Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, From Japan, and Tapered Roller Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter, and Components Thereof, From Japan; Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-054, A-588-604]

Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and

Unfinished, From Japan, and Tapered Roller Bearings, Four Inches or

Less in Outside Diameter, and Components Thereof, From Japan; Amended

Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of amended final results of administrative reviews.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is amending its

final results of the administrative reviews, published on January 15,

1998, of the antidumping duty order on tapered roller bearings (TRBs)

and parts thereof, finished and unfinished, from Japan (A-588-604), and

the antidumping finding on TRBs, four inches or less in outside

diameter, and components thereof, from Japan (A-588-054), to reflect

the correction of ministerial errors in those final results.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 19, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Ranado, Stephanie Arthur, or

John Kugelman, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement III, Office 8, Import

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

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20230, telephone: (202) 482-3518, 6312, and 0649, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are in

reference 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 (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise

indicated, all citations are to the Department's regulations, 19 CFR

part 353 (1997).

Background

On January 15, 1998, the Department published its final results of

administrative review of the antidumping duty order (A-588-604) on TRBs

and parts thereof, finished and unfinished, from Japan, and the

antidumping finding (A-588-054) on TRBs, four inches or less in outside

diameter, and components thereof, from Japan (63 FR 2558). The

Department has now amended the final results of these reviews in

accordance with section 751 of the Act.

On January 15, 1998, the petitioner filed clerical error

allegations with respect to two of the respondents, NSK and NTN. On

January 21, 1998, we received clerical error allegations from NSK, and

on January 26, 1998, we received clerical error comments from NTN. None

of the parties submitted rebuttal comments. The Department agreed that

certain of the allegations constituted ministerial errors.

Scope of the Review

Imports covered by the A-588-054 finding are sales or entries of

TRBs, four inches or less in outside diameter when assembled, including

inner race or cone assemblies and outer races or cups, sold either as a

unit or separately. This merchandise is classified under the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule (HTS) item numbers 8482.20.00 and 8482.99.30. Imports

covered by the A-588-604 order include TRBs and parts thereof, finished

and unfinished, which are flange, take-up cartridge, and hanger units

incorporating TRBs, and tapered roller housings (except pillow blocks)

incorporating tapered rollers, with or without spindles, whether or not

for automotive use. Products subject to the A-588-054 finding are not

included within the scope of the A-588-604 order, except for those

manufactured by NTN Corporation (NTN). This merchandise is currently

classifiable under HTS item numbers 8482.99.30, 8483.20.40, 8482.20.20,

8483.20.80, 8482.91.00, 8484.30.80, 8483.90.20, 8483.90.30, and

8483.90.60. These HTS item numbers and those for the A-588-054 finding

are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written

description remains dispositive.

The A-588-054 review covers TRB sales by two TRB manufacturers/

exporters (Koyo Seiko Ltd. (Koyo) and NSK Ltd. (NSK)), and two

resellers/exporters (Fuji Heavy Industries (Fuji) and MC International

(MC)). The review of the A-588-604 case covers TRB sales by three

manufacturers/exporters (Koyo, NSK and NTN Corporation (NTN)), and two

resellers/exporters (Fuji and MC). Because Fuji and MC had no shipments

in the A-588-604 review, and for the reasons explained in our notice of

preliminary results, we have not assigned a rate to these firms for

these amended final results. The period of review (POR) for both cases

is October 1, 1995, through September 30, 1996.

Clerical Error Allegations

Comment 1: NTN asserts that the Department erroneously attempted to

correct the currency conversion error related to the calculation of CEP

profit which is mentioned in the final results memorandum. The

respondent claims that as the program is currently written, EP sales

are divided by the exchange rate, which is incorrect since EP sales are

already reported correctly. The respondent maintains that this error

has distortive effects on the calculation of the total cost of goods

sold and total revenue.

[[Page 13392]]

Department's Position: We disagree with NTN. The final results

computer program for NTN properly converts all of NTN's sales while

calculating CEP profit. NTN's allegations regarding the calculation of

the total costs of goods sold and total revenue is discussed in Comment

2.

Comment 2: NTN maintains that the Department made a clerical error

in its calculation of revenue for EP and CEP sales. The respondent

claims that the final program calculates an EP and CEP revenue amount

for all transactions, and that these two amounts are then added

together to yield a total revenue amount.

Department's Position: We agree with NTN. Our final program for NTN

incorrectly calculates both an EP revenue (EPREV) and a CEP revenue

(CEPREV) amount for each U.S. sale. Therefore, for this amended final,

we have changed our programming language such that each transaction is

assigned only one revenue variable (CEPREV or EPREV), as appropriate.

Because transaction-specific revenue amounts affect the calculation of

total cost of goods sold and total revenue, the correction of this

error addresses NTN's concerns from comment 1. This change ensures that

the total cost of goods sold and total revenue calculations are

correct.

Comment 3: Timken claims that in the final results computer program

for NTN, the Department made a clerical error while attempting to

adjust NTN's normal value (NV) billing adjustments. Timken maintains

that the language added to the computer program for the final results

failed to adjust NTN's billing adjustments as intended by the

Department.

Department's Position: We agree with the petitioner that the

programming language added to correct NTN's home market billing

adjustments was not executing correctly and have revised our margin

program accordingly.

Comment 4: Timken alleges that the Department made a ministerial

error while attempting to correct the calculation of NSK's home market

revenue (i.e., by deducting home market post-sale price adjustments).

The computer output log, Timken claims, indicates that there were

missing values generated as a result of missing values in the variable

fields used to adjust home market prices when calculating revenue.

Timken suggests that the Department failed to identify these missing

variables earlier in the program.

Department's Position: We agree with Timken that the missing values

generated while calculating home market revenue resulted from our

failure to identify the post-sale price adjustment variables earlier in

the computer program. We have revised our final margin program as

described in our Amended Final Results Analysis Memorandum.

Comment 5: NSK asserts that language in the Department's computer

program which attempts to match negative quantity sales to the original

sales for which the adjustment was made operates incorrectly.

Department's Position: We agree with NSK and have made the

appropriate changes to our final results program. For further

information, refer to the Department's Amended Final Results Memorandum

for NSK.

Comment 6: NSK maintains that the Department calculated direct and

indirect constructed value (CV) selling expense ratios based on imputed

expenses (credit and inventory carrying costs (ICC)), multiplied these

ratios by COP/CV to derive a direct and indirect selling expense

amount, then added these amounts to other cost data to derive total CV.

NSK asserts, however, that because total CV already includes imputed

interest expenses, the Department double counted imputed expenses.

Department's Position: We agree with NSK that imputed expenses were

double counted in the CV calculation. We have modified our program to

calculate separate CV expense ratios for imputed credit and ICCs,

deduct the credit expense from CV, and add ICCs to the home market

indirect selling expenses used for the CEP offset (which effectively

increases the CEP offset deduction by the ICC expense amount). In

addition, because our CV calculation language for Koyo and NTN is

identical to NSK's, we have likewise modified the margin programs for

these firms.

Comment 7: NSK asserts that while the Department correctly added

home market billing adjustments to calculate net home market price, it

erroneously subtracted billing adjustments from gross unit price when

calculating home market revenue.

Department's Position: We agree with NSK and have modified our

program accordingly such that home market billing adjustments are

properly added to, rather than deducted from, gross unit price when

calculating home market revenue.

Amended Final Results of Review

Based on our review of the comments presented above, for these

amended final results we have made changes in our final margin

calculation programs. We determine that the following percentage

weighted-average margins exist for the period October 1, 1995 through

September 30, 1996:

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Margin

Manufacturer/exporter/reseller (percent)

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For the A-588-054 Case:

Koyo Seiko............................................... 9.58

Fuji..................................................... .34

NSK...................................................... 1.64

MC International......................................... 1.92

For the A-588-604 Case:

Fuji..................................................... \1\

MC International......................................... \2\

Koyo Seiko............................................... 28.65

NTN...................................................... 21.41

NSK...................................................... 10.17

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\1\ No shipments or sales subject to this review. These firms have no

rate from any prior segment of this proceeding.

The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. We will

calculate importer-specific ad valorem duty assessment rates for the

merchandise based on the ratio of the total amount of antidumping

duties calculated for the examined sales made during the POR to the

total customs value of the sales used to calculate those duties. This

rate will be assessed uniformly on all entries that a particular

importer made during the POR. (This is equivalent to dividing the total

amount of antidumping duties, which are calculated by taking the

difference between NV and U.S. price, by the total U.S. price of the

sales compared and adjusting the result by the average difference

between U.S. price and customs value for all merchandise examined

during the POR.) While the Department is aware that the entered value

of sales during the POR is not necessarily equal to the entered value

of entries during the POR, use of entered value of sales as a basis of

the assessment rate permits the Department to collect a reasonable

approximation of antidumping duties which would have been determined if

the Department had reviewed those sales of merchandise during the POR.

The Department will issue appropriate appraisement instructions

directly to the Customs Service.

Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective

after the publication date of these amended final results for all

shipments of TRBs from Japan entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for

consumption on or after the publication date of these amended final

results of these administrative reviews, as provided by section

751(a)(1) of the Act:

(1) The cash deposit rates for the reviewed companies will be those

rates established in the amended final results of these reviews;

[[Page 13393]]

(2) For previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed

above, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific

rate published for the most recent period;

(3) If the exporter is not a firm covered in these reviews, a prior

review, or the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigations, but the

manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for

the most recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and

(4) If neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered

in these or any previous reviews conducted by the Department, the cash

deposit rate for the A-588-054 case will be 18.07 percent, and 36.52

percent for the A-588-604 case (see Preliminary Results of Antidumping

Duty Administrative Reviews; Tapered Roller Bearings, Finished and

Unfinished, and Parts Thereof, from Japan and Tapered Roller Bearings,

Four Inches or less in Outside Diameter, and Components Thereof, From

Japan, 58 FR 51061 (September 30, 1993)).

The cash deposit rate has been determined on the basis of the

selling price to the first unaffiliated U.S. customer. For appraisement

purposes, where information is available, the Department will use the

entered value of the merchandise to determine the assessment rate.

This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their

responsibility 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. These administrative reviews and this notice are in accordance

with section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and 19 CFR

353.22.

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to

administrative protective orders (APO) of their responsibility

concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information

disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 353.34(d) or conversion

to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply

with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which is

subject to sanction.

These administrative reviews and this notice are in accordance with

section 751(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1) and 19 CFR 353.22.

Dated: March 10, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-7170 Filed 3-18-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P