[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

[[Page 57913]]

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