Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Taiwan: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-583-008]

Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Taiwan:

Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of antidumping duty administrative

review.

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

SUMMARY: On June 6, 1997, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published the preliminary results of review of the antidumping duty

order on certain circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from

Taiwan (62 FR 31070). The review covers one manufacturer/exporter, Yieh

Hsing, of the subject merchandise to the United States and the period

May 1, 1995 through April 30, 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 10, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael J. Heaney or Linda Ludwig,

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-4475/3833.

APPLICABLE STATUTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) are references to the

provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of the

amendments made to the Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).

In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the

Department's regulations are to the regulations, codified at 19 CFR

Part 353 (1997).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Department published an antidumping duty order on certain

circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan on May 7, 1984

(49 FR 19369). The Department published a notice of ``Opportunity To

Request Administrative Review'' of the antidumping duty order for the

1995/1996 review period on May 8, 1996 (61 FR 20791). On May 24, 1996,

the petitioners, Allied Tube & Conduit Corp., Wheatland Tube Company,

Sawhill Tubular Corp., Division of Armco Inc., and Laclede Steel Co.,

filed a request for review of Yieh Hsing Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Yieh

Hsing). We initiated the review of Yieh Hsing on June 25, 1996 (61 FR

32771).

On June 6, 1997, the Department published the preliminary results

of the administrative review. We received comments from Yieh Hsing, and

rebuttal comments from the petitioners. The Department has now

completed this review in accordance with section 751 of the Act.

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by this review are shipments of certain circular

welded carbon steel pipes and tubes. The Department defines such

merchandise as welded carbon steel pipes and tubes of circular cross

section,with walls not thinner than 0.065 inch and 0.375 inch or more

but not over 4\1/2\ inches in outside diameter. These products are

commonly referred to in the industry as ``standard pipe'' and are

produced to various American Society for Testing

[[Page 52972]]

Materials specifications, most notably A-53, A-120, or A-135. Standard

pipe is currently classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTSUS) item numbers 7306.30.5025, 7306.30.5032,

7306.30.5040, and 7306.30.5055. Although the HTSUS subheading is

provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description

of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

We invited interested parties to comment on the preliminary results

of this administrative review. As noted above, we received timely

comments from Yieh Hsing, and rebuttal comments from the petitioner.

Comment 1: Yieh Hsing asserts that other discounts are understated

by a factor of 1000 in its home market sales listing. Yieh Hsing

contends that the Department should correct this error in the final

results of review. This error was not disputed by the petitioners.

Department's Position: We agree. During our verification of Yieh

Hsing, we verified that other discounts were understated by a factor of

1000. (See January 29, 1997 verification report of Yieh Hsing, at page

10.) We have amended our calculations to reflect the correct amount for

this expense.

Comment 2: Yieh Hsing contends that in calculating its dumping

margin, the Department improperly compared U.S. prices to a `six-month

window period' surrounding each U.S. sale. Yieh Hsing asserts that the

Department should follow its normal practice, and compare individual

U.S. sales to normal values corresponding to the month of the U.S.

sale.

Petitioners contend that normal values have not been averaged

across a six month period, and that the Department correctly matched

U.S. prices to normal values for the corresponding month.

Department's Position: We have reviewed our preliminary

calculations and determined that we improperly compared U.S. sales to a

weighted-average six-month period in our preliminary results. In these

final results, we have amended our calculations, and based our

calculations of normal value to the month corresponding to the U.S.

sale.

Final Results of Review

As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that a

margin of 0.37 percent exists for Yieh Hsing for the period of June 1,

1995 through May 31, 1996.

The U.S. Customs Service shall assess antidumping duties on all

appropriate entries. Individual differences between U.S. price and

normal value may vary from the percentages stated above. The Department

will issue appraisement instructions directly to the U.S. Customs

Service.

Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective

for all shipments of certain circular welded carbon steel pipes and

tubes from Taiwan entered or withdrawn from the warehouse, for

consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of

these administrative reviews, as provided by section 751(a)(1) of the

Act: (1) No cash deposit shall be required for Yieh Hsing because its

weighted average margin is less than 0.5 percent and therefore de

minimis, (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters not

covered in this review but covered in the original less-than-fair-value

(LTFV) investigation or a previous review, the cash deposit will

continue to be the most recent rate published in the final

determination or final results for which the manufacturer or exporter

received a company-specific rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm

covered in this review or the original investigation, but the

manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be that established for the

manufacturer of the merchandise in the final results of these reviews

or the LTFV investigation; and (4) if neither the exporter nor the

manufacturer is a firm covered in this or any previous reviews or the

original fair value investigation, the cash deposit rate will be 9.7%,

the ``all others'' rate established in the LTFV investigation.

This notice also serves as a reminder to importers of their

responsibility under 19 CFR 353.26(b) to file a certificate regarding

the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the

relevant entries during these review periods. 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 notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to

administrative protective orders (APOs) of their responsibility

concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d). Timely written notification of

the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial

protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the

regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which is subject to

sanction.

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.

Dated: October 3, 1997.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 97-27033 Filed 10-9-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M