[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65410-65411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3155]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-891]


Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Hand Trucks and Certain Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of 
China

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

ACTION: Notice of amended final determination of sales at less than 
fair value.

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SUMMARY: On October 7, 2004, the Department of Commerce announced the 
final determination of the sales at less than fair value investigation 
for hand trucks and certain parts thereof from the People's Republic of 
China for the period April, 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003. These 
final results were published in the Federal Register on October 14, 
2004.
    On October 15, 2004, Qingdao Huatian Hand Truck Co., Ltd., Qingdao 
Taifa Group Co., Ltd., True Potential Co., Qingdao Future Tool Inc., 
Gleason Industrial Products, Inc., and Precision Products Inc. 
submitted ministerial error allegations. On October 20, 2004, the same 
companies submitted rebuttal comments. Based on these allegations, we 
made changes to the margin calculation of Qingdao Huatian Hand Truck 
Co., Ltd., Qingdao Taifa Group Co., Ltd., True Potential Co., Qingdao 
Future Tool Inc., and Shandong Machinery Import & Export Group. The 
final weighted-average dumping margins for these companies are listed 
below in the section entitled ``Amended Final Determination.''

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 12, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Alexy, Audrey Twyman or Stephen 
Cho, AD/CVD Operations, Office 1, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-1540, 
(202) 482-3534 and (202) 482-3798, respectively.

Background

    On October 14, 2004, the Department of Commerce (the 
``Department'') published the final determination of this 
investigation. See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Hand Trucks and Certain Parts Thereof from the People's 
Republic of China, 69 FR 60980 (``Final Determination''). The period of 
investigation is April, 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003.
    On October 15, 2004, we received ministerial error allegations, 
filed

[[Page 65411]]

pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(c) of the Department's regulations, from 
Qingdao Huatian Hand Truck Co., Ltd. (``Huatian''), Qingdao Taifa Group 
Co., Ltd. (``Taifa''), True Potential Co. (``True Potential''), and 
Qingdao Future Tool Inc. (``Future Tool'') (collectively, the 
``respondents''), and Gleason Industrial Products, Inc., and Precision 
Products Inc. (collectively, the ``petitioners'') regarding the 
Department's final margin calculation. On October 20, 2004, the 
petitioners and the respondents submitted rebuttal comments. All 
parties requested that we correct the errors and publish a notice of 
amended final results in the Federal Register, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.224(e).

Scope of the Investigation

    For the purpose of this investigation, the product covered consists 
of hand trucks manufactured from any material, whether assembled or 
unassembled, complete or incomplete, suitable for any use, and certain 
parts thereof, namely the vertical frame, the handling area and the 
projecting edges or toe plate, and any combination thereof.
    A complete or fully assembled hand truck is a hand-propelled barrow 
consisting of a vertically disposed frame having a handle or more than 
one handle at or near the upper section of the vertical frame; at least 
two wheels at or near the lower section of the vertical frame; and a 
horizontal projecting edge or edges, or toe plate, perpendicular or 
angled to the vertical frame, at or near the lower section of the 
vertical frame. The projecting edge or edges, or toe plate, slides 
under a load for purposes of lifting and/or moving the load.
    That the vertical frame can be converted from a vertical setting to 
a horizontal setting, then operated in that horizontal setting as a 
platform, is not a basis for exclusion of the hand truck from the scope 
of this petition. That the vertical frame, handling area, wheels, 
projecting edges or other parts of the hand truck can be collapsed or 
folded is not a basis for exclusion of the hand truck from the scope of 
the petition. That other wheels may be connected to the vertical frame, 
handling area, projecting edges, or other parts of the hand truck, in 
addition to the two or more wheels located at or near the lower section 
of the vertical frame, is not a basis for exclusion of the hand truck 
from the scope of the petition. Finally, that the hand truck may 
exhibit physical characteristics in addition to the vertical frame, the 
handling area, the projecting edges or toe plate, and the two wheels at 
or near the lower section of the vertical frame, is not a basis for 
exclusion of the hand truck from the scope of the petition.
    Examples of names commonly used to reference hand trucks are hand 
truck, convertible hand truck, appliance hand truck, cylinder hand 
truck, bag truck, dolly, or hand trolley. They are typically imported 
under heading 8716.80.50.10 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (``HTSUS''), although they may also be imported under 
heading 8716.80.50.90. Specific parts of a hand truck, namely the 
vertical frame, the handling area and the projecting edges or toe 
plate, or any combination thereof, are typically imported under heading 
8716.90.50.60 of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the Department's written 
description of the scope is dispositive.
    Excluded from the scope are small two-wheel or four-wheel utility 
carts specifically designed for carrying loads like personal bags or 
luggage in which the frame is made from telescoping tubular material 
measuring less than \5/8\ inch in diameter; hand trucks that use 
motorized operations either to move the hand truck from one location to 
the next or to assist in the lifting of items placed on the hand truck; 
vertical carriers designed specifically to transport golf bags; and 
wheels and tires used in the manufacture of hand trucks.

Amended Final Determination

    After analyzing the submissions, we have determined in accordance 
with section 735(e) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, (``the 
Act'') and 19 CFR 351.224 that we made ministerial errors in the margin 
calculations for Huatian and Taifa. The ministerial errors include an 
error alleged by Huatian pertaining to the Department's deduction of 
international freight from certain U.S. sales of Huatian, an error 
alleged by the respondents in the calculation of the selling, general, 
and administrative expenses (``SG&A'') ratio, and two errors alleged by 
the petitioners, one, on the correct weight code for certain hand truck 
models in Taifa's margin calculation, and the other, on the proper unit 
of measure for bearings in Huatian's margin calculation.
    Specifically:
     We inadvertently neglected to add the actual freight 
incurred for certain U.S. sales of Huatian.
     We inadvertently included movement expenses in the 
calculation of the SG&A ratio which resulted in the double-counting of 
these expenses.
     We inadvertently neglected to correct the error in weight 
code for certain hand truck models when applying facts available in 
Taifa's margin calculation.
     We inadvertently neglected to include the proper unit of 
measure for bearings when applying facts available in Huatian's margin 
calculation.
    For a detailed discussion of the ministerial error allegations and 
the Department's analysis, see Memorandum from Team to Jeffrey A. May, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, entitled 
``Ministerial Error Allegations,'' dated November 5, 2004.
    We are amending the final determination of the antidumping duty 
investigation of hand trucks from the People's Republic of China 
(``PRC'') to reflect the correction of the above-cited ministerial 
errors. As a result of corrections of the ministerial errors in the 
Final Determination, the revised final weighted-average dumping margins 
are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Original     Revised
                                                   weighted-   weighted-
              Exporter/manufacturer                 average     average
                                                    margin      margin
                                                  percentage  percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qingdao Huatian Hand Truck Co., Ltd.............       45.04       46.48
Qingdao Taifa Group Co., Ltd....................       27.00       26.49
True Potential Co...............................       24.90       33.68
Qingdao Future Tool Inc.........................       30.56       32.76
Shandong Machinery Import & Export Group........       30.56       32.76
PRC-wide Rate...................................      386.75      383.60
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to continue to suspend 
liquidation of all imports of subject merchandise from the PRC entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 24, 2004, 
the date of publication of our Preliminary Determination. CBP shall 
continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to 
the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price 
as revised and shown above. These instructions suspending liquidation 
will remain in effect until further notice.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
 [FR Doc. E4-3155 Filed 11-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P