Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Clad Steel Plate From Japan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-838]

Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair

Value: Clad Steel Plate From Japan

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 1996.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Grebasch or Erik Warga, Office

of Antidumping Investigations, Import Administration, International

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

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-

3773 or (202) 482-0922, respectively.

The Applicable Statute:

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are

references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective

date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) by the

Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).

Preliminary Determination:

As explained in the memoranda from the Assistant Secretary for

Import Administration dated November 22, 1995, and January 11, 1996,

the Department of Commerce (the Department) has exercised its

discretion to toll all deadlines for the duration of the partial

shutdowns of the Federal Government from November 15 through November

21, 1995, and December 16, 1995, through January 6, 1996. Thus, all

deadlines in this investigation have been extended by 28 days, i.e.,

one day for each day (or partial day) the Department was closed. As

such, the deadline for this preliminary determination was to be no

later than April 4, 1996. However, because the sole respondent in the

investigation

[[Page 7470]]

failed to answer our questionnaire, we have expedited the

determination.

We preliminarily determine that clad steel plate from Japan is

being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair

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

amended (the Act). The estimated margins are shown in the ``Suspension

of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

Case History

Since the initiation of this investigation on October 19, 1995, (60

FR 54666, October 25, 1995), the following events have occurred:

On November 13, 1995, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)

notified the Department of its affirmative preliminary determination.

On December 7, 1995, the Department issued the antidumping

questionnaire to The Japan Steel Works Ltd. (JSW), the only known

Japanese producer and exporter to the United States of Clad Steel

Plate. JSW informed the Department on January 19, 1996, that it would

not be responding to the antidumping questionnaire.

Scope of the Investigation

The scope of this investigation is all clad 1 steel plate of a

width of 600 millimeters (``mm'') or more and a composite thickness of

4.5mm or more. Clad steel plate is a rectangular finished steel mill

product consisting of a layer of cladding material (usually stainless

steel or nickel) which is metallurgically bonded to a base or backing

of ferrous metal (usually carbon or low alloy steel) where the latter

predominates by weight.

\1\ Cladding is the association of layers of metals of different

colors or natures by molecular interpenetration of the surfaces in

contact. This limited diffusion is characteristic of clad products

and differentiates them from products metalized in other manners

(e.g., by normal electroplating). The various cladding processes

include pouring molten cladding metal onto the basic metal followed

by rolling; simple hot-rolling of the cladding metal to ensure

efficient welding to the basic metal; any other method of deposition

or superimposing of the cladding metal followed by any mechanical or

thermal process to ensure welding (e.g., electro-cladding), in which

the cladding metal (nickel, chromium, etc.) is applied to the basic

metal by electroplating, molecular interpenetration of the surfaces

in contact then being obtained by heat treatment at the appropriate

temperature with subsequent cold-rolling. See Harmonized Commodity

Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes, Chapter 72, General

Note (IV) (C) (2) (e).

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Stainless clad steel plate is manufactured to American Society for

Testing and Materials (``ASTM'') specifications A263 (400 series

stainless types) and A264 (300 series stainless types). Nickel and

nickel-base alloy clad steel plate is manufactured to ASTM

specification A265. These specifications are illustrative but not

necessarily all-inclusive. Clad steel plate within the scope of this

investigation is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of

the United States (``HTSUS'') 7210.90.10.00. 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 September 1, 1994, through

August 31, 1995.

Facts Available

Pursuant to section 776 of the Act, the Department will use the

facts otherwise available if necessary information is not available on

the record, or if an interested party or any other person withholds

requested information, fails to provide such information by the

deadlines for submission of the information or in the form and manner

requested, significantly impedes a proceeding, or provides such

information but the information cannot be verified.

In addition, section 776(b) of the Act provides that, if the

Department finds that an interested party has failed to cooperate by

not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for

information, the Department may use information that is adverse to the

interests of that party as the facts otherwise available. The statute

also provides that such an adverse inference may be based on secondary

information, including information drawn from the petition.

Section 776(c) explains that where the Department relies on

secondary information, the Department will, to the extent practicable,

corroborate that information from independent sources reasonably at the

Department's disposal. The Statement of Administrative Action (SAA),

accompanying the URAA, clarifies that the petition is secondary

information. See SAA, published in H. Doc. 103-316, 103d Cong., 2d

Sess. at 807, 870. The SAA also clarifies that corroborate means to

determine that the information used has probative value. However, where

corroboration is not practicable, the Department may use the

uncorroborated information.

The Department finds that, because JSW has not answered our

questionnaire, it has failed to cooperate to the best of its ability to

comply with our request for information. Accordingly, the application

of section 776(b) is warranted. In this case, the petition is the only

information on the record which could form the basis for a dumping

calculation. Therefore, the Department has based the margins for JSW on

information in the petition.

In accordance with section 776(c) of the Act, the Department

attempted to corroborate the petition information by comparing the

petition information on export price to U.S. Customs data and Japanese

export statistics. Both of these sources record prices based on the

HTSUS subheading 7210.90.10.00, and tend to corroborate the prices

contained in the petition. (See memorandum dated February 16, 1996.)

Because Lukens Steel Company (the petitioner) based the normal

value calculation on constructed value in the petition, we were able to

examine the supporting documentation regarding the valuation of

variable costs for labor, electricity, natural gas, and other factors

(principally backing steel and insert metal costs) in Japan and because

that supporting information was from independent, public sources, we

found that those costs have probative value.

Accordingly, we have preliminarily relied upon the information

contained in the petition, and have assigned to JSW a margin of 118.53

percent.

All-Others Rate

Under section 735(c)(5) of the Act, the ``all-others rate'' will

normally be a weighted average of the weighted-average dumping margins

established for all exporters and producers, but will exclude any zero

or de minimis margins, or any margins based entirely on the facts

available. However, this provision also states that if there are no

margins other than those that are zero, de minimis, or based on the

facts available, the Department may use other reasonable methods to

calculate the all-others rate, including a weighted-average of such

margins. In this case, as discussed above, the margin assigned to JSW

is 118.53 percent based on the facts available, and there is no

alternative method upon which to base the all others rate. Therefore,

the Department determines the all-others rate to be 118.53 percent as

well.

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we are directing the

Customs Service to suspend liquidation of all entries of Clad Plate

Steel from Japan, 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 amount by which the normal

value exceeds the export price as shown

[[Page 7471]]

below. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in

effect until further notice.

The dumping margins are as follows:

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Margin

Exporter/manufacturer percentage

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The Japan Steel Company..................................... 118.53

All others.................................................. 118.53

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The all others rate applies to all entries of subject merchandise

except for entries from exporters that are identified above.

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 before the later of 120 days after the date of

this preliminary determination or 45 days after our final determination

whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material

injury to, the U.S. industry.

Public Comment

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

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

Secretary for Import Administration no later than March 1, 1996, and

rebuttal briefs, no later than March 8, 1996. A list of authorities

used and a summary of arguments made in the briefs should accompany

these briefs. The summary must be limited to five pages total,

including footnotes. In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38, 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 at 10 a.m. Tuesday March 12,

1996, at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3606, 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 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, or to participate

if one is requested, 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 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 the issues to be

discussed. In accordance with 19 CFR 353.38(b), oral presentations will

be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If this investigation

proceeds normally, we will make our final determination by May 1, 1996.

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

Act.

Dated: February 22, 1996.

Susan G. Esserman,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 96-4548 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P