Industrial Phosphoric Acid From Israel, and Industrial Phosphoric Acid From Belgium

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 39 (Monday, March 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10017-10019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5026]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION


Industrial Phosphoric Acid From Israel, and Industrial Phosphoric 
Acid From Belgium

[Invs. Nos. 701-TA-286 (Review) and 731-TA-366 (Review), Inv. No. 731-
TA-365 (Review)]
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of five-year reviews concerning the countervailing 
duty and antidumping duty orders on industrial phosphoric acid from 
Israel and the antidumping duty order on industrial phosphoric acid 
from Belgium.

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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 
countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on industrial 
phosphoric acid from Israel and the antidumping duty order on 
industrial phosphoric acid from Belgium 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; the deadline for responses is April 20, 1999. Comments on 
the adequacy of responses may be filed with the Commission by May 13, 
1999.
    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). Recent 
amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure pertinent to five-
year reviews, including the text of subpart F of part 207, are 
published at 63 FR 30599, June 5, 1998, and may be downloaded from the 
Commission's World Wide Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/rules.htm.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193) or Vera 
Libeau (202-205-3176), 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.

[[Page 10018]]

General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by 
accessing its internet server (http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 19, 1987, the Department of Commerce issued 
countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on imports of 
industrial phosphoric acid from Israel (52 FR 31057). On August 20, 
1987, the Department of Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on 
imports of industrial phosphoric acid from Belgium (52 F.R. 31439). The 
Commission is conducting reviews to determine whether revocation of the 
orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably 
foreseeable time.

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 reviews, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Israel and Belgium.
    (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 defined the Domestic Like Product as 
industrial phosphoric acid.
    (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 industrial 
phosphoric acid.
    (5) The Order Dates are the dates that the antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders under review became effective. In these 
reviews, the Order Dates are as follows:

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                  Order date                           Product/country                  Investigation No.
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8/19/87......................................  Industrial phosphoric acid/      701-TA-286.
                                                Israel.
8/19/87......................................  Industrial phosphoric acid/      731-TA-366.
                                                Israel.
8/20/87......................................  Industrial phosphoric acid/      731-TA-365.
                                                Belgium.
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    (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 Federal Register. 
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names 
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties 
to the reviews.

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 April 20, 
1999. 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 May 13, 1999. 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. 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

[[Page 10019]]

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 to which your response pertains, 
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 
countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on each Domestic 
Industry for which you are filing a response 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 
each Domestic Like Product for which you are filing a response. 
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 the 
Subject Countries that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since 1986.
    (7) If you are a U.S. producer of a Domestic Like Product, provide 
the following information separately on your firm's operations on each 
product during calendar year 1998 (report quantity data in thousands of 
pounds and value data in thousands of 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.
    (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; and
    (b) The quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments 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 1998 (report quantity data in thousands of 
pounds and value data in thousands of 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 the Subject Countries accounted for by your firm's(s') imports; 
and
    (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 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 1998 (report quantity 
data in thousands of pounds and value data in thousands of 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 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 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 each Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in the Subject Countries since the Order Dates, 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 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: February 23, 1999.

    By order of the Commission.
Donna R. Koehnke,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-5026 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P