Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Review, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-824]

Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products From

Japan: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty Review,

and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Order

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of changed circumstances antidumping

duty review, and revocation in part of antidumping duty order.

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

SUMMARY: On September 7, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the

Department) published a notice of initiation of a changed circumstances

antidumping review and preliminary results of review with intent to

revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order on certain corrosion-

resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. We are now revoking

this order in part, with regard to two products: (1) Steel coil with an

aluminum alloy lining, and (2) steel coil with a polytetrafluorethylene

(PTFE)/lead-based lining, as described in the ``Scope'' section of this

notice, based on the fact that domestic parties have

[[Page 57033]]

expressed no further interest in the relief provided by the order with

respect to the importation or sale of this steel coil lined with an

aluminum alloy or with a PTFE/lead-based lining, as so described.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 22, 1999.

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 of the amendments made to the Act by the

Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise indicated,

all citations to the Department's regulations are to the regulations at

19 CFR part 351 (1999).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Ellerman or Maureen Flannery,

AD/CVD Enforcement, Office 7, Import Administration, International

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

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-4106

or (202) 482-3020, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 27, 1999, Taiho Corporation of America (Taiho America)

requested that the Department revoke in part the antidumping duty order

on certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan

with respect to steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and steel coil

with a PTFE/lead-based lining, used in the manufacture of plain sleeve

bushings. Taiho America stated in its request that it had contacted the

counsel for petitioners and they expressed no objection to the changed

circumstances request and further stated that they had no interest in

the merchandise. (See Request for Changed Circumstances Review from

Taiho Corporation of America; Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel

Flat Products from Japan, August 27, 1999, (Request for Changed

Circumstance Review)). The following domestic producers of corrosion-

resistant steel products also filed a statement on August 27, 1999:

Bethlehem Steel Corporation; Ispat Inland Steel; LTV Steel Company,

Inc.; National Steel Corporation; and U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX

Corporation. In this statement, domestic producers expressed no

objection to the initiation of the changed circumstances review, nor

any interest in the importation or sale of steel from Japan with

respect to the products described in the request submitted by Taiho

America. (See Letter from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP;

Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products from Japan:

Changed Circumstances Review, August 27, 1999.)

We preliminarily determined that the petitioner's affirmative

statement of no interest constituted changed circumstances sufficient

to warrant a review and partial revocation of the order. Consequently,

on September 7, 1999, the Department published a notice of initiation

and preliminary results of changed circumstance antidumping duty review

with an intent to revoke the order, in part (64 FR 48579).

The merchandise under review is currently classifiable under

subheading 7212.50.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United

States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for

convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope

is dispositive.

Scope of Changed Circumstances Review

The merchandise covered by the antidumping duty order is certain

corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. This changed

circumstances review covers: (1) Carbon steel flat products measuring

1.84 mm in thickness and 43.6 mm or 16.1 mm in width consisting of

carbon steel coil (SAE 1008) clad with an aluminum alloy that is

balance aluminum, 20% tin, 1% copper, 0.3% silicon, 0.15% nickel, less

than 1% other materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard

783 for Bearing and Bushing Alloys; and (2) carbon steel flat products

measuring 0.97 mm in thickness and 20 mm in width consisting of carbon

steel coil (SAE 1008) with a two-layer lining, the first layer

consisting of a copper-lead alloy powder that is balance copper, 9% to

11% tin, 9% to 11% lead, less than 1% zinc, less than 1% other

materials and meeting the requirements of SAE standard 792 for Bearing

and Bushing Alloys, the second layer consisting of 45% to 55% lead, 38%

to 50% PTFE, 3% to 5% molybdenum disulfide and less than 2% other

materials.1

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

\1\ The Department described the products covered by this review

incorrectly in one section of its initiation notice of September 7,

1999 (64 FR 48579). The specifications listed in this notice are the

specifications of the products under review.

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

Comments

Comment: In the preliminary determination we provided parties the

opportunity to comment. We received one comment from domestic

producers. Domestic producers claim that the Department's description

of the merchandise to be excluded from the order in the substantive

portion of its preliminary results differed in several important

respects from the description of the merchandise in Taiho America's

August 26, 1999 Request for Changed Circumstances Review. The domestic

producers claim that their statement of no interest was based on the

description of the products in Taiho America's request, and argue that

the final results should specifically cover only those products as

detailed in this document.

Department's Position: We agree with the domestic producers. The

products for which we are revoking the antidumping duty order, which we

describe above, are exactly those described in Taiho America's Request

for Changed Circumstances Review of August 27, 1999.

Final Results of Review and Partial Revocation of the Antidumping

Duty Order

The affirmative statement of no interest by the petitioner

concerning the steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and the steel

coil with a PTFE/lead-based lining and the fact that no interested

parties objected to or otherwise commented on our preliminary results

of review, except as noted above, constitutes changed circumstances

sufficient to warrant partial revocation of the order. Therefore, the

Department is partially revoking the order on certain corrosion-

resistant carbon steel flat products in reference to the two types of

products described above, in accordance with sections 751(b) and (d)

and 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(i). This partial revocation

applies to all unliquidated entries of the above-described merchandise

not subject to final results of administrative review as of the date of

publication in the Federal Register of these final results of changed

circumstances review.

The Department will instruct the Customs Service (Customs) to

proceed with liquidation, without regard to antidumping duties, of all

unliquidated entries of steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and

steel coil with a PTFE/lead-based lining, as specifically described in

the ``Scope of Review'' section above, and entered, or withdrawn from

the warehouse, for consumption on or after August 1, 1997, i.e., all

unliquidated entries of this merchandise not subject to final results

of administrative review as of the date of publication in the Federal

Register of these final results of changed circumstances review. The

Department will further instruct Customs to refund with interest any

estimated duties collected with respect to unliquidated

[[Page 57034]]

entries of steel coil with an aluminum alloy lining and steel coil with

a PTFE/lead-based lining entered or withdrawn from the warehouse for

consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of

this changed circumstances review, in accordance with section 778 of

the Act.

This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to

administrative protection orders (APOs) of their responsibility

concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under

APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.34(d)(1997). Timely written

notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion

to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply

with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This changed circumstances review, partial revocation of the

antidumping duty order, and notice are in accordance with sections

751(b) and (d) and 782(h) of the Act and sections 351.216,

351.221(c)(3), and 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations.

Dated: October 14, 1999.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-27687 Filed 10-21-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P