Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices 34657

1Petitioners 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).

Dated: May 22, 2000.

Troy H. Cribb,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

Appendix I—Issues in Decision Memo

Comments and Responses

Facts Available.

[FR Doc. 00–13578 Filed 5–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A–859–801]

Notice of Final Determination of Sales

at Less Than Fair Value: Certain ColdRolled 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.

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 flatrolled 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 FlatRolled 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.

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 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

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

34658 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices

1The Department also conducted verification of

the information submitted by Tokkin. However, as

noted above, the Department has determined that

Tokkin’s merchandise exported to the United States

during the POI to be of Japanese origin, such that

this final determination covers only CSC.

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 allothers 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:

Exporter/manufacturer

Weightedaverage

margin (percent)

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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A–583–834]

Notice of Final Determination of Sales

at Less Than Fair Value: Certain ColdRolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel

Products From Taiwan

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final determination of

sales at less than fair value.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward Easton or Keir Whitson, at (202)

482–3003 or (202) 482–1777,

respectively; Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

U.S. Department of Commerce,

Washington, D.C. 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 (1999).

Final Determination

We determine that cold-rolled flatrolled carbon-quality steel products

(cold-rolled steel products) from Taiwan

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 FlatRolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products

from Taiwan, 65 FR 1095 (January 7,

2000). The investigation initially

covered two manufacturers/exporters:

China Steel Corporation (CSC), and

Taiwan Tokkin Corporation (Tokkin).

Since the preliminary determination,

the Department has concluded that the

merchandise exported by Taiwan

Tokkin, for the purpose of this

investigation, is of Japanese origin. As a

result, this final determination covers

only CSC. See Issues and Decision

Memorandum (Decision Memorandum)

from Holly A. Kuga, Acting Deputy

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration, to Troy H. Cribb, Acting

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration, dated May 22, 2000,

which is hereby adopted by this notice.

The period of investigation is April 1,

1998, through March 31, 1999.

From January 17 through January 21,

2000, the Department conducted a

verification of CSC’s sales data.1