[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66839-66841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26954]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-830]


Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from Ternium Mexico, S.A. de C.V. 
(Ternium), a producer of steel wire rod, and Hylsa S.A. de C.V. 
(Hylsa), a service company that provides services to Ternium on a 
contract basis, and pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3), the 
Department is initiating a changed circumstances review of the 
antidumping order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from 
Mexico. This review will determine whether Ternium is the successor-in-
interest to Hylsa.

DATES: Effective Date: November 12, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolanta Lawska, Office of AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 3, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-8362.

Background

    On October 29, 2002, the Department published in the Federal 
Register the antidumping duty order on wire rod from Mexico; see Notice 
of Antidumping Duty Orders: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod 
From Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago, and 
Ukraine, 67 FR 65945 (October 29, 2002) (Wire Rod Order). On September 
3, 2008, Ternium filed a request for a changed circumstances review of 
the Wire Rod Order, claiming that Hylsa, the respondent in the original 
investigation, has changed its name to Ternium. Ternium has requested 
that the Department determine whether it is the successor-in-interest 
to Hylsa, in accordance with section 751(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.216. In addition, Ternium submitted documentation in support of its 
claim. In response to Ternium's request, the Department is initiating a 
changed circumstances review of this order.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to this order is certain hot-rolled 
products of carbon steel and alloy steel, in coils, of approximately 
round cross section, 5.00 mm or more, but less than 19.00 mm, in solid 
cross-sectional diameter.
    Specifically excluded are steel products possessing the above-noted 
physical characteristics and meeting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (``HTSUS'') definitions for (a) stainless steel; (b) 
tool steel; (c) high nickel steel; (d) ball bearing steel; (e) concrete 
reinforcing bars and rods; and (f) free machining steel products (i.e., 
products that contain by weight one or more of the following elements: 
0.03 percent or more of lead, 0.05 percent or more of bismuth, 0.08 
percent or more of sulfur, more than 0.04 percent of phosphorus, more 
than 0.05 percent of selenium, or more than 0.01 percent of tellurium).
    Also excluded from the scope are 1080 grade tire cord quality wire 
rod and 1080 grade tire bead quality wire rod. This grade 1080 tire 
cord quality rod is defined as: (i) Grade 1080 tire cord quality wire 
rod measuring 5.0 mm or more but not more than 6.0 mm in cross-
sectional diameter; (ii) with an average partial decarburization of no 
more than 70 microns in depth (maximum individual 200 microns); (iii) 
having no non-deformable inclusions greater than 20 microns and no 
deformable inclusions greater than 35 microns; (iv) having a carbon 
segregation per heat average of 3.0 or better using European Method NFA 
04-114; (v) having a surface quality with no surface defects of a 
length greater than 0.15 mm; (vi) capable of being drawn to a diameter 
of 0.30 mm or less with 3 or fewer breaks per ton; and (vii) containing 
by weight the following elements in the proportions shown: (1) 0.78 
percent or more of carbon, (2) less than 0.01 percent of aluminum, (3) 
0.040 percent or less, in the aggregate, of phosphorus and sulfur, (4) 
0.006 percent or less of nitrogen, and (5) not more than 0.15 percent, 
in the aggregate, of copper, nickel and chromium.
    This grade 1080 tire bead quality rod is defined as: (i) Grade 1080 
tire bead quality wire rod measuring 5.5 mm or more but not more than 
7.0 mm in cross-sectional diameter; (ii) with an average partial 
decarburization of no more than 70 microns in depth (maximum individual 
200 microns); (iii) having no non-deformable inclusions greater than 20 
microns and no deformable inclusions greater than 35 microns; (iv) 
having a carbon segregation per heat average of 3.0 or better using 
European Method NFA 04-114; (v) having a surface quality with no 
surface defects of a length greater than 0.2 mm; (vi) capable of being 
drawn to a diameter of 0.78 mm or larger with 0.5 or fewer breaks per 
ton; and (vii) containing by weight the following elements in the 
proportions shown: (1)

[[Page 66840]]

0.78 percent or more of carbon, (2) less than 0.01 percent of soluble 
aluminum, (3) 0.040 percent or less, in the aggregate, of phosphorus 
and sulfur, (4) 0.008 percent or less of nitrogen, and (5) either not 
more than 0.15 percent, in the aggregate, of copper, nickel and 
chromium (if chromium is not specified), or not more than 0.10 percent 
in the aggregate of copper and nickel and a chromium content of 0.24 to 
0.30 percent (if chromium is specified).
    For purposes of the grade 1080 tire cord quality wire rod and the 
grade 1080 tire bead quality wire rod, an inclusion will be considered 
to be deformable if its ratio of length (measured along the axis--that 
is, the direction of rolling--of the rod) over thickness (measured on 
the same inclusion in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the rod) 
is equal to or greater than three. The size of an inclusion for 
purposes of the 20 microns and 35 microns limitations is the 
measurement of the largest dimension observed on a longitudinal section 
measured in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the rod. This 
measurement methodology applies only to inclusions on certain grade 
1080 tire cord quality wire rod and certain grade 1080 tire bead 
quality wire rod that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after July 24, 2003.
    The designation of the products as ``tire cord quality'' or ``tire 
bead quality'' indicates the acceptability of the product for use in 
the production of tire cord, tire bead, or wire for use in other rubber 
reinforcement applications such as hose wire. These quality 
designations are presumed to indicate that these products are being 
used in tire cord, tire bead, and other rubber reinforcement 
applications, and such merchandise intended for the tire cord, tire 
bead, or other rubber reinforcement applications is not included in the 
scope. However, should the petitioners or other interested parties 
provide a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that there exists a 
pattern of importation of such products for other than those 
applications, end-use certification for the importation of such 
products may be required. Under such circumstances, only the importers 
of record would normally be required to certify the end use of the 
imported merchandise.
    All products meeting the physical description of subject 
merchandise that are not specifically excluded are included in this 
scope.
    The products subject to this order are currently classifiable under 
subheadings 7213.91.3011, 7213.91.3015, 7213.91.3092, 7213.91.4500, 
7213.91.6000, 7213.99.0030, 7213.99.0090, 7227.20.0000, 7227.90.6010, 
and 7227.90.6080 of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description 
of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.\1\
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    \1\ Effective January 1, 2006, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) reclassified certain HTSUS numbers related to the 
subject merchandise. See http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/tariff_chapters_current/toc.html.
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Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed circumstances review upon receipt of a request from 
an interested party or receipt of information concerning an antidumping 
duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a 
review of the order. On September 3, 2008, Ternium submitted its 
request for a changed circumstances review. With its request, Ternium 
submitted certain information related to its claim that Hylsa changed 
its name to Ternium, including information describing the acquisition 
of Hylsa by Ternium Luxembourg and changes in Hylsa's operating and 
corporate structure immediately following that acquisition. Based on 
the information Ternium submitted, the Department has determined that 
changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a review exist. See 19 CFR 
351.216(d). In antidumping duty changed circumstances reviews involving 
a successor-in-interest determination, the Department typically 
examines several factors including, but not limited to: (1) Management; 
(2) production facilities; (3) supplier relationships, and (4) customer 
base. See Brass Sheet and Strip From Canada: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 57 FR 20460, 20462 (May 13, 
1992) and Certain Cut-To-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Romania: 
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 70 FR 22847 (May 3, 2005) (Plate from 
Romania), unchanged in the Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate 
From Romania, 70 FR 35624 (June 21, 2005). While no single factor or 
combination of factors will necessarily be dispositive, the Department 
generally will consider the new company to be the successor to the 
predecessor company if the resulting operations are essentially the 
same as those of the predecessor company. See, e.g., Industrial 
Phosphoric Acid From Israel: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed 
Circumstances Review, 59 FR 6944, 6945 (February 14, 1994), and Plate 
From Romania, 70 FR 22847. Thus, if the record evidence demonstrates 
that, with respect to the production and sale of the subject 
merchandise, the new company operates as the same business entity as 
the predecessor company, the Department may assign the new company the 
cash deposit rate of its predecessor. See, e.g., Fresh and Chilled 
Atlantic Salmon From Norway: Final Results of Changed Circumstances 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 64 FR 9979, 9980 (March 1, 
1999). Although Ternium submitted documentation related to its name 
change and some limited information regarding the four factors that the 
Department considers in its successor-in-interest analysis, it did not 
provide complete supporting documentation for the four elements listed 
above. Accordingly, the Department has determined that it would be 
inappropriate to expedite this action by combining the preliminary 
results of review with this notice of initiation, as permitted on 19 
CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii). Therefore, the Department is not issuing the 
preliminary results of its antidumping duty changed circumstances 
review at this time.
    The Department will issue questionnaires requesting additional 
information for the review and will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of the preliminary results of the antidumping duty changed 
circumstances review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(2) and (4), 
and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(i). This notice will set forth the factual and 
legal conclusions upon which our preliminary results are based and a 
description of any action proposed. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties will have an opportunity to 
comment on the preliminary results of review. In accordance with 19 CFR 
351.216(e), the Department will issue the final results of its 
antidumping duty changed circumstances review not later than 270 days 
after the date on which the review is initiated.
    During the course of this antidumping duty changed circumstances 
review, deposit requirements for the subject merchandise exported and 
manufactured by Ternium will continue to be the rate established in the 
final results of the last administrative review for all other 
manufacturers and exporters not previously reviewed. See Carbon and 
Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico: Notice of Final

[[Page 66841]]

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 73 FR 13532 (March 
13, 2008). The cash deposit will be altered, if warranted, pursuant 
only to the final results of this review.
    This notice of initiation is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) 
of the Act, 19 CFR 351.216(b) and (d), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(1).

    Dated: November 6, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-26954 Filed 11-7-08; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P