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Steel Service Center Institute
Comments on ‘Reseller Liquidation’ – Item No. IV
November 13, 1998


IV.  Any Change in Policy Should Be Prospective Only

Comment:  In its Federal Register Notice, the DOC has recognized
the significance of its proposed change in practice by limiting its new
policy to “all entries for which the anniversary date for requesting an
administrative review is on or after the date of publication of a final
notice on this issue.” 

However, if adopted, the DOC’s new policy will create considerable
hardship for resellers currently importing merchandise which would
be subjected to the new policy in an upcoming Administrative
Review. For example, assume that the DOC ultimately adopts its
proposed new policy in March 1999, and that the anniversary date for
an Outstanding Order is August 1999. This means that the new policy
would apply to entries from August 1, 1998 through July 31, 1999,
notwithstanding the fact that the new policy was not formally adopted
until March 1999. Thus, resellers would have exported merchandise
from August 1998 through March 1999 based on the understanding
that the DOC’s current policy would remain in place, and without
knowledge that they would be faced with the potential dilemma of
requesting a reseller specific review or being subjected to assessment
at a prohibitive initial “all others” rate.

In addition to this severe adverse impact on resellers, the DOC also
will be required to perform additional work if its new policy is
adopted midstream. In contrast, Petitioners will not be subjected to
any adverse affects if the DOC agrees to delay the effective date of its
new policy, since any Petitioner who is not satisfied with the cash
deposit rate applicable to a particular reseller can request that the
DOC conduct a reseller specific review by filing a relatively simple
letter with the DOC. 

Accordingly, should the DOC decide to implement its proposed
policy, we request that such modification apply only to AD initial
investigations initiated after the DOC’s Final Notice is published, or
at the very least to Annual Reviews of AD Orders which do not
encompass merchandise entered prior to the publication of the
DOC’s Final Policy.