DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-40,919

SOVEREIGN ADHESIVES INCORPORATED
FORMERLY CRODA ADHESIVES
EWING, NEW JERSEY

Notice of Negative Determination
Regarding Application for Reconsideration

By application postmarked of June 7, 2002, a worker
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) under petition TA-W-40,919. The TAA denial
notice applicable to workers of Sovereign Adhesives Incorporated,
formerly Croda Adhesives, Ewing, New Jersey, was signed on April
30, 2002 and published in the Federal Register on May 17, 2002
(67 FR 35143).
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 Sovereign
Adhesives Incorporated, formerly Croda Adhesives, Ewing, New
Jersey engaged in employment related to the production of
adhesives, 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 preponderance in the declines
in employment at the subject plant was related to Sovereign
Specialty Chemicals, Inc. acquiring Croda International Plc
Specialty adhesive and coatings business in October 2000.
Following this acquisition production was transferred from the
Croda plant in Ewing, New Jersey to other Sovereign plants
located in the United States.


The petitioner alleges, based on the company's SEC filings,
that they have manufacturing plants in Brazil, Belgium and the
United Kingdom. The SEC filing states that the Brazilian plant
would be a conditional sale. The petitioner indicates the
subject plant supplied Latiseal type sealants to Brazil and they
would start production on their own and send them to the United
States. The petitioner further indicates that the Ewing plant
also produced acrylic blends 29-044 and 29-045, which were
shipped to American and Canadian customers and subsequently
replaced by European imports. The petitioner feels these events
were overlooked.
A review of the initial investigation and further contact
with the company revealed that the company did not import the
sealants or blends as addressed by the petitioner above during
the relevant period. The company indicated that any imported
products like or directly competitive with what the subject plant
produced would be "less than negligible".
Further review of the initial investigation shows the
preponderance in the declines in employment at the subject plant
was related to a domestic shift in plant production to Buffalo,
New York and Akron, Ohio. Also, in the initial investigation the
company reported no declines in their customer base during the
relevant period. Therefore, any potential imports of products
"like or directly competitive" with what the subject plant
produced would not meet the "contributed importantly" group
eligibility requirement of Section 222(3) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended.
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 25th day of July, 2002.

/s/ Edward A. Tomchick
_______________________
EDWARD A. TOMCHICK
Director, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance