US DOC publishes preliminary results of AD review on SS WR from Italy

On September 15, 1998, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed an antidumping duty order on stainless steel wire rod imported from Italy. Valbruna S.r.l. and its affiliate Bolzano S.p.A. were excluded from the order because their dumping margin was de minimis. On January 26, 2006, Valbruna S.p.A. submitted a written request that the DOC conduct a changed circumstances review in order to clarify for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that Valbruna S.p.A. is the successor-in-interest to Valbruna S.r.l./Bolzano S.p.A. and that subject merchandise produced by this entity should not be subject to antidumping duties. Upon receiving sufficient information to warrant initiation of a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel wire rod from Italy, the DOC initiated a changed circumstances review to determine whether Valbruna S.p.A. is the successor-in-interest to Valbruna S.r.l./Bolzano S.p.A. The DOC preliminarily determined that: 1) Valbruna S.p.A. (Valbruna S.p.A.) is the successor-in-interest to Valbruna S.r.l. (Valbruna S.r.l.) and its subsidiary Bolzano S.p.A. (Bolzano S.p.A.), a respondent in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation; and 2) merchandise from Valbruna S.p.A. should be excluded from the antidumping duty order. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.