[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31578-31580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12980]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-833]


Stainless Steel Bar From Japan: Initiation and Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Changed-Circumstances Review, and Intent To 
Revoke Order in Part

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On February 14, 2012, in accordance with section 751(b) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and section 351.216(b) of the 
Department of Commerce's (the Department) regulations, Suruga USA Corp. 
(Suruga), a U.S. importer of subject merchandise, filed a request for a 
changed-circumstances review of four types of stainless steel bar 
(SSBar) \1\ that are subject to the antidumping duty order on SSBar 
from Japan (the Order).
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    \1\ SSFJ & SSFJ-DKC, PSSFJ, PSSFG, U-SSFJ.
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    On May 7, 2012, Suruga submitted revised product descriptions of 
SSBar that it seeks to exclude from the Order. The revised submission 
covers three products--one under Grade 304 and two under Grade 440C.\2\ 
On May 11, 2012, we received a submission from the petitioners \3\ 
expressing a lack of interest in the products identified in Suruga's 
May 7, 2012 request and certifications that they account for virtually 
all of the domestic production of the particular SSBar.\4\
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    \2\ See Suruga's Letter to the Department, dated May 7, 2012 at 
Attachment A.
    \3\ The petitioners are Carpenter Technology Corporation, 
Crucible Industries LLC, Electralloy, a G.O. Carlson Inc. Co., North 
American Stainless, Outokumpu Stainless Bar, Inc., Universal 
Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc., and Valbruna Slater Stainless, 
Inc.
    \4\ Petitioner's Letter to the Department, dated May 11, 2012, 
at 1. The petitioners used the term ``virtually all'' in their May 
11, 2012, letter. For this initiation and preliminary results of 
review, we are interpreting the phrase, ``virtually all,'' as 
fulfilling the ``substantially all'' threshold provided under 
section 351.222(g)(1)(i) of our regulations.
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    Therefore, in response to Suruga's request and based on the record 
evidence, we are notifying the public of our preliminary intent to 
revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order on SSBar from Japan with 
respect to the products described below and are inviting interested 
parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Effective Date: May 29, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerrold Freeman or Minoo Hatten, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 1, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0180 or (202) 
482-1690, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department published the antidumping duty order on SSBar on 
February 21, 1995.\5\ On February 14, 2012, Suruga requested that the 
Department conduct a changed-circumstances review of the Order and 
exclude four particular types of stainless SSBar from the scope of the 
Order.\6\ Because of certain concerns, the Department asked Suruga to 
submit revised product descriptions.
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    \5\ See Notices of Antidumping Duty Orders: Stainless Steel Bar 
from Brazil, India, and Japan, 60 FR 9661 (Feb. 21, 1995).
    \6\ See generally Suruga's Letter to the Department, dated 
February 14, 2012.
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    On May 7, 2012, Suruga submitted revised product descriptions which 
included one product under Grade 304 and two products under Grade 
440C.\7\ Suruga stated that, although the form of the descriptions was 
revised for ease of

[[Page 31579]]

understanding, the products described in its May 7, 2012 submission are 
identical to those in its February 14, 2012 submission.\8\ Suruga 
requests that the Department exclude imports meeting the following 
descriptions from the Order: \9\
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    \7\ See Suruga's Letter to the Department, dated May 7, 2012 at 
Attachment A.
    \8\ See id. at 1 and Attachment A.
    \9\ See id. at Attachment A.
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    (1) The Grade 304 product has the following characteristics: round 
cross-section, cold finished, chrome plated (plating thickness 10 
microns or greater), hardness of plating a minimum 750 HV on the 
Vickers Scale, maximum roundness deviation of 0.020 mm (based on 
circularity tolerance described in JIS B 0021 (1984)), in actual 
(measured) lengths from 2000 mm to 3005 mm, in nominal outside 
diameters ranging from 6 mm to 30 mm (diameter tolerance for any size 
from minus 0.010 mm to minus 0.053 mm). Tolerance can be defined as the 
specified permissible deviation from a specified nominal dimension; for 
example if the nominal outside diameter of the product entering is 6 
mm, then the actual measured sizes should fall within 5.947 mm to 5.990 
mm;
    (2) The first Grade 440C product has the following characteristics: 
round cross-section, cold finished, heat treated through induction 
hardening, minimum Rockwell hardness of 56 Hardness of 56 HRC, maximum 
roundness deviation of 0.007 mm (based on circularity tolerance 
described in JIS B 0021 (1984)), in actual (measured) lengths from 500 
mm to 3005 mm, in nominal outside diameters ranging from 3 mm to 38.10 
mm (diameter tolerance for any size from 0.00 mm to minus 0.150 mm). 
Tolerance can be defined as the specified permissible deviation from a 
specified nominal dimension; for example if the nominal outside 
diameter of the product entering is 3 mm, then the actual measured 
sizes should fall within 2.850 mm to 3.000 mm;
    (3) The second Grade 440C product has the following 
characteristics: round cross-section, cold finished, chrome plated 
(plating thickness 5 microns or greater), heat treated through 
induction hardening, minimum Rockwell Hardness of 56 HRC, maximum 
roundness deviation of 0.007 mm (based on circularity tolerance 
described in JIS B 0021 (1984)), in actual (measured) lengths from 2000 
mm to 3005 mm, in nominal outside diameters ranging from 6 mm to 30 mm 
(diameter tolerance for any size from minus 0.004 mm to minus 0.020 
mm). Tolerance can be defined as the specified permissible deviation 
from a specified nominal dimension; for example if the nominal outside 
diameter of the product entering is 6 mm, then the actual measured 
sizes should fall within 5.980 mm to 5.996 mm.
    Suruga stated that parties comprising the majority of the U.S. 
industry have agreed to the exclusion of the aforementioned products 
based on changed circumstances.\10\ Suruga also requested that the 
Department revoke the Order in part retroactively to February 1, 2010, 
the beginning of the 2010/2011 period of review for which we had 
deferred the initiation of a review based on a timely request by 
Suruga.\11\ On March 30, 2012, in accordance with section 751(a) of the 
Act and section 351.213(c)(3) of the Department's regulations, the 
Department initiated the previously-deferred 2010/2011 administrative 
review of the Order. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Administrative Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, and 
Deferral of Administrative Review, 77 FR 19179 (March 30, 2012).
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    \10\ See id. at 1.
    \11\ See Suruga's Letter to the Department, dated February 14, 
2012, at 2. Suruga filed a timely request for the administrative 
review of the Order covering the period February 1, 2010 through 
January 31, 2011. See Suruga's letter to the Secretary of Commerce, 
dated February 28, 2011. We granted Suruga's request in Initiation 
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Requests for Revocation 
In Part, and Deferral of Administrative Review, 76 FR 17825, 17826 
(March 31, 2011).
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    On February 14, 2012, the petitioners submitted a letter attesting 
to their lack of interest in having the merchandise, as described 
above, continue to be subject to the Order.\12\ On March 7, 2012, the 
petitioners submitted an amended letter affirming their support for the 
exclusion of the four types of SSBar from Japan, which included a 
signed certification from each company and a statement indicating that 
collectively the petitioners account for virtually all of the domestic 
production of SSBar.\13\ On May 11, 2012, the petitioners provided 
certified statements in support of the exclusion of the three above-
referenced products from the scope of the Order, again stating that 
they account for virtually all of the domestic production of the 
particular SSBar that Suruga seeks to exclude from the Order.\14\
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    \12\ See generally Petitioner's Letter to the Department, dated 
February 14, 2012.
    \13\ See generally Petitioner's Letter to the Department, dated 
March 7, 2012.
    \14\ See Petitioner's Letter to the Department, dated May 11, 
2012, at 1-2.
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Scope of the Order

    The scope of the order covers SSBar. The term SSBar with respect to 
the order means 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. SSBar includes cold-finished SSBars 
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), 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.
    In addition, the term does not include certain valve/stem stainless 
steel round bar of 21-2N modified grade, having a diameter of 5.7 
millimeters (with a tolerance of 0.025 millimeters), in length no 
greater than 15 meters, having a chemical composition consisting of a 
minimum of 0.50 percent and a maximum of 0.60 percent of carbon, a 
minimum of 7.50 percent and a maximum of 9.50 percent of manganese, a 
maximum of 0.25 percent of silicon, a maximum of 0.04 percent of 
phosphorus, a maximum of 0.03 percent of sulfur, a minimum of 20.0 
percent and a maximum of 22.00 percent of chromium, a minimum of 2.00 
percent and a maximum of 3.00 percent of nickel, a minimum of 0.20 
percent and a maximum of 0.40 percent of nitrogen, a minimum of 0.85 
percent of the combined content of carbon and nitrogen, and a balance 
minimum of iron, having a maximum core hardness of 385 HB and a maximum 
surface hardness of 425 HB, with a minimum hardness of 270 HB for 
annealed material.\15\
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    \15\ See Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed-Circumstances 
Review and Revocation of Order in Part: Stainless Steel Bar from 
Japan, 71 FR 70959, 70960 (December 7, 2006).
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    The SSBar subject to the order is currently classifiable under 
subheadings 7222.11.00, 7222.19.00, 7222.20.00, and 7222.30.00 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

[[Page 31580]]

(HTSUS).\16\ Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope 
of the order is dispositive.
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    \16\ The Department previously listed 7222.10.0005, 
7222.10.0050, 7222.20.0005, 7222.20.0045, 7222.20.0075, and 
7222.30.0000 in the scope of the Order. See id. at 7059. On February 
14, 2010, the above-referenced numbers were replaced with 
7222.10.10, 7222.11.00, 7222.19.00, 7222.20.00, and 7222.30.00. As a 
result of recent changes to the HTSUS, effective February 3, 2012, 
the subject merchandise is no longer classifiable under HTSUS 
7222.10.00. See Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, 
available at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/_1200.htm.
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Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed-
Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke the Order in Part

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed-circumstances review upon receipt of information 
concerning, or a request from an interested party for a review of, an 
antidumping duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to 
warrant a review of the order. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act and section 
351.222(g) of the Department's regulations 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 (i.e., at least 85 percent) \17\ have expressed 
no further interest in the relief of subject merchandise provided by 
the order or if other changed circumstances sufficient to warrant 
revocation exist. In addition, section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of the 
Department's regulations permits the Department to combine the notices 
of initiation and preliminarily results if it concludes that expedited 
action is warranted.
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    \17\ The Department has defined ``substantially all'' to mean 
accounting for over 85% of the total production of the domestic like 
product. See Certain Orange Juice from Brazil: Preliminary Results 
of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review and Intent Not to 
Revoke, In Part, 73 FR 60241, 60242 (Oct. 10, 2008); unchanged in 
Certain Orange Juice from Brazil: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review, 74 FR 4733 (Jan. 27, 2009).
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    In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act, section 351.216(b), 
and section 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations, the Department 
is initiating this changed-circumstances review and has determined 
that, pursuant to section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of the Department's 
regulations, expedited action is warranted. We find that the 
petitioners' affirmative statement of no interest, and their certified 
statement that they produced virtually all the domestic like product, 
provide a reasonable basis for the Department's determination to 
conduct an expedited review. Based on the petitioners' expression of no 
interest and claims of accounting for virtually all of the domestic 
production of the domestic like product, and absent any evidence to the 
contrary, we also preliminarily determine that substantially all of the 
domestic producers of the domestic like product have no interest in the 
continued application of the Order as to the types of SSBar in 
question. Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to 
revoke the Order in part. If we make a final determination to revoke 
the Order in part, this determination will apply to all unliquidated 
entries of the above-specified types of SSBar from Japan covered by the 
Order which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption 
on or after the date determined by the Department.\18\ Suspension of 
liquidation is considered removed upon publication of the final results 
in the Federal Register and the Department will instruct U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate without regard to antidumping 
duties and to refund with interest any estimated antidumping duties 
collected.\19\ The current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated 
antidumping duties on entries of the three types of SSBar described 
above and covered by the Order will continue unless, and until, we 
publish a final determination to revoke the Order in part.
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    \18\ See section 751(d)(3) of the Act.
    \19\ See section 778 of the Act; section 351.222(g)(4) of the 
Department's regulations.
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    Suruga requested that the Department revoke the Order in part 
retroactively to February 1, 2010, the beginning of the 2010 
anniversary month of the Order. In the instant case, we have not 
completed an administrative review on the Order for the period February 
1, 2010 through January 31, 2011. It is the Department's practice to 
revoke an order (in whole or in part) so that the effective date of 
revocation covers entries that have not been subject to a completed 
administrative review.\20\ Therefore, in accordance with the 
Department's practice, we preliminarily determine to instruct CBP to 
liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, shipments of these 
three types of SSBar from Japan described above, entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after February 1, 2010.
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    \20\ See Notice of the Final Results of Changed Circumstances 
Review and Revocation of the Antidumping Order: Coumarin from the 
People's Republic of China, 69 FR 24122 (May 3, 2004) and the 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 3; see also Large 
Newspaper Printing Presses and Components Thereof, Whether Assembled 
or Unassembled, from Germany: Notice of Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Review, Revocation of the Antidumping Duty Order, and 
Rescission of Administrative Reviews, 67 FR 19551, 19552 (April 22, 
2002).
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Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties may 
comment on these preliminary results by submitting case briefs to the 
Department no later than 15 days after the publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register. Parties will have seven days subsequent to 
this due date to submit rebuttal comments, limited to the issues raised 
in the case briefs. Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal comments 
in this proceeding are requested to submit with each argument (1) a 
statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument (no 
longer than five pages, including footnotes). Any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of the date of publication of this 
notice. Further, any hearing, if requested, will be held no later than 
25 days after the date of publication of this notice, or the first 
business day thereafter. All written comments and/or requests must be 
filed electronically using Import Administration's Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS). 
An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by the Department's electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 
p.m. Eastern Time of the deadlines set forth in this notice.
    We will issue our final results in this changed-circumstances 
review as soon as practicable following the above comment period but 
not later than 270 days after the date on which we initiated the 
changed-circumstances review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e), and 
we will publish the results in the Federal Register.
    This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 
777(i)(1) of the Act and sections 351.216, 351.221(b)(1), and 351.222 
of the Department's regulations.

    Dated: May 18, 2012.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-12980 Filed 5-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P