[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 9 (Friday, January 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2880-2884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1107]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-856, A-580-846, A-469-810]


Notice of Preliminary Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Stainless Steel Angle From Japan, Korea, and Spain

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

ACTION: Notice of preliminary determinations.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: January 12, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarrod Goldfeder (Japan) at (202) 482-

[[Page 2881]]

0189, Brian Smith (Korea) at (202) 482-1766, Davina Hashmi (Spain) at 
(202) 482-5760, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20230.

Preliminary Determinations

    We preliminarily determine that stainless steel angle (``SSA'') 
from Japan, Korea, and Spain are being, or are likely to be, sold in 
the United States at less-than-fair-value (``LTFV'') prices, as 
provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the 
Act''). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the 
``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

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 Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act (``URAA''). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations 
to the Department of Commerce's (``the Department's) regulations refer 
to 19 CFR Part 351 (2000).

Case History

    Since the initiation of these investigations (Notice of Initiation 
of Antidumping Investigations: Stainless Steel Angle from Japan, 
Republic of Korea, and Spain (65 FR 55504, (September 14, 2000)) 
(``Initiation Notice''), the following events have occurred:
    On September 19, 2000, the Department sent letters to the 
petitioners\1\ and all parties named in the petition requesting 
comments on the product-matching criteria and matching hierarchy in the 
three individual cases. These parties included: Daido Steel Co., Ltd. 
(``Daido''), Aichi Steel Corporation (``Aichi''), and Sumitomo Metal 
Industries, Ltd., (``Sumitomo''), possible exporters/producers of SSA 
from Japan; Bae Myung Metal Co., Ltd. (``Bae Myung''), a possible 
exporter/producer of SSA from Korea; and Roldan, S.A. (``Roldan''), a 
possible exporter/producer of SSA from Spain. See ``Respondent 
Selection'' section of this notice for further discussion of how the 
Department determined the respondents in these investigations. On 
September 21, 2000, the petitioners submitted comments on the physical 
characteristics for product-matching purposes in all three cases.
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    \1\ The petitioners are Slater Steels Corporation, Speciality 
Alloys Division (``Slater''), and the United Steel Workers of 
America, AFL-CIO/CLC (collectively, ``the petitioners'').
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    On September 25, 2000, Bae Myung submitted a letter of appearance 
and a request that certain SSA be excluded from the scope of the 
investigation concerning Korea. On October 4, 2000, the petitioners 
filed comments on Bae Myung's scope-exclusion request. See ``Scope 
Comments'' section of this notice for further discussion. On September 
28, 2000, the United States International Trade Commission (``ITC'') 
preliminarily determined that there is a reasonable indication that 
imports of SSA from Japan, Korea, and Spain are materially injuring (or 
threatening with material injury) the United States industry. See 
Stainless Steel Angle from Japan, Korea and Spain, 65 FR 60451 (October 
11, 2000), and USITC publication 3356 (October 2000) entitled Stainless 
Steel Angle from Japan, Korea and Spain: Investigation Nos. 731-TA-888-
890 (Preliminary).
    As a result of our research to determine the proper recipients of 
the antidumping questionnaires in the three cases, on October 12, 2000, 
we issued antidumping duty questionnaires\2\ to two Korean companies 
(Bae Myung and SK Global Co., Ltd. (``SK Global'')) and to the Spanish 
company (Roldan). On October 13, 2000, we issued questionnaires to 
three Japanese companies (Aichi, Daido, and Sumitomo). See ``Respondent 
Selection'' section of this notice for further discussion. On October 
17, 2000, Roldan submitted a letter of appearance.
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    \2\ Section A of the questionnaire requested general information 
concerning the company's corporate structure and business practices, 
the merchandise under investigation that it sells, and the sales of 
that merchandise in all markets. Sections B and C of the 
questionnaire requested home market sales listings and U.S. sales 
listings. Section D of the questionnaire requested information 
regarding the cost of production (``COP'') of the foreign like 
product and the constructed value (``CV'') of the merchandise under 
investigation. Section E of the questionnaire requested information 
regarding the cost of further manufacture or assembly performed in 
the United States.
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    On November 20, 2000, Bae Myung's counsel indicated that Bae Myung 
would not be submitting a response to the antidumping duty 
questionnaire. At that time, the Department informed Bae Myung's 
counsel that Bae Myung's failure to submit a response would result in 
the application of facts available. See November 20, 2000, memorandum 
to the case file concerning SSA from Korea. On November 21, 2000, 
Roldan's counsel indicated that Roldan was not submitting a response to 
the antidumping duty questionnaire. At that time, the Department 
informed Roldan's counsel that Roldan's failure to submit a response 
would result in the application of facts available. See November 21, 
2000, memorandum to the case file concerning SSA from Spain. On 
November 27, 2000, the Department sent letters to SK Global (i.e., the 
other Korean respondent) and the three Japanese respondents informing 
them that the Department did not receive their responses to the 
antidumping duty questionnaire and that, if they did not contact the 
Department by December 4, 2000, the Department would resort to facts 
available in making its preliminary determinations. None of these 
respondents contacted the Department by December 4, 2000.

Scope of Investigations

    For purposes of these investigations, the term ``stainless steel 
angle'' includes hot-rolled, whether or not annealed or descaled, 
stainless steel products of equal leg length angled at 90 degrees, that 
are not otherwise advanced. The stainless steel angle subject to these 
investigations is currently classifiable under subheadings 
7222.40.30.20 and 7222.40.30.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of 
the United States (``HTSUS''). Specifically excluded from the scope of 
these investigations is stainless steel angle of unequal leg length. 
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, our written description of the scope of these investigations 
is dispositive.

Scope Comments

    On September 25, 2000, Bae Myung, a Korean respondent, requested 
that the Department exclude from the scope of the proceeding on SSA 
from Korea certain SSA products that Slater (i.e., one of the 
petitioners) does not produce. Specifically, Bae Myung stated that 
Slater does not make SSA with leg lengths under one inch or over three 
inches and that SSA of different leg lengths cannot be used in the same 
application and thus are not substitutable. We did not receive scope 
comments from SK Global or from the respondents in the cases of SSA 
from Japan or Spain.
    On October 4, 2000, we received comments from the petitioners 
requesting that we reject Bae Myung's request to exclude products that 
Slater did not produce. The petitioners based their request on 
established Department practice, which is not to alter the petitioner's 
scope definition except to clarify ambiguities in the language or 
address administrability problems, citing the Notice of Final 
Determination

[[Page 2882]]

of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value: Melamine Institutional Dinnerware 
Products from the People's Republic of China, 62 FR 1708 (Jan. 13, 
1997) and Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: 
Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils from Italy, 64 FR 30624, 30635 
(June 8, 1999). The petitioners state that, in this case, they have 
identified the products in the petition clearly. Moreover and most 
importantly, the petitioners state, the statute does not require that 
the domestic industry must currently produce every kind of product 
included within the scope of a petition. Rather, the petitioners 
maintain, products are often included in the scope of an investigation 
because they are similar to and competitive with the domestic like 
product.
    In analyzing Bae Myung's scope-exclusion request, we examined the 
ITC's preliminary determination report (i.e., ITC publication No. 3356, 
dated October 2000) to determine whether the ITC found that the 
specific products identified by Bae Myung in its exclusion request 
constitute a domestic like product distinct from the rest of the 
products covered by the scope of these investigations. We found no 
indication in the ITC's preliminary determination report that leg 
lengths under one inch or over three inches should be considered as 
separate domestic like products. In addition, we examined whether this 
scope-exclusion request had been an issue in an earlier proceeding 
involving SSA from Japan (see Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Stainless Steel Angle from Japan, 60 FR 16608 (March 31, 
1995)). In this past case, as well as in the current cases, we found no 
indication that any sizes of SSA with equal leg lengths should 
constitute distinct domestic like products or foreign like products for 
comparison purposes. Therefore, after reviewing the comments submitted 
by Bae Myung and the petitioners, the ITC report, and the earlier 
investigation on SSA case from Japan, we have determined that the scope 
of the investigation of SSA from Korea, as well as that of the 
investigations of SSA from Japan and Spain, should also include SSA 
with leg lengths under one inch and over three inches.

Period of Investigation

    The period of these investigations (``POI'') is August 1, 1999, 
through July 31, 2000.

Selection of Respondents

    Section 777A(c)(1) of the Act directs the Department to calculate 
individual dumping margins for each known exporter and producer of the 
subject merchandise. However, section 777A(c)(2) of the Act gives the 
Department discretion, when faced with a large number of exporters/
producers, to limit its examination to a reasonable number of such 
companies if it is not practicable to examine all companies. Where it 
is not practicable to examine all known exporters/producers of subject 
merchandise, this provision permits the Department to investigate 
either (1) a sample of exporters, producers, or types of products that 
is statistically valid based on the information available at the time 
of selection, or (2) exporters and producers accounting for the largest 
volume of the subject merchandise that can be reasonably examined.
    In their petition, the petitioners identified Aichi, Daido, and 
Sumitomo as possible exporters/producers of SSA from Japan, Bae Myung 
as a possible exporter/producer of SSA from Korea, and Roldan as a 
possible exporter/producer of SSA from Spain. On September 25, 2000, we 
sent a cable to our U.S. embassy in each of the three countries to 
inquire whether there were any other companies besides those listed in 
the petition that either exported or produced SSA during the POI in 
that particular country. The embassies did not indicate that there were 
any other exporters or producers of the subject merchandise.
    To identify further the universe of potential respondents from the 
three countries to which we should send an antidumping duty 
questionnaire for purposes of these LTFV investigations, we performed 
the following steps in each case. For the case concerning Japan, we 
conducted a U.S. Customs Service (``Customs Service'') query and 
obtained information on the quantity and value of SSA imported from 
Japan into the United States on an annual basis for 1997, 1998, 1999, 
and January to June 2000. An analysis of the Customs Service data 
confirmed two of the three manufacturers of SSA in Japan named in the 
petition. The query covered SSA within the HTS numbers 7222.40.30.20 
and 7222.40.30.60, which may include non-subject SSA (e.g., unequal 
lengths). Additionally, we conducted an internet search which yielded 
no additional information. Based on these steps, we determined that 
Aichi, Daido, and Sumitomo were the only appropriate Japanese 
recipients of our questionnaire for purposes of conducting this 
investigation. See ``Memorandum to the File regarding Questionnaire 
Recipients'' dated December 27, 2000, for further discussion.
    For the case concerning Korea, we conducted a Customs Service query 
and obtained information on the quantity and value of SSA imported from 
Korea into the United States on an annual basis for 1997, 1998, 1999, 
and January to June 2000. An analysis of the Customs Service data 
indicated that there was only one manufacturer/exporter of SSA in 
Korea. The query covered SSA within the HTS numbers 7222.40.30.20 and 
7222.40.30.60, which may include non-subject SSA (e.g., unequal 
lengths). Finally, we conducted an internet search which revealed that 
another Korean company, SK Global, may have also exported or produced 
SSA that entered the U.S. market during the POI. Based on the above-
mentioned steps, we determined that Bae Myung and SK Global were the 
only appropriate Korean recipients of our questionnaire for purposes of 
conducting this investigation. See ``Memorandum to the File regarding 
Questionnaire Recipients'' dated December 11, 2000, for further 
discussion.
    For the case concerning Spain, we conducted a Customs Service query 
and obtained information on the quantity and value of SSA imported from 
Spain into the United States on an annual basis for 1997, 1998, 1999, 
and January to June 2000. An analysis of the Customs Service data 
indicated that there were possibly ten manufacturers/exporters of SSA 
in Spain. Based on this data, we found that Roldan accounted for almost 
100 percent of the total quantity of subject merchandise entered into 
the United States in 1999 and 2000. The other manufacturers accounted 
for an insignificant amount of the total quantity entered into the 
United States. The query covered SSA within the HTS numbers 
7222.40.30.20 and 7222.40.30.60, which may include non-subject SSA 
(e.g., unequal lengths). We also consulted the 1999 steel 
manufacturer's reference book, Iron and Steel Works of the World, which 
indicated that Roldan was the only SSA manufacturer in Spain. Our 
internet search indicated that Roldan was the only manufacturer/
exporter of SSA in Spain and, thus, the only appropriate Spanish 
recipient of our questionnaire for purposes of conducting this 
investigation. See ``Respondent Selection Memorandum to the File'' 
dated January 3, 2001, for further discussion.
    After confirming the proper recipients of the antidumping 
questionnaires in the three cases, we determined that, given our 
resources, we would be able

[[Page 2883]]

to investigate all companies identified in the petition and the 
additional Korean company (SK Global) identified in our internet 
research.

Facts Available

    As stated above, none of the respondents from any of the three SSA 
cases responded to the Department's antidumping duty questionnaire. 
Section 776(a)(2) of the Act provides that, ``if an interested party or 
any other person--(A) withholds information that has been requested by 
the administering authority; (B) fails to provide such information by 
the deadlines for the submission of the information or in the form and 
manner requested, subject to subsections (c)(1) and (e) of section 782; 
(C) significantly impedes a proceeding under this title; or (D) 
provides such information but the information cannot be verified as 
provided in section 782(i), the administering authority...shall, 
subject to section 782(d), use the facts otherwise available in 
reaching the applicable determination under this title.'' Pursuant to 
section 776(a) of the Act, we have determined that the use of facts 
available is appropriate in determining the preliminary dumping margins 
for Aichi, Daido, and Sumitomo (i.e., the three respondents in the 
Japan case), Bae Myung and SK Global (i.e., the two respondents in the 
Korea case), and Roldan (i.e., the sole respondent in the Spain case) 
because all of these companies failed to respond to our questionnaire.
    Section 776(b) of the Act provides that the Department may use 
adverse inferences in selecting facts otherwise available if a party 
has failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to 
comply with a request for information. See also Statement of 
Administrative Action (``SAA'') accompanying the URAA, H.R. Rep. No. 
103-316 at 870 (1994). Failure by Aichi, Daido, Sumitomo, Bae Myung, SK 
Global, and Roldan to respond to the Departments's antidumping duty 
questionnaire constitutes a failure to act to the best of their ability 
to comply with a request for information, within the meaning of section 
776(b) of the Act. Therefore, the Department has determined that the 
use of an adverse inference in selecting the facts available to 
determine the preliminary margins for these respondents is warranted. 
Because we were unable to calculate margins for these respondents from 
Japan, Korea, and Spain, consistent with our practice, we have assigned 
the respondents in these cases the highest margins alleged in the 
petition or as we recalculated (see Notice of Preliminary 
Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Large Diameter 
Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and Pressure Pipe from Japan 
and Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, Line and 
Pressure Pipe from Japan and the Republic of South Africa, 64 FR 69718, 
69722 (December 14, 1999), and Notice of Preliminary Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Wire Rod from Germany, 
63 FR 10847, 10848 (March 5, 1998)). Based on amendments to the 
petition and the Department's recalculations, where applicable, the 
highest margin for SSA from Japan is 114.51 percent, the highest margin 
in for SSA from Korea is 99.56 percent, and the highest margin for SSA 
from Spain is 61.45 percent. See Initiation Notice, 65 FR at 55505-
55507.
    Section 776(b) of the Act states that an adverse inference may 
include reliance on information derived from the petition. See also SAA 
at 829-831. Section 776(c) of the Act provides that, when the 
Department relies on secondary information (such as the petition) in 
using the facts otherwise available, it must, to the extent 
practicable, corroborate that information from independent sources that 
are reasonably at its disposal.
    The SAA clarifies that ``corroborate'' means that the Department 
will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be used has 
probative value (see SAA at 870). The SAA also states that independent 
sources used to corroborate such evidence may include, for example, 
published price lists, official import statistics and U.S. Customs 
Service data, and information obtained from interested parties during 
the particular investigation (see SAA at 870).
    To corroborate the margin calculations in the petition, we examined 
the rates contained in the petition. The U.S. prices in the petition 
were based on quotes to U.S. customers, most of which were obtained 
through market research. Additionally, the normal values were based on 
actual price quotations obtained through market research. See Notice of 
Initiation, 65 FR at 55506, and ``Country-Specific Import 
Administration AD Investigation Initiation Checklist'' dated September 
7, 2000, for a discussion of the margin calculations in the petition 
applicable to each LTFV proceeding.
    In accordance with section 776(c) of the Act, to the extent 
practicable, we examined the key elements of the calculations of export 
price and normal value upon which the petitioners based their margins 
for the petition. This information includes evidence such as U.S. 
Customs Service statistics or market studies we consider to be reliable 
because they are based on actual, independent trade data and analysis. 
We were able to corroborate the U.S. prices in the petition by 
comparing these prices to publicly available information based on IM-
145 import statistics. We consider export prices which are based on 
U.S. import statistics to be corroborated (see Certain Cut-to-Length 
Carbon Steel Plate from Mexico: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, 64 FR 76, 84 (January 4, 1999) (Comment 13) 
(``CTL Plate from Mexico'')). With regard to the normal values in the 
petition, the Department did not receive any useful information from 
the respondents or other interested parties and is aware of no other 
independent sources of information that would enable it to corroborate 
the margin calculations in the petition further. See ``Country-Specific 
Memoranda to the File Regarding the Facts Available Rate and 
Corroboration of Secondary Information,'' for each SSA case dated 
January 3, 2001, for further discussion.
    The implementing regulation for section 776 of the Act, codified at 
19 CFR 351.308(d), states, ``(t)he fact that corroboration may not be 
practicable in a given circumstance will not prevent the Secretary from 
applying an adverse inference as appropriate and using the secondary 
information in question.'' Additionally, the SAA at 870 states 
specifically that, where ``corroboration may not be practicable in a 
given circumstance,'' the Department may nevertheless apply an adverse 
inference. The SAA at 869 emphasizes that the Department need not prove 
that the facts available are the best alternative information. 
Therefore, based on our efforts, described above, to corroborate 
information contained in the petition for each LTFV proceeding and in 
accordance with 776(c) of the Act, which discusses facts available and 
corroboration, we consider the margins in the petition to be 
corroborated to the extent practicable for purposes of these 
preliminary determinations (see CTL Plate from Mexico, 64 FR at 84).

All Others Rate

    Section 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act, in accordance with section 
735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, provides that, where the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins established for all exporters and producers 
individually investigated are zero or de minimis or are determined 
entirely under section 776 of the Act, the Department may use any 
reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others rate for 
exporters and producers

[[Page 2884]]

not individually investigated. See also SAA at 873. Our recent practice 
under these circumstances has been to assign, as the ``all others'' 
rate, the simple average of the margins in the petition. We have done 
so in these cases. See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Plate in Coil from Canada, 64 FR 15457 
(March 31, 1999), and Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Plate in Coil from Italy, 64 FR 15458, 
15459 (March 21, 1999).

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we are directing the 
Customs Service to suspend liquidation of all entries of SSA from 
Japan, Korea, and Spain that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register.
    We will also instruct the Customs Service to require a cash deposit 
or the posting of a bond equal to the dumping margins, as indicated in 
the chart below. These instructions will remain in effect until further 
notice. The dumping margins for each LTFV proceeding are as follows: 
**FOOTNOTES** [1]: The petitioners are Slater Steels Corporation, 
Speciality Alloys Division (``Slater''), and the United Steel Workers 
of America, AFL-CIO/CLC (collectively, ``the petitioners''). [2]: 
Section A of the questionnaire requested general information concerning 
the company's corporate structure and business practices, the 
merchandise under investigation that it sells, and the sales of that 
merchandise in all markets. Sections B and C of the questionnaire 
requested home market sales listings and U.S. sales listings. Section D 
of the questionnaire requested information regarding the cost of 
production (``COP'') of the foreign like product and the constructed 
value (``CV'') of the merchandise under investigation. Section E of the 
questionnaire requested information regarding the cost of further 
manufacture or assembly performed in the United States.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
              Exporter/Manufacturer (Japan)               Average Margin
                                                            Percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan...................................................
    Daido...............................................          114.51
    Aichi...............................................          114.51
    Sumitomo............................................          114.51
    All Others..........................................           70.48
Korea...................................................
    Bae Myung...........................................           99.56
    SK Global...........................................           99.56
    All Others..........................................           40.21
Spain...................................................
    Roldan..............................................           61.45
    All Others..........................................           24.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our preliminary determinations. If our final determinations are 
affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after 
the date of these preliminary determinations or 45 days after our final 
determinations whether these imports are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments in at least ten copies must 
be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration no 
later than 50 days after the date of publication of this notice and 
rebuttal briefs no later than 55 days after the date of publication of 
this notice. A list of authorities used, a table of contents, and an 
executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to 
the Department. Executive summaries should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In accordance with section 774 of the Act, 
we will hold a public hearing, if requested by any interested party, to 
afford interested parties an opportunity to comment on arguments raised 
in case or rebuttal briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, the 
hearing will be tentatively held two days after the deadline for 
submission of the rebuttal briefs, time and room to be determined, at 
the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC, 20230. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
time, date, and place of the hearing 48 hours before the scheduled 
time. If such a hearing is requested, the Department may schedule a 
single hearing to encompass all three LTFV proceedings.
    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing, or to participate 
if one is requested, must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 
1870, within 30 days of the publication of this notice. Requests should 
contain: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the 
number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. 
Oral presentations will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If 
these investigations proceed normally, we will make our final 
determinations by no later than 75 days after the date of these 
preliminary determinations.
    These determinations are published pursuant to sections 733(f) and 
777(i)(1) of the Act.

Troy H. Cribb,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-1107 Filed 1-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P