Import investigations: Stainless steel wire rod from— Germany et al.,

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Federal Register: March 23, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 55)NoticesPage 13872-13873From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr23mr98-99

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Investigations Nos. 701-TA-373 (Final) and 731-TA-769-775 (Final)Stainless Steel Wire Rod From Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Scheduling of the final phase of countervailing duty and antidumping investigations.

SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the final phase of countervailing duty investigation No. 701-TA-373 (Final) under section 705(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b)) (the Act) and the final phase of antidumping investigations Nos. 731- TA-769-775 (Final) under section 735(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673d(b)) to determine whether an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of subsidized and less-than-fair-value imports from Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan of stainless steel wire rod, provided for in subheading 7221.00.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.<SUP>1</SUP>

\1\ For purposes of these investigations, Commerce has defined the subject merchandise as articles of stainless steel 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. Stainless steel wire rod 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. It is manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or descaling, is normally sold in coiled form, and is of solid cross- section. Most stainless steel wire rod 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 stainless steel wire rod is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217 inch in diameter. The range of stainless steel wire rod sizes normally sold in the United States is between 0.20 inch (5.08 millimeters) and 1.312 inches (33.32 millimeters) in diameter. Two stainless steel grades, SF20T and K-M35FL, are excluded from the scope of the investigations.

For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the investigations, hearing procedures, 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 and C (19 CFR part 207).

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 5, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Noreen (202-205-3167), 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The final phase of these investigations is being scheduled as a result of affirmative preliminary determinations by the Department of Commerce that certain benefits which constitute subsidies within the meaning of section 703 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1671b) are being provided to manufacturers, producers, or exporters in Italy of stainless steel wire rod, and that such products from Germany, Italy, Japan,

[Page 13873]Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan are being sold in the United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 733 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b). The investigations were requested in a petition filedon July 30, 1997, by Al Tech Specialty Steel Corp., Dunkirk, NY; Carpenter Technology Corp., Reading, PA; Republic Engineered Steels, Massillon, OH; Talley Metals Technology, Inc., Hartsville, SC; and the United Steelworkers of America, AFL- CIO/CLC.

Participation in the Investigations 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 final phase of these investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. A party that fileda notice of appearance during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the investigations.

Limited Disclosure of Business Proprietary Information (BPI) Under an Administrative Protective Order (APO) and BPI Service List

Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make BPI gathered in the final phase of these investigations available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigations, provided that the application is made no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. Authorized applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party granted access to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply for such access. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.

Staff Report

The prehearing staff report in the final phase of these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on July 9, 1998, and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to section 207.22 of the Commission's rules.

Hearing

The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on July 22, 1998, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filedin writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before July 15, 1998. A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission's deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at the hearing. All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference to be held at 9:30 a.m. on July 17, 1998, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 207.24 of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 days prior to the date of the hearing.

Written Submissions

Each party who is an interested party shall submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must conform with the provisions of section 207.23 of the Commission's rules; the deadline for filing is July 16, 1998. Parties may also file written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, as provided in section 207.24 of the Commission's rules, and posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of section 207.25 of the Commission's rules. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is July 29, 1998; witness testimony must be filedno later than three days before the hearing. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a written statement of information pertinent to the subject of the investigations on or before July 29, 1998. On August 18, 1998, the Commission will make available to parties all information on which they have not had an opportunity to comment. Parties may submit final comments on this information on or before August 20, 1998, but such final comments must not contain new factual information and must otherwise comply with section 207.30 of the Commission's rules. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules.

In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filedby a party to the investigations must be served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.

Authority: These investigations are being conducted under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published pursuant to section 207.21 of the Commission's rules.

Issued: March 17, 1998.

By order of the Commission. Donna R. Koehnke, Secretary.

FR Doc. 98-7423Filed3-20-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 7020-02-P

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