NOTICES

                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

                           [A-433-501; C-433-502]

     Termination of Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Investigations; Oil
                      Country Tubular Goods From Austria

                           Tuesday, January 7, 1986

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 AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Import Administration,
 Commerce.

 ACTION: Notice.

 SUMMARY: In letters dated December 20, 1985, and December 23, 1985, petitioners
 withdrew their antidumping duty and countervailing duty petitions, filed on April 8,
 1985, on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Austria. We are now terminating the
 antidumping dulty and countervailing duty investigations.

 EFFECTIVE DATE: January 7, 1986.

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Paul Thran, Loc Nguyen, or Mary Martin, Office of
 Investigations, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
 Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 377-3963, (202) 377-0167, or (202) 377-2830.

 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 Case History

 On February 28, 1985, we received antidumping duty and countervailing duty petitions
 from United States Steel Corporation, on behalf of the U.S. Industry producing oil country
 tubular goods (OCTG). On March 5 and 26, 1985, Lone Star Steel Company and CF&I Steel
 Corporation, respectively, irequested to become co-petitioners in these proceedings. These
 requests were subsequently granted. On March 26, 1985, Lone Star Steel Company,
 amended the countervailing duty petition.
 After reviewing the petitions, we determined that they contained sufficient grounds upon
 which to initiate antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations. We notified
 the ITC of our actions and initiated the 

*665

 investigations on March 20, 1985, (50 FR
 12069 and 12065). On April 17, 1985, the ITC determined that there was a reasonable
 indication that imports of OCTG from Austria materially injure, or threaten material injury
 to, a United States industry (50 FR 16173).
 On May 24, 1985, we published an affirmative preliminary determination in the
 countervailing duty investigation (50 FR 23334). On June 17, 1985, United States Steel
 Corporation filed a request for extension of the countervailing duty investigation to
 October 21, 1985, to correspond with the date of the final determination in the antidumping
 duty investigation of the same product. On August 12, 1985, we published an affirmative
 preliminary determination in the antidumping duty investigation (50 FR 38566). We stated
 that, if the investigation proceeded normally, we would make a final determination on the
 antidumping duty investigation by October 21, 1985. Finally, at respondent's request, we
 extended the deadline for the final determination of the antidumping duty investigation to
 December 27, 1985 (50 FR 43602). Hence, the countervailing dulty investigation was also
 extended to December 27, 1985, to coincide with the date of the final determination in the
 antidumping investigation (50 FR 43597).

 Scope of Investigations

 The products covered by these investigations are "oil country tubular goods" (OCTG), which
 are hollow steel products of circular cross-section intended for use in the drilling of oil or
 gas. These products include oil well casing, tubing, and drill pipe of carbon or alloy steel,
 whether welded or seamless, manufactured to either American Petroleum Institute (API) or
 proprietary specifications. These investigations cover both finished and unfinished oil
 country tubular goods. The provisions of the Tariff Schedules of the United States,
 Annotated (TSUSA) covering all steel pipe and tube, including oil country tubular goods,
 were changed as of April 1, 1984. As a result of the change mentioned above, oil country
 tubular goods now comprise TSUSA item numbers 610.3216, 610.3219, 610.3233,
 610.3242, 610.3243, 610.3249, 610.3252, 610.3254, 610.3256, 610.3258, 610.3262,
 610.3264, 610.3721, 610.3722, 610.3751, 610.3925, 610.3935, 610.4025, 610.4035,
 610.4225, 610.4235, 610.4325, 610.4335, 610.4942, 610.4944, 610.4946, 610.4954,
 610.4955, 610.4956, 610.4957, 610.4966, 610.4967, 610.4968, 610.4969, 610.4970,
 610.5221, 610.5222, 610.5226, 610.5234, 610.5240, 610.5242, 610.5243, and 610.5244.

 Withdrawal of Petitions

 In letters dated December 20, 1985, and December 23, 1985, United States Steel
 Corporation, Lone Star Steel Company, and CF&I Steel Corporation, petitioners, notified us
 that they were withdrawing their February 28, 1985, antidumping duty and countervailling
 duty petitions, and requested that the investigations be terminated. Copies of petitioner's
 letters are appended to this notice. Under sections 734(a) and 704(a) of the Tariff Act of
 1930, as amended by section 604 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984 (the Act), upon
 withdrawal of a petition, the administering authority may terminate an investigation after
 giving notice to all parties to the investigation. The withdrawal of these petitions is based on
 a bilateral arrangement with the government of Austria, signed on December 19, 1985, to
 limit the volume of imports of the product under investigation. We have assessed the public
 interest factors set out in sections 734(d) and 704(d) of the Act and consulted with
 potentially affected producers, workers, consuming industries, and with the ITC. On the
 basis of our assessment of the public interest factors and our consultations, we have
 determined that termination of the investigations would be in the public interest.
 We have notified all parties to these investigations and the ITC of petitioner's withdrawals
 and of our intention to terminate. For these reasons, we are terminating our antidumping
 duty and countervailing duty investigations.

 Gilbert B. Kaplan,

 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

 December 27, 1985.

 [FR Doc. 86-272 Filed 1-6-86; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M