e., in calendar 
months or the equivalent in six 30-day periods. See Corus Staal BV v. 
United States, 259 F. Supp. 2d 1253 (CIT 2003). See Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products From the Netherlands: Notice of Final Court 
Decision and Suspension of Liquidation, 68 FR 60912 (October 24, 2003) 
for a summary of the ensuing litigation.
    On September 29, 2003, the Court affirmed the Department's remand 
determination and entered a final judgment order in regards to the 
Final Determination and Antidumping Duty Order. See Corus Staal BV III; 
see also Corus Staal BV II. As a result, the Department is now amending 
the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel from the Netherlands to 
lift suspension of liquidation 180 days from the date of publication of 
the preliminary determination in the Federal Register until the date of

[[Page 74216]]

publication of the Antidumping Duty Order. Because the preliminary 
determination was published on May 3, 2001, and the Antidumping Duty 
Order was published on November 29, 2001, the Department will issue 
instructions to Customs and Border Protection (Customs) to terminate 
suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise made 
between October 30, 2001, and November 28, 2001, inclusive, without 
regard to antidumping duties (i.e., release all bonds and refund all 
cash deposits). In addition, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of 
the Tariff Act, the Department will also instruct Customs to resume 
collection, effective November 29, 2001, of a cash deposit equal to the 
estimated weighted-average antidumping duty margins published in the 
Final Determination. Effective November 29, 2001, Customs officers must 
require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated 
duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the estimated 
weighted-average antidumping duty margins as noted below. The ``All 
Others'' rate applies to all exporters of subject hot-rolled steel from 
the Netherlands not specifically listed. The weighted-average dumping 
margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Cash deposit
             Producer/manufacturer/ exporter                   rate
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus Staal BV..........................................            2.59
All Others..............................................            2.59
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the amended antidumping duty order with 
respect to certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from the 
Netherlands. Interested parties may contact the Department's Central 
Records Unit, room B-099 of the main Commerce building, for copies of 
an updated list of antidumping duty orders currently in effect.
    This amended order is published in accordance with section 736(a) 
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

    Dated: December 16, 2003.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E3-00616 Filed 12-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-S