Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Spain

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-469-807]

Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair

Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Spain

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 15, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Smith or Wendy Frankel, Import

Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20230; telephone: (202) 482-5193 or (202) 482-5849, respectively.

The 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 of Commerce's

(Department's) regulations are to the regulations at 19 CFR part 351,

62 FR 27296 (May 19, 1997).

Amendment to the Final Determination

On July 20, 1998, in accordance with section 735(a) of the Act, the

Department made a final determination that stainless steel wire rod

(SSWR) from Spain is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United

States at less than fair value. See Notice of Final Determination of

Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Spain, 63

FR 40391 (July 29, 1998) (final determination). On August 3, 1998,

petitioners filed a timely allegation that the Department had made a

ministerial error in its final determination. Specifically, petitioners

assert that while the Department found in its final determination that

the reported cost of production (COP) and constructed value (CV) should

be increased by the amount of an inventory write-down that respondent

subtracted from reported costs, the Department made an arithmetic error

in adjusting the reported costs which inadvertently decreased, rather

than increased costs by the inventory write-down.

We have determined, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224, that a

ministerial error was made in adjusting the COP and CV that were

reported in the final determination. For a detailed discussion of the

alleged ministerial error, see the memorandum from Howard Smith to

Holly Kuga on the subject, ``Ministerial Error Allegation'' regarding

the antidumping duty investigation of stainless steel wire rod from

Spain--final determination, dated August 20, 1998.

Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e), we are amending

the final determination of the antidumping duty investigation of

stainless steel wire rod from Spain. The revised weighted-average

dumping margins are in the ``Antidumping Duty Order'' section below.

Scope of Order

For purposes of this investigation, SSWR comprises products that

are hot-rolled or hot-rolled annealed and/or pickled and/or descaled

rounds, squares, octagons, hexagons or other shapes, in coils, that may

also be coated with a lubricant containing copper, lime or oxalate.

SSWR is made of alloy steels containing, by weight, 1.2 percent or less

of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with or without other

elements. These products are manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-

rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or descaling, are normally sold

in coiled form, and are of solid cross-section. The majority of SSWR

sold in the United States is round in cross-sectional shape, annealed

and pickled, and later cold-finished into stainless steel wire or

small-diameter bar.

The most common size for such products is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217

inches in diameter, which represents the smallest size that normally is

produced on a rolling mill and is the size that most wire-drawing

machines are set up to draw. The range of SSWR sizes normally sold in

the United States is between 0.20 inches and 1.312 inches diameter. Two

stainless steel grades, SF20T and K-M35FL, are excluded from the scope

of the investigation. The chemical makeup for the excluded grades is as

follows:

SF20T

Carbon--0.05 max

Manganese--2.00 max

Phosphorous--0.05 max

Sulfur--0.15 max

Silicon--1.00 max

Chromium--19.00/21.00

Molybdenum--1.50/2.50

Lead--added (0.10/0.30)

Tellurium--added (0.03 min)

K-M35FL

Carbon--0.015 max

Silicon--0.70/1.00

Manganese--0.40 max

Phosphorous--0.04 max

Sulfur--0.03 max

Nickel--0.30 max

Chromium--12.50/14.00

Lead--0.10/0.30

Aluminum--0.20/0.35

The products subject to this order are currently classifiable under

subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, and

7221.00.0075 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience

and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is

dispositive.

Antidumping Duty Order

On September 8, 1998, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act,

the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) notified the Department

that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of

stainless steel wire rod from Spain, pursuant to section 735(b)(1)(A)

of the Act. Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act,

the Department will direct the

[[Page 49331]]

United States Customs Service to assess, upon further advice by the

Department, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal

value of the merchandise exceeds the constructed export price of the

merchandise for all relevant entries of stainless steel wire rod from

Spain. These antidumping duties will be assessed on all unliquidated

entries of stainless steel wire rod from Spain entered, or withdrawn

from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 5, 1998, the date on

which the Department published its preliminary determination notice in

the Federal Register (63 FR 10849).

On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal

Register, U.S. customs officers must require, at the same time as

importers would normally deposit estimated duties, the cash deposits

listed below for the subject merchandise. The ``All Others'' rate

applies to all exporters of stainless steel wire rod not specifically

listed below.

The revised final weighted-average margins are as follows:

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

Original Revised final

Manufacturer/producer/exporter final margin margin

percentage percentage

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

Roldan, S.A............................. 4.72 4.73

All Others.............................. 4.72 4.73

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

This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to

stainless steel wire rod from Spain, pursuant to section 736(a) of the

Act. Interested parties may contact the Central Records Unit, Room B-

099 of the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of

antidumping duty orders currently in effect.

This order is published in accordance with section 736(a) of the

Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

Dated: September 10, 1998.

Richard W. Moreland,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration

[FR Doc. 98-24772 Filed 9-14-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P