Certain Stainless Steel Wire Rods From France: Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-427-811]

Certain Stainless Steel Wire Rods From France: Amended Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 30, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Bolling or Rick Johnson, AD/CVD

Enforcement Group III, Import Administration, International Trade

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

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-

3434 or (202) 482-3818, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Review

The products covered by this administrative review are certain

stainless steel wire rods (SSWR), products which are hot-rolled or hot-

rolled annealed, and/or pickled rounds, squares, octagons, hexagons, or

other shapes, in coils. SSWR are 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 only

manufactured by hot-rolling, 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. The most

common size is 5.5 millimeters in diameter.

The SSWR subject to this review is currently classifiable under

subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0020, 7221.00.0030,

7221.00.0040, 7221.00.0045, 7221.00.0060, 7221.00.0075, and

7221.00.0080 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

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

and Customs purposes, our written description of the scope of the order

is dispositive.

Amendment of Final Results

On August 28, 1998, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published the amended final results of the administrative review of the

antidumping duty order on certain stainless steel wire rods from France

(63 FR 45998). This review covered Imphy S.A., and Ugine-Savoie, two

manufacturers/exporters of the subject merchandise to the United

States. The period of review (POR) is January 1, 1996, through December

31, 1996.

On September 14, 1998, counsel for the petitioning companies, Al

Tech Specialty Steel Corp., Armco Stainless & Alloy Products, Carpenter

Technology Corp., Republic Engineered Steels, Talley Metals Technology,

Inc., United Steelworkers of America, and AFL-CIO/CLC (collectively

``petitioners'') filed an allegation of a clerical error in a timely

fashion.

Petitioners allege that the Department failed to correct a

ministerial error with respect to the calculation of home market credit

expenses when the payment date was missing. Petitioners state that the

Department's amended final program continues to result in an abnormally

high imputed credit expenses that result in negative home market prices

for certain sales. Petitioners state that they informed the Department

of this clerical error in their July 8, 1998 clerical error letter.

However, according to petitioners, in issuing its amended final results

the Department did not provide a reason for not amending the program

for this clerical error, but stated only that ``petitioners have failed

to point to any specific programming language which is in error, and

the mere allegation that certain calculated expenses are too high is

insufficient for finding a ministerial error.'' See Amended Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Certain Stainless

Steel Wire Rods from France; 63 FR 45999, (August 28, 1998).

Petitioners acknowledge that they did not provide exact programming

language nor locate the exact cause of the alleged clerical error at

the time of their original clerical errors comments were filed,

although petitioners did propose on June 8 that the Department rely on

respondents' submitted information for credit expenses. Petitioners

argue that ignoring a clerical error simple because they did not

identify the programming error within the provided time frame is unfair

and unlawful. Nevertheless, petitioners have now identify the error,

and request that the Department correct this clerical error.

Respondents did not comment on this issue.

After a review of petitioners' allegation, we agree with

petitioners that a clerical error was made in the calculation of home

market credit expense in the amended final results. We have corrected

our calculation of home market credit expense when the

[[Page 47170]]

pay date is missing in our model match program. For the computer code

we used to correct this ministerial error, please see the Memorandum

from Robert A. Bolling to Edward Yang dated April 19, 1999 (``Amended

Final Calculation Memorandum''), a public version of which is available

in the Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of the Department of Commerce

building, 14th Street and Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC.

Amended Final Results of Review

As a result of our review and the correction of the ministerial

errors described above, we have determined that the following margin

exists:

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

Margin

Manufacturer/Exporter Time period (percent)

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

Imphy/Ugine-Savoie...................... 1/1/96-12/31/96 7.19

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

The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall

assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Individual

differences between United States price and normal value may vary from

the percentages stated above. This Department will issue appraisement

instructions directly to the Customs Service. The amended final results

of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping

duties on entries of merchandise covered by this review. For duty

assessment purposes, we calculated an importer-specific assessment rate

by aggregating the dumping margins calculated for all U.S. sales to

each importer and dividing this amount by the total value of subject

merchandise entered during the POR for each importer.

Furthermore, the following deposit requirements will be effective,

upon publication of this notice of amended final results of review for

all shipments of certain stainless steel wire rods from France entered,

or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the

publication date, as provided for by section 751(a)(1) of the Act: (1)

The cash deposit rates for the reviewed companies will be the rates for

those firms as stated above; (2) for previously 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 this review, or the original

investigation, 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) the cash deposit rate for all other

manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 24.51 percent for

stainless steel wire rods, the all others rate established in the LTFV

investigations. See Amended Final Determination and Antidumping Duty

Order: Certain Stainless Steel Wire Rods from France, (59 FR 4022,

January 28, 1994).

These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect

until publication of the final results of the next administrative

review.

This notice 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 order (APO) of their responsibility

concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with section 353.34(d) of the Department's

regulations. Timely notification of 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

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

Dated: August 19, 1999.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-22462 Filed 8-27-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P