Notice of Amendment to Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Steel Wire Rod From Canada

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-826]

Notice of Amendment to Final Determination of Sales at Less Than

Fair Value: Steel Wire Rod From Canada

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Amendment to Final Determination of Sales at Less

Than Fair Value.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abdelali Elouaradia at 202/482-2243,

or James C. Doyle at 202/482-0159, Import Administration, International

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

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. 20230.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 1930

(``the Act'') as amended, 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's regulations are

references to the provisions codified at 19 CFR part 353 (April 1997).

Although the Department's new regulations, codified at 19 CFR part 351

(62 FR 27296 (May 19, 1997)) do not govern these proceedings, citations

to those regulations are provided, where appropriate, to explain

current departmental practice.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are certain hot-rolled

carbon steel and alloy steel products, in coils, of approximately round

cross section, between 5.00 mm (0.20 inch) and 19.0 mm (0.75 inch),

inclusive, in solid cross-sectional diameter. Specifically excluded are

steel products possessing the above noted physical characteristics and

meeting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'')

definitions for (a) stainless steel; (b) tool steel; (c) high nickel

steel; (d) ball bearing steel; (e) free machining steel that contains

by weight 0.03 percent or more of lead, 0.05 percent or more of

bismuth, 0.08 percent or more of sulfur, more than 0.4 percent of

phosphorus, more than 0.05 percent of selenium, and/or more than 0.01

percent of tellurium; or (f) concrete reinforcing bars and rods.

The following products are also excluded from the scope of this

investigation:

Coiled products 5.50 mm or less in true diameter with an

average partial decarburization per coil of no more than 70 microns in

depth, no inclusions greater than 20 microns, containing by weight the

following: carbon greater than or equal to 0.68 percent; aluminum less

than or equal to 0.005 percent; phosphorous plus sulfur less than or

equal to 0.040 percent; maximum combined copper, nickel and chromium

content of 0.13 percent; and nitrogen less than or equal to 0.006

percent. This product is commonly referred to as ``Tire Cord Wire

Rod.''

Coiled products 7.9 to 18 mm in diameter, with a partial

decarburization of 75 microns or less in depth and seams no more than

75 microns in depth, containing 0.48 to 0.73 percent carbon by weight.

This product is commonly referred to as ``Valve Spring Quality Wire

Rod.''

Coiled products 11 mm to 12.5 mm in diameter, with an

average partial decarburization per coil of no more than 70 microns in

depth, no inclusions greater than 20 microns, containing by weight the

following: carbon greater than or equal to 0.72 percent; manganese

0.50-1.10 percent; phosphorus less than or equal to 0.030 percent;

sulfur less than or equal to 0.035 percent; and silicon 0.10-0.35

percent. This product is free of injurious piping and undue

segregation. The use

[[Page 15830]]

of this excluded product is to fulfill contracts for the sale of Class

III pipe wrap wire in conformity with ASTM specification A648-95 and

imports of this product must be accompanied by such a declaration on

the mill certificate and/or sales invoice. This excluded product is

commonly referred to as ``Semifinished Class III Pipe Wrapping Wire.''

The products under investigation are currently classifiable under

subheadings 7213.91.3000, 7213.91.4500, 7213.91.6000, 7213.99.0030,

7213.99.0090, 7227.20.0000, and 7227.90.6050 of the HTSUS. Although the

HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes,

our written description of the scope of this investigation is

dispositive.

Exclusion of Pipe Wrapping Wire

As stated in the Preliminary Determination, North American Wire

Products Corporation (``NAW''), an importer of the subject merchandise

from Germany, requested that the Department exclude SWR used to

manufacture Class III pipe wrapping wire from the scope of the

antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of SWR from Canada,

Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Because petitioners did

not agree to this scope exclusion, we did not exclude this merchandise

in the preliminary determination. On December 22, 1997, NAW submitted

to the Department a proposed exclusion definition. On December 30, 1997

and January 7, 1998, the petitioners submitted letters concurring with

the definition of the scope exclusion and requesting exclusion of this

product from the scope of the investigation. We have reviewed NAW's

request and petitioners' comments and have excluded SWR for

manufacturing Class III pipe wrapping wire from the scope of this

investigation. See Memorandum to Richard W. Moreland dated January 12,

1998. Accordingly, on February 3, 1998, we instructed the U.S. Customs

Service to terminate suspension of liquidation on all entries of Class

III pipe wrapping wire from Canada.

Amendment of Final Determination

On February 24, 1998, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published the Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less than Fair

Value: Steel Wire Rod From Canada (63 FR 9182) (``Final

Determination''). This notice covered Sidbec-Dosco (Ispat) Inc. (now

Ispat-Sidbec), Stelco, Inc. (``Stelco''), and Ivaco, Inc. (``Ivaco'').

The period of investigation (``POI'') for all respondents was January

1, 1996 through December 31, 1996.

On February 20, 1998, respondent Ivaco filed timely allegations of

ministerial errors with regard to the Final Determination. On February

27, 1998, counsel for petitioners in this investigation (Connecticut

Steel Group, Co-Steel Raritan, GS Industries, Inc., Keystone Steel &

Wire Co., North Star Steel Texas, Inc., and Northwestern Steel & Wire

Co.) filed timely allegations of ministerial errors and replies to

Ivaco's comments. On March 16, 1998, Ivaco filed timely replies to

petitioners' comments. We have reviewed the submissions of both

petitioners and respondents, and we are issuing an amended final

determination based on the corrections of ministerial errors as

detailed below.

First, Ivaco states that the Department made a calculation error in

the code which defines home market freight expense for Ivaco Rolling

Mill's (IRM) direct sales to unaffiliated customers and to a particular

affiliated customer. Ivaco alleges this error resulted in the

Department not calculating the freight expense incurred in transporting

the subject merchandise to these customers in the home market.

Petitioners agree with Ivaco that the Department made a calculation

error in the code which defines home market freight expense for IRM's

direct sales to unaffiliated customers. However, petitioners disagree

that the Department erred in calculating freight expenses for sales to

affiliated customers.

The Department agrees with both parties that a ministerial error

was made when calculating home market freight expense for IRM's direct

sales to unaffiliated customers, and has corrected the program

accordingly. However, the Department has not erred in calculating

freight expenses for IRM's direct sales to affiliated customers,

therefore, no changes were made to the program.

Second, Ivaco maintains that due to a programming error the margin

program fails to apply the level of trade (LOT) adjustment for Ivaco's

sales. According to Ivaco, the error occurs because the Department

relies on the CON2 data set, and that the variable in the home market

data set used to identify LOT is not recognized by the program code.

Consequently, in these instances, no level of trade adjustment is

applied.

Petitioners maintain that LOT adjustment is not warranted, but

agree that the margin program fails to apply it. Petitioners propose

new code lines to the program to correct the error.

The Department agrees with both parties that the margin program

fails to apply the LOT adjustment and accordingly has corrected it by

adding the appropriate code lines to the program.

Third, Ivaco states that the Department improperly applied the

yield adjustment factor to all Ivaco sales, instead of only to Ivaco

sales of processed rod, as the Department intended.

Petitioners state that using facts available in the record, and

given the total inability of Ivaco to provide the necessary

information, the Department, with its limited resources and time, was

more than justified in employing this calculation.

The Department agrees with Ivaco that it has erred in applying the

yield adjustment factor to all Ivaco sales. The Department intended to

apply yield adjustment factor to only Ivaco sales of processed rod. See

Cost Disclosure Memorandum at 2.

Fourth, Petitioners claim that the Department erred when

calculating the constructed export price, and that the variable INDEXUS

should be replaced by INDEXPU, which is inclusive of inventory carrying

costs and indirect selling expenses, as expressed in the Department's

calculation memorandum.

Ivaco agrees that the Department inadvertently erred when

calculating the constructed export price but disagrees that the

adjustment should also include domestic indirect selling expenses.

The Department agrees with Ivaco that when calculating the

constructed export price, the Department adjusts for expenses

associated with commercial activities in the United States in

accordance with section 772(d)(1). We have, therefore, replaced the

variable INDEXUS with the variable INDEXPU exclusive of domestic

indirect selling expenses.

Finally, Ivaco claims that the Constructed Value (CV) calculation

uses one weighted-average selling expense and one weighted-average

profit figure for both of Ivaco's LOTs, rather than calculating

separate CVs for each LOT by using weighted average values at each LOT,

as the Department intended.

Petitioners claim that the Department has already rejected Ivaco's

claim that CV should be calculated by LOT; therefore, this is not a

ministerial error and the language proposed by Ivaco is methodological

in nature.

Ivaco raised this issue in its comments on the preliminary

determination, and the Department disagreed that the program for the CV

calculation should be changed as Ivaco suggested. We therefore, agree

with petitioners that it is inappropriate to

[[Page 15831]]

correct the CV program as a ministerial error under 735(e) of the Act.

Amended Final Determination

The revised weighted average dumping margins are :

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Margin

Manufacturer/exporter Time period (percent)

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Ivaco Inc................................ 1/1/96-12/31/96 6.95

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This determination is published pursuant to section 735(d) of the

Act, 19 U.S.C. 1673d(d) and 19 CFR 353.28(c).

Dated: March 25, 1998.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-8550 Filed 3-31-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P