Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Thailand; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-807]

Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Thailand; Final

Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final results of antidumping duty administrative

review.

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SUMMARY: On August 6, 1999, the Department of Commerce (the Department)

published preliminary results of an administrative review of the

antidumping duty order on certain carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings

(pipe fittings) from Thailand. This review covers Thai Benkan

Corporation (TBC), a manufacturer/exporter of this merchandise to the

United States, during the period July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998.

We preliminarily determined that sales of the subject merchandise have

been made below normal value. We gave parties an opportunity to comment

on our preliminary results. No comments were submitted to the

Department. Additionally, we have changed our exchange rate methodology

for a portion of the period covered by this review. However, this

modification has not affected our results. Consequently, our

preliminary results remain unchanged. We will instruct the U.S. Customs

Service to assess antidumping duties based on the difference between

the export price and the normal value.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 13, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zev Primor or Tom Futtner,

Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Enforcement, Office 4, Group II, Import

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

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

20230; telephone: (202) 482-4114 or 482-3814, respectively.

THE APPLICABLE STATUTE AND REGULATIONS: Unless otherwise indicated, all

citations to the statute are references to the provisions as of January

1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of

1930 (the Act), as amended, by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).

In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the

Department's regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR

Part 351 (April 1998).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On July 6, 1992, the Department published in the Federal Register

an antidumping duty order on pipe fittings from Thailand (57 FR 29702).

On July 30, 1998, the respondent requested, in accordance with section

351.213(b) of the Department's regulations, an administrative review of

the antidumping duty order on pipe fittings from Thailand covering the

period July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998. We published a notice of

initiation of the review on August 27, 1998, (63 FR 45796). On

September 15, 1998, the Department sent an antidumping questionnaire to

TBC. The Department received questionnaire responses in October and

November of 1998.

Under section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, the Department may extend

the deadline for completion of preliminary results if it determines

that it is not practicable to complete the review within the statutory

time limit. On March 10, 1999, the Department published notice of

extension of time limit for the preliminary results of this case (64 FR

11824). On May 7, 1999, we issued a supplemental questionnaire and

received a response to that questionnaire on May 27, 1999. On August 6,

1999, (64 FR 42902), the Department published preliminary results of

the administrative review. We gave interested parties an opportunity to

comment on the preliminary results. We received no comments. The

Department has now completed this administrative review in accordance

with section 751(a) of the Act.

Scope of the Review

The product covered by this order is certain carbon steel butt-weld

pipe fittings, having an inside diameter of less than 14 inches,

imported in either finished or unfinished form. These formed or forged

pipe fittings are used to join sections in piping systems where

conditions require permanent, welded connections, as distinguished from

fittings based on other fastening methods (e.g., threaded, grooved, or

bolted fittings). Carbon steel pipe fittings are currently classified

under subheading 7307.93.30 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

Although the HTS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs

purposes, our written description of the scope of this proceeding is

dispositive. The review covers TBC and the period of review (POR) July

1, 1997, through June 30, 1998.

Currency Conversion

Effective July 2, 1997, the Thai government ended its restriction

on the movement of the dollar-baht exchange rate, thereby allowing the

rate to be determined by supply and demand. Our analysis of Federal

Reserve exchange rate data shows that the value of the Thai baht in

relation to the U.S. dollar fell on July 2, 1997, by about 18 percent

from the previous day and did not rebound significantly in a short

period of time. We have already concluded in another proceeding

involving Thailand that this drop constitutes a ``precipitous and

large'' decline for purposes of our exchange rate methodology. For a

more detailed discussion of the methodology used for periods of

``precipitous and

[[Page 69488]]

large'' exchange rate declines, please refer to Certain Welded Carbon

Steel Pipes and Tubes from Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping Duty

Administrative Review, 64 FR 56759 (October 21, 1999) (Pipes and Tubes

from Thailand). For these final results of review, we incorporated the

same methodology used in Pipes and Tubes from Thailand. However, the

results have not been affected. All of TBC's U.S. sales took place

during specific months in which we relied upon our ``standard'' 40-day

average benchmark.

Final Results of the Review

As a result of this review, we determine that the following

weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period July 1, 1997,

through June 30, 1998:

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

Weighted-

Average

Manufacturer/exporter Margin

(percent)

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

Thai Benkan Corporation, Ltd............................... 0.94

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The Department shall determine, and Customs shall assess,

antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Upon completion of this

review, the Department will issue appraisement instructions directly to

Customs. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the

assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by

the determination and for future deposits of estimated duties. For

assessment of EP sales we calculated a per-unit customer or importer-

specific assessment rate by aggregating the dumping margins calculated

for all U.S. sales to each customer/importer and dividing this amount

by the total quantity of those sales.

Furthermore, the following cash deposit requirements will be

effective upon completion of the final results of this administrative

review for all shipments of pipe fittings from Thailand entered, or

withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication

date of the final results of this administrative review, as provided by

section 751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the

reviewed company will be the rate indicated above; (2) for exporters

not covered in this review, but covered in the original less than fair

value (LTFV) investigation or a previous review, the cash deposit rate

will continue to be the company-specific rate published in the most

recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this

review, a previous review, or the original LTFV 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)

if neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this

or any previous reviews or the original LTFV investigation, the cash

deposit rate will be 39.10 percent, the ``All Others'' rate from the

LTFV investigation (57 FR 29702, July 6, 1992). These 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 351.402(f) 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 the only 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 Sec. 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

sections 751(a)(1) and 771(i)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1) and

1677f(i)(1)).

Dated: December 6, 1999.

Richard W. Moreland,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-32222 Filed 12-10-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M