[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 98 (Monday, May 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27078-27080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12499]



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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-485-804, A-791-803]


Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations: Circular Welded 
Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Romania and South Africa

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Beck at (202) 482-3464 or 
Jennifer Stagner at (202) 482-1673, Office of Antidumping 
Investigations, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230.

INITIATION OF INVESTIGATIONS:

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).

The Petitions

    On April 26, 1995, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
received two petitions filed in proper form by Allied Tube and Conduit 
Corporation, Sawhill Tubular Division, LTV Steel Tubular Products 
Company, Sharon Tube Company, Laclede Steel Company, Wheatland Tube 
Company, and Century Tube Corporation (the petitioners), seven U.S. 
producers of circular welded non-alloy steel pipe. A supplement to the 
petitions was filed on May 8, 1995.
    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Act, the petitioners 
allege that imports of circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from 
Romania and South Africa are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 731 
of the Act, and that such imports are materially injuring, or 
threatening material injury to, a U.S. industry.
    The petitioners state that they have standing to file the petitions 
because they are interested parties, as defined under section 771(9)(C) 
of the Act.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act requires the Department to 
determine, prior to the initiation of an investigation, that a minimum 
percentage of the domestic industry supports an antidumping petition. A 
petition meets these minimum requirements if (1) the domestic producers 
or workers who support the petition account for at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product; and (2) the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for more than 50 
percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by that 
portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the 
petition.
    A review of the production data provided in the petitions and other 
information readily available to the Department indicates that the 
petitioners account for more than 25 percent of the total production of 
the domestic like product and for more than 50 percent of that produced 
by companies expressing support for, or opposition to, the petitions. 
The Department received no expressions of opposition to the petitions 
from any interested party. Accordingly, the Department determines that 
these petitions are supported by the domestic industry.

Scope of the Investigations

    For purposes of these investigations, circular welded non-alloy 
steel pipes (standard pipes) are all pipes and tubes, of circular 
cross-section, not more than 406.4 mm (16 inches) in outside diameter, 
regardless of wall thickness, surface finish (black, galvanized, or 
painted), end finish (plain end, bevelled end, threaded, or threaded 
and coupled), or industry specification (ASTM, proprietary, or other) 
used in, or intended for use in, standard or structural pipe 
applications.
    The scope specifically includes, but is not limited to, all pipe 
produced to the ASTM A-53, ASTM A-120, ASTM A-135, ASTM A-795, and BS-
1387 specifications. It also includes any pipe multiple-stencilled or 
multiple-certified to one of the above-listed specifications and to any 
other specification such as API-5L and API-5L X-42 specifications. Pipe 
produced to proprietary specifications, the API-5L, the API-5L X-42, or 
to any other non-listed specification is included within the scope of 
these investigations if used or intended for use in a standard pipe 
application, regardless of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) category into which it was classified.
    Standard pipe uses include the low-pressure conveyance of water, 
steam, natural gas, air, and other liquids and gases in plumbing and 
heating systems, air conditioning units, automatic sprinkler systems, 
and other related uses. Standard pipe may carry liquids at elevated 
temperatures but may not be subject to the application of external 
heat. Standard or structural pipe uses also include load-bearing 
applications in construction and residential and industrial fence 
systems. Standard pipe uses also include shells for the production of 
finished conduit and pipe used for the production of scaffolding.
    These investigations do not cover: API line pipe that is used in 
oil or gas pipelines; mechanical tubing, whether or not cold-drawn, 
that enters the United States classified under HTSUS 7306.30.10 or 
7306.30.50; tube and pipe hollows for redrawing that enter the United 
States classified under HTSUS 7306.30.50.35; and finished electrical 
conduit that enters the United States classified under HTSUS 
7306.30.50.28. The investigation does cover conduit 
[[Page 27079]] shells that enter the United States classified under 
HTSUS 7306.30.50 including HTSUS 7306.30.50.28.
    The scope of these investigations also covers pipe used for the 
production of scaffolding, but does not cover finished scaffolding. 
Pipe produced to the API specifications for oil country tubular goods 
(API 5CT) is not covered by the scope of these investigations, unless 
also certified to a listed standard pipe specification and used or 
intended for use in a standard pipe application.
    The merchandise under investigation is currently classifiable under 
items 7306.30.10.00, 7306.30.50.25, 7306.30.50.32, 7306.30.50.40, 
7306.30.50.55, 7306.30.50.85, and 7306.30.50.90 of the HTSUS. Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, our written description of the scope of these investigations 
is dispositive.
    Although the Department is including end-use language in the scope 
for purposes of initiation, the Department intends to further consider 
its appropriateness. The Department currently is conducting a scope 
inquiry with respect to the antidumping duty orders on certain circular 
welded non-alloy steel pipe from Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, 
and Venezuela (see Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Scope 
Inquiry on Antidumping Duty Orders on Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy 
Steel Pipe From Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, and Venezuela 
(59 FR 1929, January 13, 1994)). The final determination of that scope 
inquiry will affect the scope determination in these investigations.
    The Department invites comments from interested parties addressing 
``end-use'' as a scope criterion. Parties interested in commenting on 
the scope of these investigations should submit their comments no later 
than close of business June 30, 1995. Rebuttal comments will be 
accepted no later than close of business July 7, 1995.
Export Price and Normal Value

Romania

    The petitioners based export price on the reported customs value 
for circular welded non-alloy steel pipe imported into the United 
States from Romania during the fourth quarter of 1994. This information 
was specific to standard pipe and not to a basket category of 
merchandise. The petitioners made adjustments to the price for foreign 
inland freight.
    The petitioners assert that Romania is a non-market economy (NME) 
within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act. Accordingly, the 
normal value of the product should be based on the producers' factors 
of production, valued in a surrogate market economy country. In 
previous investigations, the Department has determined that Romania is 
an NME, and section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act provides that the 
presumption of NME status continues for the initiation of this 
investigation. See, e.g., Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Romania 57 FR 
42957 (September 17, 1992) (Standard Pipe from Romania). In the course 
of this investigation, all parties will have the opportunity to provide 
relevant information related to the issues of Romania's NME status and 
the granting of separate rates to individual exporters. See, e.g., 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide 
from the PRC 59 FR 22585 (May 2, 1994).
    In accordance with section 773(c)(3) of the Act, the petitioners 
based the Romanian producers' factors of production (e.g., raw 
materials, labor, energy) on adjusted data from the public version of 
the information on the record in Standard Pipe from Romania. For the 
valuation of certain factors (steel coil, labor, electricity, water, 
and methane), the petitioners used surrogate information from Colombia 
pursuant to section 773(c)(4) of the Act. The petitioners contend that 
Colombia is the most appropriate surrogate country because it is 
similar to Romania in terms of per-capita gross national product trends 
and population levels and is a significant producer of steel pipe.
    To value certain other minor factors, the petitioners used 
information from Thailand because they could not obtain information 
from Colombia. The petitioners used public surrogate information from 
Thailand that was used in Standard Pipe from Romania because this 
information was reasonably available to them. Where necessary, these 
values were adjusted for inflation.
    Based on a comparison of the export price to normal value, the 
calculated dumping margin based on public information is 39.58 percent.

South Africa

    The petitioners based export price on the reported customs value 
for circular welded non-alloy steel pipe imported into the United 
States from South Africa during the fourth quarter of 1994. This 
information was specific to standard pipe and not to a basket category 
of merchandise. The petitioners made no adjustments for foreign 
movement charges and other selling expenses.
    The petitioners based normal value on actual home market price 
quotations from a South African distributor provided by a market 
researcher. The petitioners converted the unit price quotes in South 
African rand to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate for the 
fourth quarter of 1994 and then adjusted the dollar unit price, where 
appropriate, for standard and early payment discounts.
    Based on comparisons of export price to normal value, the 
calculated dumping margins for circular welded non-alloy steel pipe 
from South Africa range from 107.87 percent to 127.81 percent.

Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioners, there is reason to 
believe that imports of circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from 
Romania and South Africa are being, or likely to be, sold at less than 
fair value. If it becomes necessary at a later date to consider these 
petitions as a source of facts available under section 776 of the Act, 
we may review further the calculations.

Initiation of Investigations

    We have examined the petitions on circular welded non-alloy steel 
pipe and have found that they meet the requirements of section 732 of 
the Act, including the requirements concerning allegations of the 
material injury or threat of material injury to the domestic producers 
of a domestic like product by reason of the complained-of imports, 
allegedly sold at less than fair value. Therefore, we are initiating 
antidumping duty investigations to determine whether imports of 
circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from Romania and South Africa are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value. Unless extended, we will make our preliminary determinations by 
October 5, 1995.

Distribution of Copies of the Petitions

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act, copies of the 
public versions of the petitions have been provided to the 
representatives of the governments of Romania and South Africa. We will 
attempt to provide copies of the public versions of the petitions to 
all the exporters named in the petitions.

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    We have notified the ITC of our initiations, as required by section 
732(d) of the Act. [[Page 27080]] 

Preliminary Determination by the ITC

    The ITC will determine by June 12, 1995, whether there is a 
reasonable indication that imports of circular welded non-alloy steel 
pipe from Romania and South Africa are causing material injury, or 
threatening to cause material injury, to a U.S. industry. A negative 
ITC determination on either investigation will result in the respective 
investigation being terminated; otherwise, these investigations will 
proceed according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
    This notice is published pursuant to section 732(c)(2) of the Act.

Susan G. Esserman,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
    Dated: May 16, 1995.
[FR Doc. 95-12499 Filed 5-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P