Porcelain-on-Steel Cooking Ware From the People's Republic of China; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-506]

Porcelain-on-Steel Cooking Ware From the People's Republic of

China; 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

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SUMMARY: On January 9, 1998, the Department of Commerce published its

preliminary results of administrative review of the antidumping duty

order on porcelain-on-steel cooking ware from the People's Republic of

China for the period December 1, 1995, through November 30, 1996 (63 FR

1434). The Department of Commerce has now completed this administrative

review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930. For

information on the assessment of antidumping duties for each reviewed

company, and for all non-reviewed companies, see the Final Results of

Review section of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 18, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorenza Olivas or Russell Morris,

Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, Import Administration, International

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

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-

2786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On January 9, 1998, the Department of Commerce published in the

Federal Register its preliminary results of administrative review of

the antidumping duty order on porcelain-on-steel cooking ware from the

People's Republic of China for the period December 1, 1995, through

November 30, 1996 (63 FR 1434). Pursuant to 19 CFR Sec. 353.22(a), this

review covers only producers or exporters of the subject merchandise

for which a review was

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specifically requested. Accordingly, this review covers Clover

Enamelware Enterprise, Ltd. of China (Clover), a manufacturer/exporter,

and its third-country reseller, Lucky Enamelware Factory Ltd., in Hong

Kong (Lucky).

We invited interested parties to comment on the preliminary

results. Our review of the record has not led us to change our findings

from the preliminary results.

Applicable Statute

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are

references to the provisions as of 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 (the Department)

regulations are to 19 CFR Part 353.

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by this review are shipments of porcelain-on-steel

(POS) cooking ware, including tea kettles, which do not have self-

contained electric heating elements. All of the foregoing are

constructed of steel and are enameled or glazed with vitreous glasses.

The merchandise is currently classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule (HTS) item 7323.94.00. HTS items numbers are provided for

convenience and Customs purposes. The written description of the scope

remains dispositive.

Verification

We verified the questionnaire responses submitted by Clover and

Lucky, using standard verification procedures, including on-site

inspection of the manufacturer's facilities, the examination of

relevant sales and financial records, and selection of original

documentation containing relevant information, as provided in section

782(i) of the Act. Our verification results are outlined in the public

versions of the verification reports, which are on file in the Central

Records Unit (Room B-099 of the Main Commerce Building).

Affiliated Parties

Clover is two-thirds owned by Lucky and, therefore, Lucky holds

controlling interest in Clover. Due to Lucky's ownership interest in

Clover, and the fact that the same individual is the general manager at

both companies, we consider Clover and Lucky to be affiliated parties

pursuant to section 771(33) of the Act. As such, and consistent with

prior reviews of this order, we are assigning Clover and Lucky a single

dumping margin. See Porcelain-on-Steel Cooking Ware from the People's

Republic of China; Final Results of Antidumping Administrative Review,

62 FR 32758 (June 17, 1997). No new information or evidence of changed

circumstances has been submitted in this proceeding to warrant

reconsideration of this finding.

Separate Rates Analysis

Lucky is located outside the People's Republic of China (PRC) and

there is no PRC ownership of the company. Therefore, we determine that

no separate rates analysis is required for this third-country reseller

because it is beyond the jurisdiction of the PRC government. See Final

Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Disposable Pocket

Lighters from the People's Republic of China (60 FR 22359, 22361; May

5, 1995). Clover is partially owned by a PRC government company and,

therefore, a separate rates analysis is necessary to determine whether

this manufacturer/exporter is independent from government control.

To establish whether a company is sufficiently independent to be

entitled to a separate rate, the Department analyzes each exporting

entity under the test established in the Final Determination of Sales

at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers from the People's Republic of China,

56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991) (Sparklers), as amplified in Final

Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from

the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 22585 (May 2, 1994) (Silicon

Carbide). Under this policy, exporters in non-market-economy (NME)

countries are entitled to separate, company-specific margins when they

can demonstrate an absence of government control, both in law (de jure)

and in fact (de facto), with respect to exports.

1. Absence of De Jure Control

Evidence supporting, though not requiring, a finding of de jure

absence of government control includes: (1) An absence of restrictive

stipulations associated with an individual exporter's business and

export licenses; (2) any legislative enactments decentralizing control

of companies; and (3) any other formal measures by the government

decentralizing control of companies. Clover's submissions pertaining to

legislative enactments and the terms of its Enterprise Legal Person

Operation License demonstrate the absence of de jure control. (See

Memorandum from Kelly Parkhill to Barbara E. Tillman, dated December 9,

1997, ``Separate Rate Analysis for Assignment of Separate Rate for

Clover/Lucky in the 1995-1996 Administrative Review of POS Cooking Ware

from the People's Republic of China'' (Separate Rate Memorandum), which

is a public document on file in the Central Records Unit. No new

information or evidence of changed circumstances has been submitted in

this proceeding to warrant reconsideration of this finding.

2. Absence of De Facto Control

De facto absence of government control with respect to exports is

based on four criteria: (1) whether the export prices are set by or

subject to the approval of a government authority; (2) whether each

exporter retains the proceeds from its sales and makes independent

decisions regarding the disposition of profits and financing of losses;

(3) whether each exporter has autonomy in making decisions regarding

the selection of management; and (4) whether each exporter has the

authority to negotiate and sign contracts. See Silicon Carbide at

22587.

With respect to de facto absence of government control, the

information submitted by Clover in the questionnaire response indicates

the following: (1) no government entity exercises control over its

export prices; (2) it negotiates contracts without guidance from any

governmental entities or organizations; (3) it makes its own personnel

decisions; and (4) it retains the proceeds of its export sales,

utilizing profits to provide dividends to shareholders. In addition, it

has the authority to seek out loans at market interest rates. This

information supports the finding that there is de facto absence of

governmental control of export functions. No new information or

evidence of changed circumstances has been submitted in this proceeding

to warrant reconsideration of this finding.

Final Results of the Review

We invited interested parties to comment on our preliminary

results. We received no comments, and the final results do not differ

from the preliminary results. As a result of our review, we determine

the dumping margin for Clover Enamelware Enterprise/Lucky Enamelware

Factory to be 0.81 percent for the period December 1, 1995 through

November 30, 1996.

The Department shall determine, and the U.S. Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. For assessment

purposes, we intend to calculate importer-specific assessment rates.

The Department will issue appraisement instructions on each exporter

directly to the U.S. Customs Service. Furthermore, the following

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deposit rates will be effective upon publication of this notice of

final results of review for all shipments of POS cooking ware from the

PRC 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) for Clover/Lucky, which has a separate rate, the cash deposit

rate will be the company-specific rate, which is 0.81 percent,

established in the final results of this administrative review; (2) for

all other PRC exporters, the cash deposit rate will be the PRC-wide

rate, which is 66.65 percent (the margin of 66.65 percent continues to

be the PRC-wide rate because no companies representing the PRC entity

were reviewed); (3) the cash deposit rates for non-PRC exporters of

subject merchandise from the PRC will be the rates applicable to the

PRC supplier of that exporter. These rates shall remain in effect until

publication of the final results of the next administrative review.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice also serves as a final 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 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)(1). 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 the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This administrative review and notice are in accordance with

sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1); 19

U.S.C. 1677f (i)) and 19 CFR 353.22.

Dated: May 8, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-13136 Filed 5-15-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P