27078 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 98 / Monday, May 22, 1995 / Notices

time. Requests would be made to the

Board on a case-by-case basis.

In accordance with the Board’s

regulations, a member of the FTZ Staff

has been designated examiner to

investigate the application and report to

the Board.

As part of the investigation, the

Commerce examiner will hold a public

hearing on June 15, 1995 at 9:00 a.m.,

City Council Chambers, Second Floor of

City Hall, 151 SE Osceola Avenue,

Ocala, Florida.

Public comment on the application is

invited from interested parties.

Submissions (original and 3 copies)

shall be addressed to the Board’s

Executive Secretary at the address

below. The closing period for their

receipt is July 21, 1995. Rebuttal

comments in response to material

submitted during the foregoing period

may be submitted during the subsequent

15-day period (to [75 days from date of

publication]).

A copy of the application and

accompanying exhibits will be available

during this time for public inspection at

the following locations:

Ocala Regional Library, Reference

Section, 15 SE Osceola Avenue,

Ocala, Florida 34471.

Office of the Executive Secretary,

Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room

3716, U.S. Department of Commerce,

14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20230.

Dated: May 15, 1995.

John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–12498 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

International Trade Administration

[A–485–804, A–791–803]

Initiation of Antidumping Duty

Investigations: Circular Welded NonAlloy 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 nonlisted 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 lowpressure 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
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 98 / Monday, May 22, 1995 / Notices 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 nonalloy 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 ‘‘enduse’’ 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 nonalloy 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.
27080 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 98 / Monday, May 22, 1995 / Notices

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

[C–557–806]

Extruded Rubber Thread From

Malaysia; Preliminary Results of

Countervailing Duty Administrative

Review

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of

countervailing duty administrative

review.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce

(the Department) is conducting an

administrative review of the

countervailing duty order on extruded

rubber thread from Malaysia. We

preliminarily determine the net bounty

or grant to be 1.00 percent ad valorem

for all manufacturers and exporters of

Malaysian extruded rubber thread for

the period January 1, 1993 through

December 31, 1993. If the final results

remain the same as these preliminary

results of administrative review, we will

instruct the U.S. Customs Service to

assess countervailing duties as indicated

above. Interested parties are invited to

comment on these preliminary results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy

Kornfeld or Richard Herring, Office of

Countervailing Compliance, Import

Administration, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230;

telephone: (202) 482–2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 25, 1992, the Department

published in the Federal Register (57

FR 38472) the countervailing duty order

on extruded rubber thread from

Malaysia. On August 3, 1994, the

Department published a notice of

‘‘Opportunity to Request an

Administrative Review’’ (59 FR 39543)

of this countervailing duty order. We

received a timely request for review

from respondents Heveafil Sdn.

Bhd.(Heveafil), Filmax Sdn.

Bhd.(Filmax), Rubberflex Sdn.

Bhd.(Rubberflex), Filati Lastex

Elastofibre Sdn. Bhd.(Filati), and Rubfil

Sdn. Bhd.(Rubfil).

We initiated the review, covering the

period January 1, 1993 through

December 31, 1993, on September 16,

1994 (59 FR 47609). The review covers

5 manufacturers/exporters of the subject

merchandise and 12 programs.

Applicable Statute and Regulations

The Department is conducting this

administrative review in accordance

with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of

1930, as amended (the Act). Unless

otherwise indicated, all citations to the

statute and to the Department’s

regulations are in reference to the

provisions as they existed on December

31, 1994. However, references to the

Department’s Countervailing Duties;

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and

Request for Public Comments, 54 FR

23366 (May 31, 1989) (Proposed

Regulations), are provided solely for

further explanation of the Department’s

countervailing duty practice. Although

the Department has withdrawn the

particular rulemaking proceeding

pursuant to which the Proposed

Regulations were issued, the subject

matter of these regulations is being

considered in connection with an

ongoing rulemaking proceeding which,

among other things, is intended to

conform the Department’s regulations to

the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

See 60 FR 80 (Jan. 3, 1995).

Scope of Review

Imports covered by this review are

shipments of extruded rubber thread

from Malaysia. Extruded rubber thread

is defined as vulcanized rubber thread

obtained by extrusion of stable or

concentrated natural rubber latex of any

cross sectional shape, measuring from

0.18 mm, which is 0.007 inch or 140

gauge, to 1.42 mm, which is 0.056 inch

or 18 gauge, in diameter. Such

merchandise was classifiable under item

number 4007.00.00 of the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS item

number is provided for convenience and

Customs purposes. The written

description remains dispositive.

Calculation Methodology for

Assessment and Deposit Purposes

We calculated the net bounty or grant

on a country-wide basis by first

calculating the bounty or grant rate for

each company subject to the

administrtative review. We then weightaveraged the rate received by each

company, including those with de

minimis and zero rates, using as the

weight its share of total Malaysian

exports to the United States of subject

merchandise. We then summed the

individual companies’ weighted-average

rates to determine the bounty or grant

rate from all programs benefitting

exports of subject merchandise to the

United States.

Since the country-wide rate

calculated using this methodology was

above de minimis, as defined by 19 CFR

355.7 (1994), we proceeded to the next

step and examined the net bounty or

grant rate calculated for each company

to determine whether individual

company rates differed significantly

from the weighted-average country-wide

rate, pursuant to 19 CFR 355.22(d)(3). In

calculating the individual company

rates described above, only one rate was

calculated for Heaveafil and Filmax

because Heveafil and Filmax are related

parties.

None of the companies had net

bounty or grant rates which were

significantly different pursuant to 19

CFR 355.22(d)(3). Therefore, all

companies are assigned the countrywide rate.

Analysis of Programs

I. Programs Conferring Subsidies

A. Export Credit Refinancing (ECR)

Program

The ECR program was established in

order to promote: (1) Exports of

manufactured goods and agricultural

food products that have significant

value-added and high local content, (2)

greater domestic linkages in export

industries, and (3) easy access to credit

facilities. In order to accomplish this,

the Bank Negara Malaysia, the central

bank of Malaysia, provides order-based

and pre- and post-shipment financing of

exports through commercial banks for

periods of up to 120 and 180 days,

respectively, and certificate of

performance (CP)-based pre-shipment

financing. Order-based financing is

provided for specific sales to specific

markets. CP-based financing is a line of

credit based on the previous 12 months’