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Elemental Sulfur from Canada

Investigation No. AA1921-127 (Review)

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Publication 3152 January 1999

. U.S. International Trade Commission

Washington, DC 20436

U.S. International Trade Commission

COMMISSIONERS

Lynn M. Bragg, Chairman Marcia E. Miller, Vice Chairman

Carol T. Crawford Jennifer A. Hillman

Stephen Koplan Thelma J. Askey

Robert A. Rogowsky Director of Operations

Staff assigned

Jim McClure, Investigator Cynthia Trainor, Industry Analyst

Stephen Wanser, Economist Jerry Tepper, Accountant Marc Bernstein, Attorney

Gracemary Rizzo, Attorney Vera Libeau, Supervisory Investigator

Address all communications to Secretary to the Commission

United States International Trade Commission Washington, DC 20436

U.S. International Trade Commission

Washington, DC 20436

Elemental Sulfur from Canada

Publication 3152 January 1999

CONTENTS

Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Views of the Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Information obtained in the review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-3 The original investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-3 Commerce's final results of expedited sunset review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-4

The product ..................................................... ,............. I-5 Production processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-5

Frasch process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-6 Recovered process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Environmental issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-7 Industry characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-8

U.S. imports and consumption ................... .'... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-9 The U.S. industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-11

Frasch production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-11 Recovered production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13 Industry operating capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14 Export markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-14 Financial information......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14 Stocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

U.S. importers .................. :............................................ I-17 The Canadian industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-18 Factors affecting prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-18

Costs of production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18 Transportation costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19 Exchange rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19 Pricing practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21

Price data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22 Likely effects of revocation 1-23

Appendixes

A. Federal Register notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1 B. U.S. elemental sulfur producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 C. Canadian elemental sulfur producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Figures

1. Elemental sulfur: U.S. production, imports, exports, and apparent consumption, 1970-97 (selected years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

2. Exchange rates: Indexes of exchange rates of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar, by year, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990-97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

CONTENTS

Tables.

1. Elemental sulfur: U.S. production (by process), imports, exports, and apparent consumption, 1970-97 (selected years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

2. Elemental sulfur: Price data for selected ports, by year (1985-96) and by quarter (January 1997-0ctober 1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

3. Elemental sulfur: Estimated prices, Frasch and recovered, 1986-95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23

Name/agency/phrase

GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS (In order of appearance)

U.S. International Trade Commission .................................. . Federal Register .................................................. . U.S. Department of Commerce ....................................... . Freeport-McMoRan Sulfur, Inc. . ..................................... . Staff Report to the Commission in Investigation No. AA 1921-127

(Oct. 12, 1973) .................................................. . Husky Oil, Ltd. . .................................................. . U.S. Geological Survey ............................................. . U.S. Customs Service .............................................. . U.S. Bureau of Mines .............................................. . FERTECON International ........................................... . Green Markets, Fertilizer Market Intelligence Weekly ..................... .

Abbreviation

Commission FR

Commerce Freeport Sulfur

Report Husky USGS

Customs USBM

FERTECON Green Markets

Note.-Information that would reveal confidential operations of individual concerns may not be published and therefore has been deleted from this report. Such deletions are indicated by asterisks.

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UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Investigation No. AA1921-l27 (Review)

ELEMENTAL SULFUR FROM CANADA

DETERMINATION

On the basis of the record' developed in the subject five-year review, the United States International Trade Commission detennines, pursuant to section 751 ( c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 ( 19 U.S.C. 1675(c)) (the Act), that revocation of the antidumping duty finding on elemental sulfur from Canada would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time.

BACKGROUND

The Commission instituted this review on August 3, 1998 (63 FR 41280) and detennined on November 5, 1998 that it would conduct an expedited review (63 FR 64275, November 19, 1998).

1 The record is defined in sec. 207.2(f) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 207.2(f)).

VIEWS OF THE COMMISSION

Based on the record in this five-year review, we determine under section 751(c) of the Tariff Act

of 1930, as amended ("the Act"), that revocation of the antidumping finding concerning elemental sulfur

from Canada is not likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the

United States within a reasonably foreseeable time.

I. BACKGROUND

In October 1973, the U.S. Tariff Commission determined that an industry in the United States

was likely to be injured by reason of dumped imports of elemental sulfur from Canada pursuant to

Section 201 of the Antidumping Act, 1921. Subsequently, the Department of Treasury issued an

antidumping finding covering these imports.1 On August 3, 1998, the Commission instituted a review

pursuant to section 751 ( c) of the Act to determine whether revocation of the anti dumping finding on

elemental sulfur from Canada would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury

within a reasonably foreseeable time.2

In five-year reviews, the Commission first determines whether to conduct a full review (which

would include a public hearing, the issuance of