Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value.
February 18, 2003.
Ronald Trentham or Sam Zengotitabengoa, AD/CVD Enforcement, Group II, Office 4, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–6320, and (202) 482–4195, respectively.
We determine that non-malleable cast iron pipe fittings (pipe fittings) from the People's Republic of China (PRC) are
On September 25, 2002, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary determination of sales at LTFV in the antidumping duty investigation of pipe fittings from the PRC.
On September 30, 2002, and October 1, 2002, respectively, Jinan Meide Casting Co., Ltd. (JMC) and Shanghai Foreign Trade Enterprises Co., Ltd. (SFTEC) (the respondents) filed preliminary determination clerical error allegations. The Department concluded that certain allegations constituted ministerial errors, to be corrected in the final determination, but that the errors did not amount to significant ministerial errors for purposes of issuing an amended preliminary determination.
For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are finished and unfinished non-malleable cast iron pipe fittings with an inside diameter ranging from 1/4 inch to 6 inches, whether threaded or un-threaded, regardless of industry or proprietary specifications. The subject fittings include elbows, ells, tees, crosses, and reducers as well as flanged fittings. These pipe fittings are also known as “cast iron pipe fittings” or “gray iron pipe fittings.” These cast iron pipe fittings are normally produced to ASTM A-126 and ASME B.l6.4 specifications and are threaded to ASME B1.20.1 specifications. Most building codes require that these products are Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certified. The scope does not include cast iron soil pipe fittings or grooved fittings or grooved couplings.
Fittings that are made out of ductile iron that have the same physical characteristics as the gray or cast iron fittings subject to the scope above or which have the same physical characteristics and are produced to ASME B.16.3, ASME B.16.4, or ASTM A-395 specifications, threaded to ASME B1.20.1 specifications and UL certified, regardless of metallurgical differences between gray and ductile iron, are also included in the scope of this petition. These ductile fittings do not include grooved fittings or grooved couplings. Ductile cast iron fittings with mechanical joint ends (MJ), or push on ends (PO), or flanged ends and produced to the American Water Works Association (AWWA) specifications AWWA C110 or AWWA C153 are not included.
Imports of covered merchandise are classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item numbers 7307.11.00.30, 7307.11.00.60, 7307.19.30.60 and 7307.19.30.85. HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes. The written description of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.
The POI is July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2001.
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to this proceeding and to which we have responded are listed in the Appendix to this notice and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum from Bernard T. Carreau, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import Administration, to Faryar Shirzad, Assistant Secretary for Import Administration (Decision Memorandum) dated February 7, 2003, which is hereby adopted by this notice. Parties can find a complete discussion of the issues raised in this investigation and the corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main Department building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at
The Department has treated the PRC as a non-market economy (NME) country in all its past antidumping investigations.
In our
In the
Section 776(c) of the Act provides that, when the Department relies on secondary information in using facts otherwise available, it must, to the extent practicable, corroborate that information from independent sources that are reasonably at its disposal. At the preliminary determination, we corroborated the information contained in the petition regarding export price and normal value (NV). See Memorandum to Holly A. Kuga, Corroboration of Secondary Information, dated September 19, 2002 (
For the
For purposes of the final determination, we continue to find that India remains the appropriate surrogate country for the PRC. For further discussion and analysis regarding the surrogate country selection for the PRC, see the Preliminary Determination.
As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified the information submitted by the respondents for use in our final determination. We used standard verification procedures including examination of relevant accounting and production records, and original source documents provided by the respondents. For changes from the
Based on our findings at verification and on our analysis of the comments received, we have made adjustments to the calculation methodologies used in the preliminary determination. These adjustments are listed below and discussed in detail in the (1) Decision Memorandum, (2) Memorandum to the File, Surrogate Country Values Used for the Final Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings from the People's Republic of China, dated February 7, 2003, (Surrogate Country Values Memorandum) and (3) Memorandum to the File from the Team, Final Calculation of Antidumping Duty Investigation of Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings From the People's Republic of China for Shanghai Foreign Trade Enterprises Co., Ltd., dated February 7, 2003 (SFTEC's Final Calculation Memorandum), and Memorandum to the File from the Team, Final Calculation of Antidumping Duty Investigation of Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings From the People's Republic of China for Jinan Meide Casting Co., Ltd., dated February 7, 2003 (JMC's Final Calculation Memorandum).
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we are directing the Customs Service to continue suspension liquidation of entries of subject merchandise from the PRC that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after September 25, 2002 (the date of publication of the
We determine that the following weighted-average percentage margins exist for the period July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2001:
The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of the subject merchandise except for entries from JMC and SFTEC.
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or cancelled. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing Customs officials to assess antidumping duties on all imports of subject merchandise entered for consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation.
This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.