Large Power Transformers From France; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-427-030]

Large Power Transformers From France; Preliminary Results of

Antidumping Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of the antidumping duty

administrative review; large power transformers from France.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an

administrative review of the antidumping duty finding on large power

transformers (LPTs) from France in response to a request by respondent,

Jeumont Schneider Transformateurs (JST). This review covers shipments

of this merchandise to the United States during the period June 1, 1994

through May 31, 1995.

We have preliminarily determined that sales have not been made

below normal value (NV). Interested parties are invited to comment on

these preliminary results. Parties who submit argument are requested to

submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief

summary of the argument.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 8, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elisabeth Urfer or Maureen Flannery,

Office of Antidumping Compliance, Import Administration, International

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

Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-

4733.

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). In addition, unless otherwise

indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the

current regulations, as amended by the interim regulations published in

the Federal Register on May 11, 1995 (60 FR 25130).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Treasury Department published in the Federal Register an

antidumping finding on LPTs from France on June 14, 1972 (37 FR 11772).

On June 6, 1995, we published in the Federal Register (60 FR 29821) a

notice of opportunity to

[[Page 15462]]

request an administrative review of the antidumping finding on LPTs

from France covering the period June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995.

In accordance with 19 CFR 353.22(a)(1)(1995), JST requested that we

conduct an administrative review of its sales. We published a notice of

initiation of this antidumping duty administrative review on July 14,

1995 (60 FR 36260). The Department is conducting this administrative

review in accordance with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of Review

Imports covered by the review are shipments of LPTs; that is, all

types of transformers rated 10,000 kVA (kilovolt-amperes) or above, by

whatever name designated, used in the generation, transmission,

distribution, and utilization of electric power. The term

``transformers'' includes, but is not limited to, shunt reactors,

autotransformers, rectifier transformers, and power rectifier

transformers. Not included are combination units, commonly known as

rectiformers, if the entire integrated assembly is imported in the same

shipment and entered on the same entry and the assembly has been

ordered and invoiced as a unit, without a separate price for the

transformer portion of the assembly. This merchandise is currently

classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers

8504.22.00, 8504.23.00, 8504.34.33, 8504.40.00, and 8504.50.00. The HTS

item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The

written description remains dispositive.

This review covers one manufacturer/exporter of transformers, JST,

and the period June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995.

Export Price

For sales made by JST we calculated an export price, in accordance

with section 772(a) of the Act, because the subject merchandise was

sold to unrelated purchasers in the United States prior to importation

into the United States.

We calculated export price based on the delivered price to

unrelated purchasers. We made deductions for international freight,

foreign inland freight, U.S. inland freight, and U.S. duties.

Normal Value

We preliminarily determine that the use of constructed value (CV)

is warranted to calculate NV for JST, in accordance with section 773(a)

of the Act. While the home market is viable, the particular market

situation in this case, which requires that the subject merchandise be

built to each customer's specifications, does not permit proper price-

to price comparisons in either the home market or a third country.

Petitioner and JST agree that CV should be used to calculate NV.

Petitioner notes that because LPTs are built to each purchaser's

specifications, the likelihood of finding identical merchandise in the

home and U.S. markets is remote, and that changing a single

specification in an LPT frequently results in literally hundreds of

changes to the other physical attributes of the unit. We have reviewed

the specifications submitted, as well as information regarding the

relationship of certain specifications to costs and have determined

that the particular market situation does not permit proper price-to-

price comparisons in this case. We have therefore based NV on CV. In

addition, we note that in past proceedings involving large, custom-

built capital equipment, including prior reviews of this finding, we

have normally resorted to CV. (See, e.g., Large Power Transformers from

France; Final Result of Antidumping Administrative Review, 60 FR 62808,

December 7, 1995; and Mechanical Transfer Presses From Japan: Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 58 FR 68117,

December 23, 1993.)

CV consists of the cost of materials and fabrication, general

expenses, profit, and packing. We used packing costs for merchandise

exported to the United States. We made a circumstance-of-sale

adjustment by deducting from CV home market direct selling expenses,

i.e., warranties and commissions, and adding to CV U.S. direct selling

expenses, i.e., commissions, selling expenses, and credit. We also made

a circumstance-of-sale adjustment for JST's exchange rate guarantee.

JST reported an aggregate profit figure based on its home market

sales. JST urges the Department to use this figure for profit,

particularly if the Department uses JST's SG&A figures for 1994,

because SG&A and profit are both derived from JST's financial

statements, and are, therefore, linked. While we have used JST's actual

SG&A figures, we question the appropriateness of using JST's submitted

profit figure, for the reasons explained in the proprietary memo to the

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Compliance. Instead, we have calculated

a profit figure based on JST's parent company, Schneider SA as facts

otherwise available. However, there may be other profit figures that

would be more appropriate for use in the calculation of CV. As

examples, we could calculate JST's profit based only on above-cost

sales if we had cost data for home market sales, or there may be other

relevant information in JST's books and records. Therefore, we are

inviting comment on this issue for the final results.

Preliminary Results of the Review

As a result of our comparison of export price to normal value, we

preliminarily determine that no dumping margin exists for sales of LPTs

made to the United States by JST during the period June 1, 1994 to May

31, 1995.

Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within 5 days of

the date of publication of this notice. Any interested party may

request a hearing within 10 days of publication. Any hearing, if

requested, will be held 44 days after the publication of this notice,

or the first workday thereafter. Interested parties may submit case

briefs within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice.

Rebuttal briefs, which must be limited to issues raised in the case

briefs, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date of

publication. The Department will publish a notice of final results of

this administrative review, which will include the results of its

analysis of issues raised in any such comments.

The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Upon completion

of this review, the Department will issue appraisement instructions

directly to the Customs Service.

Furthermore, the following deposit rates will be effective upon

publication of the final results of this administrative review for all

shipments of LPTs from France entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after the publication date, as provided for by

section 751(a)(2)(c) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the

reviewed company will be the rate established in the final results of

this review; (2) for previously reviewed or investigated companies not

listed above, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-

specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter

is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original

less-than-fair-value investigation, but the manufacturer is, the cash

deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent period

for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) for all other

producers and/or exporters of this merchandise, the cash deposit rate

shall be 24 percent, the rate established in the first notice of final

results of

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administrative review published by the Department (47 FR 10268, March

10, 1982).

These deposit rates, when imposed, shall remain in effect until

publication of the final results of the next administrative review.

This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of

their responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26 to file a certificate

regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation

of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply

with this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that

reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent

assessment of double antidumping duties.

This administrative review and notice are in accordance with

section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR 353.22.

Paul L. Joffe,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Dated: March 29, 1996.

[FR Doc. 96-8510 Filed 4-5-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P