NOTICES

                        DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

                    International Trade Administration

                               [C-357-004]

     Carbon Steel Wire Rod from Argentina; Final Results of Countervailing Duty
                           Administrative Review

                         Wednesday, August 14, 1991

 *40309

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

 ACTION: Notice of final results of countervailing duty administrative review.

 SUMMARY: On June 7, 1991, the Department of Commerce published a notice of
 preliminary results of countervailing duty administrative review on carbon steel wire
 rod from Argentina. We have now completed that review and determine that the
 Government of Argentina and the exporter of carbon steel wire rod have complied with
 the terms of the suspension agreement during the period January 1, 1989 through
 December 31, 1989.

 EFFECTIVE DATE: August 14, 1991.

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Robert Bolling or Barbara Male>=1s, Office of
 Agreements Compliance, Import Administration, International Trade
 Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue,
 NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 377-3793 or telefax (202) 377-1388.

 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 Background

 On June 7, 1991, the Department of Commerce ("the Department") published in the
 Federal Register (56 FR 26387) the preliminary results of its administrative review of the
 agreement suspending the countervailing duty investigation on carbon steel wire rod
 from Argentina (51 FR 44649; December 11, 1986). We have now completed that
 administrative review in accordance with section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
 amended ("the Tariff Act").

 Scope of the Review

 Imports covered by this review are shipments of carbon steel wire rod from Argentina.
 During the period of review, such merchandise was classifiable under items 7213.20.00,
 7213.31.30, 7213.39.00, 7213.41.30, 7213.49.00, and 7213.50.00, of the Harmonized
 Tariff Schedule ("HTS"). The HTS item numbers are provided for convenience and Customs
 purposes. The written description remains dispositive.
 The review covers the period January 1, 1989 through December 31, 1989 and three
 programs: (1) The "Reembolso;" (2) Pre-Export Financing; and (3) Post- Export Financing.
 This review covers Acindar Industria Argentina de Aceros S.A. ("Acindar"), the only
 known exporter of carbon steel wire rod from Argentina to the United States during the
 review period.

 Analysis of Comments Received

 We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the preliminary results. We
 received written comments from respondent and petitioners (Atlantic Steel Co.,
 Bethlehem Steel Corp., Georgetown Steel Corp., North Star Steel Texas, Inc., and Raritan
 River Steel Company), respectively.

 COMMENT: Acindar requests that the Department confirm the claim made by the
 company during verification that, even if Acindar had received the maximum rate of
 indirect tax rebate payable under the "reembolso" program, such rate still would not have
 been excessive compared to the actual amount of indirect taxes paid by Acindar and,
 therefore, would not have conferred a countervailable benefit.

 Petitioners contend that the Department should reject Acindar's request in view of the
 basic legal principle that administrative bodies must limit their decisions solely to the
 issues before them and not reach unnecessary conclusions.

 Department's Position. We agree with petitioners. Acindar did not request prior to
 verification that the Department re-examine the issue of what rate of indirect tax rebate
 ("reembolso") is allowable under the terms of the suspension agreement. Therefore, our
 purpose at verification was limited to ascertaining that the "reembolso" was not excessive.
 As stated in our preliminary determination, we verified that the rate of "reembolso"
 received by Acindar on wire rod was, in fact, not excessive. Since we found both Acindar
 and the Government of Argentina to be adhering to the terms of the agreement, any
 further investigation of this issue would have exceeded the scope of this review. We also
 agree with petitioners that we cannot make decisions on issues that have not been
 examined.

 Final Results of Review

 After considering the comments received, we have determined that the Government of
 Argentina and the exporter of carbon steel wire rod have complied with the terms of the
 suspension agreement during the period January 1, 1989 through December 31, 1989.
 This administrative review and notice are in accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the
 Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)) and § 355.22 of Commerce regulations (19 CFR 355.22).
 Dated: August 8, 1991.

 Eric I. Garfinkel,

 Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

 [FR Doc. 91-19357 Filed 8-13-91; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M