[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 231 (Monday, December 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72834-72836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28409]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-432 and 731-TA-1024-1028 (Review) and 
AA1921-188 (Third Review)]


Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From Brazil, India, Japan, 
Korea, Mexico, and Thailand

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of five-year reviews concerning the countervailing 
duty order on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from India and 
antidumping duty orders on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from 
Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted 
reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the 
countervailing duty order on prestressed concrete steel wire strand 
from India and the antidumping duty orders on prestressed concrete 
steel wire strand from Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and 
Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury. Pursuant to section 751(c)(2) of the Act, interested 
parties are requested to respond to this notice by submitting the 
information specified below to the Commission;\1\ to be assured of 
consideration, the deadline for responses is January 20, 2009. Comments 
on the adequacy of responses may be filed with the Commission by 
February 13, 2009. For further information concerning the conduct of 
these reviews and rules of general application, consult the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A 
through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 
CFR part 207).
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    \1\ No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 09-5-192, 
expiration date June 30, 2011. Public reporting burden for the 
request is estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send 
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436.

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DATES: Effective Date: December 1, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information 
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-
1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special 
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the 
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning 
the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its Internet server 
(http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for these reviews may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background.--On December 8, 1978, the Department of the Treasury 
issued an antidumping finding on imports of prestressed concrete steel 
wire strand from Japan (43 FR 57599). Following five-year reviews by 
Commerce and the Commission, effective February 3, 1999, Commerce 
issued a continuation of the antidumping duty order on imports of 
prestressed concrete steel wire strand from Japan (64 FR 40554, July 
27, 1999). Following second five-year reviews by Commerce and the 
Commission, effective June 25, 2004, Commerce issued a continuation of 
the antidumping duty order on imports of prestressed concrete steel 
wire strand from Japan (69 FR 35584). On January 28, 2004, the 
Department of Commerce issued antidumping duty orders on imports of 
prestressed concrete steel wire strand from Brazil, India, Korea, 
Mexico, and Thailand (69 FR 4109-4113). On February 4, 2004, the 
Department of Commerce issued a countervailing duty order on imports of 
prestressed concrete steel wire strand from India (69 FR 5319). The 
Commission is now conducting a third review of the antidumping duty 
order concerning Japan and a first review of the orders concerning 
Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand to determine whether 
revocation of the orders would be likely to lead to continuation or 
recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a 
reasonably foreseeable time. It will assess the adequacy of interested 
party responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to 
conduct full reviews or expedited reviews. The Commission's 
determinations in any expedited reviews will be based on the facts 
available, which may include information provided in response to this 
notice.
    Definitions.--The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Brazil, India, 
Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its 
expedited first and second five-year reviews of the antidumping duty 
order concerning Japan, the Commission found that the appropriate 
definition of the Domestic Like Product was the same as Commerce's 
scope: all steel wire strand, other than alloy steel, not galvanized, 
which has been stress-relieved and is suitable for use in prestressed 
concrete. The Commission did not make a like product determination per 
se in its original determination concerning Japan. In its original 
determinations concerning Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand, 
the Commission found the Domestic Like Product to be all prestressed 
concrete steel wire strand co-extensive with Commerce's scope, that is, 
steel strand produced from wire of non-stainless, non-galvanized steel 
that is suitable for use in prestressed concrete (both pre-tensioned 
and post-tensioned) applications and that encompasses covered and 
uncovered strand and all types, grades, and diameters of prestressed 
concrete steel wire strand.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. In its original determination and 
its expedited first and second reviews of the antidumping duty order 
concerning Japan, the Commission

[[Page 72835]]

defined the Domestic Industry as all producers of prestressed concrete 
steel wire strand. Likewise, in its original determinations concerning 
Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand, the Commission found the 
Domestic Industry to be all producers of prestressed concrete steel 
wire strand. The Commission also determined that plastic coating did 
not constitute sufficient production-related activity to qualify 
coaters as members of the domestic industry producing prestressed 
concrete steel wire strand.
    (5) The Order Date is the date that the antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders under review became effective. In the review 
concerning the antidumping duty order on prestressed concrete steel 
wire strand from Japan, the Order Date is December 8, 1978. In the 
reviews concerning the antidumping duty orders on prestressed concrete 
steel wire strand from Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, and Thailand, the 
Order Date is January 28, 2004. In the review concerning the 
countervailing duty order on prestressed concrete steel wire strand 
from India, the Order Date is February 4, 2004.
    (6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.
    Participation in the reviews and public service list.--Persons, 
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the 
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the reviews as parties must 
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as 
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later 
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names 
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties 
to the reviews.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if 
they participated personally and substantially in the corresponding 
underlying original investigation. The Commission's designated agency 
ethics official recently has advised that a five-year review is no 
longer considered the ``same particular matter'' as the corresponding 
underlying original investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the 
post employment statute for Federal employees, and Commission rule 
201.15(b) (19 CFR 201.15(b)), 73 FR 24609 (May 5, 2008). This advice 
was developed in consultation with the Office of Government Ethics. 
Consequently, former employees are no longer required to seek 
Commission approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR 
201.15, even if the corresponding underlying original investigation was 
pending when they were Commission employees. For further ethics advice 
on this matter, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy Agency Ethics 
Official, at 202-205-3088.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list.--
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary 
will make BPI submitted in these reviews available to authorized 
applicants under the APO issued in the reviews, provided that the 
application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent 
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to 
the reviews. A separate service list will be maintained by the 
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Certification.--Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules, any person submitting information to the Commission in 
connection with these reviews must certify that the information is 
accurate and complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In 
making the certification, the submitter will be deemed to consent, 
unless otherwise specified, for the Commission, its employees, and 
contract personnel to use the information provided in any other reviews 
or investigations of the same or comparable products which the 
Commission conducts under Title VII of the Act, or in internal audits 
and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the 
Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3.
    Written submissions.--Pursuant to section 207.61 of the 
Commission's rules, each interested party response to this notice must 
provide the information specified below. The deadline for filing such 
responses is January 20, 2009. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the 
Commission's rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 
207.62(b)(1)) may also file comments concerning the adequacy of 
responses to the notice of institution and whether the Commission 
should conduct expedited or full reviews. The deadline for filing such 
comments is February 13, 2009. All written submissions must conform 
with the provisions of sections 201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules and any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the 
requirements of sections 201.6 and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The 
Commission's rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the 
Secretary by facsimile or electronic means, except to the extent 
permitted by section 201.8 of the Commission's rules, as amended, 67 FR 
68036 (November 8, 2002). Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) 
and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to 
the reviews must be served on all other parties to the reviews (as 
identified by either the public or APO service list as appropriate), 
and a certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are 
not a party to the reviews you do not need to serve your response).
    Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to section 
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot 
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form 
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time, 
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested 
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide 
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this 
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the 
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to 
this notice, the Commission may take an adverse inference against the 
party pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act in making its 
determinations in the reviews.
    Information to be Provided in Response to This Notice of 
Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or 
trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more 
than one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than 
one Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so, 
please ensure that your response to each question includes the 
information requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used 
below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address if available) and name, telephone number, fax number, 
and e-mail address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S. 
producer of the Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a 
U.S. importer of the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or 
exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or 
business

[[Page 72836]]

association, or another interested party (including an explanation). If 
you are a union/worker group or trade/business association, identify 
the firms in which your workers are employed or which are members of 
your association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in these reviews by providing information requested by the 
Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on the Domestic Industry in 
general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In your response, please 
discuss the various factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 
U.S.C. 1675a(a)) including the likely volume of subject imports, likely 
price effects of subject imports, and likely impact of imports of 
Subject Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of 
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the 
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in 
each Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries after 2002.
    (7) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, 
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that 
product during calendar year 2007 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you are a union/worker 
group or trade/business association, provide the information, on an 
aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are employed/which 
are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) The quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); and
    (c) The quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s).
    (8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject 
Country(ies), provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during calendar year 2007 (report quantity 
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/
business association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, 
for the firms which are members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including 
antidumping or countervailing duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an 
estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise 
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') imports;
    (b) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject 
Merchandise imported from each Subject Country; and
    (c) The quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from each Subject Country.
    (9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country(ies), provide the following information on your 
firm's(s') operations on that product during calendar year 2007 (report 
quantity data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and 
duty-paid at the U.S. port but not including antidumping or 
countervailing duties). If you are a trade/business association, 
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are 
members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
    (b) The quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
    (10) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in each Subject Country after 2002, and significant 
changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include technology; 
production methods; development efforts; ability to increase production 
(including the shift of production facilities used for other products 
and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs into production); 
and factors related to the ability to shift supply among different 
national markets (including barriers to importation in foreign markets 
or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions to consider 
include end uses and applications; the existence and availability of 
substitute products; and the level of competition among the Domestic 
Like Product produced in the United States, Subject Merchandise 
produced in each Subject Country, and such merchandise from other 
countries.
    (11) (Optional) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: These reviews are being conducted under authority of 
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: November 25, 2008.
William R. Bishop,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
 [FR Doc. E8-28409 Filed 11-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P