[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 114 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33396-33399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13267]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-817]


Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From Thailand: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial 
Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) has conducted an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot-
rolled carbon steel flat products from Thailand produced and/or 
exported by G Steel Public Company Limited (G Steel). The period of 
review (POR) is November 1, 2005 through October 31, 2006. Based on our 
analysis of comments received, we have made certain adjustments and 
clerical error corrections for these final results which change the 
margin. This administrative review also covers Nakornthai Strip Mill 
Public Co., Ltd. (NSM), an exporter that did not have any U.S. sales or 
shipments during the POR, and for which the Department is rescinding 
this review. The final results are listed below in the ``Final Results 
of Review'' section.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 12, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dena Crossland or Stephen Bailey,

[[Page 33397]]

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3362 and (202) 482-0193, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 7, 2007, the Department published the preliminary 
results and partial rescission of its administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 
(hot-rolled steel) from Thailand. See Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel 
Flat Products From Thailand: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and Partial Rescission, 72 FR 69187 (December 7, 
2007) (Preliminary Results).
    We invited parties to comment on our Preliminary Results. We 
received case briefs from respondent G Steel and a domestic interested 
party, Nucor Corporation (Nucor), on January 7, 2008. Additionally, on 
January 7, 2008, NSM submitted a letter to the Department, in which it 
stated that it supported the Department's preliminary determination to 
rescind the review with respect to NSM because it did not have any 
entries, exports, or sales of subject merchandise to the United States 
during the POR. We received rebuttal briefs from G Steel, Nucor, and 
United States Steel Corporation (petitioner) on January 11, 2008. Since 
no party requested a hearing, no public hearing was held.

Final Partial Rescission

    In our Preliminary Results, we preliminarily rescinded the review 
with respect to NSM because it had no entries of hot-rolled steel from 
Thailand during the POR. See Preliminary Results. We have received no 
new information contradicting this decision. Therefore, we are 
rescinding the administrative review with respect to NSM.

Scope of the Antidumping Duty Order

    The products covered by this antidumping duty order are certain 
hot-rolled carbon steel flat products of a rectangular shape, of a 
width of 0.5 inch or greater, neither clad, plated, nor coated with 
metal and whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or 
other non-metallic substances, in coils (whether or not in successively 
superimposed layers), regardless of thickness, and in straight lengths, 
of a thickness of less than 4.75 mm and of a width measuring at least 
10 times the thickness. Universal mill plate (i.e., flat-rolled 
products rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width 
exceeding 150 mm, but not exceeding 1250 mm, and of a thickness of not 
less than 4.0 mm, not in coils and without patterns in relief) of a 
thickness not less than 4.0 mm is not included within the scope of this 
order.
    Specifically included within the scope of this order are vacuum 
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free 
(IF)) steels, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, and the substrate 
for motor lamination steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon 
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium or 
niobium (also commonly referred to as columbium), or both, added to 
stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as 
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium, copper, 
niobium, vanadium, and molybdenum. The substrate for motor lamination 
steels contains micro-alloying levels of elements such as silicon and 
aluminum.
    Steel products to be included in the scope of this order, 
regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS), are products in which: (i) Iron predominates, by 
weight, over each of the other contained elements; (ii) the carbon 
content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (iii) none of the elements 
listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:

1.80 percent of manganese, or
2.25 percent of silicon, or
1.00 percent of copper, or
0.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
1.25 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten, or
0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium, or
0.15 percent of vanadium, or
0.15 percent of zirconium.

    All products that meet the physical and chemical description 
provided above are within the scope of this order unless otherwise 
excluded. The following products, by way of example, are outside or 
specifically excluded from the scope of this order:
     Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of 
the chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., 
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications A543, 
A387, A514, A517, A506).
     Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American Iron & 
Steel Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
     Ball bearing steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Tool steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTSUS) or silicon 
electrical steel with a silicon level exceeding 2.25 percent.
     ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
     USS abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
     All products (proprietary or otherwise) based on an alloy 
ASTM specification (sample specifications: ASTM A506, A507).
     Non-rectangular shapes, not in coils, which are the result 
of having been processed by cutting or stamping and which have assumed 
the character of articles or products classified outside chapter 72 of 
the HTSUS.
    The merchandise subject to this order is classified in the HTSUS at 
subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60, 
7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60, 
7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30, 
7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90, 
7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00, 
7208.90.00.00, 7211.14.00.90, 7211.19.15.00, 7211.19.20.00, 
7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 7211.19.60.00, 7211.19.75.30, 
7211.19.75.60, and 7211.19.75.90. Certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat 
products covered by this order, including: vacuum degassed fully 
stabilized; high strength low alloy; and the substrate for motor 
lamination steel may also enter under the following tariff numbers: 
7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00, 7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 
7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90, 7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 
7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00, 7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 
7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and 7226.99.00.00. Subject merchandise 
may also enter under 7210.70.30.00, 7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 
7212.40.10.00, 7212.40.50.00, and 7212.50.00.00. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and CBP purposes, the written 
description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    The Department received case and rebuttal briefs from Nucor and G 
Steel. Additionally, the Department received a rebuttal brief from 
petitioner. All case and rebuttal briefs for the final results

[[Page 33398]]

are addressed in the ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial 
Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Hot-
Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Thailand'' from Stephen J. 
Claeys, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, to David M. 
Spooner, Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, dated June 4, 2008 
(Decision Memo), which is hereby adopted by this notice. Additionally, 
certain issues that contain proprietary information and arguments are 
addressed in the memorandum ``Analysis Memorandum for the Final Results 
of Administrative Review of Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat 
Products from Thailand: G Steel Public Company Limited'' from Dena 
Crossland, Analyst, to The File, through Angelica L. Mendoza, Program 
Manager, AD/CVD Operations, Office 7, dated June 4, 2008 (Final 
Analysis Memo), which is also hereby adopted by this notice.
    Attached to this notice as an appendix is a list of the issues that 
Nucor and G Steel have raised and to which we have responded in the 
Decision Memo. Parties can find a complete discussion of all issues 
raised in this review and the corresponding recommendations in the 
Decision Memo, which is on file in the Department's Central Records 
Unit, located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 1117. 
In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memo can be accessed 
directly on the Import Administration Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/ under the heading Federal Register Notices. The paper 
copy and electronic version of the Decision Memo are identical in 
content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    Based on our analysis of comments received, we made the following 
changes from the Preliminary Results:
    (1) We revised our adverse facts available methodology by relying 
on G Steel's sales to unaffiliated customers and the sales from G 
Steel's resellers to end-users in the margin calculation, and excluding 
G Steel's sales to its affiliated resellers from the margin 
calculation. Therefore, we have not utilized the arm's-length test;
    (2) We revised our adverse facts available methodology for purposes 
of the cost test by comparing the home market sales to unaffiliated 
customers to the CONNUM with the highest cost;
    (3) We used home market net quantity, rather than home market gross 
quantity, in our analysis;
    (4) We made adjustments for quantity and indirect selling expenses 
in G Steel's reseller databases; and
    (5) We disregarded from our analysis G Steel's purchases of hot-
rolled steel products from a certain supplier.

Final Results of Review

    We determine that the following dumping margin exists for the 
period November 1, 2005, through October 31, 2006:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                    Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
G Steel Public Company Limited..............................        6.40
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    The Department will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries, pursuant to section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.212(b). The Department calculated 
importer-specific duty assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of 
the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for the examined 
sales to the total entered value of the examined sales for that 
importer.
    The Department clarified its ``automatic assessment'' regulation on 
May 6, 2003 (68 FR 23954). This clarification will apply to entries of 
subject merchandise during the period of review produced by companies 
included in these final results of review for which the reviewed 
companies did not know their merchandise 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 intermediate 
company(ies) involved in the transaction. For a full discussion of this 
clarification, see Notice of Policy Concerning Assessment of 
Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003). Antidumping duties for 
the rescinded company NSM, shall be assessed at rates equal to the cash 
deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, 
or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). The Department intends to issue assessment 
instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of publication of these 
final results of review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of this notice of final results of administrative review 
for all shipments of hot-rolled steel from Thailand entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication, as provided by section 751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash 
deposit rates for the reviewed companies will be the rates indicated 
above; (2) for previously investigated companies not listed above, the 
cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 
covered in this review, or in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) 
investigation, but the manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will 
be the rate established for the most recent period for the manufacturer 
of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other 
manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 3.86 percent, the all-
others rate established in the LTFV investigation (66 FR 49622; 
September 28, 2001). These deposit requirements shall remain in effect 
until further notice.

Notification of Interested Parties

    This notice also serves as a final 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 this review period. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of doubled antidumping duties.
    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305, which continues 
to govern business proprietary information in this segment of the 
proceeding. Timely written notification of the return/destruction of 
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a violation, which is subject to sanction.
    We are issuing and publishing these final results and notice in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 4, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

List of Comments and Issues in the Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Use of Adverse Facts Available.
Comment 2: Affiliation.

[[Page 33399]]

Comment 3: Reseller Databases.
Comment 4: Clerical Errors.
Comment 5: Liquidation Instructions.

[FR Doc. E8-13267 Filed 6-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P