[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36390-36391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17788]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-485-602]


Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof From Romania: 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.

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SUMMARY: On March 6, 1998, the Department of Commerce (``the 
Department'') published the preliminary results of its administrative 
review of the antidumping duty order on tapered roller bearings and 
parts thereof, finished or unfinished (``TRBs''), from Romania. This 
review covers one manufacturer/exporter of the subject merchandise to 
the United States during the period June 1, 1996, through May 31, 1997. 
We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on our preliminary 
results. Based on our analysis of the comments received, we have not 
changed the results from those presented in the preliminary results of 
review.
    We received no comments from interested parties with regard to the 
Department's preliminary determination to grant Tehnoimportexport, S.A. 
(``TIE'') a separate rate for this review. Therefore, for the final 
results of review, we reaffirm our determination that TIE is entitled 
to a separate rate.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 6, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Blozy or Rick Johnson, Office 
of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-0374 or (202) 482-3818.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (``the Act''), are 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's regulations are to 19 CFR 
Part 353 (April 1997).

Background

    On March 6, 1998, the Department published in the Federal Register 
(63 FR 11217) the preliminary results of its administrative review of 
the antidumping duty order on TRBs from Romania (``Preliminary 
Results''). We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on our 
preliminary results. We received written comments from respondent, TIE, 
and from Universal Automotive Trading Company Ltd. (``Universal''), an 
interested party. Comments submitted consisted of respondent's case 
brief of April 6, 1998 and Universal's rebuttal brief of April 13, 
1998.

Scope of 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.
    The period of review (``POR'') is June 1, 1996, through May 31, 
1997.

Analysis of Comment Received

    Comment 1: Respondent and Universal assert that the Department 
erred in its calculation of freight for certain steel supplies imported 
from Russia. Respondent states that, based on the Department's language 
in its analysis memorandum, the longest possible distance used in this 
review to calculate freight for steel supplies should be either the 
distance from the Romanian steel mill to the Alexandria factory (280 
km) or from Constanza, the port, to the Alexandria factory (350 km).
    Petitioner did not comment on this issue.
    Department's Position: We disagree with respondent and Universal. 
As stated in the analysis memorandum for the preliminary results, the 
Department ``added to CIF surrogate values from Indonesia a surrogate 
freight cost using the shorter of the reported distances from either 
the closest port to the manufacturer's factory, or from the actual 
supplier to the manufacturer's factory.'' See TIE Analysis Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Results of Review (``Analysis Memorandum'') at page 
5 (March 2, 1998). The Department established this methodology for 
accounting for the freight component of surrogate values in Collated 
Roofing Nails from the People's Republic of China, 62 FR 25895 (May 12, 
1997) (``Nails''). Thus, if the material was domestically produced or 
imported from a non-market economy (``NME'') supplier, we used the 
shorter of (a) the distance between the closest Romanian port and the 
factory, or (b) the distance between the actual supplier and the 
factory to calculate a freight cost.
    As noted on page 5 of the Analysis Memorandum, some of the 
distances between Alexandria and NME suppliers were not reported. For 
those missing distances, the Department assigned a distance of 3000 km, 
the longest distance reported in the submission. See Analysis 
Memorandum at page 5. However, despite respondent's assertion, the 
Department correctly calculated a freight cost for those inputs using 
350 km, which is the shorter of the distance between Constanza and 
Alexandria (350 km) and the distance between Alexandria and the Russian 
NME supplier (3000 km). Therefore, the Department calculated freight in 
a manner consistent with the methodology established in Nails.

Final Results of Review

    As a result of our review, we determine the dumping margin (in 
percent) for the period June 1, 1996, through May 30, 1997, to be as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Margin   
                         Exporter                             (percent) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIE.......................................................         0.86 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department will determine, and the U.S. Customs Service shall 
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. For assessment 
purposes, we have calculated an importer-specific ad valorem duty 
assessment rate for the merchandise based on the ratio of the total 
amount of antidumping duties calculated for the examined sales during 
the POR to the total quantity of sales examined during the POR. The

[[Page 36391]]

Department will issue appraisement instructions directly to the 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 all other Romanian exporters, the cash deposit rate 
will be the Romania-wide rate made effective by the amended final 
results of the 1994-95 administrative review (see Tapered Roller 
Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished or Unfinished, from Romania; 
Amendment of Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 
61 FR 59416 (November 22, 1996)); (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 final 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 notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (``APO'') of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d)(1). Timely written notification 
of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the 
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 
751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 11, 1998.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-17788 Filed 7-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P