[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 128 (Thursday, July 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36658-36663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13009]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-485-803]


Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Romania: 
Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and 
Intent to Rescind in Part

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request from a domestic producer, Nucor 
Corporation, and a Romanian producer/exporter, Mittal Steel Galati, 
S.A. (``MS Galati''), the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') 
is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on 
certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate (``CTL plate'') from Romania. 
The period of review is August 1, 2005, through December 15, 2005. With 
regard to the two Romanian companies that are subject to this 
administrative review, producer MS Galati and exporter 
Metalexportimport S.A. (``MEI''), we preliminarily determine that sales 
of subject merchandise produced by MS Galati have been made at less 
than normal value (``NV''). Since MEI was not involved with any of the 
U.S. sales during the period of review, we are assigning a preliminary 
dumping margin to MS Galati only and intend to rescind the review with 
respect to MEI. For a full discussion of the intent to rescind with 
respect to MEI, see the ``Notice of Intent to Rescind in Part'' section 
of this notice below. We invite interested parties to comment on these 
preliminary results. Parties that submit comments are requested to 
submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue(s), (2) a brief 
summary of the argument(s), and (3) a table of authorities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 5, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dena Crossland or John Drury, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3362 or (202) 482-0195, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 1, 2006, the Department published a notice of opportunity 
to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on 
CTL plate from Romania for the period August 1, 2005, through July 31, 
2006. See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review, 
71 FR 43441 (August 1, 2006). On August 30, 2006, the Department 
received a timely request from Nucor Corporation, a domestic producer, 
requesting that the Department conduct an administrative review of 
shipments of CTL plate from Romania produced by MS Galati and exported 
to the United States by MS Galati or MEI. In addition, on August 31, 
2006, the Department received a timely request from MS Galati, 
requesting that the Department conduct an administrative review of 
subject merchandise produced/exported by MS Galati.
    On September 29, 2006, the Department initiated an administrative 
review of the antidumping duty order on CTL plate from Romania, for the 
period covering August 1, 2005, through July 31, 2006, to determine 
whether merchandise imported into the United States from MS Galati and 
MEI is being sold at less than NV. See Initiation of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 71 FR 57465 (September 29, 
2006). On October 12, 2006, the Department issued an antidumping duty 
questionnaire to MS Galati.
    On November 17, 2006, the Department received the section A 
questionnaire response from MS Galati. On December 11, 2006, MS Galati 
filed its section B and C questionnaire responses. On February 14, 
2007, the Department issued a supplemental questionnaire regarding MS 
Galati's sections A through C questionnaire responses. On March 8, 
2007, MS Galati submitted its response to the supplemental 
questionnaire. On April 2, 2007, the Department issued a second 
supplemental questionnaire with regard to section C, and received MS 
Galati's response on April 16, 2007. On June 12, 2007, the Department 
received MS Galati's quantity and value reconciliation, as required 
under section A of the Department's antidumping questionnaire. Because 
there was no sales-below-cost allegation and the Department did not 
initiate a review of MS Galati's costs, MS Galati was not required to 
file a section D questionnaire response.
    On December 14, 2006, the International Trade Commission determined 
that revocation of the antidumping duty orders on CTL plate from 
certain countries, including Romania, would not likely to lead to 
continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the 
United States within a reasonably foreseeable time. See Certain Carbon 
Steel Products From Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, 
France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, 
Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, 72 FR 4529 (January 31, 2007) and USITC 
Publication 3899 entitled Certain Carbon Steel Products from Australia, 
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, 
Mexico, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom: 
Investigation Nos. AA1921-197 (Second Review); 701-TA-319, 320, 325- 
327, 348, and 350 (Second Review); and 731-TA-573, 574, 576, 578, 582-
587, 612, and 614-618 (Second Review) (January 2007). Thus, the 
Department revoked the antidumping duty order on CTL plate from 
Romania, pursuant to sections 751(c) and 751(d) of the Act. See 
Revocation Pursuant to Second Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews: 
Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain Steel Products from Belgium, 
Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Sweden; Antidumping Duty Orders on Certain 
Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Belgium, Brazil, Finland, 
Germany, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United 
Kingdom; Antidumping Finding on Carbon Steel Plate from Taiwan, 72 FR 
6519 (February 12, 2007) (``Revocation of Plate from Romania''). The 
Department stated in the Revocation of Plate from Romania that it will 
complete any pending administrative reviews of the order and will 
conduct administrative reviews of subject merchandise entered prior to 
the effective date of revocation in response to appropriately filed 
requests for review. Pursuant to section 751(d)(2) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.222(i)(2)(i), the effective date of revocation is December 15, 
2005. As a result, the Department is completing the instant review of 
CTL plate from Romania for the period of review covering August 1, 
2005, to December 15, 2005.

Period of Review

    The period of review (``POR'') is August 1, 2005, through December 
15, 2005.

Notice of Intent To Rescind Review in Part

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), the Department may rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or only with respect to a particular 
exporter or producer, if the Secretary concludes that, during the 
period covered by the

[[Page 36659]]

review, there were no entries, exports, or sales of the subject 
merchandise. See, e.g., Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Taiwan: 
Notice of Preliminary Results and Rescission in Part of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 67 FR 5789, 5790 (February 7, 2002), and 
Stainless Steel Plate in Coils from Taiwan: Final Rescission of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 66 FR 18610 (April 10, 2001). 
In its supplemental questionnaire response, MS Galati stated that 
during the POR, MEI was not involved with any of the U.S. sales. See MS 
Galati's supplemental questionnaire response, dated March 8, 2007, at 
20. In the previous antidumping duty administrative review of CTL plate 
from Romania, covering the period August 1, 2004, through July 31, 
2005, the Department found that a) MEI is not the producer of subject 
merchandise, b) MEI does not take title to the merchandise which MS 
Galati exports through MEI, and c) MS Galati has knowledge of the 
destination of its subject merchandise exports. See Notice of Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Partial 
Rescission: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Romania, 72 
FR 6522, February 12, 2007. Additionally, the Department conducted a 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') data inquiry and 
determined that there were no identifiable entries of CTL plate during 
the POR manufactured or exported by MEI. See ``Memorandum to the File, 
through Angelica Mendoza, Program Manager, from Dena Crossland: 
Metalimportexport S.A. No Shipments of Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon 
Steel Plate from Romania Pursuant to U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
Inquiry,'' dated June 24, 2007. Therefore, the Department concludes 
that during the POR, MEI did not produce or export subject merchandise, 
including merchandise produced by MS Galati, and accordingly we are 
preliminarily rescinding the review with respect to MEI.

Scope of the Antidumping Duty Review

    The products covered by this antidumping duty review include hot-
rolled carbon steel universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled products 
rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 
millimeters but not exceeding 1,250 millimeters and of a thickness of 
not less than 4 millimeters, not in coil and without patterns in 
relief), of rectangular shape, neither clad, plated nor coated with 
metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or 
other nonmetallic substances; and certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat-
rolled products in straight lengths, of rectangular shape, hot rolled, 
neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal, whether or not painted, 
varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic substances, 
4.75 millimeters or more in thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 
millimeters and measures at least twice the thickness, as currently 
classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(``HTSUS'') under item numbers 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 
7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 
7208.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 
7211.14.0045, 7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, and 
7212.50.0000. Included under this review are flat-rolled products of 
nonrectangular cross-section where such cross-section is achieved 
subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., products which have been 
``worked after rolling'')--for example, products which have been 
bevelled or rounded at the edges. Excluded from this review is grade X-
70 plate. These HTSUS item numbers are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes. The written description remains dispositive.

Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions pursuant to 19 CFR 351.415 based on 
the exchange rates in effect on the dates of the U.S. sales, as 
certified by Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive LLC (trading as 
Factiva).

Date of Sale

    The Department's regulations state that it will normally use the 
date of invoice, as recorded in the exporter's or producer's records 
kept in the ordinary course of business, as the date of sale. See 19 
CFR 351.401(i). If the Department can establish ``a different date that 
better reflects the date on which the exporter or producer establishes 
the material terms of sale,'' the Department may choose a different 
date. Id. As further discussed below, the Department preliminarily 
determines that for U.S. sales, the invoice date is the appropriate 
date of sale. For home market sales, the Department preliminarily 
determines that the invoice date is the date of sale provided the 
invoice is issued on or before the shipment date; and that the shipment 
date is the date of sale where the invoice is issued after the shipment 
date. In its section C questionnaire response, MS Galati reported the 
date of order acknowledgment as the date of sale for its U.S. sales. MS 
Galati stated that all sales of subject merchandise were made pursuant 
to affiliated importer Mittal Steel North America's (``MSNA's'') order 
acknowledgments to the U.S. customer, and that the exact quantities 
shipped from Romania were consistent with the quantities sold by MSNA. 
See MS Galati's section C questionnaire response, dated December 11, 
2006, at C-ME-20. However, in its supplemental questionnaire responses, 
MS Galati acknowledged that quantities varied between the order 
acknowledgments and the invoices. See MS Galati's supplemental sections 
A-C questionnaire response, dated March 7, 2007, at 20 and exhibit 18; 
see also MS Galati's second supplemental sections A-C questionnaire 
response, dated April 16, 2007, at 2-3 and exhibits 1 and 3.
    In reviewing all information on the record, we preliminarily find 
that the terms of sale for some of MS Galati's U.S. sales changed from 
the order acknowledgment to the invoice. Specifically, there were 
various sales with changes outside of the allowable tolerance for 
quantity that took place after the order acknowledgment date. 
Additionally, there were numerous price changes that took place after 
the order acknowledgment date. See MS Galati's supplemental sections A-
C questionnaire response, dated March 7, 2007, at exhibit 18; see also 
MS Galati's second supplemental sections A-C questionnaire response, 
dated April 16, 2007, at exhibit 1.
    Regarding its home market sales, MS Galati stated that the invoice 
date is the date of sale. See MS Galati's section B questionnaire 
response, dated December 11, 2006, at 22. According to the home market 
database and MS Galati's section A questionnaire response, MS Galati 
issues an invoice to the customer on or a few days after the date the 
merchandise is shipped. See MS Galati's section A questionnaire 
response, dated November 17, 2006, at 21. MS Galati stated in its 
response that the terms of sale can change up to the date of invoice. 
See id. For home market sales, the Department preliminarily determines 
that the invoice date is the date of sale if the invoice is issued on 
the shipment date, and shipment date is the date of sale if the invoice 
is issued after the shipment date.
    Therefore, for these preliminary results, the Department will use 
the invoice date as the date of sale for MS Galati's U.S. sales, and 
either the invoice date or shipment date, depending on which one takes 
place earlier, as the date of sale for MS Galati's home market sales. 
See the

[[Page 36660]]

Analysis Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the Administrative 
Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon 
Steel Plate from Romania, dated June 27, 2007 (``Analysis Memo''), for 
further discussion of date of sale and other details on the calculation 
of the antidumping duty weighted-average margin. A public version of 
this memorandum is on file in the Department's Central Records Unit 
(``CRU'') located in Room B-099 of the main Department of Commerce 
Building, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20230.

Level of Trade

    In accordance with section 773(a)(1)(B)(I) of the Act, to the 
extent practicable, we determine NV based on sales in the comparison 
market at the same level of trade (``LOT'') as the constructed export 
price (``CEP'') transaction.\1\ See also 19 CFR 351.412. The NV LOT is 
the level of the starting-price sales in the comparison market or, when 
NV is based on CV, the level of the sales from which we derive selling, 
general and administrative (``SG&A'') expenses and profits. For CEP 
sales, the U.S. LOT is the level of the constructed sale from the 
exporter to the affiliated importer. See 19 CFR 351.412(c)(1)(ii). As 
noted in the ``Constructed Export Price'' section below, we 
preliminarily find that all of MS Galati's sales through its U.S. 
affiliates are appropriately classified as CEP sales.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Department finds that CEP analysis is warranted because 
MS Galati sold subject merchandise to the United States through its 
U.S. affliliate, MSNA. Therefore, the Department finds that export 
price analysis is not otherwise warranted based on the facts on the 
record, and has based the price of the sales on CEP, in accordance 
with section 773(b) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To determine whether NV sales are at a different LOT than CEP 
sales, we examine stages in the marketing process and selling functions 
along the chain of distribution between the producer and the 
unaffiliated customer. If the comparison market sales are at a 
different LOT than CEP sales, and the difference affects price 
comparability, as manifested in a pattern of consistent price 
differences between sales on which NV is based and comparison market 
sales at the LOT of the export transaction, where possible, we make a 
LOT adjustment under section 773(a)(7)(A) of the Act. For CEP sales for 
which we are unable to quantify a LOT adjustment, if the NV level is 
more remote from the factory than the CEP level and there is no basis 
for determining whether the difference in levels between NV and CEP 
affects price comparability, we adjust NV under section 773(a)(7)(B) of 
the Act (``the CEP offset provision''). See Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Greenhouse Tomatoes from Canada, 67 FR 
8781 (February 26, 2002); see also Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from South 
Africa, 62 FR 61731, 61732 (November 19, 1997).
    In analyzing the differences in selling functions, we determine 
whether the LOTs identified by the respondent are meaningful. See 
Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 
27371 (May 19, 1997). If the claimed LOTs are the same, we expect that 
the functions and activities of the seller should be similar. 
Conversely, if a party claims that LOTs are different for different 
groups of sales, the functions and activities of the seller should be 
dissimilar. See Porcelain-on-Steel Cookware from Mexico: Final Results 
of Administrative Review, 65 FR 30068 (May 10, 2000) and accompanying 
Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 6.
    To determine whether the comparison market sales were at different 
stages in the marketing process than the U.S. sales, we reviewed the 
channels of distribution in each market,\2\ including selling 
functions, class of customer (``customer category''), and the level of 
selling expenses for each type of sale. In this review, we obtained 
information from MS Galati regarding the marketing stages involved in 
sales to the reported home and U.S. markets. MS Galati reported one LOT 
with two channels of distribution in the home market (``HM''): (1) 
sales to unaffiliated distributors and (2) sales to end users 
(affiliated and unaffiliated). See MS Galati's section A questionnaire 
response (``AQR''), dated November 17, 2006, at pages 14 and 15.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The marketing process in the United States and third country 
market begins with the producer and extends to the sale to the final 
user or customer. The chain of distribution between the two may have 
many or few links, and the respondent's sales occur somewhere along 
this chain. In performing this evaluation, we considered 
respondent's narrative response to properly determine where in the 
chain of distribution the sale occurs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We examined the selling activities reported for each channel of 
distribution in the HM and we organized the reported selling activities 
into the following four selling functions: sales process and marketing 
support, freight and delivery, inventory maintenance and warehousing, 
and warranty and technical services. We found that MS Galati's level of 
selling functions to its HM customers for each of the four selling 
functions did not vary significantly by channel of distribution. See MS 
Galati's AQR at exhibit 5. For example, MS Galati provides similar 
levels of marketing and technical services to distributors and end 
users. Because channels of distribution do not qualify as separate LOTs 
when the selling functions performed for each customer class or channel 
are sufficiently similar, we determined that one LOT exists for MS 
Galati's HM sales.
    In the U.S. market, MS Galati made sales of subject merchandise to 
MSNA, i.e., through one channel of distribution and it claimed only one 
LOT for its sales in the United States. See MS Galati's AQR at 14 and 
exhibit 5. All U.S. sales were CEP transactions between MS Galati and 
its U.S. affiliate, MSNA, and MS Galati performed the same selling 
functions in its sales to the unaffiliated customers in each instance. 
Id. Therefore, we preliminary determine that MS Galati's U.S. sales 
constitute a single LOT.
    We then compared the selling functions performed by MS Galati on 
its CEP sales (after deductions made pursuant to section 772(d) of the 
Act) to the selling functions provided in the HM. We found that MS 
Galati provides significant selling functions in the HM related to the 
sales process and marketing support, as well as warranty and technical 
service, which it does not for MSNA in the U.S. market. In addition, 
the differences in selling functions performed for HM and CEP 
transactions indicate that MS Galati's HM sales involved a more 
advanced stage of distribution than CEP sales. In the HM, MS Galati 
provides marketing further down the chain of distribution by promoting 
certain downstream selling functions that are normally performed by the 
affiliated reseller in the U.S. market. On this basis, we determined 
that the HM LOT is at a more advanced stage of distribution when 
compared to CEP sales because MS Galati provides more selling functions 
in the HM at higher levels of service as compared to selling functions 
performed for its CEP sales. Thus, we find that MS Galati's HM sales 
are at a more advanced LOT than its CEP sales.
    Based upon our analysis, we preliminarily determine that the CEP 
and the starting price of HM sales represent different stages in the 
marketing process, and are thus at different LOTs. Therefore, when we 
compared CEP sales to the comparison market sales, we examined whether 
an LOT adjustment may be appropriate. In this case, because MS Galati 
sold at one

[[Page 36661]]

LOT in the HM, there is no basis upon which to determine whether there 
is a pattern of consistent price differences between LOTs. Further, we 
do not have the information which would allow us to examine the price 
patterns of MS Galati's sales of other similar products, and there is 
no other record evidence upon which a LOT adjustment could be based. 
Therefore, no LOT adjustment was made.
    Because the data available do not provide an appropriate basis for 
making a LOT adjustment and the LOT of MS Galati's HM sales is at a 
more advanced stage than the LOT of MS Galati's CEP sales, a CEP offset 
is appropriate in accordance with section 773(a)(7)(B) of the Act, as 
claimed by MS Galati. We based the amount of the CEP offset on HM 
indirect selling expenses, and limited the deduction for HM indirect 
selling expense to the amount of the indirect selling expenses deducted 
from CEP in accordance with section 772(d)(1)(D) of the Act. We applied 
the CEP offset to the NV-CEP comparisons.

Fair Value Comparisons

    To determine whether MS Galati's sales of the subject merchandise 
from Romania to the United States were made at prices below NV, we 
compared the CEP to the NV, as described in the ``Constructed Export 
Price'' and ``Normal Value'' sections of this notice. Therefore, 
pursuant to section 777A(d)(2) of the Act, we compared the CEPs of 
individual U.S. transactions to the monthly weighted-average normal 
value of the foreign like product where there were sales made in the 
ordinary course of trade.

Product Comparisons

    In accordance with section 771(16) of the Act, we considered all 
products covered by the ``Scope of the Antidumping Duty Review'' 
section above, which were produced and sold by MS Galati in the HM 
during the POR, to be the foreign like product for the purpose of 
determining appropriate product comparisons to U.S. sales of subject 
merchandise. We relied on eight characteristics to match U.S. sales of 
subject merchandise to comparison sales of the foreign like product 
(listed in order of importance): 1) painting; 2) quality; 3) 
specification and/or grade; 4) heat treatment; 5) standard thickness; 
6) standard width; 7) whether or not checkered (floor plate); and 8) 
descaling. Where there were no sales of identical merchandise in the HM 
to compare to U.S. sales, we compared U.S. sales to the most similar 
foreign like product on the basis of the characteristics and reporting 
instructions listed in the Department's questionnaire. See Appendix V 
of the Department's antidumping duty questionnaire to MS Galati, dated 
October 12, 2006.

Constructed Export Price

    In accordance with section 772(b) of the Act, CEP is the price at 
which the subject merchandise is first sold (or agreed to be sold) in 
the United States before or after the date of importation by or for the 
account of the producer or exporter of such merchandise or by a seller 
affiliated with the producer or exporter, to a purchaser not affiliated 
with the producer or exporter, as adjusted under sections 772(c) and 
(d) of the Act. For purposes of this administrative review, MS Galati 
has classified its sales as CEP. MS Galati identified one channel of 
distribution for U.S. sales: MS Galati through MEI to MSNA and then to 
unaffiliated U.S. customers, who are distributors. See ``Level of 
Trade'' section above for further analysis.
    After reviewing the evidence on the record of this review, we have 
preliminarily determined that MS Galati's transactions are classified 
properly as CEP sales because these sales occurred in the United States 
and were made through its U.S. affiliate to an unaffiliated buyer. Such 
a determination is consistent with section 772(b) of the Act and the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in AK Steel 
Corp. et al. v. United States, 226 F.3d 1361, 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2000) 
(``AK Steel''). In AK Steel, the Court of Appeals examined the 
definitions of EP and CEP, noting ``the plain meaning of the language 
enacted by Congress in 1994, focuses on where the sale takes place and 
whether the foreign producer or exporter and the U.S. importer are 
affiliated, making these two factors dispositive of the choice between 
the two classifications.'' AK Steel, 226 F.3d at 1369. The court 
stated, `` the critical differences between EP and CEP sales are 
whether the sale or transaction takes place inside or outside the 
United States and whether it is made by an affiliate,'' and noted the 
phrase ``outside the United States'' had been added to the 1994 
statutory definition of EP. Id., 226 F.3d at 1368-70. Thus, the 
classification of a sale as either EP or CEP depends upon where the 
contract for sale was concluded (i.e., in or outside the United States) 
and whether the foreign producer or exporter is affiliated with the 
U.S. importer.
    For this distribution channel, MS Galati has reported these sales 
as CEP sales because the first sale to an unaffiliated party occurred 
in the United States. Therefore, we based CEP on the packed duty paid 
prices to unaffiliated purchasers in the United States, in accordance 
with subsections 772(b), (c), and (d) of the Act. Where applicable, we 
made a deduction to gross unit price for billing adjustments. We made 
deductions for movement expenses in accordance with section 
772(c)(2)(A) of the Act. These deductions included, where appropriate, 
foreign inland freight from the plant to the port of export, foreign 
brokerage and handling, international freight, marine insurance, U.S. 
brokerage and handling, other U.S. transportation expenses (i.e., U.S. 
stevedoring, wharfage, and surveying), and U.S. customs duty. In 
accordance with section 772(d)(1) of the Act, we deducted those selling 
expenses associated with economic activities occurring in the United 
States, including direct selling expenses (i.e., imputed credit 
expenses and commissions) and indirect selling expenses. For these CEP 
sales, we also made an adjustment for profit in accordance with section 
772(d)(3) of the Act. We deducted the profit allocated to expenses 
deducted under sections 772(d)(1) and 772(d)(2) of the Act in 
accordance with sections 772(d)(3) and 772(f) of the Act. In accordance 
with section 772(f) of the Act, we computed profit based on total 
revenue realized on sales in both the U.S. and home markets, less all 
expenses associated with those sales. We then allocated profit to 
expenses incurred with respect to U.S. economic activity, based on the 
ratio of total U.S. expenses to total expenses for both the U.S. and 
home markets.

Normal Value

A. Home Market Viability

    We compared the aggregate volume of HM sales of the foreign like 
product and U.S. sales of the subject merchandise to determine whether 
the volume of the foreign like product sold in Romania was sufficient, 
pursuant to section 773(a)(1)(C) of the Act, to form a basis for NV. 
Because the volume of HM sales of the foreign like product was greater 
than five percent of the U.S. sales of subject merchandise, in 
accordance with section 773(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we determine that 
sales in the HM provide a viable basis for calculating NV. Thus, we 
used as NV the prices at which the foreign like product was first sold 
for consumption in Romania, in the usual commercial quantities, in the 
ordinary course of trade, and, to the extent possible, at the same LOT 
as the CEP sales, as appropriate. After testing

[[Page 36662]]

HM viability, we calculated NV as noted in the ``Price-to-Price 
Comparisons'' section of this notice.

B. Arm's-Length Test

    MS Galati reported that it made sales in the HM to affiliated and 
unaffiliated customers. The Department did not require MS Galati to 
report its affiliated party's downstream sales because these sales 
represented less than five percent of total HM sales. See MS Galati's 
section B questionnaire response, dated December 11, 2006, at exhibit 
2.
    Sales to these affiliated customers in the HM not made at arm's 
length were excluded from our analysis. See 19 CFR 351.403(c). To test 
whether these sales were made at arm's length, we compared the starting 
prices of sales to affiliated and unaffiliated customers net of all 
billing adjustments and freight revenue, movement charges, direct 
selling expenses, discounts and rebates, and packing. Where the price 
to that affiliated party was, on average, within a range of 98 to 102 
percent of the price of the same or comparable merchandise sold to the 
unaffiliated parties at the same level of trade, we determined that the 
sales made to the affiliated party were at arm's length. See 
Antidumping Proceedings - Affiliated Party Sales in the Ordinary Course 
of Trade, 67 FR 69186, 69187 (November 15, 2002).

C. Price-to-Price Comparisons

    We based NV on the HM sales to unaffiliated purchasers and sales to 
affiliated customers that passed the arm's-length test. We made 
adjustments, where appropriate, for physical differences in the 
merchandise in accordance with section 773(a)(6)(C)(ii) of the Act. We 
made adjustments, where applicable, for movement expenses (i.e., inland 
freight from plant to distribution warehouse, inland freight from plant 
to customer, and warehousing expenses) in accordance with section 
773(a)(6)(B) of the Act. We made circumstance-of-sale adjustments for 
imputed credit, where appropriate, in accordance with section 
773(a)(6)(C)(iii) of the Act. In accordance with section 773(a)(6) of 
the Act, we deducted HM packing costs and added U.S. packing costs. 
Finally, in accordance with section 773(a)(4) of the Act, where the 
Department was unable to determine NV on the basis of contemporaneous 
matches in accordance with section 773(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we based 
NV on CV.

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average 
margin exists for the following manufacturer/exporter during the POR:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Manufacturer/Exporter                              POR                         Margin
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mittal Steel Galati, S.A............................           08/01/05 - 12/15/05                  1.02 percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment

    Upon completion of this administrative review, the Department shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212. The Department intends to 
issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of 
publication of the final results of this review.
    The Department clarified its ``automatic assessment'' regulation on 
May 6, 2003. See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003) 
(``Assessment Policy Notice''). This clarification will apply to 
entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by companies 
included in these final results of review for which the reviewed 
companies did not know that the merchandise they sold to the 
intermediary (e.g., a reseller, trading company, or exporter) was 
destined for the United States. In such instances, we will instruct CBP 
to liquidate unreviewed entries at the ``All Others'' rate if there is 
no rate for the intermediary involved in the transaction. See 
Assessment Policy Notice for a full discussion of this clarification.

Cash-Deposit Requirements

    The Department notified CBP to discontinue suspension of 
liquidation and collection of cash deposits on entries of the subject 
merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse on or after December 
15, 2005, the effective date of revocation of the antidumping duty 
order.

Schedule for Final Results of Review

    The Department will disclose calculations performed for these 
preliminary results of review within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 
Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments no 
later than 30 days after the date of publication of these preliminary 
results of review. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii). Rebuttal briefs are 
limited to issues raised in such briefs or comments and may be filed no 
later than five days after the time limit for filing the case briefs or 
comments. See 19 CFR 351.309(d). Parties submitting arguments in this 
proceeding are requested to submit with the argument: 1) a statement of 
the issue, 2) a brief summary of the argument, and 3) a table of 
authorities. Case and rebuttal briefs and comments must be served on 
interested parties in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303(f).
    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.310(c). Unless 
otherwise specified, the hearing, if requested, will be held two days 
after the date for submission of rebuttal briefs, or the first business 
day thereafter. Individuals who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1870, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230. Requests for a public hearing should 
contain: 1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; 2) the 
number of participants; and 3) to the extent practicable, an 
identification of the arguments to be raised at the hearing. If a 
hearing is held, an interested party may make an affirmative 
presentation only on arguments included in that party's case brief and 
may make a rebuttal presentation only on arguments included in that 
party's rebuttal brief. Parties should confirm by telephone the time, 
date, and place of the hearing within 48 hours before the scheduled 
time. The Department will issue the final results of this review, which 
will include the results of its analysis of issues raised in the 
briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during these review periods. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the

[[Page 36663]]

Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties 
occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 27, 2007.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13009 Filed 7-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S