Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-824]

Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From

Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty

Administrative Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of changed circumstances antidumping

duty administrative review, and revocation in part of antidumping duty

order.

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SUMMARY: On November 10, 1997, the Department of Commerce (the

Department) published a notice of initiation of a changed circumstances

antidumping duty administrative review and preliminary results of

review with intent to revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order on

certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. We

are now revoking this order in part, with respect to corrosion-

resistant steel flat products with certain dimensions and coatings,

based on the fact that domestic parties have expressed no interest in

the importation or sale of this product, imported from Japan.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 22, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gideon Katz or Maureen Flannery, AD/

CVD Enforcement, Office 9, Import Administration, International Trade

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

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

5255 and (202) 482-3020, respectively.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations: 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. In

addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's

regulations are to the current regulations, as codified at 19 CFR by

Part 351, 62 FR 27295 (May 19, 1997).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On September 19, 1997, Sudo Corporation (Sudo) requested that the

Department conduct a changed circumstances administrative review to

determine whether to partially revoke the order with regard to imports

of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan.

The order with regard to imports of other types of corrosion-resistant

carbon steel flat products is not affected by this request. On October

28, 1997, domestic producers AK Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel

Corporation, Inland Steel Industries, Inc., LTV Steel Company, Inc.,

National Steel Corporation, and U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX

Corporation, informed the Department in writing that they did not

object to the changed circumstances review and had no interest in the

importation or sale of electrolytic zinc-coated steel coiled rolls

produced in Japan as described in detail in Sudo's letter.

We preliminarily determined that domestic producers' affirmative

statement of no interest constituted changed circumstances sufficient

to warrant a partial revocation of this order. Consequently, on

November 10, 1997, the Department published a notice of initiation and

preliminary results of

[[Page 66849]]

changed circumstances antidumping duty administrative review and intent

to revoke this order in part (62 FR 60470). We gave interested parties

an opportunity to comment on the preliminary results of this changed

circumstances review. We received a comment from domestic producers and

a rebuttal comment from Sudo.

Comment: Domestic producers claim that the Department's description

of the merchandise to be excluded from the order is overly broad. They

state that the Department, in its preliminary results, described the

product to be excluded from the order only by width and thickness,

ignoring the chemical composition and thickness of the coating.

Domestic producers claim that their statement of no interest was based

on a description of the product using all of the above criteria. Sudo

agrees that the product to be excluded should be defined by all

criteria.

Department's Position: We agree with domestic producers and with

Sudo, and have added the chemical composition of each of the three

coating layers and the thickness of the total coating to the

characteristics of the product to be excluded from the antidumping

order.

Scope of Review

The merchandise covered by this changed circumstances review is

certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. This

changed circumstances administrative review covers all manufacturers/

exporters of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products

meeting the following specifications: widths ranging from 10

millimeters (0.394 inches) through 100 millimeters (3.94 inches);

thicknesses, including coatings, ranging from 0.11 millimeters (0.004

inches) through 0.60 millimeters (0.024 inches); and a coating that is

from 0.003 millimeters (0.00012 inches) through 0.005 millimeters

(0.000196 inches) in thickness and that is comprised of three evenly

applied layers, the first layer consisting of 99% zinc, 0.5% cobalt,

and 0.5% molybdenum, followed by a layer consisting of chromate, and

finally a layer consisting of silicate.

Final Results of Review; Partial Revocation of Antidumping Duty

Order

The affirmative statement of no interest by petitioners in certain

corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products, as described above,

produced in Japan, constitutes changed circumstances sufficient to

warrant partial revocation of this order. Therefore, the Department is

partially revoking the order on certain corrosion-resistant carbon

steel flat products from Japan with regard to products which meet the

specifications detailed above, in accordance with sections 751 (b) and

(d) and 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d)(1). This partial

revocation applies to all entries of the subject merchandise entered,

or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after October 27,

1995.

The Department will instruct the U.S. Customs Service (Customs) to

proceed with liquidation, without regard to antidumping duties, of all

unliquidated entries of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat

products with the dimensions and coatings described above from Japan,

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after

October 27, 1995. The Department will further instruct Customs to

refund with interest any estimated duties collected with respect to

unliquidated entries of this product from Japan entered, or withdrawn

from warehouse, for consumption on or after October 27, 1995, in

accordance with section 778 of the Act.

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to

administrative protection orders (APOs) of their responsibility

concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d)(1997). 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 sanctionable violation.

This changed circumstances administrative review, partial

revocation of the antidumping duty order and notice are in accordance

with sections 751 (b) and (d) and 782(h) of the Act and sections

351.216 and 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations.

Dated: December 16, 1997.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 97-33351 Filed 12-19-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P