[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 123 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39363-39364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16101]



[[Page 39363]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-851-802]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line, and 
Pressure Pipe from the Czech Republic

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

ACTION: Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On February 4, 2000, the Department of Commerce (``the 
Department'') published its preliminary determination of sales at less 
than fair value of certain small diameter carbon and alloy seamless 
standard, line, and pressure pipe (``small diameter seamless pipe'') 
from the Czech Republic. The investigation covers Nova Hut, a.s. 
(``Nova Hut''). The period of investigation (``POI'') is April 1, 1998, 
through March 31, 1999.
    Based on our analysis of comments received, we have made changes to 
the margin based on adverse facts available. Therefore, the final 
determination differs from the preliminary determination. The final 
dumping margin for the investigated company is listed below in the 
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 26, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Brinkmann or Dennis McClure, AD/
CVD Enforcement, Office 6, Group II, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-4126 or (202) 482-0984, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 
regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR part 351 (April 
1999).

Case History

    Since the preliminary determination (see 65 FR 5599 (February 4, 
2000) (``Preliminary Determination'')), the following events have 
occurred:
    <bullet> On February 10, 2000, the petitioners \1\ and Nova Hut 
submitted ministerial error allegations regarding the Preliminary 
Determination. The Department accepted the clerical errors and 
corrected the margin calculation program where it deemed necessary and 
published a Notice of Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless 
Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe from the Czech Republic, 65 FR 12971 
(March 10, 2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The petitioners are Koppel Steel Corporation, Sharon Tube 
Company, U.S. Steel Group, Lorain Tubular Co. LLC and Vision Metals, 
Inc. (Gulf States Tube Division) and the United Steel Workers of 
America.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    <bullet> On March 8, 2000, the Department issued a supplemental 
questionnaire to Nova Hut relating to product characteristics.
    <bullet> On March 8, 2000, Nova Hut notified the Department of its 
withdrawal from verification.
    <bullet> On March 30, 2000, the petitioners and Nova Hut submitted 
their case briefs.
    <bullet> On April 7, 2000, the petitioners and Nova Hut submitted 
their rebuttal briefs.
    <bullet> On April 18, 2000, the petitioners alleged that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of small diameter seamless 
pipe from the Czech Republic.
    <bullet> On April 28, 2000, the Department denied Nova Hut's 
February 15, 2000, request to rescind the investigation on small 
diameter seamless pipe from the Czech Republic.
    <bullet> On May 18, 2000, the Department preliminarily determined 
that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports from the 
Czech Republic of small diameter seamless pipe produced by Nova Hut.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ See Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances: 
Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and 
Pressure Pipe from the Czech Republic, 65 FR 33803 (May 25, 2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this investigation, as well as certain other findings by the Department 
which are summarized in this notice, are addressed in the ``Issues and 
Decision Memorandum for the Final Determination in the Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless 
Standard, Line and Pressure Pipe from the Czech Republic--April 1, 
1998, through March 31, 1999'' (``Decision Memorandum''), from Holly A. 
Kuga, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, to 
Richard W. Moreland, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration, dated June 19, 2000, which is hereby adopted by this 
notice. A list of 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 investigation and the corresponding 
recommendations in this public Decision Memorandum which is on file in 
the Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of the main Department building 
(``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.

Scope of Investigation

    The products covered by the investigation are certain small 
diameter carbon and alloy seamless standard, line, and pressure pipe 
from the Czech Republic. For a complete 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 and available on 
the World Wide Web at www.ita.doc.gov/import_admin/records/frn/. The 
scope of the investigation has been amended since the Preliminary 
Determination.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Because Nova Hut 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 Nova Hut's refusal to allow verification 
constitutes failure to cooperate in this investigation by not acting to 
the best of the company's ability. As adverse facts available, we have 
used information on the record from Nova Hut's questionnaire response. 
Specifically, we have selected Nova Hut's highest product-specific 
margin as calculated in the amended preliminary determination. See 
Decision Memorandum, accessible in Room B-099 and on the World Wide Web 
at www.ita.doc.gov/import_admin/records/frn/.

[[Page 39364]]

Critical Circumstances

    No comments were received regarding the Department's preliminary 
critical circumstances determination. For the reasons given in the 
preliminary determination of critical circumstances, the Department 
continues to find that critical circumstances exist with respect to 
small diameter seamless pipe imported from Nova Hut, in accordance with 
section 733(e)(1) of the Act.
    As set forth in the preliminary determination of critical 
circumstances, because the massive imports criterion necessary to find 
critical circumstances has not been met with respect to firms other 
than Nova Hut, the Department continues to find, for the purposes of 
this final determination, that critical circumstances do not exist for 
imports of small diameter seamless pipe for the ``all others'' 
category.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are 
directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend the liquidation of 
all entries of small diameter seamless pipe from the Czech Republic 
produced by Nova Hut that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after November 6, 1999, which is 90 days prior to the 
date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal 
Register. The Customs Service will also be directed to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all entries of small diameter seamless pipe from 
the Czech Republic produced by all companies not named above, that are 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
February 4, 2000, the date of publication of our Preliminary 
Determination in the Federal Register. The Customs Service shall 
continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to 
the weighted-average dumping margin, as indicated in the chart below. 
These 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: 
Stainless Steel Plate in Coil 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, 64 FR 15458, 15459 
(March 21, 1999).
    In this case, we have calculated the dumping margin for the sole 
Czech 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 to establish the ``all others'' rate. 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. This is consistent with our 
methodology in a recent determination. See Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled 
Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products From Slovakia, 65 FR 34657, 
34658 (May 31, 2000). The resulting margin, applicable to all other 
manufacturers/exporters, is 32.26 percent.
    We determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins 
exist for April 1, 1998, through March 31, 1999:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Margin
                   Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nova Hut, a.s..............................................        39.93
All Others.................................................        32.26
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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, within 45 days, 
determine whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten 
material injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that 
material injury or threat of material 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 an antidumping duty order directing 
the Customs Service 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 pursuant to sections 
735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 19, 2000.
Richard W. Moreland,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration

Appendix

List of Comments and Issues in the Decision Memorandum

1. Request for Rescission of Initiation
2. Facts Available

[FR Doc. 00-16101 Filed 6-23-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P