[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 105 (Wednesday, May 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34657-34658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13579]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-859-801]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products From 
Slovakia

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

ACTION: Notice of final determination of sales at less than fair value.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: May 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Campau or Abdelali Elouaradia at 
(202) 482-1784 or (202) 482-0498, respectively; Import Administration, 
Room 1870, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20230.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), are references to the provisions effective 
January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Act 
by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, unless 
otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) regulations are to 19 CFR Part 351 (April 1997).

Final Determination

    We determine that cold-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel 
products (cold-rolled steel) from Slovakia are being sold, or are 
likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), 
as provided in section 735 of the Act. The estimated margins of sales 
at LTFV are shown in the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this 
notice.

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was issued on 
December 28, 1999. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Certain 
Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products from Slovakia, 65 
FR 1110 (January 7, 2000). The investigation covers one manufacturer/
exporter, VSZ, a.s. (VSZ). The period of the investigation (POI) is 
April 1, 1998, through March 31, 1999.
    On January 7, 2000, VSZ requested that the Department rescind the 
initiation of the aforementioned investigation, arguing that the 
Department's retroactive revocation of Slovakia's NME status removed 
the legal basis for initiation, as the petitioners' \1\ dumping 
allegations had been based on Slovakia's NME status. Petitioners 
objected to VSZ's request on January 18, 2000. On February 1, 2000, VSZ 
submitted a notification of withdrawal from the Department's 
verification.
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    \1\ Petitioners in this case are Bethlehem Steel Corporation, 
Gulf States Steel, Inc., Ispat Inland Inc., LTV Steel Company Inc., 
National Steel Company, Steel Dynamics, Inc., U.S. Steel Group, a 
unit of USX Corporation, Weirton Steel Corporation, United 
Steelworkers of America, and Independent Steelworkers Union 
(collectively, petitioners).
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    On February 23, 2000, both the petitioners and VSZ filed case 
briefs. On March 1, 2000, petitioners submitted a rebuttal brief. No 
rebuttal briefs were filed by VSZ, and both parties withdrew their 
request for a hearing.

Scope of Investigation

    For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are 
certain cold-rolled (cold-reduced) flat-rolled carbon-quality steel 
products, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal, but whether or 
not annealed, painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-
metallic substances, both in coils, 0.5 inch wide or wider (whether or 
not in successively superimposed layers and/or otherwise coiled, such 
as spirally oscillated coils), and also in straight lengths, which, if 
less than 4.75 mm in thickness having a width that is 0.5 inch or 
greater and that measures at least 10 times the thickness; or, if of a 
thickness of 4.75 mm or more, having a width exceeding 150 mm and 
measuring at least twice the thickness. The products described above 
may be rectangular, square, circular or other shape and include 
products of either rectangular or non-rectangular 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 beveled or rounded at the edges.
    The above is simply a summary of the products covered by the 
investigation. For the dispositive description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of Investigation'' section of the 
Decision Memorandum, which is on file in Room B-099 of the Department's 
Main Building and available on the World Wide Web at www.ita.doc.gov/import_admin/records/frn.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised by the petitioners in their case briefs are 
addressed in the ``Issues and Decision Memorandum'' (Decision 
Memorandum) from Holly Kuga, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import 
Administration, to Troy H. Cribb, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration, dated May 22, 2000, which is hereby adopted by this 
notice. A list of the issues which parties have raised and to which we 
have responded, all of which are in the Decision Memorandum, is 
attached to this notice as an Appendix. Parties can find a complete 
discussion of all issues raised in this review and the corresponding 
recommendations in this public memorandum which is on file in room B-
099.
    In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memorandum can be 
accessed directly on the World Wide Web at www.ita.doc.gov/import_admin/records/frn. The paper copy and electronic version of the 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Because VSZ did not allow the Department to verify its submitted 
data, we have determined that the use of facts available is warranted 
under sections 776(a)(2)(C) and (D) of the Act. Moreover, we have 
determined that an adverse inference is warranted under section 776(b) 
of the Act, given that VSZ's refusal to allow verification constitutes 
failure to cooperate in this investigation by not acting to the best of 
its ability. As adverse facts available, we first assumed that the 
large number of U.S. sales for which the respondent had not received 
payment are in fact bad debt. We treated this bad debt expense as a 
direct selling expense, and made a circumstance of sale adjustment to 
normal value for these expenses. We then calculated margins for VSZ's 
reported sales using the reported data. From those calculations, we 
selected as adverse facts available the highest weighted-average, 
model-specific margin for the POI. See Decision Memorandum, accessible 
in room B-099 and on the Web at www.ita.doc.gov/import_admin/records/frn/.

Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are instructing the 
Customs Service to continue to suspend

[[Page 34658]]

liquidation of all entries of cold-rolled flat-rolled, carbon-quality 
steel products from Indonesia that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after January 7, 2000, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination. The Customs Service shall 
continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond based on 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins shown below. The 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
    Section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that, where the estimated 
weighted-averaged dumping margins established for all exporters and 
producers individually investigated are zero or de minimis or are 
determined entirely under section 776 of the Act, the Department may 
use any reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others rate 
for exporters and producers not individually investigated. Our recent 
practice under these circumstances has been to assign, as the ``all 
others'' rate, the simple average of the margins in the petition. See 
Notice of Final Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products From 
Argentina, Japan and Thailand, 65 FR 5520 (February 4, 2000); see also 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Notice 
of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless 
Steel Plate in Coil from Canada (``Stainless Steel Plate from 
Canada''), 64 FR 15457 (March 31, 1999); and Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Plate 
in Coil from Italy (``Stainless Steel Plate from Italy''), 64 FR 15458, 
15459 (March 21, 1999).
    In this case, we have calculated the dumping margins for the sole 
Slovak respondent based entirely on adverse facts available. Given the 
circumstances of this case, and the discretion provided by Section 
735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, we have selected a somewhat different 
methodology than that followed in other recent cases. Instead of 
relying on the simple average of the petition margins, we have relied 
on the weighted-average of the margins obtained for each product sold 
during the POI, by using the respondent's data and making the adverse 
inference that any U.S. sales for which payment was outstanding as of 
the respondent's latest submission was bad debt. The resulting margin, 
applicable to all other manufacturers/exporters, is 109.21 percent.
    We determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins 
exist for April 1, 1998, through March 31, 1999:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                   Exporter/manufacturer                        margin
                                                              (percent)
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VSZ, a.s...................................................       163.89
All Others.................................................       109.21
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, 
whether these imports are causing material injury, or threat of 
material injury, to an industry in the United States. If the ITC 
determines that material injury or threat of injury does not exist, the 
proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted will be 
refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
exist, the Department will issue in antidumping order directing Customs 
officials to assess antidumping duties on all imports of the subject 
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or 
after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: May 22, 2000.
Troy H. Cribb,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix I--Issues in Decision Memo

Comments and Responses

1. Rescission of Initiation
2. Facts Available

[FR Doc. 00-13579 Filed 5-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P