[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6155-6156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2853]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-845]


Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils From Japan: Notice of 
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstance Antidumping 
Duty Review, and Intent to Revoke Order in Part

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

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

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EFFECTIVE DATE:  February 8, 2000.
SUMMARY:  On August 13, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) received a request on behalf of Watanabe Trading Co., Ltd. 
(Watanabe), and Byram Steel Trading Co., (Byram) for a changed 
circumstance antidumping (AD) duty review and an intent to revoke in 
part the AD order with respect to specific stainless steel sheet and 
strip from Japan. The Department received a letter on August 30, 1999, 
from petitioners (Allegheny Ludlum Corporation, Armco, Inc., J&L 
Specialty Steel, Inc., Washington Steel Division of Bethlehem Steel 
Corporation (formerly Lukens, Inc.), the United Steelworkers of 
America, AFL-CIO/CLC, the Butler Armco Independent Union and the 
Zanesville Armco Independent Organization, Inc. of CA) not opposing the 
request of Watanabe and Byram for revocation in part of the order 
pursuant to a changed circumstance review with respect to the subject 
merchandise defined in the Scope of the Review section below.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Karla Whalen or Robert Bolling, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-1391 and (202)482-3434, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

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

Background

    On July 27, 1999, the Department published the Notice of Amended 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping 
Duty Order on stainless steel sheet and strip from Japan (64 FR 40565).
    On August 13, 1999, Watanabe and Byram requested revocation in part 
of the Antidumping Duty (AD) order pursuant to section 751(b) of the 
Act and section 351.216 of the Department's regulations, with respect 
to specific stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from Japan as 
described below.

Scope of the Review

    The products covered by this exclusion request are stainless steel 
welding electrode strips that are manufactured in accordance with 
American Welding Society (AWS) specification ANSI/AWS A5.9-93. The 
products are 0.5mm in thickness, 60 mm in width, and in coils of 
approximately 60 pounds each. The products are limited to the following 
AWS grade classifications: ER308L, ER 309L, ER 316L and ER347, and a 
modified ER 309L or 309LCb which meets the following chemical 
composition limits (by weight):

Carbon--0.03% maximum
Chromium--20.0-22.0%
Nickel--10.0-12.0%
Molybdenum--0.75% maximum
Manganese--1.0-2.5%
Silicon--0.65% maximum
Phosphorus--0.03% maximum
Sulphur--0.03% maximum

[[Page 6156]]

Copper--0.75% maximum
Columbium--8 times the carbon level minimum--1.0% maximum

Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstance AD 
Review, and Intent To Revoke Order in Part

    At the request of Watanabe and Byram, in accordance with sections 
751(d)(1) and 751(b)(1) of the Act and section 351.216 of the 
Department's regulations, the Department is initiating a changed 
circumstance review of stainless steel sheet and strip from Japan to 
determine whether partial revocation of the AD order is warranted with 
respect to the stainless steel sheet and strip subject to this request. 
Section 782(h)(2) of the Act and section 351.222(g)(1)(i) of the 
Department's regulations provide that the Department 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 product 
have no further interest in the order, in whole or in part. In 
addition, in the event the Department determines that expedited action 
is warranted, section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of the regulations permits the 
Department to combine the notices of initiation and preliminary 
results.
    In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act and sections 
351.222(g)(l)(i) and 351.221(c)(3) of the Department's regulations, we 
are initiating this changed circumstance review and have determined 
that expedited action is warranted. Our decision to expedite this 
review stems from the domestic industry's lack of interest in applying 
the AD order to the specific stainless steel sheet and strip covered by 
this request. Additionally, in accordance with section 351.216(a) we 
find that the petitioners' affirmative statement of no interest 
constitutes good cause for the conduct of this review.
    Based on the expression of no interest by petitioners and absent 
any objection by any other domestic interested parties, we have 
preliminarily determined that substantially all of the domestic 
producers of the like product have no interest in continued application 
of the AD order to the stainless steel sheet and strip subject to this 
request. Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to 
revoke, in part, the AD order as it relates to imports of the 
merchandise described above from Japan.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments 
no later than 14 days after the date of publication of these 
preliminary results. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written comments, 
limited to issues raised in such briefs or comments, may be filed no 
later than 21 days after the date of publication. The Department will 
issue the final results of this changed circumstance review, which will 
include the results of its analysis raised in any such written 
comments, no later than 270 days after the date on which this review 
was initiated, or within 45 days if all parties agree to our 
preliminary determination. See section 351.216(e) of the Department's 
regulations.
    If final revocation occurs, we will instruct the U.S. Customs 
Service to end the suspension of liquidation and to refund, with 
interest, any estimated AD duties collected for all unliquidated 
entries of the specific stainless steel sheet and strip covered by this 
request from Japan. The current requirement for a cash deposit of 
estimated AD duties on all subject merchandise will continue unless and 
until it is modified pursuant to the final results of this changed 
circumstance review.
    This initiation of review and notice are in accordance with 
sections 751(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(b)) and 19 CFR 351.216, 
351.221, and 351.222.

    Dated: January 24, 2000.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary, Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-2853 Filed 2-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P