Notice of Amended Final Determination and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipes From Taiwan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[A-583-815]

Notice of Amended Final Determination and Antidumping Duty Order:

Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipes From Taiwan

Agency: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 11, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Beck, Office of Antidumping Duty

Investigations, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230;

telephone (202)482-3464.

Scope of Order

The merchandise subject to this antidumping duty order is welded

austenitic stainless steel pipe (WSSP) that meets the standards and

specifications set forth by the American Society for Testing and

Materials (ASTM) for the welded form of chromium-nickel pipe designated

ASTM A-312. The merchandise covered by the scope of the investigation

also includes austenitic welded stainless steel pipes made according to

the standards of other nations which are comparable to ASTM A-312.

WSSP is produced by forming stainless steel flat-rolled products

into a tubular configuration and welding along the seam. WSSP is a

commodity product generally used as a conduit to transmit liquids or

gases. Major applications for WSSP include, but are not limited to,

digester lines, blow lines, pharmaceutical lines, petrochemical stock

lines, brewery process and transport lines, general food processing

lines, automotive paint lines and paper process machines.

Imports of WSSP are currently classifiable under the following

HTSUS subheadings: 7306.40.1000, 7306.40.5005, 7306.40.5015,

7306.40.5045, 7306.40.5060, and 7306.40.5075. Although these

subheadings include both pipes and tubes, the scope of this

investigation is limited to welded austenitic stainless steel pipes.

Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs

purposes, our written description of the scope of this investigation is

dispositive.

Amendment of Final Determination and Antidumping Duty Order

On November 4, 1992, the Department of Commerce made its final

determination that certain welded stainless steel pipes from Taiwan

were being sold at less than fair value (57 FR 53705, November 12,

1992).

In the final determination, one of the producers, Chang Tieh

Industry Co., Ltd. (CTI), had a final antidumping duty margin of zero.

The Department would normally exclude from the application of an

antidumping duty order a producer with a zero margin. In this instance,

however, petitioners submitted evidence indicating that CTI's sales

were contrived for purposes of the Department's investigation.

Specifically, petitioners submitted statements by several affiants who

asserted that they were told by officials of CTI's U.S. customer that

CTI sold small quantities of WSSP during the period of investigation

(POI) at artificially high prices with the intention of making sales at

less than fair value (LTFV) after being excluded from the order. In

view of the small volume of CTI's sales, and the fact that CTI did not

sell the subject merchandise in the U.S. market prior to the POI,

petitioners' evidence raised significant concerns about potential

evasion, by CTI, of the antidumping duty order.

To address these concerns, the Department required CTI to provide,

as a condition for its exclusion from the application of the order, a

certification similar to those required under Secs. 353.14 and

353.25(b) of the Department's regulations. The certification

constituted an affirmation by CTI that it had not dumped goods in the

past and would not dump goods in the future. Chang Tieh had to certify

that it: (1) Did not sell subject merchandise to the United States at

less than its foreign market value during the POI; (2) did not intend

to sell the subject merchandise to the United States at less than its

foreign market value in the future; and (3) agreed to application of

the order to its imports of the subject merchandise, if the Department

determined, at any time during the existence of the order, that CTI had

sold or was likely to sell subject merchandise to the United States at

less than its foreign market value.

On December 22, 1992, the Department of Commerce amended its final

determination to reflect the fact that it had received CTI's

certifications and issued an antidumping duty order (57 FR 62300,

December 30, 1992). This order excluded CTI from the application of the

antidumping duty order, provided that CTI acted consistently with its

certifications.

On December 9, 1993, the Court of International Trade decided in

the case of Avesta Sheffield Inc., et al. (Avesta) v. United States,

Slip Op. 93-232 (December 9, 1993) that the Department could not

justify conditioning CTI's exclusion on submission of the

certification. This issue was remanded to the Department with

instructions to exclude CTI unconditionally from the antidumping duty

order. The Court expressly stated that the issue of whether Commerce

could initiate a changed circumstances review if Chang Tieh is later

alleged to be dumping was not before the Court and was, therefore, not

addressed.

Accordingly, we are amending the final determination and order to

eliminate any reference to the certification requirement. Because the

Department has already directed Customs officers to exclude CTI from

the antidumping duty order, no further Customs instructions are

necessary. However, if the Department has reasonable cause to believe

or suspect at any time that CTI has sold or is likely to sell the

subject merchandise to the United States at less than its foreign

market value, then the Department may institute an administrative

review of CTI under section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as

amended.

This notice constitutes the amended final determination and

antidumping duty order with respect to welded stainless steel pipe from

Taiwan. Interested parties may contact the Central Records Unit, room

B-099 of the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of

antidumping duty orders currently in effect.

This amended final determination and order is published in

accordance with sections 735(a) and 736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR

353.20(a)(4) and 353.21.

Dated: February 7, 1994.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 94-3275 Filed 2-10-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P