Titanium Sponge From the Russian Federation and Republic of Kazakstan: Postponement of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-803 and A-834-803]

Titanium Sponge From the Russian Federation and Republic of

Kazakstan: Postponement of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Reviews

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Extension of time limits for preliminary results of antidumping

duty administrative reviews.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is extending by 60 days the time

limit of the preliminary results of the antidumping duty administrative

review of the antidumping finding on titanium sponge from the Russian

Federation (A-821-803) and the Republic of Kazakstan (A-834-803),

covering the period August 1, 1996, through July 31, 1997, since it is

not practicable to complete these reviews within the time limits

mandated by the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1675

(a)(3)(A)).

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 16, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Manning or Wendy Frankel,

Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Office Four,

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S.

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

Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-3936 and 482-5849,

respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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. In addition, unless otherwise indicated,

all citations to the Department of Commerce's regulations are to the

current regulations as codified at 19 CFR 351 (1998).

Background

On September 25, 1997 (62 FR 50292), the Department of Commerce

(the Department) initiated administrative reviews of the antidumping

findings on titanium sponge from the Russian Federation and the

Republic of Kazakstan, covering the period August 1, 1996, through July

31, 1997. In our notice of initiation, we stated our intention to issue

the final results of these reviews no later than August 31, 1998. On

February 10, 1998, the Department determined that due to the complexity

of the legal and methodological issues presented by these reviews, it

was not practicable to complete these reviews within the time limits

mandated by the Act. See Memorandum to Richard Moreland Concerning the

Extension of Case Deadlines, dated February 5, 1998. Accordingly, the

Department postponed the preliminary determinations by 60 days.

Postponement of Preliminary and Final Results of Review

Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act requires the Department to make a

preliminary determination within 245 days after the last day of the

anniversary month of an order/finding for which a review is requested

and a final determination within 120 days after the date on which the

preliminary determination is published. However, if it is not

practicable to complete the review within the time period, section

751(a)(3)(A) allows the Department to extend this time period to a

maximum of 365 days and 180 days, respectively.

On February 10, 1998, when the Department first postponed the

preliminary determinations of these cases, we evaluated the complexity

of the legal and methodological issues presented by these reviews and

conservatively estimated that a 60 day postponement would be sufficient

to allow for a complete analysis prior to issuing the preliminary

determinations. However, after further development of the issues

presented in these reviews, we now realize that our initial estimate of

the time needed to complete the preliminary analysis in each case was

insufficient. Therefore, we determine that it is not practicable to

complete these reviews within the current time frame because of the

complexity of the legal and methodological issues in these reviews and

are postponing the preliminary determinations of these cases by an

additional 60 days. See Memorandum to Maria Harris Tildon Concerning

the Extension of Case Deadlines dated April 6, 1998.

Due to the 60 day extension, the deadline for issuing the

preliminary results of these reviews is now no later than September 1,

1998. The deadline for issuing the final results of these reviews will

be no later than 120 days from the publication of the preliminary

results.

These extensions are in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the

Act (19 U.S.C. 1675 (a)(3)(A)).

Dated: April 7, 1998.

Maria Harris Tildon,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-10037 Filed 4-15-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P