DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-52,576

SMITH METER, INC.
(ALSO KNOWN AS FMC MEASUREMENT SOLUTIONS)
A SUBSIDIARY OF FMC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Notice of Negative Determination
Regarding Application for Reconsideration

By application of October 1, 2003, the petitioner requested
administrative reconsideration of the Department's negative
determination regarding eligibility for workers and former workers
of the subject firm to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).
The denial notice was signed on September 10, 2003 and published in
the Federal Register on October 10, 2003 (68 FR 58719).
Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c) reconsideration may be granted
under the following circumstances:
(1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously
considered that the determination complained of
was erroneous;
(2) if it appears that the determination complained of
was based on a mistake in the determination of facts
not previously considered; or


(3) if in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a mis-
interpretation of facts or of the law justified
reconsideration of the decision.

The TAA petition, filed on behalf of workers at Smith Meter,
Inc. (a.k.a. FMC Measurement Solutions), a subsidiary of FMC
Technologies, Inc., Erie, Pennsylvania, engaged in the production
of liquid measurement equipment, was denied because the
"contributed importantly" group eligibility requirement of Section
222(3) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, was not met. The
"contributed importantly" test is generally demonstrated through a
survey of the workers' firm's customers. The Department conducted
a survey of the subject firm’s major customers regarding their
purchases of liquid measurement equipment. The survey revealed
that none of the customers increased their import purchases of
liquid measurement equipment, while reducing their purchases from
the subject firm during the relevant period. The subject firm
imported negligible percentage of liquid measurement equipment
during the relevant period.
The petitioner attached two documents in support of his
allegations, that Smith Meter, Inc. (a.k.a. FMC Measurement
Solutions) does import liquid measurement equipment. First
document is a letter to General Manager of FMC Measurement
Solutions announcing the winner of 2002 Eagle Award. The
announcement remarks Liquid Products, Measurement Solutions’ “sound
sourcing strategies”, and refers to the sourcing of bearings and
machined rotors in China.
Further contact with the company official revealed that the
subject firm has been establishing contacts with foreign firms and
is currently looking into buying some products in China. The
subject firm does import a small fraction of products, which in no
way affects domestic production of liquid measurement equipment.
Imports of bearings and machined rotors were reflected in the data
provided by the subject firm in the Confidential Data Request
during the initial investigation. The Department of Labor received
and analyzed financial information provided by the subject firm. A
review of the initial investigation revealed that, in context to
total plant production, the amount of imports by the subject firm
is considered to be negligible during the period under
investigation.
The second document provided by the petitioner is the
announcement of the recipient of FMC Eagle Award for 2003. The
letter does not contain any information, which will support
petitioner’s allegation and is irrelevant in this investigation.
As already indicated, a negligible amount of product has been
imported by the subject facility, albeit not significant enough to
contribute to layoffs.
Conclusion
After review of the application and investigative findings, I
conclude that there has been no error or misinterpretation of the
law or of the facts which would justify reconsideration of
the Department of Labor's prior decisions. Accordingly, the
application is denied.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 9th day of December 2003.
/s/ Elliott S. Kushner

ELLIOTT S. KUSHNER
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance