[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 196 (Thursday, October 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57911-57913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20065]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-412-822]
Stainless Steel Bar From the United Kingdom: Notice of Initiation
and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent To
Revoke Order in Part
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Effective Dates: October 11, 2007.
SUMMARY: Swagelok Company (Swagelok), an interested party, filed a
request for the Department to initiate a changed circumstances review
of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from the United
Kingdom. Carpenter Technology Corp., Crucible Specialty Metals Division
of Crucible Materials Corp., Electralloy Corp., North American
Stainless, Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc., and Valbruna
Slater Stainless, Inc. (collectively the Domestic Industry) submitted a
letter to the Department expressing a lack of interest in continuing to
have the product in question subject to the antidumping duty order. The
Domestic Industry also stated that it is a major domestic producer of
stainless steel bar. Therefore, we are notifying the public of our
intent to revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order as it relates to
imports of SAF 2507 grade stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom.
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Johnson or Rebecca Trainor, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 2, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
[[Page 57912]]
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4929 or (202) 482-4007, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 7, 2002, the Department published in the Federal Register
an antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from the United
Kingdom. See Antidumping Duty Order: Stainless Steel Bar from the
United Kingdom, 67 FR 10381 (March 7, 2002). On August 27, 2007,
Swagelok, an interested party, requested that the Department initiate a
changed circumstances review to exclude a certain stainless steel bar
product (SAF 2507 grade bar) from the antidumping duty order on
stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom. On September 18, 2007, the
Domestic Industry submitted a letter affirming that the Domestic
Industry does not object to the exclusion of the product identified in
the August 27, 2007, request submitted by Swagelok for a changed
circumstances review with respect to the antidumping duty order on
stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom. On September 21, 2007, the
petitioners submitted a statement affirming that they account for
substantially all of the U.S. production of stainless steel bar,
exceeding 85 percent of total domestic production. On September 25,
2007, Sandvik Bioline, a U.K. producer of stainless steel bar, provided
a technical description of the stainless steel bar product Swagelok has
requested to be excluded from the scope of the antidumping duty
order.\1\
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\1\ Sandvik Bioline is the producer of the product which is the
subject of Swagelok's changed circumstances review request.
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Scope of the Order
For purposes of this order, the term ``stainless steel bar''
includes articles of stainless steel in straight lengths that have been
either hot-rolled, forged, turned, cold-drawn, cold-rolled or otherwise
cold-finished, or ground, having a uniform solid cross section along
their whole length in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals,
rectangles (including squares), triangles, hexagons, octagons, or other
convex polygons. Stainless steel bar includes cold-finished stainless
steel bars that are turned or ground in straight lengths, whether
produced from hot-rolled bar or from straightened and cut rod or wire,
and reinforcing bars that have indentations, ribs, grooves, or other
deformations produced during the rolling process.
Except as specified above, the term does not include stainless
steel semi-finished products, cut length flat-rolled products (i.e.,
cut length rolled products which if less than 4.75 mm in thickness have
a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness, or if 4.75 mm or
more in thickness having a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at
least twice the thickness), products that have been cut from stainless
steel sheet, strip or plate, wire (i.e., cold-formed products in coils,
of any uniform solid cross section along their whole length, which do
not conform to the definition of flat-rolled products), and angles,
shapes and sections. The stainless steel bar subject to this order is
currently classifiable under subheadings 7222.11.00.05, 7222.11.00.50,
7222.19.00.05, 7222.19.00.50, 7222.20.00.05, 7222.20.00.45,
7222.20.00.75, and 7222.30.00.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided
for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the
scope of this order is dispositive.
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and
Intent To Revoke Order in Part
At the request of Swagelok, and in accordance with sections
751(d)(1) and 751(b)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.216, the Department
is initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty
order on stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom to determine
whether partial revocation of this order is warranted with respect to
SAF 2507 grade stainless steel bar. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i) provide that the Department may revoke an order
(in whole or in part) if it determines that producers accounting for
substantially all of the production of the domestic like product have
no further interest in the order, in whole or in part. In addition, in
the event that the Department determines that expedited action is
warranted, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits the Department to combine
the notices of initiation and preliminary results.
In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.222(g)(1)(i) and 351.221(c)(3), we are initiating this changed
circumstances review and have determined that expedited action is
warranted. We find that the petitioners' affirmative statement of no
interest constitutes good cause for the conduct of this review.
Additionally, our decision to expedite this review stems from the
Domestic Industry's lack of interest in applying the antidumping duty
order to the specific stainless steel bar product (i.e., SAF 2507 grade
bar) covered by this request.
Based on the expression of no interest by the petitioners and
absent any objection by any other domestic interested parties, we have
preliminarily determined that substantially all of the domestic
producers of the like product have no interest in the continued
application of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar to SAF
2507 grade bar. Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to
revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order as it relates to imports of
SAF 2507 grade stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom.
We intend to change the scope of the order with respect to excluded
products to read as follows:
Except as specified above, the scope does not include stainless
steel semi-finished products, cut length flat-rolled products (i.e.,
cut length rolled products which if less than 4.75 mm in thickness
have a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness, or if 4.75
mm or more in thickness having a width which exceeds 150 mm and
measures at least twice the thickness), products that have been cut
from stainless steel sheet, strip or plate, wire (i.e., cold-formed
products in coils, of any uniform solid cross section along their
whole length, which do not conform to the definition of flat-rolled
products), and angles, shapes and sections.
Also excluded from the scope of the order is grade SAF 2507
stainless steel bar. SAF 2507 is cold worked and finished Super
Duplex stainless steel bar material in round and hexagonal form,
conforming to UNS S32750, having elevated ultimate tensile strength
in excess of 140Ksi minimum and a PRE (pitting resistant equivalent)
value of 42.5 minimum, supplied in straight bar lengths. SAF 2507
grade stainless steel bar is currently classified under HTSUS
subheadings 7222.20.00.45 and 7222.20.00.75.
Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary
results. Written comments may be submitted no later than 14 days after
the date of publication of these preliminary results. Rebuttals to
written comments, limited to issues raised in such comments, may be
filed no later than 21 days after the date of publication. The
Department will issue the final results of this changed circumstances
review, which will include the results of its analysis raised in any
such written comments, no later than 270 days after the date on which
this review was initiated, or within 45 days if all parties agree to
our preliminary results. See 19 CFR 351.216(e).
If final revocation occurs, we will instruct U.S. Customs and
Border Protection to end the suspension of
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liquidation for the merchandise covered by the revocation on the
effective date of the notice of revocation and to release any cash
deposit or bond. See 19 CFR 351.222(g)(4). The current requirement for
a cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties on all subject
merchandise will continue unless and until it is modified pursuant to
the final results of this changed circumstances review.
This initiation and preliminary results of review are in accordance
with section 751(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216, 351.221, and
351.222.
October 4, 2007.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-20065 Filed 10-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P