Notice of Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Wire Rod from Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-428-824, A-475-820, A-588-843, A-580-829, A-469-807, A-401-806, and

A-583-828]

Notice of Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Sales at

Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Wire Rod from Germany, Italy,

Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 22, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Darzenta, James Maeder, or Erik

Warga, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street

and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone (202)

482-6320, (202) 482-3330, or (202) 482-0922, respectively.

Postponement of Preliminary Determinations

On August 19, 1997, the Department initiated antidumping duty

investigations of imports of stainless steel wire rod from Germany,

Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan. The notice of

initiation stated that we would issue our preliminary determinations on

or before January 6, 1998 (62 FR 45224, August 26, 1997).

On December 11, 1997, petitioners made a timely request pursuant to

19 CFR 351.205(e) of the Department's regulations for 50-day

postponements of the preliminary determinations, until February 25,

1998, pursuant to section 733(c)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as

amended (the Act). Petitioners requested postponements because the

Department is either (a) in the process of conducting below-cost

investigations (in the Spain and Taiwan cases) or (b) evaluating

petitioners' requests to initiate below-cost investigations (in the

Italy, Japan, Korea and Sweden investigations), and it is the

petitioners' intention that, by requesting postponements, the

additional time will allow the Department to include data from any cost

investigations in its preliminary determinations.

In the investigation of stainless steel wire rod from Germany, the

respondents have informed the Department that they are not cooperating

in the investigation; as a result, the Department will have no choice

but to use the most adverse facts available in its determination.

Although no additional time is likely to be needed for the Department

to prepare its preliminary determination in the Germany investigation,

petitioners are

[[Page 66850]]

requesting postponement in this case as well so that all of the

antidumping cases will remain on the same schedule and, thus, permit

the International Trade Commission to cumulate the cases if it deems

appropriate to do so. For these same reasons, petitioners also ask the

Department to postpone all of the above-referenced cases by the same

number of days in order to ensure that they remain on identical time

schedules.

For the reasons identified by petitioners, we are postponing the

preliminary determinations under Section 733(c)(1) of the Act. We will

make our preliminary determinations no later than February 25, 1998.

This notice is published pursuant section 733(c)(2) of the Act and

19 CFR 351.205(f).

Dated: December 16, 1997.

Holly Kuga,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary.AD/CVD Enforcement, Group II.

[FR Doc. 97-33350 Filed 12-19-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P