[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 227 (Friday, November 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68876-68879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26194]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-824]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From 
Japan: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed 
Circumstances Review and Intent To Revoke, in Part

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

ACTION:  Notice of initiation and preliminary results of antidumping 
duty changed circumstances review and intent to revoke order, in part.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(b), SteelSummit 
International (SteelSummit), a U.S. importer of the subject merchandise 
and an interested party in this proceeding, filed a request for a 
changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. In response 
to this request, the Department of Commerce is initiating a changed 
circumstances review and issuing a notice of preliminary intent to 
revoke in part the order on certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel 
flat products from Japan with respect to nickel-plated steel foil. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 26, 2004.

[[Page 68877]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George McMahon, Christopher Hargett, 
or James Terpstra, AD/DCVD Operations Office 3, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street, and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone 
(202) 4382-1167, (202) 482-4161, or (202) 482-3965, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 19, 1993, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published an antidumping duty order on certain corrosion-resistant 
carbon steel flat products from Japan. See Antidumping Duty Orders: 
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan, 58 
FR 44163 (August 19, 1993). On October 5, 2004, SteelSummit, an 
importer of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from 
Japan and an interested party in this proceeding, requested that the 
Department revoke the antidumping duty order on certain corrosion-
resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan with respect to nickel-
plated steel foil through the initiation of a changed circumstances 
review.
    According to SteelSummit, revocation with respect to nickel-plated 
steel foil is warranted because there is no longer any domestic 
interest in the continuation of the order with respect to the specified 
nickel-plated steel foil. SteelSummit asserts that the successors to 
the petitioners, U.S. Steel Group and International Steel Group (ISG) 
both have indicated through counsel that they do not have any interest 
in the continuation of the order with respect to the specified nickel-
plated steel foil. Additionally, SteelSummit asserts that counsel for 
the domestic producers indicated that they would separately submit 
letters attesting to the lack of interest by the domestic industry.
    The Department received letters from U.S. Steel Group and ISG on 
November 1, 2004, and November 16, 2004, respectively, attesting to the 
lack of interest by the domestic industry regarding continuation of the 
order with respect to the specified nickel-plated steel foil.

Scope of the Order

    The products subject to this order include flat-rolled carbon steel 
products, of rectangular shape, either clad, plated, or coated with 
corrosion-resistant metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, 
nickel- or iron-based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, 
varnished or coated with plastics or other nonmetalic substances in 
addition to the metallic coating, in coils (whether or not in 
successively superimposed layers) and of a width of 0.5 inch or 
greater, or in straight lengths which, if of a thickness less than 4.75 
millimeters, are of a width of 0.5 inch or greater and which measures 
at least 10 times the thickness or if of a thickness of 4.75 
millimeters or more are of a width which exceeds 150 millimeters and 
measures at least twice the thickness, as currently classifiable in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule under item numbers: 7210.30.0030, 
7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 7210.49.0090, 7210.61.0000, 
7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.1000, 
7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 
7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 
7212.60.0000, 7215.90.1000, 7215.90.3000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500, 
7217.30.1530, 7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 
and 7217.90.5090.
    Included in the order are flat-rolled products of nonrectangular 
cross-section where such cross-section is achieved subsequent to the 
rolling process (i.e., products which have been ``worked after 
rolling'')--for example, products which have been bevelled or rounded 
at the edges.
    Excluded from the scope of the order are flat-rolled steel products 
either plated or coated with tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both 
tin and lead (``terne plate''), or both chromium and chromium oxides 
(``tin-free steel''), whether or not painted, varnished or coated with 
plastics or other nonmetalic substances in addition to the metallic 
coating. Also excluded from the scope of the order are certain clad 
stainless flat-rolled products, which are three-layered corrosion-
resistant carbon steel flat-rolled products less than 4.75 millimeters 
in composite thickness that consist of a carbon steel flat-rolled 
product clad on both sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-20% ratio. 
See Antidumping Duty Orders: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel 
Flat Products From Japan, 58 FR 44163 (August 19, 1993).
    Also excluded from the scope of this order are imports of certain 
corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products meeting the following 
specifications: widths ranging from 10 millimeters (0.394 inches) 
through 100 millimeters (3.94 inches); thicknesses, including coatings, 
ranging from 0.11 millimeters (0.004 inches) through 0.60 millimeters 
(0.024 inches); and a coating that is from 0.003 millimeters (0.00012 
inches) through 0.005 millimeters (0.000196 inches) in thickness and 
that is comprised of three evenly applied layers, the first layer 
consisting of 99%, zinc, 0.5% cobalt, and 0.5% molybdenum, followed by 
a layer consisting of chromate, and finally a layer consisting of 
silicate. See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products 
From Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty 
Order, 62 FR 55848 (December 22, 1997).
    Also excluded from the scope of this order are imports of subject 
merchandise meeting all of the following criteria: (1) Widths ranging 
from 10 millimeters (0.394 inches) through 100 millimeters (3.94 
inches); (2) thicknesses, including coatings, ranging from 0.11 
millimeters (0.004 inches) through 0.60 millimeters (0.024 inches); and 
(3) a coating that is from 0.003 millimeters (0.00012 inches) through 
0.005 millimeters (0.000196 inches) in thickness and that is comprised 
of either two evenly applied layers, the first layer consisting of 99% 
zinc, 0.5% cobalt, and 0.5% molybdenum, followed by a layer consisting 
of chromate, or three evenly applied layers, the first layer consisting 
of 99% zinc, 0.5% cobalt, and 0.5% molybdenum followed by a layer 
consisting of chromate, and finally a layer consisting of silicate. See 
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: 
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order, 64 FR 14861 
(March 29, 1999).
    Also excluded from the scope of this order are: (1) Carbon steel 
flat products measuring 1.84 mm in thickness and 43.6 mm or 16.1 mm in 
width consisting of carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) clad with an aluminum 
alloy that is balance aluminum, 20% tin, 1% copper, 0.3% silicon, 0.15% 
nickel, less than 1% other materials and meeting the requirements of 
SAE standard 783 for Bearing and Bushing Alloys; and (2) carbon steel 
flat products measuring 0.97 mm in thickness and 20 mm in width 
consisting of carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) with a two-layer lining, the 
first layer consisting of a copper-lead alloy powder that is balance 
copper, 9% to 11% tin, 9% to 11% lead, less than 1% zinc, less than 1% 
other materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard 792 for 
Bearing and Bushing Alloys, the second layer consisting of 45% to 55% 
lead, 38% to 50% PTFE,

[[Page 68878]]

3% to 5% molybdenum disulfide and less than 2% other materials. See 
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: 
Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Revocation in Part of 
Antidumping Duty Order, 64 FR 57032 (October 22, 1999).
    Also excluded from the scope of the order are imports of doctor 
blades meeting the following specifications: carbon steel coil or 
strip, plated with nickel phosphorous, having a thickness of 0.1524 
millimeters (0.006 inches), a width between 31.75 millimeters (1.25 
inches) and 50.80 millimeters (2.00 inches), a core hardness between 
580 to 630 HV, a surface hardness between 900-990 HV; the carbon steel 
coil or strip consists of the following elements identified in 
percentage by weight: 0.90% to 1.05% carbon; 0.15% to 0.35% silicon; 
0.30% to 0.50% manganese; less than or equal to 0.03% of phosphorous; 
less than or equal to 0.006% of sulfur; other elements representing 
0.24%; and the remainder of iron. See Certain Corrosion-Resistant 
Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order, 
65 FR 53983 (September 6, 2000).
    Also excluded from the scope of the order are imports of carbon 
steel flat products meeting the following specifications: carbon steel 
flat products measuring 1.64 millimeters in thickness and 19.5 
millimeters in width consisting of carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) with a 
lining clad with an aluminum alloy that is balance aluminum; 10 to 15% 
tin; 1 to 3% lead; 0.7 to 1.3% copper; 1.8 to 3.5% silicon; 0.1 to 0.7% 
chromium; less than 1% other materials and meeting the requirements of 
SAE standard 783 for Bearing and Bushing Alloys. See Certain Corrosion-
Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: Final Results of 
Changed Circumstances Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping 
Duty Order, 66 FR 8778 (February 2, 2001).
    Also excluded from the scope of the order are carbon steel flat 
products meeting the following specifications: (1) Carbon steel flat 
products measuring 0.975 millimeters in thickness and 8.8 millimeters 
in width consisting of carbon steel coil (SAE 1012) clad with a two-
layer lining, the first layer consisting of a copper-lead alloy powder 
that is balance copper, 9%-11% tin, 9%-11% lead, maximum 1% other 
materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard 792 for Bearing 
and Bushing Alloys, the second layer consisting of 13%-17% carbon, 13%-
17% aromatic polyester, with a balance (approx. 66%-74%) of 
polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE); and (2) carbon steel flat products 
measuring 1.02 millimeters in thickness and 10.7 millimeters in width 
consisting of carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) with a two-layer lining, the 
first layer consisting of a copper-lead alloy powder that is balance 
copper, 9%-11% tin, 9%-11% lead, less than 0.35% iron, and meeting the 
requirements of SAE standard 792 for Bearing and Bushing Alloys, the 
second layer consisting of 45%-55% lead, 3%-5% molybdenum disulfide, 
with a balance (approx. 40%-52%) of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). See 
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: 
Notice of Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Revocation 
in Part of Antidumping Duty Order, 66 FR 15075 (March 15, 2001).

Merchandise Subject to This Review

    SteelSummit defines certain nickel-plated steel foil as meeting the 
following specifications:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Property                          Specification
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base metal...................  Aluminum Killed, Continuous Cast, Carbon
                                Steel SAE 1008.
Chemical composition.........  C: 0.08% max. Si: 0.03% max. Mn: 0.40%
                                max. P: 0.020% max. S: 0.020% max.
Nominal thickness............  0.054 mm.
Thickness tolerance..........  Minimum 0.0513 mm; maximum 0.0567 mm.
Width........................  600 mm or greater.
Nickel plate.................  Min. 2.45 microns per side.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review, Preliminary Results, and 
Intent To Revoke Antidumping Duty Order, in Part

    Pursuant to sections 751(d)(1) and 782(h)(2) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (``the Act''), the Department may revoke an 
antidumping or countervailing duty order based on a review under 
section 751(b) of the Act (i.e., a changed circumstances review). 
Section 751(b)(1) of the Act requires a changed circumstances review to 
be conducted upon receipt of a request which shows changed 
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review.
    Section 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations provides that 
the Department will conduct a changed circumstances review under 19 CFR 
351.216, and 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 produce to which the order (or the part 
of the order to be revoked) pertains have expressed a lack of interest 
in the relief provided by the order, in whole or in part, or if changed 
circumstances exist sufficient to warrant revocation. Furthermore, 19 
CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits the Department to combine the notice of 
initiation of a changed circumstances review and the notice of 
preliminary results in a single notice, if the Department concludes 
that expedited action is warranted.
    In this case, the Department finds that the information submitted 
provides sufficient evidence of changed circumstances to warrant a 
review. Therefore, in accordance with sections 751(d)(1) and 782(h)(2) 
of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.222(g), based on the information 
provided by SteelSummit, U.S. Steel Group, and ISG, we are initiating 
this changed circumstances review. Furthermore, based on the 
affirmative statements by domestic producers that there is no longer 
any interest in continuation of the order with respect to nickel-plated 
steel, we determine that expedited action is warranted and we 
preliminarily find that the continued relief provided by the order with 
respect to nickel-plated steel foil from Japan is no longer of interest 
to the domestic industry. Because we have concluded that expedited 
action is warranted, we are combining these notices of initiation and 
preliminary results. Therefore, we preliminarily find that the request 
from SteelSummit meets all of the criteria under 19 CFR 351.222(g) and 
thus, we intend to revoke the order on certain corrosion-resistant 
carbon steel flat products from Japan with respect to imports of 
nickel-plated steel foil.
    If the final revocation, in part, occurs, we intend to instruct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate without regard to 
antidumping duties all unliquidated entries of nickel-plated steel foil 
not subject to final results of an administrative review and entered or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after the date of

[[Page 68879]]

publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The Department will 
further instruct CBP to refund with interest any estimated antidumping 
duties collected with respect to unliquidated entries of nickel-plated 
steel foil entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or 
after the publication date of the final results of this changed 
circumstances review, in accordance with section 778 of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.222(g)(4). The current requirement for a cash deposit of 
estimated antidumping duties on nickel-plated steel foil from Japan 
will continue unless and until we publish a final decision to revoke.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 21 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(ii). Rebuttal briefs, which must be limited to issues raised 
in such case briefs, may be filed not later than 26 days after the date 
of publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.309(d). Parties who 
submit arguments are requested to submit with the argument (1) a 
statement of the issue, (2) a brief summary of the argument, and (3) a 
table of authorities. Any interested party may request a hearing within 
14 days of publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Any 
hearing, if requested, may be held 22 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, or the first working day thereafter, as 
practicable. Consistent with section 351.216(e) of the Department's 
regulations, we will issue the final results of this changed 
circumstances review not later than 270 days after the date on which 
this review was initiated, or within 45 days if all parties agree to 
our preliminary funding.
    We are issuing and publishing this finding and notice in accordance 
with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and section 351.216 of 
the Department's regulations.

    Dated: November 19, 2004.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-26194 Filed 11-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M