Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From Romania: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review., 34448-34450 [E5-3067]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34448-34450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3067]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[ -485-806]


Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From Romania: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review.

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On December 7, 2004, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) published the preliminary results of the antidumping duty 
administrative review of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products 
from Romania. This review covers one manufacturer/exporter of the 
subject merchandise. The period of review (POR) is November 1, 2002, 
through October 31, 2003. Based on our analysis of comments received, 
these final results differ from the preliminary results. The final 
results are listed below in the ``Final Results of Review'' section.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 14, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Layton or Paul Stolz, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0371 and (202) 482-4474, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 7, 2004, the Department published the preliminary 
results of the antidumping duty administrative review of certain hot-
rolled carbon steel flat products from Romania. See Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products from Romania: Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 69 FR 70644 (December 7, 2004) 
(Preliminary Results). The review covers one manufacturer/exporter, 
S.C. Ispat Sidex S.A. (Sidex).
    Romania's designation as a non-market-economy (NME) country 
remained in effect until January 1, 2003.\1\ Since the first two months 
of the POR fell before Romania's graduation to market-economy status 
and the last ten months of this POR came after its graduation, in its 
antidumping questionnaire to Ispat Sidex, dated January 26, 2004, the 
Department determined that it would treat Romania as an NME country 
from November 1, 2002, through December 31, 2002, and a market-economy 
(ME) country from January 1, 2003, through October 31, 2003. Ispat 
Sidex stated in its February 23, 2004, response to the Department's ME 
Section A questionnaire that it made no sales of subject merchandise 
during the 10-month ME period. In a separate February 23, 2004, 
submission, Ispat Sidex provided documentation to support its claim 
that it had no sales subject merchandise during the ME portion of the 
POR. The Department corroborated this claim using U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) import data. See Decision Memorandum to Gary 
Taverman (March 9, 2004) available in the Department's Central Records 
Unit, room B099, of the main Commerce building (CRU). Therefore, in the 
section of this notice entitled ``Final Results of Review'', we have 
calculated a weighted-average dumping margin for the NME portion of the 
POR because we found no sales of subject merchandise during the ME 
portion of the POR. This weighted-average figure represents the dumping 
margin for the entire POR.
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    \1\ In Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless 
Standard, Line, and Pressure Pipe from Romania: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68 FR 12672, 12673 (March 
17, 2003), the Department reviewed the non-market-economy status of 
Romania and determined to reclassify Romania as a market economy for 
purposes of antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, 
pursuant to section 771(18)(A) of Tariff Act of 1930 as amended, 
effective January 1, 2003. See Memorandum from Lawrence Norton, 
Import Policy Analyst, to Joseph Spetrini, Acting Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration: Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review of Certain Small Diameter Carbon and Alloy Seamless Standard, 
Line, and Pressure Pipe from Romania-Non-Market Economy Status 
Review (March 10, 2003).
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    We invited parties to comment on our preliminary results of review. 
Sidex and a domestic interested party, United States Steel Corporation 
(U.S. Steel), filed case briefs on January 6, 2005, and rebuttal briefs 
on January 18, 2005.
    On April 13, 2005, the Department published in the Federal Register 
a notice extending the final results of the administrative review of 
the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat 
products from Romania until no later than May 6, 2005. See Notice of 
Extension of Time Limit for the Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review: Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products 
from Romania, 70 FR 19417 (April 13, 2005).
    On May 17, 2005, the Department published in the Federal Register a 
second notice further extending the final results until no later than 
June 6, 2005. See Notice of Extension of Time Limit for the Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products from Romania, 70 FR 28275 (May 17, 2005).

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are certain hot-rolled carbon 
steel flat products of a rectangular shape, of a width of 0.5 inch or 
greater, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal and whether or not 
painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic 
substances, in coils (whether or not in successively superimposed 
layers), regardless of thickness, and in straight length, of a 
thickness of less than 4.75 mm and of a width measuring at least 10 
times the thickness. Universal mill plate (i.e., flat-rolled products 
rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 
mm, but not exceeding 1250 mm, and of a thickness of not less than 4.0 
mm, not in coils and without patterns in relief) of a thickness not 
less than 4.0 mm is not included within the scope of this order.
    Specifically included within the scope are vacuum degassed, fully 
stabilized steels (commonly referred to as interstitial-free (IF) 
steels), high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, and the substrate for 
motor lamination steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon steels 
with micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium or niobium 
(also commonly referred to as columbium), or both, added to stabilize 
carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as steels with 
micro-alloying levels of elements such

[[Page 34449]]

as chromium, copper, niobium, vanadium, and molybdenum. The substrate 
for motor lamination steels contains micro-alloying levels of elements 
such as silicon and aluminum.
    Steel products to be included in the scope of this order, 
regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS), are products in which: (i) iron predominates, by 
weight, over each of the other contained elements; (ii) the carbon 
content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (iii) none of the elements 
listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated: 
1.80 percent of manganese, or 2.25 percent of silicon, or 1.00 percent 
of copper, or 0.50 percent of aluminum, or 1.25 percent of chromium, or 
0.30 percent of cobalt, or 0.40 percent of lead, or 1.25 percent of 
nickel, or 0.30 percent of tungsten, or 0.10 percent of molybdenum, or 
0.10 percent of niobium, or 0.15 percent of vanadium, or 0.15 percent 
of zirconium.
    All products that meet the physical and chemical description 
provided above are within the scope of the order unless otherwise 
excluded. The following products, by way of example, are outside or are 
specifically excluded from the scope:
     Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of 
the chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., 
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications A543, 
A387, A514, A517, A506). Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American 
Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
     Ball bearing steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Tool steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
     Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTSUS) or silicon 
electrical steel with a silicon level exceeding 2.25 percent.
     ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
     USS abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
     All products (proprietary or otherwise) based on an alloy 
ASTM specification (sample specifications: ASTM A506, A507).
     Non-rectangular shapes, not in coils, which are the result 
of having been processed by cutting or stamping and which have assumed 
the character of articles or products classified outside chapter 72 of 
the HTSUS.
    The merchandise subject to this order is classified in the HTSUS at 
the following subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60, 
7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60, 
7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30, 
7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90, 
7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00, 
7208.90.00.00, 7211.14.00.90, 7211.19.15.00, 7211.19.20.00, 
7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 7211.19.60.00, 7211.19.75.30, 
7211.19.75.60, and 7211.19.75.90. Certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat 
products covered by this order, including: vacuum degassed fully 
stabilized; high strength low alloy; and the substrate for motor 
lamination steel may also enter under the following tariff numbers: 
7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00, 7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 
7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90, 7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 
7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00, 7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 
7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and 7226.99.00.00. Subject merchandise 
may also enter under 7210.70.30.00, 7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 
7212.40.10.00, 7212.40.50.00, and 7212.50.00.00.
    Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, our written description of the merchandise subject to 
this scope is dispositive.

Duty Absorption

    On January 23, 2004, U.S. Steel requested that the Department 
determine whether antidumping duties had been absorbed during the POR. 
Section 751(a)(4) of Tariff Act of 1930 as amended (the Act) provides 
that, if requested, the Department will determine during an 
administrative review initiated two or four years after the publication 
of the order whether antidumping duties have been absorbed by a foreign 
producer or exporter if the subject merchandise is sold in the United 
States through an affiliated importer. In this case, Ispat Sidex sold 
to the United States through an importer that is affiliated within the 
meaning of section 771(33) of the Act. Because this review was 
initiated two years after the publication of the antidumping duty 
order, we made a duty-absorption determination in this segment of the 
proceeding. Accordingly, on November 29, 2004, we issued a request to 
Sidex to provide information on whether it absorbed any antidumping 
duties on sales of subject merchandise during the POR. We received 
Sidex's response on December 7, 2004, and issued a preliminary 
determination on March 18, 2005, that no duty absorption had occurred 
during the POR. See Memorandum to Wendy Frankel from David Layton: 
Preliminary Determination Regarding Duty Absorption (March 18, 2005). 
We provided parties with an opportunity to comment, but received no 
comments. Therefore, for these final results, we determine that no 
antidumping duties were absorbed during the POR.

Separate Rates

    Because we are conducting this review in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.408, we are applying our NME methodology for Sidex in the first two 
months of this review (November-December 2002). Sidex has requested a 
separate, company-specific antidumping duty rate in this review. In the 
preliminary results, we found that Sidex had met the criteria for the 
application of separate antidumping duty rates. See Preliminary 
Results. We have not received any other information since the 
preliminary results which would warrant reconsideration of our separate 
rates determination with respect to this company. Therefore, we 
determine that Sidex should be assigned a rate separate from the NME 
entity for the NME portion of this administrative review period.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this review are addressed in the ``Issues and Decision Memorandum'' 
(Decision Memorandum) from Barbara E. Tillman, Acting Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Import Administration, to Joseph E. Spetrini, Acting 
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, dated June 6, 2005, 
which is hereby adopted by this notice.
    A list of the issues which parties have raised and to which we have 
responded in the Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as an 
Appendix. Parties can find a complete discussion of all issues raised 
in this review and the corresponding recommendations in this public 
memorandum, which is on file in the CRU.
    In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memorandum can be 
accessed directly on the Internet at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn. The 
paper copy and electronic version of the Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    Based on our analysis of comments received, we have made the 
following changes for the final results:

[[Page 34450]]

    1. For dolomite, metallurgical coke, ferromanganese, scale and 
slag, iron scrap, caustic soda, ferromanganese, aluminum, 
silicocalcium, silicomanganese, lime, steel slab, injected coal powder, 
ammonium sulfate, raw tar, pitch A, pitch B and creosote oil, we are 
using different surrogate values for the final results. See Decision 
Memorandum at Comment 2 and Memorandum to Wendy J. Frankel from David 
Layton: Factors of Production Valuation for Final Results (June 6, 
2005) (Final Valuation Memorandum) at 3-4, 6-8 and Exhibits C and D.
    2. We are now using the financial statements of PT Jaya Pari Steel 
in place of those from Ispat Annaba SPA to calculate a non-depreciation 
overhead ratio for our primary surrogate company, Alexandria Iron and 
Steel Co. See Decision Memorandum at Comment 7 and Final Valuation 
Memorandum at 8 and Exhibits I-1 through I-3 for the revised 
calculation of the financial ratios.
    3. The Department corrected ministerial errors in the preliminary 
results calculations, where appropriate. See Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 6. See also Memorandum to the File from David Layton and Paul 
Stolz: Final Results of the Administrative Review of Certain Hot-Rolled 
Carbon Steel Flat Products from Romania (A-485-806), Calculation 
Memorandum, Ispat Sidex S.A. (June 6, 2005) (Final Calculation 
Memorandum) at 2-3.

All-Others Rate

    The Department is applying an all-others rate of 17.84 percent. We 
calculated this all-others rate in accordance with section 735(c)(5) of 
the Act using the weighted average of the estimated dumping margins 
established in the less-than-fair-value investigation for those 
exporters individually investigated. See Memorandum to the File from 
David Layton: Calculation of the All-Others Rate (June 6, 2005).

Final Results of Review

    As a result of our review, we determine that the following 
weighted-average percentage margin exists for the period November 1, 
2002, through October 31, 2003:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Manufacturer/exporter                  Margin (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
S.C. Sidex S.A. (including Sidex Trading, S.A.).....                0.00
All Others Rate.....................................               17.84
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), we have calculated 
importer (or customer)-specific assessment rates for the merchandise 
subject to this review. To determine whether the duty assessment rates 
were de minimis, in accordance with the requirement set forth in 19 CFR 
351.106(c), we calculated importer (or customer)-specific ad valorem 
rates by aggregating the dumping margins calculated for all U.S. sales 
to that importer (or customer) and dividing this amount by the total 
entered value of the sales to that importer (or customer). Where an 
importer (or customer)-specific ad valorem rate was greater than de 
minimis, we will direct CBP to apply the ad valorem assessment rates 
against the entered value of each of the importer's (or customer's) 
entries during the review period. Where an importer (or customer)-
specific ad valorem rate was de minimis, we will instruct CBP to 
liquidate without regard to antidumping duties.
    All other entries of the subject merchandise during the POR will be 
liquidated at the antidumping duty rate in place at the time of entry. 
The Department will issue appropriate assessment instructions directly 
to CBP within 15 days of publication of these final results of review.

Cash-Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of these 
final results of administrative review, as provided by section 751(a) 
of the Act: (1) for Sidex, the margin was zero, therefore no cash 
deposit will be required; (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers 
or exporters not covered in this review but covered in a previous 
segment of this proceeding, the cash-deposit rate will continue to be 
the company-specific rate published in the prior segment of the 
proceeding in which that manufacturer or exporter participated; (3) if 
the exporter is not a firm covered in this review or in any previous 
segment of this proceeding but the manufacturer is, the cash-deposit 
rate will be that established for the manufacturer of the merchandise 
in these final results of review or in the most recent segment of the 
proceeding in which that manufacturer participated; and (4) if neither 
the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this or any 
previous review conducted by the Department, the cash deposit rate will 
be 17.84 percent. These deposit requirements shall remain in effect 
until publication of the final results of the next administrative 
review.

Notification

    This notice also serves as the final reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) 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 in the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This notice also serves as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the return/destruction or conversion to judicial protective 
order of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Failure to comply is a violation of the APO.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 6, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix - Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Appropriate Period for Surrogate Value Data
Comment 2: Aberrational Surrogate Value Data
Comment 3: Use of Market Economy Purchases From the Previous POR
Comment 4: Natural Gas Surrogate Value
Comment 5: Use of Romanian ME Barge Rates as NME Surrogates
Comment 6: Ministerial Errors
Comment 7: Financial Ratios
Comment 8: Treatment of Non-dumped Sales
[FR Doc. E5-3067 Filed 6-13-E5; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S