Countervailing duties: Stainless steel wire rod from— Italy,

[Federal Register: September 15, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 178)]

[Notices]

[Page 49334-49335]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr15se98-44]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION

[C-475-821]

Notice of Countervailing Duty Order: Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Italy

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 15, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Lockard or Eric B. Greynolds, Office of CVD/AD Enforcement VI, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2786.

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are references to the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act effective January 1, 1995 (the Act). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the current regulations codified at 19 CFR 351 and published in the Federal Register on May 19, 1997 (62 FR 27295).

Scope of Order

For purposes of this order, stainless steel wire rod (SSWR), comprises products that are hot-rolled or hot-rolled annealed and/or pickled and/or descaled rounds, squares, octagons, hexagons or other shapes, in coils, that may also be coated with a lubricant containing copper, lime or oxalate. SSWR is 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 manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or descaling, and 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, and later cold-finished into stainless steel wire or small-diameter bar.

The most common size for such products is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217 inches in diameter, which represents the smallest size that normally is produced on a rolling mill and is the size that most wire drawing machines are set up to draw. The range of SSWR sizes normally sold in the United States is between 0.20 inches and 1.312 inches in diameter. Two stainless steel grades SF20T and K-M35FL are excluded from the scope of the order. The percentages of chemical makeup for the excluded grades are as follows:

SF20T

Carbon--0.05 max Manganese--2.00 max Phosphorous--0.05 max Sulfur--0.15 max Silicon--1.00 max Chromium--19.00/21.00 Molybdenum--1.50/2.50 Lead--added (0.10/0.30) Tellurium--added (0.03 min)

K-M35FL

Carbon--0.015 max Silicon--0.70/1.00 Manganese--0.40 max Phosphorous--0.04 max Sulfur--0.03 max Nickel--0.30 max Chromium--12.50/14.00 Lead--0.10/0.30 Aluminum--0.20/0.35

The products subject to this order are currently classifiable under subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, and 7221.00.0075 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Countervailing Duty Order

In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, on July 29, 1998, the Department published its final determination in the countervailing duty investigation of certain stainless steel wire rod from Italy (63 FR 40474). On September 8, 1998, in accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, the International Trade Commission (ITC) notified the Department of its final determination, pursuant to section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, that an industry in the United States suffered material injury as a result of subsidized imports of stainless steel wire rod from Italy.

Therefore, countervailing duties will be assessed on all unliquidated entries of SSWR from Italy entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after January 7, 1998, the date on which the Department published its preliminary countervailing duty determination in the Federal Register, and before May 7, 1998, the date the Department instructed the U.S. Customs Service to terminate the suspension of liquidation in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, and on all entries and withdrawals on or after the date of publication of this countervailing duty order in the Federal Register. Section 703(d) states that the suspension of liquidation pursuant to a preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four months. Entries of SSWR made on or after May 7, 1998, and prior to the date of publication of this order in the Federal Register are not liable for the assessment of countervailing duties due to the Department's termination, effective May 7, 1998, of the suspension of liquidation.

In accordance with section 706 of the Act, the Department will direct U.S. Customs officers to reinstitute suspension of liquidation and to assess, upon further advice by the Department pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties for each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rate for the subject merchandise.

On or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, U.S. Customs officers must require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the countervailable subsidy rates noted below. The All Others rate applies to all producers and exporters of SSWR from Italy not specifically listed below. The cash deposit rates are as follows:

Ad Valorem Rate

Net Producer/Exporter

Subsidy Rate %

Cogne Acciai Speciali S.r.l................................... 22.22 Acciaierie Valbruna S.r.l./Acciaierie di Bolzano S.p.A........ 1.28 All Others.................................................... 13.85

This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect to stainless steel wire rod from Italy, pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act.

[[Page 49335]]

Interested parties may contact the Central Records Unit, Room B-099 of the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of countervailing duty orders currently in effect.

This countervailing duty order is published in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

Dated: September 10, 1998. Richard W. Moreland, Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-24774Filed9-14-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P