Antidumping Duty Orders; Certain Stainless Steel Plate in Coils From Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-423-808, A-122-830, A-475-822, A-580-831, A-791-805, A-583-830]

Antidumping Duty Orders; Certain Stainless Steel Plate in Coils

From Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and

Taiwan

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of antidumping duty orders.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: May 21, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert James at (202) 482-5222 or John

Kugelman at (202) 482-0649, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty

Enforcement Group III, Import Administration, International Trade

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

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

APPLICABLE STATUTE AND REGULATIONS: Unless otherwise indicated, all

citations to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Tariff Act), are

to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective date of the

amendments made to the Tariff Act by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act

(URAA). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the

Department's regulations are to the regulations codified at 19 CFR Part

351 (April 1, 1998).

Scope of the Orders

The product covered by these orders is certain stainless steel

plate in coils. Stainless steel is an alloy steel containing, by

weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of

chromium, with or without other elements. The subject plate products

are flat-rolled products, 254 mm or over in width and 4.75 mm or more

in thickness, in coils, and annealed or otherwise heat treated and

pickled or otherwise descaled. The subject plate may also be further

processed (e.g., cold-rolled, polished, etc.) provided that it

maintains the specified dimensions of plate following such processing.

Excluded from the scope of these orders are the following: (1) plate

not in coils, (2) plate that is not annealed or otherwise heat treated

and pickled or otherwise descaled, (3) sheet and strip, and (4) flat

bars. In addition, certain cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils

is also excluded from the scope of these orders. The excluded cold-

rolled stainless steel plate in coils is defined as that merchandise

which meets the physical characteristics described above that has

undergone a cold-reduction process that reduced the thickness of the

steel by 25 percent or more, and has been annealed and pickled after

this cold reduction process.

The merchandise subject to these orders is currently classifiable

in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) at

subheadings: 7219.11.00.30, 7219.11.00.60, 7219.12.00.05,

7219.12.00.20, 7219.12.00.25, 7219.12.00.50, 7219.12.00.55,

7219.12.00.65, 7219.12.00.70, 7219.12.00.80, 7219.31.00.10,

7219.90.00.10, 7219.90.00.20, 7219.90.00.25, 7219.90.00.60,

7219.90.00.80, 7220.11.00.00, 7220.20.10.10, 7220.20.10.15,

7220.20.10.60, 7220.20.10.80, 7220.20.60.05, 7220.20.60.10,

7220.20.60.15, 7220.20.60.60, 7220.20.60.80, 7220.90.00.10,

7220.90.00.15, 7220.90.00.60, and 7220.90.00.80. Although the HTS

subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the

written description of the scope of the orders is dispositive.

Antidumping Duty Orders

In accordance with section 735(a) of the Tariff Act the Department

made its final determinations that stainless steel plate in coils from

Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Republic of Korea (Korea), South Africa and

Taiwan is being sold at less than fair value (see Notice of Final

Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Plate

in Coils, 64 FR 15443 through 15509, March 31, 1999). On May 4, 1999,

the International Trade Commission (the Commission) notified the

Department of its final determination pursuant to section

735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Tariff Act that an industry in the United States

is materially injured by reason of less-than-fair-value imports of

subject merchandise from Belgium, Canada, Italy, Korea, South Africa

and Taiwan. In its final determination, however, the Commission

determined that two domestic like products exist for the merchandise

covered by the Department's investigation: (i) certain cold-rolled

stainless steel plate in coils, as defined above, and (ii) all other

stainless steel plate in coils not specifically excluded. The

Commission determined pursuant to section 735(b)(1) that a domestic

industry in the United States is not materially injured or threatened

with material injury by reason of imports of the noted cold-rolled

stainless steel plate in coils from Belgium and Canada and that imports

of the noted cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils from Italy,

Korea, South Africa and Taiwan were ``negligible.'' Therefore, the

Commission's affirmative determination of material injury covered all

stainless steel plate in coils other than that specifically excluded

under the ``Scope of the Orders'' section above. Accordingly, the scope

of the antidumping duty orders has been amended as described above to

reflect the Commission's distinction between the cold-rolled stainless

steel plate in coils as defined above and all other stainless steel

plate in coils. However, because the data as reported by respondents do

not permit a distinction between the cold-rolled stainless steel plate,

as defined by the Commission, and all other stainless steel plate in

coils, we are not amending the final determinations to exclude any

sales of the cold-rolled products.

In accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Tariff Act, the

Department will direct Customs officers to assess, upon further advice

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

normal value of the merchandise exceeds the export price (or

constructed export price) of the merchandise for all relevant entries

of stainless steel plate in coils from Belgium, Canada, Italy, Korea,

South Africa and Taiwan. These antidumping duties will be assessed on

all unliquidated entries of stainless steel plate in coils from

Belgium, Canada, Italy, Korea, South Africa and Taiwan entered, or

withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after November

[[Page 27757]]

4, 1998, the date on which the Department published its notices of

preliminary determination in the Federal Register (63 FR 59524 through

59544). Customs officers must require, at the same time as importers

would normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, a cash

deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average antidumping duty

margins as noted below. The ``All Others'' rates apply to all exporters

of subject stainless steel plate in coils not specifically listed.

Imports of the noted cold-rolled stainless steel plate in coils, as

defined above under ``Scope of the Orders,'' will not be covered by

these orders. The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

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

Cash

deposit

Producer/manufacturer/exporter rate

(Percent)

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

Belgium:

ALZ, N.V.................................................. 9.86

All Others................................................ 9.86

Canada:

Atlas Stainless Steel (Sammi Atlas)....................... 15.35

All Others................................................ 11.10

Italy:

Acciai Speciali Terni SpA (AST)........................... 45.09

All Others................................................ 39.69

Republic of Korea:

Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.............................. 16.26

All Others................................................ 16.26

South Africa:

Columbus Stainless........................................ \1\ 37.77

All Others................................................ \1\ 37.771

Taiwan:

Yieh United Steel Corporation (YUSCO)..................... 8.02

YUSCO/Ta Chen............................................. 10.20

All Others................................................ 7.39

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\1\ The Department's final determination noted that in accordance with

section 772(c)(1)(C) of the Tariff Act Columbus' weighted-average

margin would be reduced by 3.84 percent to account for export

subsidies found in the concurrent countervailing duty investigation

(See Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Stainless

Steel Plate in Coils From South Africa, 63 FR 15553, March 31, 1999).

The rate given in the final determination of sales at less than fair

value was, accordingly, 37.79 percent. However, in response to an

allegation of ministerial error in calculating the export subsidy the

Department amended the export subsidy rate to 3.86 percent. See

Memorandum to Bernard Carreau, ``Ministerial Error Allegations * * *

in the Final Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of

Certain Stainless Steel Wire Rod [sic] from South Africa, April 30,

1999. Accordingly, we have reduced the cash deposit rates for South

Africa to 37.77 percent.

This notice constitutes the antidumping duty orders with respect to

certain stainless steel plate in coils from Belgium, Canada, Italy,

Korea, South Africa and Taiwan. Interested parties may contact the

Department's Central Records Unit, room B-099 of the main Commerce

building, for copies of an updated list of antidumping duty orders

currently in effect.

These orders are published in accordance with section 736(a) of the

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

Dated: May 6, 1999.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-12892 Filed 5-20-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P