[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 83 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10453]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 2, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-559-806]
Portable Electric Typewriters From Singapore; Termination of
Suspended Antidumping Duty Investigation
AGENCY: International Trade Administration/Import Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On July 26, 1993, the Department of Commerce published a
notice of the ``Suspension of Investigation; Certain Portable Electric
Typewriters from Singapore''. On February 9, 1994, the Department
received from Brother Industries (USA) Inc. (``BIUSA'') notice of its
intention to withdraw the petition and to request termination of the
suspended investigation pursuant to section 734(a) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (``the Act'') based upon withdrawal of the petition.
BIUSA expressly conditioned the petition withdrawal upon the
contemporaneous revocation of the antidumping duty orders on Portable
Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and Personal Word
Processors from Japan (A-588-818). The Department is now terminating
this suspended investigation in accordance with these conditions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 1994.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Will Sjoberg or Linda Pasden, Office
of Agreements Compliance, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3793.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 14, 1991, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'')
initiated an antidumping duty investigation under section 732(a) of the
Act, to determine whether certain portable electric typewriters
(``PETs'') from Singapore are being, or are likely to be sold, in the
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 731
of the Act. (56 FR 22150).
On February 8, 1993, after extensive litigation concerning BIUSA's
legal authority to file a petition against imports of PETs from
Singapore, the Department issued its preliminary determination that
PETs from Singapore were being sold at less than fair value in the
United States (58 FR 7534). On July 26, 1993, the Department published
a notice of suspension of investigation (58 FR 39786). The basis for
the suspension was an agreement by the Singapore producer/exporter,
which accounts for substantially all of the known exports of these
products from Singapore, to revise its prices so as to eliminate sales
of this merchandise to the United States at less than fair value.
As a result of receiving a timely request to continue the
investigation, the Department, pursuant to section 734(g) of the Act,
issued its affirmative final determination (58 FR 43334, August 16,
1993).
On February 9, 1994, the Department received notice from BIUSA of
its intention to withdraw the petition and to request termination of
the suspended investigation pursuant to section 734(a) based upon
withdrawal of the petition. BIUSA expressly conditioned the petition's
withdrawal upon the contemporaneous revocation of the antidumping duty
orders on Portable Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and
Personal Word Processors from Japan (A-588-818).
By letter of April 8, 1994, the Department notified parties to the
proceeding of its intent to terminate the suspended investigation
pursuant to section 353.17(a)(1) of the Department's regulations. The
Department received no comments as a result of this notification. In
addition, simultaneously with the publication of this notice, the
Department is publishing revocations of the antidumping duty orders on
Portable Electric Typewriters from Japan (A-588-087) and Personal Word
Processors from Japan (A-588-818).
Scope of Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation consists of certain
(PETs) from Singapore which are defined as machines that produce
letters and characters in sequence directly on a piece of paper or
other media from a keyboard input and meeting the following criteria:
(1) Easily portable, with a handle and/or carrying case, or similar
mechanism to facilitate its portability;
(2) Electric, regardless of source of power;
(3) Comprised of a single, integrated unit;
(4) Having a keyboard embedded in the chassis or frame of the
machine;
(5) Having a built-in printer;
(6) Having a platen to accommodate paper; and
(7) Only accommodating its own dedicated or captive software, if
any.
PETs which meet all of the following criteria are excluded from the
scope of this investigation: (1) Seven lines or more of display; (2)
more than 32K of text memory; (3) the ability to perform ``block
move;'' and (4) a ``search and replace'' function. A machine having
some, but not all, of these four characteristics is included within the
scope of the investigation.
The PETs subject to this investigation are currently classifiable
under subheadings 8469.21.00 and 8469.10.00 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule (``HTS''). (Note that personal word processors also are
classifiable under subheading 8469.10.00.) Although the HTS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs purposes, our written
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Termination of Investigation
Based on the information contained in the record, the Department
has decided to terminate the antidumping duty investigation of PETs
from Singapore. The record contains statements supporting the proposed
termination from all known domestic producers, BIUSA and Smith Corona
Corporation (``Smith Corona''), supporting the proposed termination.
Under Sec. 353.17(a) of the Department's regulations, the
Department may terminate an investigation based on the withdrawal of
the petition by the petitioner, after notifying all parties to the
proceeding and after consultation with the International Trade
Commission (``ITC''). Section 353.17 further provides that the
Department may not terminate an investigation unless it concludes that
the termination is in the public interest. We have notified all parties
to the proceeding and have consulted with the ITC. We conclude that
termination of the investigation is in the public interest (See April
20, 1994, memorandum from David P. Mueller to Susan Esserman).
Accordingly, we are terminating the suspended antidumping duty
investigation of PETs from Singapore.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice also serves as the only reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order (``APO'') of their responsibility
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance with Sec. 353.34(d) of the
Department's regulations. Failure to comply is a violation of the APO.
This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 734(a)(1) of the Act and
Sec. 353.17(a)(2) of the Department's regulations.
Dated: April 22, 1994.
Susan G. Esserman.
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 94-10453 Filed 4-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P