International Trade Administration 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 29, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register a notice announcing the initiation of an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils (SSSSC) from Japan. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Requests for Revocation in Part, 70 FR 51009 (Initiation Notice). The period of review (POR) is July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. We are preliminarily rescinding this review because there were no entries of SSSSC for consumption in the United States during the POR that are subject to review.

On September 7, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the Preliminary Results of the antidumping duty administrative review for certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products from Korea: Notice of Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 70 FR 53153 (September 7, 2005) (Preliminary Results). This review covers five manufacturers and exporters of the subject merchandise: Union Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Union); Pohang Iron & Steel Company, Ltd. (POSCO) and Pohang Coated Steel Co., Ltd. (POCOS) (collectively, the POSCO Group); Hyundai HYSCO (HYSCO); Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongbu) (collectively, respondents); and Dongshin Special Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongshin). The period of review (POR) is August 1, 2003, through July 31, 2004. As a result of our analysis of the comments received, these final results differ from the Preliminary Results. For our final results, we have found that during the POR, the POSCO Group, Union and Dongbu sold subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV). We have also found that HYSCO did not make sales of the subject merchandise at less than NV (i.e., it has a zero or de minimis dumping margin). Regarding Dongshin, because it failed to respond to the Department's questionnaire, we have preliminarily determined to resort to adverse facts available and assigned to Dongshin the ``All Others'' rate in effect for this order (17.70 percent), which is the highest margin upheld in this proceeding. See Preliminary Results at 53155-56. Since the publication of the Preliminary Results, we have not received any comments regarding Dongshin from interested parties that would warrant reconsideration of our finding. Therefore, we have continued to assign a rate of 17.70 percent to Dongshin. The final results are listed in the ``Final Results of Review'' section below. Furthermore, we rescinded the request for review of the antidumping order for SeAH Steel Corporation (SeAH) because neither SeAH nor its affiliates had exports or sales of subject merchandise to the United States during the POR. For more information, see Preliminary Results at 53154.

On August 9, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register the preliminary results and partial rescission of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from Taiwan. This review covers 16 manufacturers/exporters. The period of review (POR) is July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004. We provided interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the preliminary results of review. After analyzing the comments received, we made changes to the margin calculations for two respondents, Chia Far Industrial Factory Co., Ltd. (Chia Far) and Yieh United Steel Corporation (YUSCO). Therefore, the final results of review differ from the preliminary results of review. The final weighted-average dumping margins for the reviewed firms are listed below in the section entitled ``Final Results of Review.''

On December 29, 2005, the United States Court of International Trade (``Court'') sustained the final remand determination made by the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') pursuant to the Court's remand of the final results of the administrative review of freshwater crawfish tail meat from the People's Republic of China. See Crawfish Processors Alliance v. United States, Consol. Ct. No. 02-00376, Slip Op. 05-166 (Ct. Int'l Trade December 29, 2005) (``CPA Remand III''). This case arises out of the Departments's Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Final Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review 67 FR 19546 (April 22, 2002) (``Final Results''). The final judgment in this case was not in harmony with the Department's April 2002 Final Results.

On October 7, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of its third administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) from Latvia. The review covers one producer of the subject merchandise. The period of review (POR) is September 1, 2003, through August 31, 2004. 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.

On September 8, 2005, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate from Romania. The review covers Mittal Steel Galati, S.A. (``Mittal Steel'', formerly Ispat Sidex S.A.) a manufacturer of the subject merchandise, and Metalexportimport SA (``MEI''), an unaffiliated exporter. The period of review is August 1, 2003, through July 31, 2004. This administrative review also covers additional producers/exporters of the subject merchandise: Metanef, S.A. (``Metanef''), MINMET S.A. (``MINMET''), CSR SA Resita (``CSR'') and Combinatul de Oteluri Speciali Tirgoviste (``COST''), for which the Department is now finally rescinding this review because these producers/exporters, with the exception of CSR, did not ship subject merchandise during the period of review (``POR''). With respect to CSR, Nucor Corporation (``Nucor''), a petitioner in this proceeding, filed a timely request for withdrawal of the administrative review for this company.

On December 28, 2005, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department) published a notice of initiation of changed circumstances reviews with the intent to revoke, in part, the antidumping duty orders on certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products (corrosion- resistant steel) from Canada and Germany, as described below. See Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products from Canada and Germany, 70 FR 76763 (December 28, 2005) (Initiation Notice). In our Initiation Notice, the Department invited interested parties to comment on the request to exclude ``wear plate'' (described below) from the scope of these orders. The Department received no comments. Absent any comments, the Department preliminarily concludes that producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product to which these orders pertain, lack interest in the relief provided by these orders with respect to wear plate. Therefore, the Department preliminarily concludes that it is appropriate to revoke these orders, in part, with respect to unliquidated entries of wear plate, not subject to the final results of an administrative review, that have been entered for consumption on or after August 1, 2005, based on the fact that domestic parties have made an affirmative statement of no interest in the continuation of the orders with respect to that merchandise.

In response to a request from JSC Kryvorizhstal, a Ukrainian producer of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Ukraine. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Deferral of Administrative Reviews, 70 FR 72107 (December 1, 2005) (Initiation Notice). The period of review (POR) covers October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005. We are now rescinding this review because the respondent has withdrawn its request within 90 days of the initiation and is the only party to have requested the review. The respondent indicated that it is withdrawing its request because it realized, in preparing a response to the Department's questionnaire, that it did not have any reviewable U.S. transactions during the POR.

The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') is partially rescinding the administrative review of eighteen companies under the antidumping duty order on certain frozen fish fillets from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (``Vietnam'') for the period of review (``POR''), August 1, 2004, through July 31, 2005. This partial rescission covers 18 companies for which the Department received a timely withdrawal of the request for review and a company which had no entries, exports, or sales of the subject merchandise during the POR. A complete list of the companies for which the administrative review is being rescinded is provided in the ``Rescission, in Part, of Administrative Review'' section below. The Department is not rescinding the review with respect to An Giang Agriculture Technology Service Company (``ANTESCO''); Anhaco; Binh Dinh Import Export Company (``Binh Dinh''); QVD Food Company, Ltd. (``QVD''); Can Tho Animal Fishery Products Processing Export Enterprise (``Cafatex''); Mekongfish Company (``Mekonimex''); Can Tho Agricultural and Animal Products Import Export Company (``CATACO''); An Giang Agriculture and Food Import Export Company (``Afiex''); Phan Quan Trading Co., Ltd. (``Phan Quan''); Nam Viet Company Limited (``Navico''); and Vinh Long Import-Export Company (``Vinh Long''). Additionally, for the reasons discussed below, the Department is extending the preliminary results of this administrative review by an additional 120 days, to no later than August 31, 2006.

On August 8, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published its Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils From France, 70 FR 45668 (August 8, 2005) (Preliminary Results). This review covers two French producers of the subject merchandise, Ugine & ALZ, France, S.A. and Imphy Ugine Precision (IUP), which have been collapsed into a single entity (collectively, U&A France) for purposes of calculating a dumping margin. See Memorandum to Maria MacKay, Acting Office Director, through Sean Carey, Program Manager, from Sebastian Wright, Analyst, Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils From France: Collapsing of Ugine & ALZ, France, S.A. and Imphy Ugine Precision, (August 1, 2005), on file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), Room B-099 of the main Commerce Building. The period of review (POR) is July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004. Based on our analysis of the comments received, we have made changes to the preliminary results. For the final dumping margin, see the ``Final Results of Review'' section below.

On January 30, 2006, Mittal Canada Inc. (formerly Ispat Sidbec Inc.) filed a First Request for Panel Review with the United States Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review made by the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, respecting Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Canada. This determination was published in the Federal Register, (71 FR 3822) on January 24, 2006. The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number USA-CDA-2006-1904-04 to this request.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has determined the request for a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on hand trucks and certain parts thereof (``hand trucks'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), received in December 2005, meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for initiation. The period of review (``POR'') of this new shipper review is May 24, 2004, through November 30, 2005.

On January 27, 2006, the binational panel issued its decision in the review of the final determination made by the International Trade Administration, respecting Oil Country Tubular Goods from Mexico Final Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Determination not to Revoke, Secretariat File No. USA-MEX-2001-1904-05. The binational panel affirmed in part and remanded in part to the International Trade Administration. Copies of the panel decision are available from the U.S. Section of the NAFTA Secretariat.

In response to a petition filed by Stuebing Automatic Machine Company (Petitioner), the U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated and is conducting an investigation of sales of metal calendar slides (MCS) from Japan for the period April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005. See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation: Metal Calendar Slides from Japan, 70 FR 43122 (July 26, 2005) (Initiation Notice). The Department preliminarily determines that MCS from Japan are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are listed in the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

On June 7, 2005, a North American Free Trade Agreement United States-Canada Binational Panel reviewing the International Trade Commission's finding that an industry in the United States was materially injured by reason of imports of hard red spring wheat from Canada, remanded the case to the International Trade Commission. On October 5, 2005, the International Trade Commission determined on remand that the domestic industry is neither materially injured by reason of the subject imports nor threatened with such injury. By decision issued on December 12, 2005, the Panel affirmed in full the International Trade Commission's determination on remand. Consistent with the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Timken Co. v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 1990), the Department of Commerce is notifying the public that the International Trade Commission's remand determination for hard red spring wheat from Canada and the Notice of Final Panel Action issued by the Panel reviewing the International Trade Commission's determination, discussed below, are not ``in harmony'' with the International Trade Commission's original results.

Pursuant to the Order of the Binational Panel dated December 12, 2005, affirming the final remand determination described above was completed on January 24, 2006.

On September 22, 2005, the Department of Commerce received a request to conduct a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on carbazole violet pigment 23 from India. In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and 19 CFR 351.214(d) (2005), we are initiating a new shipper review.