[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 98 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29478-29480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10309]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-900, A-580-855]


Notice of Request for Information and Extension of the Deadline 
for Determining the Adequacy of the Petitions for: Diamond Sawblades 
and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China and the Republic 
of Korea

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 23, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Inquiries regarding any 
information on this notice may be addressed by calling Mark Manning at 
202-482-5253 and via facsimile at 202-482-5871.

The Petitions

    On May 3, 2005, the Department of Commerce (Department) received an 
antidumping duty petitions (Petitions) filed on behalf of the Diamond 
Sawblade Manufacturers' Coalition (DSMC) and its individual members 
(collectively, petitioners).

Scope of the Petitions

    The following language describes the imported merchandise from the 
People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Korea (Korea) that 
petitioners intend to be included in the scope of the investigations:
    The products covered by these petitions are all finished circular 
sawblades, whether slotted or not, with a working part that is 
comprised of a diamond segment or segments, and parts thereof, 
regardless of specification or size, except as specifically excluded 
below.
    Within the scope of these petitions are semifinished diamond 
sawblades, including diamond sawblade cores and diamond sawblade 
segments. Diamond sawblade cores are circular steel plates, whether or 
not attached to non-steel plates, with slots. Diamond sawblade cores 
are manufactured principally, but not exclusively, from alloy steel. A 
diamond sawblade segment consists of

[[Page 29479]]

a mixture of diamonds (whether natural or synthetic, and regardless of 
the quantity of diamonds) and metal powders (including, but not limited 
to, iron, cobalt, nickel, tungsten carbide) that are formed together 
into a solid shape (from generally, but not limited to, a heating and 
pressing process).
    Sawblades with diamonds directly attached to the core with a resin 
or electroplated bond, which thereby do not contain a diamond segment, 
are not included within the scope of these petitions. Sawblade cores 
with a thickness of less than 0.025 inches, or with a thickness greater 
than 1.1 inches, are excluded from the scope of the petitions. Circular 
steel plates that have a cutting edge of non-diamond material, such as 
external teeth that protrude from the outer diameter of the plate, 
whether or not finished, are excluded from the scope of the petitions. 
Diamond sawblade cores with a Rockwell C hardness of less than 25 are 
excluded from the scope of the petitions. Diamond segments with 
diamonds that predominantly have a mesh size number greater than 240 
(such as 250 or 260) are excluded from the scope of the petitions.
    Merchandise subject to this order is typically imported under 
heading 8202.39.00.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS). When packaged together as a set for retail sale with an 
item that is separately classified under headings 8202 to 8205 of the 
HTSUS, diamond sawblades or parts thereof may be imported under heading 
8206.00.00.00 of the HTSUS. The tariff classification is provided for 
convenience and customs purposes; however, the written description of 
the scope of the investigation is dispositive.
    Petitioners request that the Department and the International Trade 
Commission (Commission) treat diamond sawblades, diamond sawblade 
segments, and diamond sawblade cores as one ``domestic like product'' 
and, similarly, one ``class or kind'' of merchandise for purposes of 
these investigations.

Domestic Like Product

    Section 771(10) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 
defines the domestic like product as ``a product which is like, or in 
the absence of like, most similar in characteristics and uses with the 
article subject to investigation.'' Thus, the reference point from 
which the domestic like product analysis begins is ``the article 
subject to investigation,'' i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to 
be investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
petitions.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that the Department's industry support determination be based 
on whether a minimum percentage of the relevant industry supports the 
petition. A petition meets this requirement if the domestic producers 
or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 25 
percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and (ii) 
more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product 
produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or 
opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act 
provides that, if the petition does not establish support of domestic 
producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total 
production of the domestic like product, the Department shall: (i) poll 
the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if 
there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A), or 
(ii) determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling 
method to poll the industry.

Request for Information

    Because the Petitions have not established that domestic producers 
or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production 
of the domestic like product support the petition, we must ``poll or 
otherwise determine industry support for the petition by the 
industry.'' See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
    In accordance with section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act and in order to 
determine whether the Petitions establish support of domestic producers 
or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production 
of the domestic like product, we are hereby requesting that all 
domestic producers/manufacturers of diamond sawblades and parts thereof 
submit to the Department a response to the questions on Import 
Administration's Web site: http://ia.ita.doc.gov.

Filing Requirements

    Given the very short period in which we must determine industry 
support, the number of potential responses, and the fact that industry 
support may not be re-examined after initiation, we are waiving the 
filing requirements set forth in 19 CFR 351.303 for certain parties 
submitting information on industry support. This waiver of the filing 
requirements will not apply to: (1) the submission of documents that 
are not in response to the information requested in this notice or (2) 
parties that are familiar with the conduct of antidumping and 
countervailing proceedings through prior involvement in such 
proceedings (e.g., parties represented by law firms that are involved 
in other antidumping/countervailing cases).
    This limited waiver is applicable only until May 25, 2005, the 
deadline for submitting the information requested in this notice. This 
waiver is intended to expedite the receipt of information that is 
essential to our analysis of industry support by providing information 
on the production of the domestic like product by petitioning and non-
petitioning companies. By avoiding delays in the receipt of such 
information, we will have more time to analyze whether the statutory 
requirements concerning industry support for the above-referenced 
petitions have been met.
    All parties submitting any information must include the following 
statement in their response: ``I, (name and title), currently employed 
by (person), certify that (1) I have read the attached submission, and 
(2) based on the information made available to me by (person), I have 
no reason to believe that this submission contains any material 
misrepresentation or omission of fact.'' All information received by 
the Department will be treated as business proprietary information as 
outlined in our regulations (19 CFR 351.304-306), unless otherwise 
noted. Please note that all company names will be treated as public 
information. In addition, note that all business proprietary documents 
received by the Department in response to this notice will be served to 
those individuals with access to business proprietary information under 
the Administrative Protective Order (APO). All public documents may be 
made available to those parties on the public service list. The APO 
service lists and the public service lists are available on Import 
Administration's Web site: http://ia.ita.doc.gov.
    Information submitted to the Department in response to this notice 
should be addressed to Carrie Blozy and faxed to the following number: 
202-482-5871. Furthermore, all such information will be placed on the 
official record of the proceeding. Responses to this notice are due no 
later than May 25, 2005. Responses after this date may not be reviewed 
by the Department and, therefore, not included in the analysis.

[[Page 29480]]

Extension of Time

    Section 732(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act provides that within 20 days of 
the filing of an antidumping duty petition, the Department will 
determine, inter alia, whether the petition has been filed by or on 
behalf of the U.S. industry producing the domestic like product. 
Section 732(c)(1)(B) of the Act provides that the deadline for the 
initiation determination can be extended by 20 days in any case in 
which the Department must ``poll or otherwise determine support for the 
petition by the industry * * *.''
    We will require additional information from the petitioners and the 
domestic producers of diamond sawblades and parts thereof in order to 
make our determination regarding industry support. We will also need 
additional time to analyze the petitioners' responses to our requests 
for information. See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petitions'' section of this notice, above. Therefore, it is necessary 
to extend the deadline determining the adequacy of the petitions for a 
period not to exceed 40 days from the filing of the petitions. As a 
result, the initiation determination is due no later than June 13, 
2005, which is the next business day after 20 days from the original 
deadline for the initiation determination.

International Trade Commission Notification

    Because the Department has extended the deadline of the initiation 
determination, the Department will contact the Commission and will make 
this extension notice available to the Commission.

    Dated: May 18, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-10309 Filed 5-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P