[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11152-11155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5895]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-485-602]


Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished or 
Unfinished, From Romania; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of antidumping duty 
administrative review.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request by the petitioner, The Timken Company 
(Timken), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on tapered roller 
bearings and parts thereof, finished or unfinished (TRBs), from 
Romania. The review covers shipments of the subject merchandise to the 
United States during the period June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. Parties who submit arguments are requested to submit with each 
argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the 
argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 11, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Johnson or Jean Kemp, Office of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-3793.

[[Page 11153]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute

    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 
current regulations, as amended by the interim regulations published in 
the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 25130).

Background

    On June 19, 1987, the Department published in the Federal Register 
(52 FR 23320) the antidumping duty order on TRBs from Romania. On June 
6, 1996, the Department published in the Federal Register (61 FR 28840, 
28841) a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of 
this antidumping duty order. On June 28, 1996, in accordance with 19 
CFR 353.22(a), the petitioner requested that we conduct an 
administrative review of the following firms: Tehnoimportexport, S.A. 
(TIE); Tehnoforestimportexport; S.C. Rulmenti S.A. Alexandria 
(Alexandria); S.C. Rulmentul S.A. Brasov (Brasov); S.C. Rulmenti S.A. 
Birlad (Birlad); S.C. Rulmenti Grei S.A. Ploiesti (Ploiesti); S.C. 
Rulmenti S.A. Slatina (Slatina); and S.C. URB Rulmenti S.A. Suceava 
(Suceava); S.C. Ocromfer SRL; A. Hartrodt; Shanghai Yawa Printing 
Machinery Co., Ltd.; Famous Freight Forwarding Company; Accord Shipping 
Pte Ltd.; ABCO International Freight (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Thompson Russel 
& Ulrich Semiconductor Technologies Inc.; Votainer Nederland B.V.; 
Sunrise Bearing and Technology Ltd.; Destrex Dora AFV SA DE CV AVE; 
Madison Metals Corp.; Euro Precision Bearings and Commodities, Inc.; 
William McGinty Company; Associated Dynamics Inc.; Universal Automotive 
Trading Company, Ltd.; Stevens Graphics; Eurasia Freight Service Inc.; 
ABCO International Freight Inc.; Ameru Trading del Peru, S.A.; and 
Madison Bearing Co. We published the notice of initiation of this 
antidumping duty administrative review on August 8, 1996 (61 FR 41373, 
41374). On September 12, 1996, the petitioner withdrew its request that 
the administrative review include Ameru Trading del Peru.

Scope of This Review

    Imports covered by this review are shipments of TRBs from Romania. 
These products include flange, take-up cartridge, and hanger units 
incorporating tapered roller bearings, and tapered roller housings 
(except pillow blocks) incorporating tapered rollers, with or without 
spindles, whether or not for automotive use. This merchandise is 
currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item 
numbers 8482.20.00, 8482.91.00, 8482.99.30, 8483.20.40, 8483.30.40, and 
8483.90.20. Although the HTS item numbers are provided for convenience 
and Customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this 
order remains dispositive.
    This review covers 28 companies and the period June 1, 1995 through 
May 31, 1996. Of the 28 companies for which petitioner requested a 
review, only TIE made shipments of the subject merchandise to the 
United States during the period of review (POR). Alexandria and Brasov 
produced the merchandise sold by TIE to the United States, but have 
stated that they did not ship TRBs directly to the United States. The 
Department has received information from the Government of Romania and 
other respondents stating that they did not produce or sell TRBs 
subject to this review.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified information 
provided by TIE and Brasov, using standard verification procedures, 
including on-site inspection of the manufacturer's facilities, 
examination of relevant sales and financial records, and selection of 
original documentation containing relevant information. Our 
verification results are outlined in the public versions of the 
verification reports.

Separate Rates

    To establish whether a company is sufficiently independent to be 
entitled to a separate rate, the Department analyzes each exporting 
entity under the test established in the Final Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers from the People's Republic of China 
(``Sparklers''), 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991), as amplified by the Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from 
the People's Republic of China (``Silicon Carbide''), 59 FR 22585 (May 
2, 1994). Under this policy, exporters in non-market-economy (NME) 
countries are entitled to separate, company-specific margins when they 
can demonstrate an absence of government control, both in law and in 
fact, with respect to exports. Evidence supporting, though not 
requiring, a finding of de jure absence of government control includes: 
(1) An absence of restrictive stipulations associated with an 
individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) any legislative 
enactments decentralizing control of companies; and (3) any other 
formal measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. 
De facto absence of government control with respect to exports is based 
on four criteria: (1) Whether the export prices are set by or subject 
to the approval of a government authority; (2) whether each exporter 
retains the proceeds from its sales and makes independent decisions 
regarding the disposition of profits or financing of losses; (3) 
whether each exporter has autonomy in making decisions regarding the 
selection of management; and (4) whether each exporter has the 
authority to negotiate and sign contracts.
    TIE is the only company covered by this review with shipments of 
the subject merchandise to the United States during the POR. Therefore, 
TIE is the only firm for which we have made a determination of whether 
it should receive a separate rate. We have found that the evidence on 
the record demonstrates an absence of government control, both in law 
and in fact, with respect to TIE according to the criteria identified 
in Sparklers and Silicon Carbide. For a further discussion of the 
Department's preliminary determination that TIE is entitled to a 
separate rate, see Memorandum to Edward Yang, Office Director, AD/CVD 
Enforcement Group III, dated February 25, 1997: Antidumping 
Administrative Review of Tapered Roller Bearings from Romania: 
Assignment of a Separate Rate for Tehnoimportexport, S.A. in the 1995/
96 review, which is on file in the Central Records Unit (room B099 of 
the Main Commerce Building).

Export Price

    Information on the record indicates that TIE was the only Romanian 
exporter of the subject merchandise to the United States during the 
POR. For sales made by TIE, the Department used export price, in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, in calculating U.S. price. 
We calculated export price based on the price to unrelated purchasers. 
We made deductions, where appropriate, for foreign inland freight and 
ocean freight. We used surrogate information from Indonesia to value 
foreign inland freight for reasons explained in the ``Normal Value'' 
section of this notice.

Normal Value

    For merchandise exported from an NME country, section 773(c)(1) of 
the Act provides that the Department shall determine NV using factors 
of production methodology if available

[[Page 11154]]

information does not permit the calculation of NV using home market or 
third country prices under section 773(a) of the Act. In every case 
conducted by the Department involving Romania, Romania has been treated 
as an NME country. None of the parties to this proceeding has contested 
such treatment in this review. Accordingly, we calculated NV in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act and Sec. 353.52 of the 
Department's regulations. In accordance with section 773(c)(3) of the 
Act, the factors of production utilized in producing TRBs include, but 
are not limited to--(a) hours of labor required, (b) quantities of raw 
materials employed, (c) amounts of energy and other utilities consumed, 
and (d) representative capital cost, including depreciation. In 
accordance with section 773(c)(4) of the Act, the Department valued the 
factors of production, to the extent possible, using the prices or 
costs of factors of production in market economy countries that are--
(a) at a level of economic development comparable to that of Romania, 
and (b) significant producers of comparable merchandise.
    We determined that Indonesia is at a level of economic development 
comparable to that of Romania. We also found that Indonesia is a 
producer of bearings. Therefore, we have selected Indonesia as the 
primary surrogate country. For a further discussion of the Department's 
selection of surrogate countries, see Memorandum to the File: 
Antidumping Administrative Review of Tapered Roller Bearings from 
Romania: Selection of a surrogate country in the 1995/96 review, dated 
February 27, 1997, which is on file in the Central Records Unit (room 
B099 of the Main Commerce Building).
    For purposes of calculating NV, we valued the Romanian factors of 
production as follows:
    <bullet> Where materials used to produce TRBs were imported into 
Romania from market economy countries, we used the import price to 
value the material input. To value all other direct materials used in 
the production of TRBs, we used the import value per metric ton of 
these materials into Indonesia for the period January 1994 through 
September 1994 as published in the Indonesian Foreign Trade Statistical 
Bulletin--Imports, and adjusted, as appropriate, with the wholesale 
price index inflator to place these values on an equivalent basis. We 
made adjustments to include freight costs incurred between the 
suppliers and the TRB factories, using freight rates obtained from the 
public version of the May 10, 1996 and July 15, 1996 submissions of 
P.T. Multi Raya Indah Abadi, respondent in the antidumping case 
Melamine Institutional Dinnerware from Indonesia, which is on file in 
the Central Records Unit (B099 of the Main Commerce Building). We also 
made an adjustment for scrap steel which was sold by the producers.
    <bullet> For direct labor, we used the Indonesian average daily 
wage and hours worked per week for the iron and steel basic industries 
reported in the 1994 Special Supplement to the Bulletin of Labour 
Statistics, published by the International Labour Office.
    <bullet> For factory overhead, selling, general and administrative 
expenses, and profit, we could not find a value for the bearings 
industry in Indonesia. Therefore, we used information provided to the 
Department by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia in the antidumping 
duty investigation of Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from 
the People's Republic of China, because the pipe fittings industry is a 
similar metal manufacturing industry.
    <bullet> To value packing materials, where materials used to 
package TRBs were imported into Romania from market-economy countries, 
we used the import price to value the material input. To value all 
other packing materials, we used the import value per metric ton of 
these materials for the period January 1994 through September 1994 (and 
adjusted with the wholesale price index inflator to place these values 
on an equivalent basis), as published in the Indonesian Foreign Trade 
Statistical Bulletin--Imports. We adjusted these values to include 
freight costs incurred between the suppliers and the TRB factories.
    <bullet> To value foreign inland freight, we used freight rates 
obtained from public versions of submissions to the Department in the 
antidumping case Melamine Institutional Dinnerware from Indonesia, as 
indicated above.

Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions in accordance with Section 773A(a) of 
the Act. In this case, we used average monthly exchange rates published 
by the International Monetary Fund in International Financial 
Statistics.

Non-Shippers

    The following companies stated that they did not have shipments to 
the United States during the POR: S.C. Rulmentul S.A. Brasov, S.C. 
Rulmenti S.A. Birlad, S.C. Rulmenti S.A. Slatina, S.C. Rulmenti S.A. 
Alexandria, S.C. Rulmenti Grei S.A. Ploiesti, Votainer Nederland B.V., 
Sunrise Bearing and Technology Ltd., A. Hartrodt, Shanghai Yawa 
Printing Machinery Co., Ltd., Famous Freight Forwarding Company, ABCO 
International Freight (Hong Kong) Ltd., William McGinty Company, 
Associated Dynamics Inc., Stevens Graphics, Eurasia Freight Service, 
Inc., and ABCO International Freight Inc. Additionally, the Government 
of Romania stated that TIE was the sole exporter to the United States, 
and that therefore the Romanian companies Tehnoforestimportexport, S.C. 
Ocromfer SRL, and S.C. Rulmenti S.A. Suceava did not export to the 
United States during the POR. We received no responses to our 
questionnaire from Universal Automotive Trading Company, Ltd., Euro 
Precision Bearings and Commodities, Inc., Thompson, Russel & Ulrich 
Semiconductor Technologies Inc., and Accord Shipping Pte Ltd. We were 
unable to locate Madison Bearing Company, Madison Metals Corporation, 
and Destrex Dora AFV SA DE CV AVE.
    We confirmed that none of the aforementioned companies shipped TRBs 
to the United States with the United States Customs Service. Therefore, 
we are treating all of these companies as non-shippers for this review.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of our review, we preliminarily determine that the 
following margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Margin 
           Manufacturer/exporter                Time period    (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tehnoimportexport, S.A.....................    6/1/95-5/31/96       8.05
Non-shippers...............................    6/1/95-5/31/96     *7.67 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*No shipments during the POR, but never determined to merit a separate  
  rate. Therefore, we applied the Romania-wide rate established in the  
  most recent segment of the proceeding.                                

    Parties to the proceedings may request disclosure within 5 days of 
the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of publication. Any hearing, if 
requested, will be held 44 days after the publication of this notice, 
or the first workday thereafter. Interested parties may submit case 
briefs within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice. 
Rebuttal briefs, which must be limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date of 
publication. The Department will publish a notice of final results of 
this administrative review, which will include the results of its 
analysis of issues raised in any such comments.

[[Page 11155]]

    The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall 
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department 
will issue appraisement instructions directly to the U.S. Customs 
Service.
    Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective 
upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for 
all shipments of TRBs from Romania entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as 
provided for by section 751(a)(2)(c) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit 
rate for TIE will be the rate we determine in the final results of 
review; (2) for the other companies named above which had no shipments 
during the POR and which were not found to have separate rates, 
Tehnoforestimportexport, Alexandria, Brasov, Barlad, Ploiesti, Slatina, 
and Suceava, and for all other Romanian exporters, the cash deposit 
rate will be 7.67%, the Romania-wide rate established in the most 
recent segment of the proceeding; and (3) for non-Romanian exporters of 
subject merchandise from Romania, the cash deposit rate will be the 
rate applicable to the Romanian supplier of that exporter. These 
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
publication of the final results of the next administrative review.
    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 of the Department's regulations 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 double antidumping duties. This administrative 
review and notice are in accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 353.22.

    Dated: March 3, 1997.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-5895 Filed 3-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P