Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Notices 10551

Critical Circumstances

Petitioner has alleged that critical

circumstances exist with respect to

imports of the subject merchandise from

Malaysia. Section 735(a)(3) of the Act

provides that the Department will

determine that critical circumstances

exist if:

(A)(i) There is a history of dumping in

the U.S. or elsewhere of the class or

kind of merchandise which is the

subject of this investigation, or

(ii) The person by whom, or for whose

account, the merchandise was imported

knew or should have known that the

exporter was selling the merchandise

which is the subject of the investigation

at less than its fair value, and

(B) There have been massive imports

of the class or kind of merchandise

which is the subject of this investigation

over a relatively short period.

Since MMCPNF did not respond to

our August 12, 1994, letter requesting

export shipment information, we

determine, as BIA, pursuant to section

776(c) of the Act, that critical

circumstances exist with respect to

imports of pipe fittings from Malaysia.

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 735(d)(1)

of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b(d)(1)), we

are directing the U.S. Customs Service

to continue to suspend liquidation of all

entries of pipe fittings from Malaysia, as

defined in the ‘‘Scope of Investigation’’

section of this notice, that are entered,

or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after July 6, 1994,

(i.e., 90 days prior to the date of

publication of our preliminary

determination in the Federal Register).

The U.S. Customs Service shall require

a cash deposit or posting of a bond

equal to the estimated amount by which

the foreign market value of the subject

merchandise exceeds the United States

price as shown below. The suspension

of liquidation will remain in effect until

further notice.

Manufacturer/Producer/Exporter

Weighted

average

margin

percent

All Companies .............................. 194.70

International Trade Commission (ITC)

Notification

In accordance with section 735(d) of

the Act, we have notified the ITC of our

determination. As our final

determination is affirmative, the ITC

will determine whether imports of the

subject merchandise are materially

injuring, or threaten material injury to,

the U.S. industry within 45 days.

If the ITC determines that material

injury or threat of material injury does

not exist, the proceedings will be

terminated and all securities posted as

a result of the suspension of liquidation

will be refunded or cancelled. However,

if the ITC determines that such injury

does exist, we will issue an

antidumping duty order directing

Customs officers to assess an

antidumping duty on pipe fittings from

Malaysia entered or withdrawn from

warehouse, for consumption on or after

the date of suspension of liquidation.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice serves as the only

reminder to parties subject to

administrative protective order (APO) in

this investigation of their responsibility

covering the return or destruction of

proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with 19 CFR

353.34(d). Failure to comply is a

violation of the APO.

This determination is published

pursuant to section 735(d) of the Act (19

U.S.C. 1673d(d)) and 19 CFR

353.20(a)(4).

Dated: February 16, 1995.

Barbara R. Stafford

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 95–4720 Filed 2–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.

International Trade Administration

[A–580–824]

Notice of Final Determination of Sales

at Less Than Fair Value: Certain

Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings

From South Korea

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Wilkniss, Office of Countervailing

Investigations, Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th

Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone

(202) 482–0588.

Final Determination

The Department of Commerce (the

Department) determines that certain

carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings

(‘‘pipe fittings’’) from South Korea are

being, or are likely to be, sold in the

United States at less than fair value, as

provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act

of 1930, as amended (the Act) (19 U.S.C.

1673d). The estimated margins are

shown in the ‘‘Suspension of

Liquidation’’ section of this notice.

Scope of Investigation

The merchandise covered by this

investigation are certain carbon steel

butt-weld pipe fittings (‘‘pipe fittings’’)

having an inside diameter of less than

fourteen inches (355 millimeters),

imported in either finished or

unfinished condition. Pipe fittings are

formed or forged steel products used to

join pipe sections in piping systems

where conditions require permanent

welded connections, as distinguished

from fittings based on other methods of

fastening (e.g., threaded, grooved, or

bolted fittings). Butt-Weld fittings come

in a variety of shapes which include

‘‘elbows,’’ ‘‘tees,’’ ‘‘caps,’’ and

‘‘reducers.’’ The edges of finished pipe

fittings are beveled, so that when a

fitting is placed against the end of a pipe

(the ends of which have also been

beveled), a shallow channel is created to

accomodate the ‘‘bead’’ of the weld

which joins the fitting to the pipe. These

pipe fittings are currently classifiable

under subheading 7307.93.3000 of the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (‘‘HTSUS’’).

Although the HTSUS subheading is

provided for convenience and customs

purposes, our written description of the

scope of this proceeding is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

The period of investigation (POI) is

September 1, 1994, through February

28, 1994.

Case History

Since the announcement of the

preliminary determination on

September 27, 1994, the following

events have occurred.

On October 4, 1994, we published the

notice of preliminary determination in

the Federal Register (59 FR 50560).

On October 13, 1994, pursuant to

section 353.20(b)(1) of the Department’s

regulations, the Embassy of the Republic

of Korea, on behalf of the South Korean

producers and exporters of pipe fittings,

requested that the final determination in

this case be postponed. On November

14, 1994, we published the

postponement of final determination in

the Federal Register (59 FR 56461).

Petitioner was the only interested

party to file a case brief in this

investigation. Petitioner did so on

January 23, 1995.

Best Information Available

In accordance with section 776(c) of

the Act, we have determined that the
10552 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Notices

use of best information available (BIA)

is appropriate for Taekwang Bend Ind.

Co., Inc. (Taekwang), the South Korean

company which accounts for more than

60 percent of all exports of the subject

merchandise to the U.S. during the POI.

Because Taekwang did not respond to

the Department’s questionnaire, we find

that it did not cooperate in this

investigation.

Our BIA methodology for

uncooperative respondents is to assign

the higher of the highest margin alleged

in the petition or the highest rate

calculated for another respondent.

Accordingly, as BIA, we are assigning

the highest margin among the margins

alleged in the petition and subsequent

amendments to the petition, adjusted for

methodological errors as explained in

the Department’s initiation notice. See

Final Determination of Sales At Less

Than Fair Value: Antifriction Bearings

(Other Than Tapered Roller Bearings)

and Parts Thereof From the Federal

Republic of Germany (54 FR 18992,

19033, May 3, 1989). The Department’s

methodology for assigning BIA has been

upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals of

the Federal Circuit. (see Allied Signal

Aerospace Co. v. United States, 996

F.2d 1185 (Fed. Cir. 1993)); see also

Krupp Stahl, AG et al. v. United States,

822 F. Supp. 789 (CIT 1993)). The

assigned BIA margin is the same margin

that was assigned for the preliminary

determination.

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 733(d)(1)

of the Act, (19 U.S.C. 1673b(d)(1)), we

are directing the U.S. Customs Service

to continue to suspend liquidation of all

entries of pipe fittings from South

Korea, as defined in the ‘‘Scope of

Investigation’’ section of this notice, that

are entered, or withdrawn from

warehouse, for consumption on or after

the date of publication of this notice in

the Federal Register. The Customs

Service shall require a cash deposit or

posting of a bond equal to the estimated

amount by which the foreign market

value of the subject merchandise

exceeds the United States price as

shown below. The suspension of

liquidation will remain in effect until

further notice.

Manufacturer/Producer/Exporter

Weighted

average

margin

percent

All Companies .............................. 207.89

International Trade Commission (ITC)

Notification

In accordance with section 735(d) of

the Act, we have notified the ITC of our

determination. As our final

determination is affirmative, the ITC

will determine whether imports of the

subject merchandise are materially

injuring, or threaten material injury to,

the U.S. industry within 45 days.

If the ITC determines that material

injury or threat of material injury does

not exist, the proceedings will be

terminated and all securities posted as

a result of the suspension of liquidation

will be refunded or cancelled. However,

if the ITC determines that such injury

does exist, we will issue an

antidumping duty order directing

Customs officers to assess an

antidumping duty on pipe fittings from

South Korea entered or withdrawn from

warehouse, for consumption on or after

the date of suspension of liquidation.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice serves as the only

reminder to parties subject to

administrative protective order (APO) in

this investigation of their responsibility

covering the return or destruction of

proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with 19 CFR

353.34(d). Failure to comply is a

violation of the APO.

This determination is published

pursuant to section 735(d) of the Act (19

U.S.C. 1673d(d)) and 19 CFR

353.20(a)(4).

Dated: February 16, 1995.

Barbara R. Stafford,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 95–4719 Filed 2–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

[A–549–809]

Notice of Final Determination of Sales

at Less Than Fair Value: Certain

Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings

From Thailand

AGENCY: Import Administration,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Vincent Kane or Julie Anne Osgood,

Office of Countervailing Investigations,

Import Administration, International

Trade Administration, U.S. Department

of Commerce, 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20230; telephone (202) 482–2815 or

482–0167, respectively.

Final Determination

We determine that certain carbon

steel butt-weld pipe fittings exported by

Awaji Sangyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

(AST), from Thailand are being sold in

the United States at less than fair value,

as provided in section 735 of the Tariff

Act of 1930, as amended (the ‘‘Act’’).

The estimated margin is shown in the

‘‘Suspension of Liquidation’’ section of

this notice.

Case History

Since the publication of the

preliminary determination in the

Federal Register on October 4, 1994 (59

FR 50568), the following events have

occurred:

On November 14, 1994, we published

in the Federal Register a notice

postponing the publication of the final

determination in this case until

February 16, 1995 (59 FR 56461). From

October 20 to October 26, 1994, we

verified the sales information of AST at

its offices in Samutprakarn, Thailand.

From December 2 to December 6, 1994,

we verified AST’s cost of production

and constructed value data. On January

23 and January 30, 1995, petitioner and

respondent submitted case and rebuttal

briefs to the Department. A public

hearing in this investigation was held

on February 6, 1995.

We note that all other producers and

exporters of the subject merchandise in

Thailand, which export to the United

States, are subject to an antidumping

duty order currently in effect for this

merchandise. (See 57 FR 29702, July 6,

1992.) AST was excluded from this

order because in the previous

investigation, the Department found its

margin of sales at less than fair value at

that time to be de minimis.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this

investigation are certain carbon steel

butt-weld pipe fittings having an inside

diameter of less than fourteen inches

(355 millimeters), imported in either

finished or unfinished condition. Pipe

fittings are formed of forged steel

products used to join pipe sections in

piping systems where conditions

require permanent welded connections,

as distinguished from fittings based on

other methods of fastening (e.g.,

threaded, grooved, or bolted fittings).

Butt-weld fittings come in a variety of

shapes which include ‘‘elbows,’’ ‘‘tees,’’

‘‘caps,’’ and ‘‘reducers.’’ The edges of

finished pipe fittings are beveled, so

that when a fitting is placed against the

end of a pipe (the ends of which have

also been beveled), a shallow channel is

created to accommodate the ‘‘bead’’ of