Personal Word Processors From Japan; Initiation of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Consideration of Revocation of Order, Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Intent To Revoke Order

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[A-588-818]

Personal Word Processors From Japan; Initiation of Changed

Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Consideration of

Revocation of Order, Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances

Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Intent To Revoke Order

AGENCY: International Trade Administration/Import Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of initiation of changed circumstances antidumping duty

administrative review, consideration of revocation of order,

preliminary results of changed circumstances antidumping duty

administrative review, and intent to revoke order.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: March 24, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas O. Barlow or Wendy J. Frankel,

Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International

Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-5256

and 482-0367, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 28, 1991, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published in the Federal Register (56 FR 42593) an antidumping duty

order on personal word processors (PWPs) from Japan (the order). On

August 20, 1992 (57 FR 37770), the Department published an amended

order. On February 15, 1994, Smith Corona Corporation (Smith Corona),

the petitioner in the underlying less-than-fair-value (LTFV)

investigation, submitted a request for a changed circumstances

administrative review and revocation of the order based on the

represented fact that the order no longer is of interest to the

domestic interested parties. For the same reasons, in its February 15,

1994 request, Smith Corona withdrew its petition requesting an

investigation to determine whether the order was being circumvented

pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the

Act). Smith Corona made the withdrawal of that petition and the

revocation contingent upon termination of the suspended antidumping

investigation on portable electric typewriters from Singapore (A-559-

806).

Scope of Review

The scope of the order covers PWPs from Japan as defined in the

Department's antidumping duty order on personal word processors from

Japan (56 FR 42593, August 28, 1991), as amended (57 FR 37770, August

20, 1992). PWPs are currently classifiable under item number 8469.10.00

of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States. HTS item

numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written

description remains dispositive as to the scope of the product

coverage.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative

Review, Consideration of Revocation of Order, Preliminary Results

of Changed Circumstances Administrative Review, and Intent To

Revoke Order

Pursuant to section 751(c) of the Act, the Department may revoke an

antidumping duty order if the Department determines, based on a review

under section 751(b)(1) of the Act, that changed circumstances exist

sufficient to warrant revocation. Section 751(b)(1) of the Act requires

a changed circumstances review to be conducted upon receipt of a

request containing sufficient information concerning changed

circumstances.

Section 353.25(d)(2) of the Department's regulations permits the

Department to conduct an administrative review under Sec. 353.22(f)

based upon an affirmative statement of no interest from the petitioner

in the proceeding. Section 353.25(d)(1)(i) further provides that if the

Department determines that the order under review is no longer of

interest to domestic interested parties, the Department may revoke the

antidumping duty order. In addition, in the event the Department

concludes that expedited action is warranted, Sec. 353.22(f)(4) of the

regulations permits the Department to combine the notices of initiation

and preliminary results.

Therefore, in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and (c) of the Act

and 19 CFR 353.25(d) and 353.22(f), based on an affirmative statement

of no interest in the proceeding by Smith Corona, the Department is

initiating this changed circumstances administrative review. Further,

based upon the facts of this case and the representations made by Smith

Corona that other U.S. producers of this merchandise (Canon Business

Machines and Brother Industries (USA), Inc.) consent to revocation of

the order, we have determined that expedited action is warranted, and

we have preliminarily determined that the order no longer is of

interest to domestic interested parties. Because the Department

concludes that expedited action is warranted, the Department is

combining these notices of initiation and preliminary results. The

Department determines that there is a reasonable basis to believe that

the requirement for revocation based on the changed circumstance that

the order no longer is of interest to domestic interested parties has

been met. Therefore, we are hereby notifying the public of our intent

to revoke the antidumping duty order on personal word processors from

Japan. We hereby notify the public that if this revocation becomes

final we will also publish notice of the termination of the ongoing

anticircumvention inquiry of the order on PWPs from Japan.

If these preliminary results are made final, they will apply to all

shipments of the merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after August 1, 1993 (the day after the last

administrative review period for which automatic liquidation

instructions were sent to the U.S. Customs Service). In that event, we

intend to instruct the U.S. Customs Service to liquidate all entries of

the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after August 1, 1993, without regard to antidumping

duties. We will instruct the U.S. Customs Service to refund with

interest any estimated antidumping duties collected with respect to

those entries.

The current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated antidumping

duties will continue until publication of the final results of this

changed circumstances review.

Public Comment

Any interested party may request a hearing within 10 days from the

date of publication of this notice. Any hearing, if requested, will be

held no later than 28 days after the date of publication of this

notice, or the first workday thereafter. Case briefs and/or written

comments from interested parties may be submitted not later than 14

days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs and

rebuttals to written comments, limited to the issues raised in those

comments, may be filed not later than 21 days after the date of

publication of this notice. All written comments shall be submitted in

accordance with 19 CFR 353.31 and shall be served on all interested

parties on the Department's service list. Persons interested in

attending the hearing should contact the Department for the date and

time of the hearing. The Department will publish the final results of

this changed circumstances review, including the results of its

analysis of issues raised in any written comments.

This initiation, preliminary results of review, intent to revoke,

and this notice are in accordance with Secs. 751(b)(1) and (c) of the

Act and Secs. 353.22(f) and 353.25(d)(1993) of the Department's

regulations.

Dated: March 16, 1994.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 94-6972 Filed 3-23-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P