[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 85 (Monday, May 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24189-24191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9992]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigations Nos. 701-TA-384 and 731-TA-806-808 (Review)]
Hot-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products From Brazil,
Japan, and Russia
AGENCY: International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Institution of five-year reviews concerning the antidumping
duty orders on certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel
products from Brazil and Japan, the suspended countervailing duty
investigation on certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel
products from Brazil, and the suspended antidumping duty investigation
on certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products from
Russia.
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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted
reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping
duty orders on certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel
products from Brazil and Japan and termination of the suspended
investigations on certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel
products from Brazil and Russia would be likely to lead to continuation
or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section 751(c)(2) of the
Act, interested parties are requested to respond to this notice by
submitting the information specified below to the Commission;\1\ to be
assured of consideration, the deadline for responses is June 22, 2004.
Comments on the adequacy of responses may be filed with the Commission
by July 16, 2004. For further information concerning the conduct of
these reviews and rules of general application, consult the
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A
through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19
CFR part 207).
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\1\ No response to this request for information is required if a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 04-5-090,
expiration date June 30, 2005. Public reporting burden for the
request is estimated to average 7 hours per response. Please send
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436.
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DATES: Effective Date: May 3, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202) 205-3193, Office of
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on (202)
205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the
Office of the Secretary at (202) 205-2000. General information
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for these
reviews may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at
http://edis.usitc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background.--On June 29, 1999, the
Department of Commerce (Commerce) issued an antidumping duty order on
imports of certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products
from Japan (64 FR 34778). Effective July 12, 1999, Commerce suspended
the antidumping duty investigation on such imports from Russia (64 FR
38642, July 19, 1999) and, effective July 6, 1999, Commerce suspended
the countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations on such
imports from Brazil (64 FR 38792 and 38797, July 19, 1999). Subsequent
to the termination of the suspension agreement with respect to the
antidumping duty investigation on imports of certain hot-rolled flat-
rolled carbon-quality steel products from Brazil (67 FR 6226, February
11, 2002), Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on such imports
(67 FR 11093, March 12, 2002). The Commission is conducting reviews to
determine whether revocation of the orders and terminations of the
suspended investigations would be likely to lead to continuation or
recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a
reasonably foreseeable time. It will assess the adequacy of interested
party responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to
conduct full reviews or expedited reviews. The Commission's
determinations in any expedited reviews will be based on the facts
available, which may include information provided in response to this
notice.
Definitions.--The following definitions apply to these reviews:
(1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is
within the scope of the five-year review, as defined by the Department
of Commerce.
(2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Brazil, Japan, and
Russia.
(3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original
determinations, the Commission found one Domestic Like Product
consisting of all hot-rolled steel, as defined in Commerce's scope.
(4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total
domestic production of the product. In its original determinations, the
Commission defined the Domestic Industry as all producers of hot-rolled
steel.
(5) The Order Date is the date that the antidumping duty orders
under review became effective and the investigations were suspended. In
the reviews concerning the suspended antidumping and countervailing
duty investigations and the subsequent antidumping duty order on
imports of certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products
from Brazil, the Order Date is July 6, 1999. In the review concerning
the suspended antidumping investigation on imports of certain hot-
rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products from Russia, the Order
Date is July 12, 1999. In the review concerning the antidumping duty
order on imports of certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel
products from Japan, the Order Date is June 29, 1999.
(6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or
through its selling agent.
Participation in the reviews and public service list.--Persons,
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer
organizations, wishing to participate in the reviews as parties must
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the FR. The Secretary
will maintain a public service list containing the names
[[Page 24190]]
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties
to the reviews.
Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission
five-year reviews are reminded that they are required, pursuant to 19
CFR 201.15, to seek Commission approval if the matter in which they are
seeking to appear was pending in any manner or form during their
Commission employment. The Commission's designated agency ethics
official has advised that a five-year review is the ``same particular
matter'' as the underlying original investigation for purposes of 19
CFR 201.15 and 18 U.S.C. 207, the post employment statute for Federal
employees. Former employees may seek informal advice from Commission
ethics officials with respect to this and the related issue of whether
the employee's participation was ``personal and substantial.'' However,
any informal consultation will not relieve former employees of the
obligation to seek approval to appear from the Commission under its
rule 201.15. For ethics advice, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy
Agency Ethics Official, at (202) 205-3088.
Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list.--
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary
will make BPI submitted in these reviews available to authorized
applicants under the APO issued in the reviews, provided that the
application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to
the reviews. A separate service list will be maintained by the
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
Certification.--Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's
rules, any person submitting information to the Commission in
connection with these reviews must certify that the information is
accurate and complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In
making the certification, the submitter will be deemed to consent,
unless otherwise specified, for the Commission, its employees, and
contract personnel to use the information provided in any other reviews
or investigations of the same or comparable products which the
Commission conducts under Title VII of the Act, or in internal audits
and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the
Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3.
Written submissions.--Pursuant to section 207.61 of the
Commission's rules, each interested party response to this notice must
provide the information specified below. The deadline for filing such
responses is June 22, 2004. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the
Commission's rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule
207.62(b)(1)) may also file comments concerning the adequacy of
responses to the notice of institution and whether the Commission
should conduct expedited or full reviews. The deadline for filing such
comments is July 16, 2004. All written submissions must conform with
the provisions of sections 201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's rules
and any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the
requirements of sections 201.6 and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The
Commission's rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the
Secretary by facsimile or electronic means, except to the extent
permitted by section 201.8 of the Commission's rules, as amended, 67 FR
68036 (November 8, 2002). Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c)
and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to
the reviews must be served on all other parties to the reviews (as
identified by either the public or APO service list as appropriate),
and a certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are
not a party to the reviews you do not need to serve your response).
Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to section
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time,
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to
this notice, the Commission may take an adverse inference against the
party pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act in making its
determinations in the reviews.
Information To Be Provided in Response To This Notice of
Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or
trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more
than one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than
one Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so,
please ensure that your response to each question includes the
information requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used
below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
(1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World
Wide Web address if available) and name, telephone number, fax number,
and E-mail address of the certifying official.
(2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S.
producer of the Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a
U.S. importer of the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or
exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or
business association, or another interested party (including an
explanation). If you are a union/worker group or trade/business
association, identify the firms in which your workers are employed or
which are members of your association.
(3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to
participate in these reviews by providing information requested by the
Commission.
(4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the
antidumping duty orders and termination of the suspended investigations
on the Domestic Industry in general and/or your firm/entity
specifically. In your response, please discuss the various factors
specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) including
the likely volume of subject imports, likely price effects of subject
imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on the
Domestic Industry.
(5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
(6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in
each of the Subject Countries that currently export or have exported
Subject Merchandise to the United States or other countries since 1998.
(7) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product,
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that
product during calendar year 2003 (report quantity data in short tons
and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you are a union/
worker group or trade/business association, provide the information, on
an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are employed/
which are members of your association.
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(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
(b) The quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); and
(c) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s).
(8) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from the Subject Countries,
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that
product during calendar year 2003 (report quantity data in short tons
and value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the
firms which are members of your association.
(a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including
antidumping or countervailing duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an
estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise
from each of the Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s')
imports;
(b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject
Merchandise imported from each of the Subject Countries; and
(c) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company
transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from each of the Subject
Countries.
(9) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the
Subject Countries, provide the following information on your firm's(s')
operations on that product during calendar year 2003 (report quantity
data in short tons and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid
at the U.S. port but not including antidumping or countervailing
duties). If you are a trade/business association, provide the
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are members of
your association.
(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each of the
Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s') production; and
(b) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise
from each of the Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s')
exports.
(10) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject
Merchandise in each of the Subject Countries since the Order Date, and
significant changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a
reasonably foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include
technology; production methods; development efforts; ability to
increase production (including the shift of production facilities used
for other products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs
into production); and factors related to the ability to shift supply
among different national markets (including barriers to importation in
foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions
to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and
availability of substitute products; and the level of competition among
the Domestic Like Product produced in the United States, Subject
Merchandise produced in each of the Subject Countries, and such
merchandise from other countries.
(11) (Optional) A statement of whether you agree with the above
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why
and provide alternative definitions.
Authority: These reviews are being conducted under authority of
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.
Issued: April 23, 2004.
By order of the Commission.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 04-9992 Filed 4-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P