Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Bar From Brazil

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[A-351-825]

Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:

Stainless Steel Bar From Brazil

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 4, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Darzenta or Kate Johnson, Office

of Antidumping 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-

6320 or (202) 482-4929.

Preliminary Determination

The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily

determines that stainless steel bar (SSB) from Brazil is being, or is

likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value, as

provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act)

(19 U.S.C. 1673b). The estimated margins are shown in the ``Suspension

of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

Scope of Investigation

The merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation is SSB.

For purposes of this investigation, the term ``stainless steel bar''

means articles of stainless steel in straight lengths that have been

either hot-rolled, forged, turned, cold-drawn, cold-rolled or otherwise

cold-finished, or ground, having a uniform solid cross section along

their whole length in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals,

rectangles (including squares), triangles, hexagons, octagons or other

convex polygons. SSB includes cold-finished SSBs that are turned or

ground in straight lengths, whether produced from hot-rolled bar or

from straightened and cut rod or wire, and reinforcing bars that have

indentations, ribs, grooves, or other deformations produced during the

rolling process.

Except as specified above, the term does not include stainless

steel semi-finished products, cut length flat-rolled products (i.e.,

cut length rolled products which if less than 4.75 mm in thickness have

a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness, or if 4.75 mm or

more in thickness having a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at

least twice the thickness), wire (i.e., cold-formed products in coils,

of any uniform solid cross sections along their whole length, which do

not conform to the definition of flat-rolled products), and angles,

shapes and sections.

The SSB subject to this investigation is currently classifiable

under subheading 7222.10.0005, 7222.10.0050, 7222.20.0005,

7222.20.0045, 7222.20.0075 and 7222.30.0000 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 investigation is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 1993, through December

31, 1993.

Case History

Since the notice of initiation on January 19, 1994 (59 FR 3844,

January 27, 1994), the following events have occurred.

On February 11, 1994, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil provided the

Department with volume and value statistics for Brazilian SSB producing

firms. On February 14, 1994, Instituto Brasileiro de Siderugica, the

association for the iron and steel industry in Brazil, submitted volume

and value data on behalf of its members.

Also on February 14, 1994, the International Trade Commission (ITC)

issued an affirmative preliminary injury determination (USITC

Publication 2734, February 1994).

On February 28, 1994, the Department sent its antidumping

questionnaire to Acos Villares, S.A. (Villares). This company accounted

for at least 60 percent of the exports of the subject merchandise to

the United States during the POI, in accordance with 19 CFR 353.42(b).

On March 1, 1994, the Department received a letter from Villares

stating that it would not participate in this investigation. No

questionnaire responses were submitted.

On March 25, 1994, we received comments on the issue of class or

kind of merchandise from interested parties, per the Department's

invitation for such comments in its notice of initiation. On April 13,

1994, we determined that SSB constitutes one class or kind of

merchandise. (See May 11, 1994, Decision Memorandum to Barbara Stafford

from The Team Re: Class or Kind of Merchandise.)

On April 26, 1994, the Department received a request from

petitioners to postpone the preliminary determination until July 28,

1994. On May 16, 1994, we published in the Federal Register (59 FR

25447), a notice announcing the postponement of the preliminary

determination until not later than July 28, 1994, pursuant to

petitioners' request, in accordance with 19 CFR 353.15(c) and (d).

Best Information Available

Because Villares failed to respond to the Department's

questionnaire, we based our determination on BIA pursuant to section

776(c) of the Act.

As BIA, we are assigning 19.43 percent, the highest margin among

the margins alleged in the petition, in accordance with the two-tiered

BIA methodology under which the Department imposes the most adverse

rate upon a respondent who refuses to cooperate or otherwise

significantly impedes the proceeding, and as outlined in the

Antifriction Bearings (Other Than Tapered Roller Bearings) and Parts

Thereof From the Federal Republic of Germany; Final Results of

Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (56 FR 31692, 31704, July 11,

1991). 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, Slip Op. 94-1112 (June 30, 1994); and

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)).

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 733(d)(1) (19 U.S.C. 1673b(d)(1)) of the

Act, we are directing the U.S. Customs Service to suspend liquidation

of all entries of SSB from Brazil, 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 margin

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weighted

Average

Manufacturer/Producer/Exporter Margin

Percent

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Acos Villares, S.A........................................... 19.43

All Others................................................... 19.43

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITC Notification

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the

ITC of our determination. If 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,

before the later of 120 days after the date of the preliminary

determination or 45 days after our final determination.

Public Comment

In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38, case briefs or other written

comments must be submitted, in at least ten copies, to the Assistant

Secretary for Import Administration no later than November 8, 1994, and

rebuttal briefs no later than November 15, 1994. In addition, a public

version and five copies should be submitted by the appropriate date if

the submission contains business proprietary information. In accordance

with 19 CFR 353.38(b), we will hold a public hearing, if requested, to

afford interested parties an opportunity to comment on arguments raised

in case or rebuttal briefs. Tentatively, the hearing will be held, if

requested, at 3:00 p.m. on November 17, 1994, at the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Room 1414, 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.

Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a

written request to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration,

U.S. Department of Commerce, Room B-099 within ten days of the date of

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 issues to be discussed. In accordance with 19 CFR

353.38(b), oral presentation will be limited to arguments raised in the

briefs.

This determination is published pursuant to section 733(f) of the

Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b(f)) and 19 CFR 353.15(a)(4).

Dated: July 28, 1994.

Barbara R. Stafford,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 94-19067 Filed 8-3-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P