Brass Sheet and Strip From the Netherlands: 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.

SUMMARY:

We determine that sales of the subject merchandise have not been made below normal value (NV). We will instruct the U.S. Customs Service (Customs Service) not to assess antidumping duties on the subject merchandise exported by this company.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

September 14, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Terpstra or Geoffrey Craig, AD/CVD Enforcement, Office VI, Group II, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3965 or (202) 482-4161, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 (URAA) effective January 1, 1995 (the Act). In addition, unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR part 351 (April 1999).

Case History

On May 10, 2000, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from the Netherlands. See Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Brass Sheet and Strip from the Netherlands, 65 FR 30058 (Preliminary Results). This review covers shipments by one respondent, Outokumpu Copper Strip B.V. (OBV), during the period of review (POR) August 1, 1998 through July 31, 1999. Interested parties did not submit case briefs nor did they request a hearing. There have been no changes since the preliminary results.

Scope of Review

Imports covered by this review are brass sheet and strip, other than leaded and tin brass sheet and strip, from the Netherlands. The chemical composition of the products under review is currently defined in the Copper Development Association (CDA) 200 Series or the Unified Numbering System (UNS) C2000 series. This review does not cover products the chemical compositions of which are defined by other CDA or UNS series. The physical dimensions of the products covered by this review are brass sheet and strip of solid rectangular cross section over 0.006 inch (0.15 millimeter) through 0.188 inch (4.8 millimeters) in gauge, regardless of width. Included in the scope are coiled, wound-on-reels (traverse wound), and cut-to-length products. The merchandise under review is currently classifiable under items 7409.21.00 and 7409.29.20 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 under review is dispositive.

Price Comparisons

We calculated export price and NV based on the same methodology described in the Preliminary Results.

Cost of Production

As discussed in the Preliminary Results, we conducted an investigation to determine whether the respondent participating in the review made home market sales of the foreign like product during the POR at prices below their cost of production (COP) within the meaning of section 773(b)(1) of the Act. We calculated the COP for these final results following the same methodology as in the Preliminary Results.

We found 20 percent or more of OBV's sales of a given product during the 12 month period were at prices less than the weighted-average COP for the POR and thus determined that these below cost sales were made in “substantial quantities” within an extended period of time, and that such sales were not made at prices which would permit recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of time, in accordance with section 773(b)(2)(B), (C), and (D) of the Act. Therefore, for purposes of these final results, we disregarded the below-cost sales and used the remaining sales as the basis for determining NV, pursuant to section 773(b)(1) of the Act. While we disregarded some below-cost sales, sufficient sales remained that passed the cost test in the current review. Therefore, it was unnecessary to calculate constructed value in this case.

Analysis of Comments Received

We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results. As noted above, we received no comments from the petitioners or OBV.

Final Results of Review

As a result of our review, we determine that OBV had a zero weighted-average margin for the period August 1, 1998 through July 31, 1999. Therefore, we will instruct the Customs Service not to assess antidumping duties on the subject merchandise exported by this company (see 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2)). We have calculated an importer-specific assessment rate equal to zero.

Cash Deposit Requirements

As a result of a Sunset Review of brass sheet and strip from the Netherlands, the Department has revoked the antidumping duty order for this case, effective January 1, 2000. See Revocation of Antidumping Duty Orders: Brass Sheet and Strip From the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, and Sweden, 65 FR 25305 (May 1, 2000). Therefore, we have instructed the Customs Service to terminate suspension of liquidation for all entries of subject merchandise made on or after January 1, 2000. We have also issued additional instructions directing the Customs Service to liquidate all entries of brass sheet and strip made on or after January 1, 2000, without regard to antidumping duties.

Entries of subject merchandise made prior to January 1, 2000, will continue to be subject to suspension of liquidation and antidumping duty deposit requirements. The Department will complete any pending reviews of this order and will conduct administrative reviews of subject merchandise entered prior to the effective date of revocation in response to appropriately filed requests for review.

Notification to Importers

This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402 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 determination is issued and published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act (19 USC 1675(a)(1) and 19 USC 1677f(i)(1)).