Department of Commerce December 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS proposes 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2021 and 2022 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The 2021 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2020 and 2021 harvest specifications, and the 2022 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2022 when the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the GOA in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive order, Combating Public Health Emergencies and Strengthening National Security by Ensuring Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, and Critical Inputs Are Made in the United States. Among other directives, the E.O. directed that, by February 2, 2021, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Director of the National Economic Council, and the Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, describing any change in the status of the Public Health Industrial Base (PHIB) and recommending initiatives to strengthen the PHIB. This notice requests comments from the public to assist the Department of Commerce (referred to henceforth as ``Commerce'') in preparing this report on the condition of the PHIB and recommending policies and actions to strengthen the PHIB.

NMFS published a document in the Federal Register of November 23, 2020, announcing a valid specified fishing agreement that allocates up to 1,000 metric tons (t) of the 2020 bigeye tuna limit for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to U.S. longline fishing vessels. The document incorrectly referred to American Samoa.

As a result of the determinations by the Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain frozen fish fillets (fish fillets) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of the AD order.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain producers and exporters of certain hardwood plywood products (hardwood plywood) from the People's Republic of China (China) made sales of the subject merchandise at prices below normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR), June 23, 2017 through December 31, 2018.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The combined 105th Annual and 2021 Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held using a virtual meeting platform and in-person at the Sirata Beach Hotel & Conference Center, St. Pete Beach, Florida, from Sunday, January 10, 2021, through Friday, January 15, 2021. This notice contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that producers and exporters of certain softwood lumber products (softwood lumber) from Canada received countervailable subsidies during the period of review, April 28, 2017 through December 31, 2018.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on the impact that implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, through the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998 and the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations, has had on commercial activities involving ``Schedule 1'' chemicals during calendar year 2020. The purpose of this notice of inquiry is to collect information to assist BIS in its preparation of the annual certification to the Congress on whether the legitimate commercial activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical firms are harmed by such implementation. This certification is required under Condition 9 of Senate Resolution 75 (April 24, 1997), in which the Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the CWC.

NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) groundfish and halibut Programs. The fee percentage for 2020 is 1.19 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.21 percent for the AFA inshore cooperatives, 3.0 percent for the AIP program, and 0.84 percent for the CDQ groundfish and halibut Programs. This action is intended to provide the 2020 standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2020.

This final rule establishes the 2021 opening date for all Atlantic shark fisheries, including the fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. This final rule also establishes the shark fisheries quotas for the 2021 fishing year, with adjustments based on harvest levels during 2020, and establishes the large coastal shark (LCS) retention limits for directed shark limited access permit holders. NMFS may increase or decrease these retention limits for directed shark limited access permit holders during the year, in accordance with existing regulations, to provide equitable fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in all regions and areas, to the extent practicable. These actions could affect fishing opportunities for commercial shark fishermen in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.