Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation, 7705-7708 [08-608]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7705-7708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-608]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-802]


Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 1, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') and the 
Russian Federation's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (``Rosatom'') have 
signed an amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (``Suspension 
Agreement''). The amendment will allow the Russian Federation 
(``Russia'') to export Russian uranium products to the U.S. market in 
accordance with the export limits and other terms detailed in the 
amendment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon at (202) 482-0162, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

Background

    On October 30, 1992, the Department suspended the antidumping duty 
investigation involving uranium from Russia on the basis of an 
agreement by its government to restrict the volume of direct or 
indirect exports to the United States in order to prevent the 
suppression or undercutting of price levels of U.S. domestic uranium. 
See Antidumping; Uranium from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, 
Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan; Suspension of Investigations and 
Amendment of Preliminary Determinations, 57 FR 49220 (October 30, 
1992).
    The Suspension Agreement was subsequently amended, by agreement of 
both governments, on March 11, 1994, October 3, 1996, and May 7, 1997. 
See, respectively, Amendment to Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 59 FR 15373 
(April 1, 1994); Amendments to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 61 FR 56665 
(November 4, 1996); and Amendment to Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 62 FR 
37879 (July 15, 1997). On July 31, 1998, the Department notified 
interested parties of an administrative change with respect to the 
Suspension Agreement. See Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 63 FR 40879 (July 
31, 1998).
    On November 27, 2007, the United States and Russia initialed a 
draft amendment to the Suspension Agreement. On December 4, 2007, the 
Department published the draft amendment in the Federal Register and 
invited comments from interested parties, to be submitted by January 3, 
2008. See Initialed Draft Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation; 
Request for Comment, 72 FR 68124 (December 4, 2007). On December 17, 
2007, the Department received initial comments on the draft amendment 
from Power Resources, Inc. and Crow Butte Resources, Inc. On December 
31, 2007, pursuant to a request by interested parties, the Department 
extended the comment period deadline until January 10, 2008. See 
Extension of Time to Submit Comments Concerning the Initialed Draft 
Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on 
Uranium from the Russian Federation, 72 FR 74272 (December 31, 2007). 
The Department received comments from the following parties: Ad Hoc 
Utilities Group; AREVA S.A. and its affiliated entities; Fuelco LLC; 
General Electric; Louisiana Energy Services, L.P.; Nuclear Energy 
Institute; Nukem, Inc.; Power Resources, Inc., Crow Butte Resources, 
Inc., and Uranium Resources, Inc.; Progress Energy; United Steel, Paper 
and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and 
Service Workers International Union; USEC Inc. and United States 
Enrichment Corporation; and Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.
    On February 1, 2008, after consideration of the interested party 
comments received, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez and 
the Director of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), S.V. 
Kiriyenko, signed a finalized amendment to the Suspension Agreement. 
The amendment allows for

[[Page 7706]]

exports of Russian uranium products to the U.S. market in accordance 
with the export limits and other terms detailed in the amendment. The 
text of the amendment follows in Annex 1 to this notice.

    Dated: February 5, 2008.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Annex 1

Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on 
Uranium From the Russian Federation

    The Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium 
from the Russian Federation is amended as set forth below.
    The Preamble is amended by deleting the last two paragraphs (which 
were added to the Agreement in 1994) and adding the following paragraph 
to the end:
    The Department and ROSATOM acknowledge that, for purposes of the 
Agreement, as amended (the ``Agreement''), the successor in interest to 
MINATOM is the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (``ROSATOM''). All 
references to MINATOM in this Agreement shall be understood to indicate 
ROSATOM. All exports of Russian Uranium Products are executed through 
the Russian Government-Owned entity Techsnabexport (``TENEX''). All 
references to TENEX include its successors and its affiliated 
companies. All references to ``Customs'' shall be understood to 
indicate United States Customs and Border Protection.
    Section II.--Definitions--is amended by deleting definitions (g) 
``U.S. producer,'' (h) ``for consumption,'' (i) ``End-user,'' (j) 
``Spot Contract,'' and (k) ``Newly-produced,'' and by adding the 
following definitions:
    (l) ``Russian Uranium Products'' means all products described in 
Section III, Product Coverage, of the Agreement.
    (m) ``Low-Enriched Uranium'' (``LEU'') means uranium of which the 
content of the fissile isotope uranium-235 has been increased through 
enrichment to more than 0.7 percent, but less than 20 percent, by 
weight.
    (n) ``Initial Core'' means the LEU necessary to start a U.S. 
nuclear reactor that is entering service for the first time.
    (o) ``Effective Date'' means the date on which this amendment is 
signed by both parties.
    (p) ``Year'' or ``Relevant Period'' means ``Calendar Year''.
    Section IV.--Export Limits--The following new paragraphs are added 
at the beginning of this section. The status of the other provisions of 
section IV is set forth in Appendix 1.
    A. Beginning on the Effective Date, TENEX may immediately enter 
into contracts for the sale of Russian Uranium Products in the United 
States, directly to U.S. utilities or otherwise.
    B. Beginning in 2011, Russian Uranium Products in any form may be 
exported to the United States up to the limits set forth below. These 
limits are expressed in KgU as LEU, at a product assay of 4.4 and a 
tails assay of 0.3 percent. The Department and ROSATOM will consult and 
agree within two months after the Effective Date on how to convert and 
apply against these export limits Russian Uranium Products which are 
other than LEU. Russian Uranium Products exported to the United States 
will be counted against these export limits, employing the formula in 
section II(a), where necessary.
    1. The annual export limits are as follows:

2011--16,559                        2016--480,146
2012--24,839                        2017--490,710
2013--41,398                        2018--492,731
2014--485,279                       2019--509,058
2015--455,142                       2020--514,754
 

    These limits were derived from the reference data in the World 
Nuclear Association's 2005 ``Global Nuclear Fuel Market Supply and 
Demand 2005-2030.'' The Department shall adjust these export limits in 
2016 and 2019 to match the projected reactor demand for subsequent 
years in that publication or its successor, and also to increase the 
total export limit for the remaining years by the net amount by which 
the export limits for previous years have fallen short of the export 
limits that would have been derived from the revised demand figures for 
those years, with any additional export allowances being divided 
equally between the revised export limits for the remaining years. 
Russian Uranium Products may be exported to the United States under a 
contract entered into after the Effective Date and approved by the 
Department under this Agreement, even if such exports exceed the export 
limits in effect at the time of delivery.
    2. After the Effective Date, Russian Uranium Products may be sold 
in, and exported to, the United States to fulfill contracts for the 
supply of Initial Cores without being subject to the export limits in 
this Agreement.
    3. After the Effective Date, LEU in the United States pursuant to 
the contracts described in Appendix C to the Agreement, and stored as 
of the Effective Date at the facilities of U.S. producers (i.e., the 
EUP stockpile), may be sold in the United States or exported from the 
United States without being subject to the export limits in this 
Agreement, provided such sales occur prior to January 1, 2014. Any 
amount sold after December 31, 2013, shall be charged against the 
export limit for the year in which it is sold or the first subsequent 
year in which the export limit has not been reached.
    4. After the Effective Date, Russian Uranium Products may be 
imported for processing and certified for re-export pursuant to 
sections IV. G and H, without being subject to the export limits in 
section IV.B.1.
    C. If, at any time, the Department determines that the available 
supply of Russian Uranium Products is or will be insufficient to meet 
U.S. demand, the Department may increase the export limits in this 
Agreement.
    D. Except for any increase added pursuant to section IV.C, if, in 
any year, the Department permits any Russian Uranium Products to enter 
the United States in excess of the export limit for that year, the 
amount of the excess shall be charged against the export limit for the 
first subsequent year in which the export limit has not been 
contractually obligated. If the amount entered in any year falls below 
the export limit for that year, the amount of the shortfall may be 
added to the export limit for the subsequent year, up to 10 percent of 
the export limit for the year in which the shortfall occurs.
    E. In negotiating contracts involving the export of Russian Uranium 
Products to the United States, ROSATOM/TENEX shall charge market rates 
for conversion.
    F. The Russian LEU in reactor fuel rods or assemblies exported to 
the United States shall be counted against the export limits in this 
Agreement. ROSATOM/TENEX shall charge market rates for fuel rods and 
assemblies themselves.
    The following sentence is added at the end of the sixth paragraph 
of section IV.H., which begins ``For re-export entered under the 36 
month limitation * * *'':
    The Department of Commerce shall instruct Customs to liquidate such 
entries as promptly as possible, and in all cases within ten (10) days 
of receiving confirmation of the re-export shipment out of the United 
States. If the Department does not issue such instruction to Customs 
within ten (10) days of receiving confirmation of the re-export 
shipment out of the United States, on the next business day, the 
Department shall provide ROSATOM with a written explanation of the 
exact and specific reason(s) for the delay and a date certain by which 
the Department shall issue instructions to Customs to

[[Page 7707]]

liquidate the entries. The Department shall provide notice of re-export 
of any such uranium to TENEX.
    N. Russian Uranium Products sold pursuant to a multi-year contract 
entered into after the Effective Date and approved by the Department 
may be delivered in accordance with the provisions of this Amendment 
regardless of any modification to or reduction in the quantity that may 
be delivered under the export limits or any modification to or any 
interruption in the effectiveness of, including termination of, this 
Agreement.
    Section V.--Export License/Certificates--is amended by replacing 
paragraphs B and C with the paragraphs below and adding new paragraph F 
as follows:
    B. Export licenses shall be issued, and export certificates shall 
be endorsed by the competent Russian Government authority, for all 
direct and indirect exports of Russian Uranium Products to the United 
States. Such export certificates shall remain valid for entry into the 
United States for 120 days from the Date of Export.
    C. Russian Uranium Products may enter the United States if: (1) 
They were sold pursuant to a contract approved by the Department under 
this Agreement; (2) are accompanied by (a) a valid export license and 
certificate and (b) a valid purchase and/or delivery order issued in 
accordance with the contract approved by the Department under this 
Agreement showing the specific product and tails assays, as applicable; 
and (3) do not exceed the export limits in section IV.
    F. Any contract, or amendment thereto, for the sale of Russian 
Uranium Products for exportation to the United States shall be 
submitted to the Department for approval, along with the documents 
listed in Appendix 2 to this Amendment. If the maximum quantities to be 
exported under a contract, when cumulated with the maximum quantities 
that may be exported under all other approved contracts, are not in 
excess of the export limits under this Agreement, and the information 
listed in Appendix 2 has been submitted to the Department, the 
Department shall approve the contract within 15 days (or the next 
business day if the 15th day falls on a weekend or holiday).
    Section VII.--Anticircumvention--is amended by replacing section 
VII.D with new paragraph D and adding new paragraph J as follows:
    D. In addition to the above requirements, the Department shall 
direct Customs to require all importers of uranium products into the 
United States, regardless of stated country of origin, to submit at the 
time of entry written statements certifying the following:
    1. The country(ies) in which the ore was mined and, if applicable, 
converted, enriched, and/or fabricated, for all imports; and
    2. That the uranium products being imported were not obtained under 
any arrangement, swap, exchange, or other transaction designed to 
circumvent the export limits established by the Agreement, or the 
limitations set forth in 43 U.S.C. 2297h-10(b) of the USEC 
Privatization Act, 42 U.S.C. 2297h, et seq., and the Procedures for 
Delivery of HEU Natural Uranium Component in the United States, as 
revised. Procedures for Delivery of HEU Natural Uranium Component in 
the United States, 64 Fed. Reg. 42930 (August 6, 1999).
    J. Neither ROSATOM nor TENEX will circumvent this Agreement or 
frustrate the attainment of its objectives by entering into any 
contract involving the exportation to the United States of LEU in 
quantities exceeding the export limits in this Agreement.
    Section VIII.--Monitoring--is amended by adding the reporting 
requirements listed in Appendix 3 to this Amendment.
    Section XII.--Duration--is amended by replacing the first two 
paragraphs with the following:
    As of the Effective Date of this Amendment, each of the petitioners 
in the suspended investigation, or their legal successors, has filed 
with the Department an irrevocable letters expressly withdrawing the 
petition in the antidumping investigation, effective December 31, 2020. 
These letters are attached to this Amendment as Appendix 4. The 
Agreement will terminate on December 31, 2020. Upon its termination on 
December 31, 2020, the Department shall terminate the antidumping 
investigation effective on that date.
    The Department, before the Effective Date, acknowledges the remand 
of the U.S. Court of International Trade of September 26, 2007, in 
Techsnabexport v. United States, Ct. No. O6-00228, including the 
Court's direction that ``Commerce follow the precedent by which it is 
bound, articulated in the Eurodif cases.'' As directed by the Court of 
International Trade, the Department will abide by the Eurodif decisions 
in its determination of the likelihood of continued or recurring 
dumping. Therefore, on the Effective Date, Techsnabexport will file a 
motion in Techsnabexport v. United States under Rule 41 of the U.S. 
Court of International Trade Rules. The United States will not appeal 
the September 26th decision in Techsnabexport v. United States.
    In addition, the Department shall conduct sunset reviews under 19 
U.S.C. 1675(c) in the years 2011 and 2016. All parties agree that the 
sunset reviews shall be expedited, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1675(C)(4) and 
(C)(3)(B), respectively, at both the Department of Commerce and the 
International Trade Commission.
    Section XIII.--Conditions--is amended by adding, before the first 
paragraph, an ``A,'' and by adding the following new paragraph at the 
end of section XIII:
    B. This Agreement will be applied consistent with any applicable 
decision of the U.S. Courts, including the Eurodif decisions. Such 
decisions shall be applied to this Agreement (including by amendment, 
if necessary) no later than six (6) months after the appropriate 
decision, unless the Department and ROSATOM agree otherwise.
    Section XIV.--Other Provisions--is amended by replacing existing 
paragraph B with the following new paragraph B, and by replacing the 
second part of paragraph C with the following:
    B. For all purposes relating to the Agreement, the Department and 
ROSATOM shall be represented by, and all communications and notices 
shall be given and addressed to: Department Contact: United States 
Department of Commerce, Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, Washington, DC 20230. ROSATOM 
Contact: State Secretary, Deputy Director, Federal Atomic Energy 
Agency, (ROSATOM), Staromonetnyy per., 26, 119180, Moscow, Russian 
Federation.
    C. If U.S. law, regulation, administrative practice, or policy 
should change in any manner, including by U.S. court decision or 
legislative or administrative action, that would result in relatively 
less favorable treatment for the Russian Federation as compared to any 
other country, or if the United States should enter into any agreement 
or understanding or take any action that would cause that result, the 
parties will promptly, i.e., within six (6) months, enter into 
consultations with a view to amending this Agreement so as to eliminate 
such less favorable treatment to the extent permitted by U.S. law.

    Signed on this 1st day of February, 2008.


[[Page 7708]]


    For the U.S. Department of Commerce:
Carlos M. Gutierrez,
U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
    For ROSATOM:
S.V. Kiriyenko,
Director, Federal Atomic Energy Agency, (ROSATOM).

Appendix 1

    Section IV.--Export Limits--The status of the other paragraphs of 
section IV, other than the newly-added paragraphs, is as follows:
    1994 matched sales provisions (IV, IV.A--IV-E)--hereby deleted.
    1992 Sections IV. A-IV.C.1--deleted in 1994.
    1992 Sections IV. C 2-3 and IV.D--hereby deleted.
    1992 Sections IV. E-IV.G--remain in effect.
    1992 Section IV. H, first two paragraphs--deleted in 1997.
    1997 Section H--remains in effect.
    1992 Sections IV. I-IV.M.1 remain in effect.
    1996 Section IV.M.2--remains in effect.
    1992 Section IV.M.2--ineffective as of 1997.

Appendix 2

    Pursuant to section V.F, the following documents should accompany 
any contract for the sale of Russian Uranium Products for exportation 
to the United States which is submitted to the Department for approval:
    1. A copy of the signed contract pursuant to which the Russian 
Uranium Products shall be imported (showing the contract date and key 
terms such as price, quantity, delivery requirements and estimated 
delivery schedule);
    2. A description of the physical material being imported;
    3. Identification of the Russian supplier of the Russian Uranium 
Products;
    4. For each contract, the maximum volume of each type of Russian 
Uranium Product that may be exported to the United States pursuant to 
the contract each year;
    5. For sales pursuant to Section IV.B.2, the documentation 
necessary to demonstrate that deliveries meet the definition of Initial 
Cores (e.g., a combined construction and operating license (COL), 
etc.).

Appendix 3

    Pursuant to section VIII, the following additional reporting 
requirements are agreed to by ROSATOM and the Department:
    1. Beginning the Effective Date, no later than 30 days after the 
end of each calendar quarter, to the extent permitted by Russian law, 
ROSATOM shall submit an updated master export schedule to the 
Department showing the following for each year (from the first year of 
validity of the Amendment through 2020) for any material to be 
delivered in the United States pursuant to contracts under this 
Agreement: (a) Estimated deliveries, and (b) completed deliveries. All 
such reports submitted by ROSATOM shall be subject to release under 
Administrative Protective Order (``APO'') to counsel for interested 
parties to the proceeding.
    2. Beginning the Effective Date, no later than 30 days after the 
end of each semi-annual period, to the extent permitted by U.S. law, 
the Department shall provide semi-annual reports to ROSATOM, via its 
U.S. attorney under APO, of all individual imports (for consumption and 
for processing and re-export) of Russian Uranium Products to the United 
States, together with such additional information as is necessary and 
appropriate to monitor implementation of the Agreement, as agreed to by 
ROSATOM and the Department. For every transaction for which the 
Department withholds information on the basis that its disclosure is 
not permitted under U.S. law, the Department shall submit to ROSATOM 
the fullest description permitted under U.S. law of the information 
withheld and the legal basis for not disclosing it.
    3. For purposes of the Department's reporting on imports for 
consumption, to the extent permitted under U.S. law, the Department 
shall provide the following:
    a. Quantity: Indicate units of measure sold and/or entered, e.g., 
pounds U308, Kilograms U, SWU, etc.
    b. Date of Importation: The date Customs confirmed the Department's 
shipment clearance instructions.
    c. Date of Export: The date the Export Certificate is endorsed.
    d. Export Certificate: The Export Certificate number corresponding 
to each individual import.
    e. Total Sales Value: Indicate currency used.
    f. Importer of Record: Name and address.
    4. For purposes of the Department's reporting on imports for 
processing and re-export, to the extent permitted under U.S. law, the 
Department shall provide the following:
    a. Filing date of request for approval filed with the Department.
    b. Certificate for Re-Export number, as listed on the Certificate 
for Re-Export.
    c. Date of issuance by ROSATOM of the Certificate for Re-Export, as 
listed on the Certificate for Re-Export.
    d. Date of Export, as listed on the Certificate for Re-Export.
    e. Party requesting approval, as listed on the request for 
approval.
    f. Customer, as listed on the Certificate for Re-Export.
    g. Total quantity, expressed in KGU, U308 and, as applicable, SWUs, 
as listed on the Certificate for Re-Export.
    h. Date of importation, as relied upon by the Department for 
purposes of determining annual usage of the quota.
    i. Time frame for re-export (i.e., 12-month or 36-month), as listed 
on the Certificate for Re-Export.
    j. Scheduled date for re-export, as relied upon by the Department 
for purposes of determining annual usage of the quota.
    k. Notice of re-export filed with the Department, including the 
date of such notification and the actual date of re-export.

Appendix 4

    [Available in the Department's Central Records Unit, HCHB Room 
1117].

[FR Doc. 08-608 Filed 2-8-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P