3654 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

Notice of Reduction in the Size of

Antidumping/Countervailing Duty

Federal Register Notices

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Reduction in the Size

of Federal Register Notices.

SUMMARY: On August 21, 1998, the

Department of Commerce published a

notice of intent to modify the manner in

which its final determinations are made

available to the public in an effort to

reduce publishing costs. See 63 FR

44837. We proposed to publish a notice

in the Federal Register (FR) announcing

our final determinations in

investigations and reviews and to make

a decision memorandum available

simultaneously on Import

Administration’s web page in which we

would summarize comments and

present our position on the issues.

Based on our budget constraints and

the widespread access to the Internet,

we are proceeding with reducing the

size of our FR notices and ensuring

access to decision memoranda on our

web page. Based on our analysis of the

comments received in response to our

August 21, 1998, proposal we have

alerted traditional services such as Lexis

and Westlaw to our plans and they have

indicated that they will make the

decision memoranda available to their

clients in an electronically searchable

format.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 15, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please

contact Laura Merchant or Laurie

Parkhill, Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and

Constitution Ave., NW, Washington,

D.C. 20230, at (202) 482–0367 and (202)

482–4733, respectively.

The Applicable Statute: Under section

771(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as

amended, the Department is required to

make public the facts and conclusions

of its determinations.

Background: On August 21, 1998, the

Department of Commerce (the

Department) published a notice of intent

to modify the manner in which its final

determinations are made available to the

public in efforts to reduce publishing

costs. We invited parties to comment on

our proposal. The Department has

evaluated the proposed changes and the

comments regarding those changes and

has decided to implement the proposal.

As described in the August 1998

proposal, final determinations will be

divided into two sections: (1) the notice

to be published in the FR; and (2) an

‘‘Issues and Decision Memorandum’’ to

be posted simultaneously on the Import

Administration web page. In addition,

traditional services such as Lexis and

Westlaw have indicated that they will

make the decision memoranda available

to their clients in an electronically

searchable format. Access to paper

copies of these documents will continue

to be available through the IA Central

Records Unit, room B–099 of the main

Department building.

The published notice will contain

information relating to the Department’s

decisions, including margins,

Department contacts, deadlines, cashdeposit requirements, and, for

administrative reviews, the dutyassessment methodology. The notice

will state explicitly that the public can

find a paper copy of the discussion of

the issues and relevant memoranda on

file in the IA Central Records Unit and

will also provide the public with an

Internet address that will allow public

access to the electronic version of these

documents.

The ‘‘Issues and Decision

Memorandum’’ (Decision Memo) will

contain the complete discussion of

issues parties raise in case and rebuttal

briefs, and it will be adopted and

incorporated by reference into the

notice we publish in the FR. It will be

identical in content to the ‘‘Analysis of

Comments’’ section in current final

determinations. Specifically, the

Decision Memo will be a memorandum

from a Deputy Assistant Secretary with

a summary of comments received and

the Department’s position with respect

to each of those comments. The

Decision Memo will be available on the

IA web page simultaneously with the

publication of the notice in the FR. We

will follow this approach for all FR final

notices regardless of the type of

proceeding.

Locating Memoranda on the Internet:

We will make the Decision Memo, and,

as applicable, other memoranda, such as

a scope memorandum, available on IA’s

web page. These memoranda will be

located in the electronic library of IA

documents. The Internet address for the

final notices and Decision Memo will

be: ‘‘www.ita.doc.gov/importladmin/

records/frn’’. This address will take the

user to a list of countries which contains

electronic links to the FR notices and

decision memoranda for each case

pertaining to each country. Any special

instructions parties might need to locate

pertinent memoranda will be included

in the FR notice. This index with links

to relevant documents for each order

will appear in the following sample

format of the IA home page. The

numbered items represent links to the

corresponding documents.

[A-XXX–XXX]

Product

1. Final Results of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Review (POR)

2. Decision Memorandum

(Published 00/00/200X)

Examples of the FR document, Issues

in Decision Memo, and Decision Memo

are located in Appendices 1, 2, and 3 at

the end of this notice.

Analysis of Comments Received

Comment 1: All commenters urged

the Department not to change its present

policy of publication. They argue that

the proposed change will make it more

difficult, time-consuming, and costly to

research Departmental precedents and

policy because the IA web site does not

contain adequate text-searching tools

which are available on other services

including the Government Printing

Office (GPO) web site. They conclude

that to ‘‘publish’’ a Decision Memo only

on IA’s web site would effectively deny

meaningful access to the Department’s

decisions through the GPO site and

other commercial research services.

This change, they contend, will reduce

the Department’s current level of

transparency to all parties. At a

minimum, commenters urge IA to either

include a robust text-searching tool on

its web site and/or arrange for

traditional research services such as

Lexis and Westlaw to include the

Department’s complete decisions in

their services.

We have consulted with the

traditional commercial services such as

Westlaw and Lexis about our proposed

changes. They have indicated that they

will make IA’s decision memoranda

available through their services just as

they make the FR Notices available to

their customers. Access to IA’s decision

memoranda and related documents

through traditional commercial services

should mitigate these concerns. With

this search capability and the wide

availability of internet access, we

believe that our decisions and policy

will be more publicly available than is

presently the case.

Comment 2: We received one

comment arguing that we are required

by statute to publish the full facts and

our conclusions in the FR.

We disagree. The Department is

required by section 771(i) of the Tariff

Act of 1930, as amended, to make public

its decisions and the basis of those

decisions. Nowhere does the statute

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3655

require the Department to publish its

decision in a specific publication.

The Department will continue to

publish notices of final determinations

containing all fundamental information

relating to the Department’s decisions.

In addition, the Department will

provide access to the electronic version

of these documents through both the IA

web site and through traditional

commercial services. Paper copies will

remain available through the IA Central

Records Unit.

Comment 3: Several commenters

argued that the proposed change will

affect the quality of advocacy and

quality of Department decision-making

adversely because the Department will

no longer be able to research

electronically the entire set of its prior

decisions.

We disagree. Changing the location of

publicly available documents should

have little impact on the quality of

advocacy or our decision-making

abilities. The Department’s decision

memoranda and related documents will

continue to be available and accessible

to the public through the IA web site,

the Central Records Unit, and the

traditional electronic research services.

Comment 4: Several commenters

contend that our proposed change could

result in increased costs, including the

cost of maintaining the new information

on the IA web page. One commenter

anticipated that the costs of maintaining

the information on our web site will rise

beyond savings we anticipate. Another

argued that, if the Department’s

proposed changes were to cause a delay

in the resolution of any Antidumping or

Countervailing proceedings, the

additional amount of interest payable

for estimated duties incurred during the

delay could exceed the savings in

publication costs.

We disagree. The information

currently available in our FR notices

will remain available to the public

through other means, as well as

continued access through Lexis and

Westlaw, thereby providing the ability

to research precedents and avoiding

delay in access to the information.

While the Department acknowledges

additional effort may be involved in

locating and tracing documents during

the initial stages of transition to this

new format, the technology and

resources available should not increase

time spent on researching Department

decisions, policies, and precedents

substantially. Any increased cost of

conducting proceedings would not arise

from changing the location of publicly

available documents.

We do not anticipate significantly

increased maintenance costs. Moreover,

we expect significant increased net

savings resulting from lower publishing

costs. Additional server space on the IA

web site as well as time compiling the

documents onto the web page and

making electronic copies available to

the public and any commercial services

cost far less than continuing to publish

lengthy documents in the Federal

Register.

Comment 5: We received several

comments expressing a general fear of

loss of access to IA decisions due to the

unreliability of the Internet. Other

commenters suggested that the

availability of memoranda through the

CRU is not an adequate substitute for

access through the Internet. One

commenter stressed the importance of

continued availability of Department

decisions in the CRU. Several comments

noted that, unlike the IA web site, the

GPO web site maintains searchable back

issues of the FR from June 1980, from

which the public may access and search

Department decisions.

We understand this concern and will

strive whenever possible to create

alternative access locations for all

publicly available documents using the

CRU and traditional commercial

Internet services. The Department will

continue to maintain its files of all

publicly available information in the

CRU.

Contrary to what commenters

contend, we believe that the historical

information will be more publicly

available than is presently the case.

Lexis and Westlaw have indicated that

they will include both the Department’s

FR notice and the accompanying

Decision Memo in their databases which

include information dating from 1980.

Our Decision Memo and FR Notices will

also be posted on the IA web site in

addition to all of our FR notices

published since 1995. In addition, all

past and future FR Notices will remain

on the GPO site.

Comment 6: Many commenters

pointed out that the IA web site does

not have a full-text searching capability

like the Lexis and Westlaw sites. They

contend that, without such a searching

tool, the availability of decision

memoranda on the IA web site cannot

substitute for these current services.

As noted in response to Comment 1,

the Department recognizes these

concerns and has discussed solutions

with Westlaw and Lexis to carry both

the FR notice and the decision

memoranda. In addition, the

Department affirms its commitment to

maintain an effective and user-friendly

web site available to any party that does

not have access to these commercial

services. In addition to any searching

capabilities that we can incorporate into

our web site, we will also post our FR

notices and decision memoranda using

meaningful indexes and links.

Comment 7: Of great concern to all

commenters is the lack of an effective

search mechanism on IA’s web site. We

received comments suggesting that we

include a search engine on our web site

that is similar to the ones currently

available through the leading

commercial legal on-line services and

the GPO web site. Three commenters

suggested that, in addition to decision

memoranda being posted on the

Internet, prior decisions, disclosed

orders, and interpretations of

applicability in prior cases also be

available through the web site,

including all documents relevant to a

particular case, a full history of agency

analysis and actions, remand results,

liquidation instructions, assessment

rates in graphical format, and internal

memoranda associated with each order.

If possible, we will incorporate a

robust search engine on the IA web site

as a substitute to what is currently

available on the GPO web site. While

including all relevant documents in a

particular case, such as remand results,

liquidation instructions, and assessment

rates might be a valuable research tool

in some cases, we are not prepared to

make such a commitment at this time.

The IA web site is an extremely useful

and important information

dissemination tool and we strive to post

as many public documents as feasible in

a useful fashion.

Comment 8: Several commenters

proposed various indexing schemes to

better identify and group documents on

the IA web site for easy identification.

We are sympathetic to the need to

identify notices and decision

memoranda quickly and effectively on

the IA web site. We view our web site

to be an integral part of our informationdissemination efforts and will arrange

the information in a way that is both

useful and easy to locate.

Comment 9: We received one

comment suggesting that, in lieu of our

proposed changes to reduce the size of

our final notices in the FR, subscription

prices for the FR should be increased

instead.

It is not in the Department’s power to

increase subscription prices to the FR,

which is maintained by a separate

federal agency, nor does the Department

receive proceeds from such

subscriptions. Therefore, this point is

irrelevant.

Comment 10: We received two

comments expressing concern over the

simultaneous timing of the release of the

Decision Memo on the Internet and

3656 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices

publication of the notice in the FR.

These commenters feared simultaneous

publication would not always run

smoothly. One commenter suggested

that publication of the notice alone

should not be construed as satisfying

our statutory obligation and that only

when both documents are publicly

available should our statutory obligation

to publish our decisions be fulfilled. In

addition, the commenter stressed the

need to assign the exact same validity

and importance of the on-line

documents as documents which are

currently published in the FR.

The Department has established

procedures to ensure simultaneous

release of documents on the Internet

and in the FR. The Department will not

consider its obligations fulfilled until

both documents are available publicly.

Comment 11: We received one

comment expressing concern that

interested parties may not continue to

receive an advance copy of the notice

for publication in the FR and the

Decision Memo or that the Department

may publish the FR Notice but not

release the Decision Memo to the parties

on the same day.

The Department will continue to

provide paper copies of the final notice

and the Decision Memo to interested

parties in advance of the date of

publication of the FR notice under this

new system.

Implementation

The procedures outlined in this notice

will be applied to all final

determinations which are subject to a

publication requirement and issued

after February 15, 2000, the effective

date of this notice. If necessary,

additional information on procedures to

follow for locating our decisions on the

internet will be posted on the IA web

site at www.ita.doc.gov/importladmin/

records/. Any questions concerning file

formatting, access on the Web, or other

electronic filing issues should be

addressed to Andrew Lee Beller, IA

Webmaster, at (202)482–0866 or via email at

andrewlleelbeller@ita.doc.gov.

Dated: January 13, 2000.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

Appendix 1—Sample FR Document

This will be published in the FR. (Please

note that this sample reflects final results of

an administrative review. All IA final

determinations will be subject to this

modified format.)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Case Number]

(Product) from (Country); Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative

Review

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of

antidumping duty administrative review.

SUMMARY: On (date), the Department of

Commerce published the preliminary results

of administrative review of the antidumping

duty order on (product) from (country). The

merchandise covered by this order is (brief

description). The review covers (number)

manufacturers/exporters. The period of

review is (date) through (date).

Based on our analysis of the comments

received, we have made changes in the

margin calculations. Therefore, the final

results differ from the preliminary results.

The final weighted-average dumping margins

for the reviewed firms are listed below in the

section entitled ‘‘Final Results of the

Review.’’

EFFECTIVE DATE: (Insert date of publication

in the Federal Register).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

(Analyst), Import Administration,

International Trade Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.

20230; telephone: (202) 482–XXXX.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute

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’s (the

Department’s) regulations are to 19 CFR Part

351 (1998).

Background

On (date), the Department published the

preliminary results of administrative review

of the antidumping duty order on (product)

from (country) (FR citation). The review

covers (number) manufacturers/exporters.

The period of review (POR) is (date) through

(date). We invited parties to comment on our

preliminary results of review. At the request

of certain interested parties, we held a public

hearing on (date). The Department has

conducted this administrative review in

accordance with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of Review

The product covered by this review is

(product) and (description). (Standard scope

language will appear here unless, for reasons

of length, the complete scope description is

in a separate memorandum. Such a

memorandum will also be available on the IA

web site.)

Analysis of Comments Received

All issues raised in the case and rebuttal

briefs by parties to this administrative review

are addressed in the ‘‘Issues and Decision

Memorandum’’ (Decision Memo) from

(name), Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import

Administration, to (name), Assistant

Secretary for Import Administration, dated

(date), which is hereby adopted and

incorporated by reference into this notice. A

list of the issues which parties have raised

and to which we have responded, all of

which are in the Decision Memo, 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 the Central

Records Unit, room B–099, of the main

Department building.

In addition, a complete version of the

Decision Memo can be accessed directly on

the Web at www.ita.doc.gov/importladmin/

records/frn/, under the heading ‘‘(Applicable

Country).’’ The paper copy and electronic

version of the Decision Memo are identical

in content.

Use of Facts Available (if Necessary)

For a discussion of our application of facts

available, see the ‘‘Facts Available’’ section of

the Decision Memo, which is on file in B–

099 and available on the Web at

www.ita.doc.gov/ importladmin/records/

frn/, under the heading ‘‘(Applicable

Country).’’

Sales Below Cost in the Home Market (Where

Applicable)

The Department disregarded home market

sales below cost for (names of firms) in these

final results of review.

Duty Absorption (Where Applicable)

We have determined that duty absorption

has/has not occurred with respect to (name

of firm) with respect to (XX) percent of sales

which this firm made through its U.S.

affiliated party. For a discussion of our

determination with respect to this matter, see

the ‘‘Duty Absorption’’ section of the

Decision Memo, accessible in B–099 and on

the Web at www.ita.doc.gov/importladmin/

records/frn/, under the heading ‘‘(Applicable

Country).’’

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

Based on our analysis of comments

received, we have made certain changes in

the margin calculations. We have also

corrected certain programming and clerical

errors in our preliminary results, where

applicable. Any alleged programming or

clerical errors with which we do not agree

are discussed in the relevant sections of the

‘‘Decision Memorandum,’’ accessible in B–

099 and on the Web at www.ita.doc.gov/

importladmin/records/frn/, under the

heading ‘‘(Applicable Country).’’

Final Results of Review

We determine that the following

percentage weighted-average margins exist

for the period (date) through (date):

Manufacturer/exporter Margin

(Percent)

(Company Name) ..................... XX.XX

(Company Name) ..................... XX.XX

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3657

The Department shall determine, and

Customs shall assess, antidumping duties on

all appropriate entries. In accordance with 19

CFR 351.212(b), we have calculated exporter/

importer-specific assessment rates. With

respect to both export price and constructed

export price sales, we divided the total

dumping margins for the reviewed sales by

the total entered value of those reviewed

sales for each importer. We will direct

Customs to assess the resulting percentage

margins against the entered Customs values

for the subject merchandise on each of that

importer’s entries under the relevant order

during the review period.

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following deposit requirements will be

effective upon publication of this notice of

final results of administrative review for all

shipments of (product) from (country)

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after the date of

publication, as provided by section 751(a)(1)

of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rates for the

reviewed companies will be the rates shown

above except that, for firms whose weightedaverage margins are less than 0.5 percent and

therefore de minimis, the Department shall

require no deposit of estimated antidumping

duties; (2) for previously reviewed or

investigated companies not listed above, the

cash deposit rate will continue to be the

company-specific rate published for the most

recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm

covered in this review, a prior review, or the

original less-than-fair-value (LTFV)

investigation, but the manufacturer is, the

cash deposit rate will be the rate established

for the most recent period for the

manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the

cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers

or exporters will continue to be (rate). This

rate is the ‘‘All Others’’ rate from the LTFV

investigation.

These deposit requirements shall remain in

effect until publication of the final results of

the next administrative review.

This notice also serves as a final reminder

to importers of their responsibility under 19

CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding

the reimbursement of antidumping duties

prior to liquidation of the relevant entries

during this review period. Failure to comply

with this requirement could result in the

Secretary’s presumption that reimbursement

of antidumping duties occurred and the

subsequent assessment of doubled

antidumping duties.

This notice also serves as the only

reminder to parties subject to administrative

protective orders (APO) of their

responsibility concerning the return or

destruction of proprietary information

disclosed under APO in accordance with 19

CFR 351.305 or conversion to judicial

protective order is hereby requested. Failure

to comply with the regulations and terms of

an APO is a violation which is subject to

sanction.

We are issuing and publishing this

determination and notice in accordance with

sections section 751(a)(1) and 771(i) of the

Act.

lllllllllllllllllllll

(Name)

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration

lllllllllllllllllllll

(Date)

Appendix 2—Issues in Decision Memo

(Sample)

Comments and Responses

1. Facts Available

2. Discounts, Rebates, and Price Adjustments

3. Circumstance-of-Sale Adjustments

A. Technical Services and Warranty

Expenses

B. Credit

C. Indirect Selling Expenses

4. Level of Trade

5. Cost of Production and Constructed Value

A. Cost-Test Methodology

B. Research and Development

C. Profit for Constructed Value

D. Affiliated-Party Inputs

E. Abnormally High Profits

F. Credit and Inventory Costs

G. Other Issues

6. Further Manufacturing

7. Packing and Movement Expenses

8. Affiliated Parties

9. Sample Sales and Prototypes/Zero-Price

Transactions

10. Export Price and Constructed Export

Price

11. Programming and Clerical Errors

12. Duty Absorption

13. Reimbursement

14. Tooling Revenue

15. Cash Deposit Financing

16. Miscellaneous Issues

A. Ocean and Air Freight

B. Burden of Proof

C. HTS

D. Certification of Conformance of Past

Practice

E. Pre-Existing Inventory

F. Inland Freight

G. Other Issues

Appendix 3—Sample Decision Memo

This will be available on IA’s Web page.

(Case Number)

AR X/XX–X/XX

Public Document

MEMORANDUM TO: (Name)

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration

FROM: (Name)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration

SUBJECT: Issues and Decision Memorandum

for the Administrative Review of

(product) from (country)—(date) through

(date)

Summary

We have analyzed the comments and

rebuttals of interested parties in the (date)

administrative review of the antidumping

duty order covering (product) from (country).

As a result of our analysis, we have made

changes, including corrections of certain

inadvertent programming and clerical errors,

in the margin calculations. We recommend

that you approve the positions we have

developed in the Discussion of the Issues

section of this memorandum. Below is the

complete list of the issues in this

administrative review for which we received

comments and rebuttals by parties:

1. Facts Available

2. Discounts, Rebates, and Price Adjustments

3. Circumstance-of-Sale Adjustments

A. Technical Services and Warranty

Expenses

B. Credit

C. Indirect Selling Expenses

4. Level of Trade

5. Cost of Production and Constructed Value

A. Cost-Test Methodology

B. Research and Development

C. Profit for Constructed Value

D. Affiliated-Party Inputs

E. Abnormally High Profits

F. Credit and Inventory Costs

G. Other Issues

6. Further Manufacturing

7. Packing and Movement Expenses

8. Affiliated Parties

9. Sample Sales and Prototypes/Zero-Price

Transactions

10. Export Price and Constructed Export

Price

11. Programming and Clerical Errors

12. Duty Absorption

13. Reimbursement

14. Tooling Revenue

15. Cash Deposit Financing

16. Miscellaneous Issues

A. Ocean and Air Freight

B. Burden of Proof

C. HTS

D. Certification of Conformance to Past

Practice

E. Pre-Existing Inventory

F. Inland Freight

G. Other Issues

Background

On (date), the Department of Commerce

(the Department) published the preliminary

results of administrative review of the

antidumping duty order on (product) from

(country). The merchandise covered by this

order is (brief description). The period of

review (POR) is (date) through (date). We

invited parties to comment on our

preliminary results of review. At the request

of certain interested parties, we held a public

hearing on (date).

Discussion of the Issues

1. Facts Available

Comment 1:

Department’s Position:

2. Discounts, Rebates, and Price Adjustments

Comment 1:

Department’s Position:

3. Circumstance-of-Sale Adjustments

Comment 1:

Department’s Position:

* * * * *

Recommendation

Based on our analysis of the comments

received, we recommend adopting all of the

above positions and adjusting all related

margin calculations accordingly. If these

recommendations are accepted, we will

publish the final results of review and the

final weighted-average dumping margins for

all reviewed firms in the Federal Register.

AGREEl

DISAGREEl

3658 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices

1See Heavy Forged Hand Tools, Finished and

Unfinished, With or Without Handles, from the

People’s Republic of China; Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, 60 FR

49251 (September 22, 1995); Heavy Forged Hand

Tools, Finished and Unfinished, With or Without

Handles, from the People’s Republic of China; Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative

Review, 61FR 15028 (April 4, 1996); as amended,

Heavy Forged Hand Tools, Finished and

Unfinished, With or Without Handles, from the

People’s Republic of China; Amendment of Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative

Review 61 FR 24285 (May 14, 1996); Heavy Forged

Hand Tools, Finished and Unfinished, With or

Without Handles, from the People’s Republic of

China; Final Results of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Review, 61 FR 51269 (October 1,

1996); as amended, Heavy Forged Hand Tools from

the People’s Republic of China; Notice of

Amendment of Final Results of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Review, 62 FR 24416 (May 5, 1997);

Heavy Forged Hand Tools from the People’s

Republic of China; Final Results of Antidumping

Duty Administrative Reviews, 62 FR 11813 (March

13, 1997); Heavy Forged Hand Tools, Finished and

Unfinished, With or Without Handles, from the

People’s Republic of China; Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, 63 FR

16758 (April 6, 1998); as amended, Amended Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative

Reviews Pursuant to Remand from the Court of

International Trade: Heavy Forged Hand Tools,

Finished and Unfinished, With or Without Handles,

from the People’s Republic of China, 63 FR 55577

(October 16, 1998) and Amended Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews

Pursuant to Remand from the Court of International

Trade: Heavy Forged Hand Tools, Finished and

Unfinished, With or Without Handles, from the

People’s Republic of China: Correction, 64 FR 851

(January 6, 1999); Heavy Forged Hand Tools,

Finished and Unfinished, With or Without Handles,

from the People’s Republic of China; Final Results

and Partial Recission of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Reviews, 64 FR 43659 (August 11,

1999).

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Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration

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[FR Doc. 00–1654 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A–570–803, A–570–803]

Preliminary Results of Full Sunset

Reviews: Bars and Wedges and

Hammers and Sledges From the

People’s Republic of China

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Results of

Full Sunset Reviews: Bars and Wedges

and Hammers and Sledges from the

People’s Republic of China.

SUMMARY: On July 1, 1999, the

Department of Commerce (‘‘the

Department’’) initiated sunset reviews of

the antidumping duty orders on bars

and wedges and on hammers and

sledges from the People’s Republic of

China (‘‘PRC’’) (64 FR 35588) pursuant

to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of

1930, as amended (‘‘the Act’’). On the

basis of notices of intent to participate

filed on behalf of domestic interested

parties and adequate substantive

comments filed on behalf of domestic

and respondent interested parties, the

Department determined to conduct full

reviews. As a result of these reviews, the

Department preliminarily finds that

revocation of the antidumping orders

would likely lead to continuation or

recurrence of dumping at the levels

indicated in the Preliminary Results of

Reviews section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 24, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Darla D. Brown or Melissa G. Skinner,

Office of Policy for Import

Administration, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230;

telephone: (202) 482–3207 or (202) 482–

1560, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statute and Regulations

These reviews are being conducted

pursuant to sections 751(c) and 752 of

the Act. The Department’s procedures

for the conduct of sunset reviews are set

forth in Procedures for Conducting Fiveyear (‘‘Sunset’’) Reviews of

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty

Orders, 63 FR 13516 (March 20, 1998)

(‘‘Sunset Regulations’’) and 19 CFR Part

351 (1999) in general. Guidance on

methodological or analytical issues

relevant to the Department’s conduct of

sunset reviews is set forth in the

Department’s Policy Bulletin 98:3—

Policies Regarding the Conduct of Fiveyear (‘‘Sunset’’) Reviews of

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty

Orders; Policy Bulletin, 63 FR 18871

(April 16, 1998) (‘‘Sunset Policy

Bulletin’’).

Scope

Although we provide the full scope

language for the order on heavy forged

hand tools (‘‘HFHTs’’) below, this

determination applies only to the types

of HFHTs which fall under the orders

(A–570–803) on bars/wedges and

hammers/sledges from the PRC. HFHTs

include heads for drilling, hammers,

sledges, axes, mauls, picks, and

mattocks, which may or may not be

painted, which may or may not be

finished, or which may or may not be

imported with handles; assorted bar

products and track tools including

wrecking bars, digging bars and

tampers; and steel wool splitting

wedges. HFHTs are manufactured

through a hot forge operation in which

steel is sheared to the required length,

heated to forging temperature, and

formed to final shape on forging

equipment using dies specific to the

desired product shape and size.

Depending on the product, finishing

operations may include shot-blasting,

grinding, polishing, and painting, and

the insertion of handles for handled

products. HFHTs are currently

classifiable under the following

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (‘‘HTS’’)

item numbers 8205.20.60, 8205.59.30,

8201.30.00, and 8201.40.60. Specifically

excluded are hammers and sledges with

heads 1.5 kilograms (3.33 pounds) in

weight and under, and hoes and rakes,

and bars 18 inches in length and under.

The HTS item numbers are provided for

convenience and customs purposes

only. The written description of the

scope remains dispositive.

There has been one scope ruling with

respect to the orders on HFHTs from the

PRC in which the Forrest Tool

Company’s Max Multipurpose Tool was

determined to be within the scope of the

order (58 FR 59991; November 12,

1993).

These reviews cover imports from all

manufacturers and exporters of bars and

wedges and hammers and sledges from

the PRC.

History of the Orders

The Department published its final

affirmative determination of sales at less

than fair value (‘‘LTFV’’) with respect to

imports of HFHTs from the PRC on

January 3, 1991 (56 FR 241). In this

determination, the Department

published four country-wide weightedaverage dumping margins, one each for

hammers/sledges, bars/wedges, picks/

mattocks and axes/adzes. These margins

were all subsequently affirmed when

the Department issued the antidumping

duty orders on HFHTs from the PRC on

February 19, 1991 (56 FR 6622). Since

the imposition of the orders, the

Department has conducted several

administrative reviews. 1 The orders

remain in effect for all manufacturers

and exporters of the subject

merchandise from the PRC.

To date, the Department has not

issued any duty absorption findings in

these cases.

Background

On July 1, 1999, the Department

initiated sunset reviews of the

antidumping duty orders on bars and

wedges and on hammers and sledges