Procedures for Considering Requests From the Public for Textile and Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports From Oman, 28544-28547 [2010-12285]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 98 / Friday, May 21, 2010 / Notices
COMMITTEE FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE
AGREEMENTS
Procedures for Considering Requests
From the Public for Textile and Apparel
Safeguard Actions on Imports From
Oman
May 17, 2010.
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: The Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements
(the ‘‘Committee’’).
ACTION: Notice of procedures.
SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the
procedures the Committee will follow in
considering requests from the public for
textile and apparel safeguard actions as
provided for in title III, subtitle B,
section 321 through section 328 of the
United States-Oman Free Trade
Agreement Implementation Act.
DATES: Effective Date: May 21, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Requests must be submitted
to: Chairman, Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements,
Room H3100, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maria D’Andrea, Office of Textiles and
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce,
(202) 482–1550.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title III, subtitle B, section 321
through section 328 of the United
States-Oman Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (the ‘‘Act’’)
implements the textile and apparel
safeguard provisions, provided for in
Article 3.1 of the United States-Oman
Free Trade Agreement (the
‘‘Agreement’’). The safeguard
mechanism applies when, as a result of
the elimination of a customs duty under
the Agreement, an Omani textile or
apparel article is being imported into
the United States in such increased
quantities, in absolute terms or relative
to the domestic market for that article,
and under such conditions as to cause
serious damage or actual threat thereof
to a U.S. industry producing a like or
directly competitive article. In these
circumstances, Article 3.1 permits the
United States to increase duties on the
imported article from Oman to a level
that does not exceed the lesser of the
prevailing U.S. normal trade relations
(‘‘NTR’’)/most-favored-nation (‘‘MFN’’)
duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/
MFN duty rate in effect on the day
before the Agreement enters into force.
In Presidential Proclamation 8332 of
December 29, 2008 (73 FR 80289 (Dec.
31, 2008)), the President delegated to
the Committee certain functions under
subtitle B of title III of the Act.
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The import tariff relief is effective
beginning on the date that the
Committee determines that an ‘‘Omani
textile or apparel article’’ as defined in
section 301(2) of the Act, is being
imported into the United States in such
increased quantities, in absolute terms
or relative to the domestic market for
that article, and under such conditions
as to cause serious damage, or actual
threat thereof, to a U.S. industry
producing an article that is like, or
directly competitive with, the imported
article. Consistent with section 323(a) of
the Act, the maximum period of import
tariff relief, as set forth in section 3 of
this notice, shall be three years.
However, if the initial period for import
tariff relief is less than three years,
consistent with section 323(b) of the
Act, the Committee may extend the
period of import relief to the maximum
three years if the Committee determines
that the continuation is necessary to
remedy or prevent serious damage or
actual threat thereof and to facilitate
adjustment by the domestic industry to
import competition, and that the
domestic industry is, in fact, making a
positive adjustment to import
competition. Import tariff relief may not
be applied to the same article under
these procedures if (1) relief previously
has been granted with respect to that
article under these provisions; or (2) the
article is subject to relief under Chapter
1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974.
Authority to provide import tariff
relief with respect to an Omani textile
or apparel article will expire ten years
after duties on the article are eliminated
pursuant to the Agreement.
Under Article 3.1.6 of the Agreement,
if the United States provides relief to a
domestic industry under the textile and
apparel safeguard, it must provide
Oman ‘‘mutually agreed trade
liberalizing compensation in the form of
concessions having substantially
equivalent trade effects or equivalent to
the value of the additional duties
expected to result from the emergency
action.’’ Such concessions shall be
limited to textile and apparel products,
unless the United States and Oman
agree otherwise. If the United States and
Oman are unable to agree on trade
liberalizing compensation, Oman may
increase customs duties equivalently on
U.S. products. The obligation to provide
compensation terminates upon
termination of the safeguard relief.
Section 327 of the Act extends the
President’s authority to provide
compensation under section 123 of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2133), as
amended, to measures taken pursuant to
the Agreement’s textile and apparel
safeguard provisions.
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In order to facilitate the
implementation of Title III, Subtitle B,
section 321 through section 328 of the
Act, the Committee has determined that
actions taken under this safeguard fall
within the foreign affairs exception to
the rulemaking provision of 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(1). These procedures are not
subject to the requirement to provide
prior notice and opportunity for public
comment, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1)
and 553(b)(A).
Procedures for Requesting Textile and
Apparel Safeguard Actions
1. Requirements for Requests.
Pursuant to section 321(a) of the Act
and section 7 of Presidential
Proclamation 8332 of December 29,
2008, an interested party may file a
request for a textile and apparel
safeguard action with the Committee.
The Committee will review requests
from the interested party sent to the
Chairman, Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements,
Room 3100, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Ten copies of any such request must be
provided. As provided in section 328 of
the Act, the Committee will protect from
disclosure any business confidential
information that is marked ‘‘business
confidential’’ to the full extent permitted
by law. To the extent that business
confidential information is provided,
two copies of a non-confidential version
must also be provided, in which
business confidential information is
summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At
the conclusion of the request, an
interested party must attest that ‘‘all
information contained in the request is
complete and accurate and no false
claims, statements, or representations
have been made.’’ Consistently with
section 321(a) of the Act, the Committee
will review a request initially to
determine whether to commence
consideration of the request on its
merits. Within 15 working days of
receipt of a request, the Committee will
determine whether the request provides
the information necessary for the
Committee to consider the request in
light of the considerations set forth
below. If the request does not, the
Committee will promptly notify the
requester of the reasons for this
determination and the request will not
be considered. However, the Committee
will reevaluate any request that is
resubmitted with additional
information.
Consistent with longstanding
Committee practice in considering
textile safeguard actions, the Committee
will consider an interested party to be
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 98 / Friday, May 21, 2010 / Notices
an entity (which may be a trade
association, firm, certified or recognized
union, or group of workers) that is
representative of either: (A) A domestic
producer or producers of an article that
is like or directly competitive with the
subject Omani textile or apparel article;
or (B) a domestic producer or producers
of a component used in the production
of an article that is like or directly
competitive with the subject Omani
textile or apparel article.
A request will only be considered if
the request includes the specific
information set forth below in support
of a claim that a textile or apparel article
from Oman is being imported into the
United States in such increased
quantities, in absolute terms or relative
to the domestic market for that article,
and under such conditions as to cause
serious damage or actual threat thereof,
to a U.S. industry producing an article
that is like, or directly competitive with,
the imported article.
A. Product description. Name and
description of the imported article
concerned, including the category or
categories or part thereof of the U.S.
Textile and Apparel Category System
(see ‘‘Textile Correlation’’ at https://
otexa.ita.doc.gov/corr.htm[HJ1]) under
which such article is classified, the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States subheading(s) under
which such article is classified, and the
name and description of the like or
directly competitive domestic article
concerned.
B. Import data. The following data, in
quantity by category unit (see ‘‘Textile
Correlation’’), on total imports of the
subject article into the United States and
imports from Oman into the United
States:
* Annual data for the most recent
three full calendar years for which such
data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent
year for which such data are partially
available, and quarterly data for the
same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g.
January–March 2010, April–June 2010
and January–March 2009, April–June
2009).
The data should demonstrate that
imports of an Omani origin textile or
apparel article that are like or directly
competitive with the articles produced
by the domestic industry concerned are
increasing in absolute terms or relative
to the domestic market for that article.
C. Production data. The following
data, in quantity by category unit (see
‘‘Textile Correlation’’), on U.S. domestic
production of the like or directly
competitive articles of U.S. origin
indicating the nature and extent of the
serious damage or actual threat thereof:
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* Annual data for the most recent
three full calendar years for which such
data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent
year for which such data are partially
available, and quarterly data for the
same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g.
January–March 2010, April–June 2010
and January–March 2009, April–June
2009).
If the like or directly competitive
article(s) of U.S. origin does not
correspond to a category or categories of
the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category
system for which production data are
available from official statistics of the
U.S. Department of Commerce (see ‘‘U.S.
Imports, Production, Markets, Import
Production Ratios and Domestic Market
Shares for Textile and Apparel Product
Categories’’ at Web site https://
otexa.ita.doc.gov/ipbook.pdf), the
requester must provide a complete
listing of all sources from which the
data were obtained and an affirmation
that to the best of the requester’s
knowledge, the data represent
substantially all of the domestic
production of the like or directly
competitive article(s) of U.S. origin. In
such cases, data should be reported in
the first unit of quantity in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (https://www.usitc.gov/
tata/hts) for the Omani origin textile
and/or apparel articles and the like or
directly competitive articles of U.S.
origin.
D. Market Share Data. The following
data, in quantity by category unit (see
‘‘Textile Correlation’’), on imports from
Oman as a percentage of the domestic
market (defined as the sum of domestic
production of the like or directly
competitive article and total imports of
the subject article); on total imports as
a percentage of the domestic market;
and on domestic production of like or
directly competitive articles as a
percentage of the domestic market:
* Annual data for the most recent
three full calendar years for which such
data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent
year for which such data are partially
available, and quarterly data for the
same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g.
January–March 2010, April–June 2010
and January–March 2009, April–June
2009).
E. Additional data showing serious
damage or actual threat thereof. All
data available to the requester showing
changes in productivity, utilization of
capacity, inventories, exports, wages,
employment, domestic prices, profits,
and investment, and any other
information, relating to the existence of
serious damage or actual threat thereof
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caused by imports from Oman to the
industry producing the like or directly
competitive article that is the subject of
the request. To the extent that such
information is not available, the
requester should provide best estimates
and the basis therefore:
* Annual data for the most recent
three full calendar years for which such
data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent
year for which such data are partially
available, and quarterly data for the
same quarter(s) of the previous year (e.g.
January–March 2010, April–June 2010
and January–March 2009, April–June
2009).
2. Consideration of Requests.
Consistent with section 321(b) of the
Act, if the Committee determines that
the request provides the information
necessary for it to be considered, the
Committee will cause to be published in
the Federal Register a notice seeking
public comments regarding the request,
which will include a summary of the
request and the date by which
comments must be received. The
Federal Register notice and the request,
with the exception of information
marked ‘‘business confidential,’’ will be
posted by the Department of
Commerce’s Office of Textiles and
Apparel (‘‘OTEXA’’) on the Internet
(https://otexa.ita.doc.gov). The comment
period shall be 30 calendar days. To the
extent business confidential information
is provided, a non-confidential version
must also be provided, in which
business confidential information is
summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At
the conclusion of its submission of such
public comments, an interested party
must attest that ‘‘all information
contained in the request is complete and
accurate and no false claims, statements,
or representations have been made.’’
Comments received, with the exception
of information marked ‘‘business
confidential,’’ will be available in the
Department of Commerce’s Trade
Information Center for review by the
public. If a comment alleges that there
is no serious damage or actual threat
thereof, or that the subject imports are
not the cause of the serious damage or
actual threat thereof, the Committee will
closely review any supporting
information and documentation, such as
information about domestic production
or prices of like or directly competitive
articles. In the case of requests
submitted by entities that are not the
actual producers of a like or directly
competitive article, particular
consideration will be given to comments
representing the views of actual
producers in the United States of a like
or directly competitive article.
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Any interested party may submit
information to rebut, clarify, or correct
public comments submitted by any
other interested party at any time prior
to the deadline provided in this section
for submission of such public
comments. If public comments are
submitted less than 10 days before, or
on, the applicable deadline for
submission of such public comments,
an interested party may submit
information to rebut, clarify, or correct
the public comments no later than 10
days after the applicable deadline for
submission of public comments.
With respect to any request
considered by the Committee, the
Committee will make a determination
within 60 calendar days of the close of
the comment period. If the Committee is
unable to make a determination within
60 calendar days, it will cause to be
published in a notice in the Federal
Register, including the date by which it
will make a determination. If the
Committee makes a negative
determination, it will cause this
determination and the reasons therefore
to be published in the Federal Register.
3. Determination and Provision of
Relief. The Committee shall determine
whether, as a result of the reduction or
elimination of a duty under the
Agreement, an Omani textile or apparel
article is being imported into the United
States in such increased quantities, in
absolute terms or relative to the
domestic market for that article, and
under such conditions as to cause
serious damage, or actual threat thereof,
to a domestic industry producing an
article that is like, or directly
competitive with, the imported article.
In making a determination, the
Committee: (1) Shall examine the effect
of increased imports on the domestic
industry as reflected in such relevant
economic factors as output,
productivity, utilization of capacity,
inventories, market share, exports,
wages, employment, domestic prices,
profits, and investment, none of which
is necessarily decisive; and (2) shall not
consider changes in technology or
consumer preference as factors
supporting a determination of serious
damage or actual threat thereof. The
Committee, without delay, will provide
written notice of its decision to the
Government of Oman and will consult
with said party upon its request.
If a determination under this section
is affirmative, the Committee may
provide import tariff relief to a U.S.
industry to the extent necessary to
remedy or prevent the serious damage
or actual threat thereof and to facilitate
adjustment by the domestic industry to
import competition. Such relief may
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consist of an increase in duties to the
lower of: (1) The NTR/MFN duty rate in
place for the textile or apparel article at
the time the relief is granted; or (2) the
NTR/MFN duty rate for that article on
the day before the Agreement enters into
force.
The import tariff relief is effective
beginning on the date that the
Committee’s affirmative determination
is published in the Federal Register.
The maximum period of import tariff
relief shall be three years. However, if
the initial period for import relief is less
than three years, the Committee may
extend the period of import relief to the
maximum three years if the Committee
determines that the continuation is
necessary to remedy or prevent serious
damage or actual threat thereof and to
facilitate adjustment, and that there is
evidence that the domestic industry is
making a positive adjustment to import
competition. Import tariff relief may not
be imposed for an aggregate period
greater than three years. Import tariff
relief may not be applied to the same
article under these procedures if relief
previously has been granted with
respect to that article under: (1) These
provisions; or (2) Chapter 1 of Title II of
the Trade Act of 1974.
Authority to provide import tariff
relief for a textile or apparel article from
Oman that is being imported into the
United States in such increased
quantities, in absolute terms or relative
to the domestic market for that article,
and under such conditions as to cause
serious damage or actual threat thereof
to a U.S. industry producing a like or
directly competitive article, will expire
ten years after duties on the article are
eliminated pursuant to this Agreement.
4. Self Initiation. The Committee may,
on its own initiative, consider whether
imports of a textile or apparel article
from Oman are being imported into the
United States in such increased
quantities, in absolute terms or relative
to the domestic market for that article,
and under such conditions as to cause
serious damage or actual threat thereof
to a U.S. industry producing a like or
directly competitive article. In such
considerations, the Committee will
follow procedures consistent with those
set forth in section 2 of this notice,
including causing to be published in the
Federal Register a notice seeking public
comment regarding the action it is
considering.
5. Record Keeping and Business
Confidential Information. OTEXA will
maintain an official record for each
request on behalf of the Committee. The
official record will include all factual
information, written argument, or other
material developed by, presented to, or
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obtained by OTEXA regarding the
request, as well as other material
provided to the Department of
Commerce by other government
agencies for inclusion in the official
record. The official record will include
Committee memoranda pertaining to the
request, memoranda of Committee
meetings, meetings between OTEXA
staff and the public, determinations, and
notices published in the Federal
Register. The official record will contain
material which is public, business
confidential, privileged, and classified,
but will not include pre-decisional
inter-agency or intra-agency
communications. If the Committee
decides it is appropriate to consider
materials submitted in an untimely
manner, such materials will be
maintained in the official record.
Otherwise, such material will be
returned to the submitter and will not
be maintained as part of the official
record. OTEXA will make the official
record public except for business
confidential information, privileged
information, classified information, and
other information the disclosure of
which is prohibited by U.S. law. The
public record will be available to the
public for inspection and copying in a
public reading room located in the
Department of Commerce, Trade
Information Center.
Information designated by the
submitter as business confidential will
normally be considered to be business
confidential unless it is publicly
available. The Committee will protect
from disclosure any business
confidential information that is marked
‘‘business confidential’’ to the full extent
permitted by law. To the extent that
business confidential information is
provided, two copies of a nonconfidential version must also be
provided, in which business
confidential information is summarized
or, if necessary, deleted. The Committee
will make available to the public nonconfidential versions of the request that
is being considered, non-confidential
versions of any public comments
received with respect to a request, and,
in the event consultations are requested,
the statement of the reasons and
justifications for the determination
subsequent to the delivery of the
statement to Oman.
Paperwork Reduction Act: The notice
contains a collection of information
subject to the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’). The
Office of Management and Budget
(‘‘OMB’’) has approved the collection of
information related to procedures for
considering requests from the public for
textile and apparel safeguard actions on
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 98 / Friday, May 21, 2010 / Notices
imports from Oman under control
number 0625–0266. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any
person be subject to a penalty for failure
to comply with, a collection of
information subject to the requirements
of the PRA unless the collection of
information displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
Kim Glas,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation
of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 2010–12285 Filed 5–20–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Aerospace Supplier Mission to Russia
AGENCY: International Trade
Administration, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
Mission Description
The U.S. Department of Commerce,
International Trade Administration,
U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, is
organizing an Aerospace Supplier
Mission to Moscow, October 3–5, 2010
and to Ulyanovsk October 5–7
(returning to Moscow on October 8th for
departure to the United States). This
aerospace mission, to be led by a senior
U.S. Department of Commerce official,
is designed to provide U.S. aerospace
companies (particularly Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises) with a
highly efficient and cost-effective
opportunity to establish profitable
commercial relationships with
prospective agents, distributors and
end-users in Russia’s aerospace market.
Participating U.S. companies will
receive market intelligence briefings by
Russian industry experts, information
on how to do business in Russia,
networking opportunities and most
importantly, pre-scheduled, one-on-one
meetings with Russian aerospace
company representatives. Mission
participants will also benefit from
visiting key local aerospace original
equipment manufacturers and will have
the opportunity to speak with
procurement managers about supply
chain opportunities. This mission is an
ideal opportunity for U.S. aerospace
$ millions
companies to gain valuable
international business experience in a
rapidly growing market. This mission
presents strong potential for success
with the ongoing support of the U.S.
Commercial Service in Russia.
Commercial Setting
With over 140 million consumers, a
growing middle class, and significant
infrastructure needs, Russia remains one
of the most promising markets for U.S.
exporters. In 2009, per capita personal
disposable income ($4,830) and GDP
($15,200) were the highest among the
BRIC countries. Prior to the global
economic crisis, during which 2009
GDP declined 7.9%, Russia had a nineyear run of continuous rapid economic
expansion, with GDP growing
approximately 7% annually. Most
domestic and international experts
believe that Russia emerged from
recession in the third quarter of 2009;
forecasts for 2010 growth in GDP range
from 3.3% to 6.2%. Experts also expect
that market conditions for U.S. and
other exporters will improve as the
recovery picks up speed.
2008
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Total Market Size .........................................................................................................................
Total Local Production .................................................................................................................
Total Exports ................................................................................................................................
Total Imports ................................................................................................................................
Imports from the U.S. ..................................................................................................................
The Russian aviation industry
remains an important strategic industry
and a promising market for foreign
suppliers of aircraft equipment. In 2009,
state financing of the industry increased
twenty-fold as compared with 2004. The
Russian government plays an active role
in supporting the industry. United
Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a statecontrolled corporation established in
2006, spearheads the development of
the national aviation industry.
In 2009, the Russian government
allocated 19.45 billion rubles ($644
million) to the development of the
industry under a federal program. In
addition to traditional types of support,
such as direct contributions to UAC’s
authorized capital and interest rate
subsidies on modernization loans, the
government also extended new
subsidies for loans to support
innovation and investment projects.
This all signals an increased interest by
Russian OEMs and tier suppliers to
consider new procurement, which in
turn opens broad prospects for U.S.
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16:40 May 20, 2010
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suppliers of aircraft systems,
components, machine tools and
materials.
Since the Russian aviation industry
consists of several intertwined
industries (airframe, helicopter, engine
building) and submarkets (OEMs, tier
suppliers, distributors), opportunities
for U.S. suppliers are not limited simply
to a certain type of product, but cut
across a variety of products along the
production chain. These opportunities
range from advanced machine tools and
aviation materials to software, small and
large components and spare parts, and
complete on-board systems.
Mission Goals
The trade mission’s goal is to
introduce U.S. exporters of aerospace
supply chain products to potential endusers and partners, including potential
agents, distributors, and licensees, with
the aim of creating business
partnerships that will contribute to
increasing U.S. exports to the Russian
aerospace market, particularly the
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2009
2,812
3,100
2,326
2,038
513
4,287
3,777
2,288
2,798
597
2010
(estimate)
6,067
4,476
2,250
3,841
694
aircraft and aircraft parts market. The
trade mission’s purpose is to advance
ITA’s goal to broaden and deepen the
U.S. exporter base by providing
individual participants with
opportunities to achieve aerospace
export success in Russia.
Mission Scenario
Participants in the mission to Russia
will benefit from a full range of business
facilitation and trade promotion services
provided by the U.S. Commercial
Service in Russia, including: Meetings
with individuals from both the public
sector and private business. Participants
will receive a briefing by Russian
experts on the local aerospace market,
as well as an overview of the country’s
economic and political environment
and how to do business in the complex
Russian market. The mission will
include one-to-one business meetings
between U.S. participants and potential
Russian end-users and partners, and site
visits to aircraft manufacturing facilities
and aerospace original aerospace
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28544-28547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12285]
[[Page 28544]]
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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS
Procedures for Considering Requests From the Public for Textile
and Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports From Oman
May 17, 2010.
AGENCY: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the
``Committee'').
ACTION: Notice of procedures.
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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the procedures the Committee will
follow in considering requests from the public for textile and apparel
safeguard actions as provided for in title III, subtitle B, section 321
through section 328 of the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act.
DATES: Effective Date: May 21, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Requests must be submitted to: Chairman, Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room H3100, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria D'Andrea, Office of Textiles and
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-1550.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title III, subtitle B, section 321 through section 328 of the
United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the
``Act'') implements the textile and apparel safeguard provisions,
provided for in Article 3.1 of the United States-Oman Free Trade
Agreement (the ``Agreement''). The safeguard mechanism applies when, as
a result of the elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement, an
Omani textile or apparel article is being imported into the United
States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to
the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to
cause serious damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry
producing a like or directly competitive article. In these
circumstances, Article 3.1 permits the United States to increase duties
on the imported article from Oman to a level that does not exceed the
lesser of the prevailing U.S. normal trade relations (``NTR'')/most-
favored-nation (``MFN'') duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/MFN
duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement enters into force.
In Presidential Proclamation 8332 of December 29, 2008 (73 FR 80289
(Dec. 31, 2008)), the President delegated to the Committee certain
functions under subtitle B of title III of the Act.
The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that
the Committee determines that an ``Omani textile or apparel article''
as defined in section 301(2) of the Act, is being imported into the
United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or
relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such
conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a
U.S. industry producing an article that is like, or directly
competitive with, the imported article. Consistent with section 323(a)
of the Act, the maximum period of import tariff relief, as set forth in
section 3 of this notice, shall be three years. However, if the initial
period for import tariff relief is less than three years, consistent
with section 323(b) of the Act, the Committee may extend the period of
import relief to the maximum three years if the Committee determines
that the continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage
or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic
industry to import competition, and that the domestic industry is, in
fact, making a positive adjustment to import competition. Import tariff
relief may not be applied to the same article under these procedures if
(1) relief previously has been granted with respect to that article
under these provisions; or (2) the article is subject to relief under
Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974.
Authority to provide import tariff relief with respect to an Omani
textile or apparel article will expire ten years after duties on the
article are eliminated pursuant to the Agreement.
Under Article 3.1.6 of the Agreement, if the United States provides
relief to a domestic industry under the textile and apparel safeguard,
it must provide Oman ``mutually agreed trade liberalizing compensation
in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade
effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to
result from the emergency action.'' Such concessions shall be limited
to textile and apparel products, unless the United States and Oman
agree otherwise. If the United States and Oman are unable to agree on
trade liberalizing compensation, Oman may increase customs duties
equivalently on U.S. products. The obligation to provide compensation
terminates upon termination of the safeguard relief. Section 327 of the
Act extends the President's authority to provide compensation under
section 123 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2133), as amended, to
measures taken pursuant to the Agreement's textile and apparel
safeguard provisions.
In order to facilitate the implementation of Title III, Subtitle B,
section 321 through section 328 of the Act, the Committee has
determined that actions taken under this safeguard fall within the
foreign affairs exception to the rulemaking provision of 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(1). These procedures are not subject to the requirement to
provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment, pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(a)(1) and 553(b)(A).
Procedures for Requesting Textile and Apparel Safeguard Actions
1. Requirements for Requests. Pursuant to section 321(a) of the Act
and section 7 of Presidential Proclamation 8332 of December 29, 2008,
an interested party may file a request for a textile and apparel
safeguard action with the Committee. The Committee will review requests
from the interested party sent to the Chairman, Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3100, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Ten
copies of any such request must be provided. As provided in section 328
of the Act, the Committee will protect from disclosure any business
confidential information that is marked ``business confidential'' to
the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that business
confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-confidential
version must also be provided, in which business confidential
information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At the conclusion
of the request, an interested party must attest that ``all information
contained in the request is complete and accurate and no false claims,
statements, or representations have been made.'' Consistently with
section 321(a) of the Act, the Committee will review a request
initially to determine whether to commence consideration of the request
on its merits. Within 15 working days of receipt of a request, the
Committee will determine whether the request provides the information
necessary for the Committee to consider the request in light of the
considerations set forth below. If the request does not, the Committee
will promptly notify the requester of the reasons for this
determination and the request will not be considered. However, the
Committee will reevaluate any request that is resubmitted with
additional information.
Consistent with longstanding Committee practice in considering
textile safeguard actions, the Committee will consider an interested
party to be
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an entity (which may be a trade association, firm, certified or
recognized union, or group of workers) that is representative of
either: (A) A domestic producer or producers of an article that is like
or directly competitive with the subject Omani textile or apparel
article; or (B) a domestic producer or producers of a component used in
the production of an article that is like or directly competitive with
the subject Omani textile or apparel article.
A request will only be considered if the request includes the
specific information set forth below in support of a claim that a
textile or apparel article from Oman is being imported into the United
States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to
the domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to
cause serious damage or actual threat thereof, to a U.S. industry
producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the
imported article.
A. Product description. Name and description of the imported
article concerned, including the category or categories or part thereof
of the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category System (see ``Textile
Correlation'' at https://otexa.ita.doc.gov/corr.htm[HJ1]) under which
such article is classified, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States subheading(s) under which such article is classified, and
the name and description of the like or directly competitive domestic
article concerned.
B. Import data. The following data, in quantity by category unit
(see ``Textile Correlation''), on total imports of the subject article
into the United States and imports from Oman into the United States:
* Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for
which such data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the
previous year (e.g. January-March 2010, April-June 2010 and January-
March 2009, April-June 2009).
The data should demonstrate that imports of an Omani origin textile
or apparel article that are like or directly competitive with the
articles produced by the domestic industry concerned are increasing in
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article.
C. Production data. The following data, in quantity by category
unit (see ``Textile Correlation''), on U.S. domestic production of the
like or directly competitive articles of U.S. origin indicating the
nature and extent of the serious damage or actual threat thereof:
* Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for
which such data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the
previous year (e.g. January-March 2010, April-June 2010 and January-
March 2009, April-June 2009).
If the like or directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin does
not correspond to a category or categories of the U.S. Textile and
Apparel Category system for which production data are available from
official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce (see ``U.S.
Imports, Production, Markets, Import Production Ratios and Domestic
Market Shares for Textile and Apparel Product Categories'' at Web site
https://otexa.ita.doc.gov/ipbook.pdf), the requester must provide a
complete listing of all sources from which the data were obtained and
an affirmation that to the best of the requester's knowledge, the data
represent substantially all of the domestic production of the like or
directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin. In such cases, data
should be reported in the first unit of quantity in the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (https://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts)
for the Omani origin textile and/or apparel articles and the like or
directly competitive articles of U.S. origin.
D. Market Share Data. The following data, in quantity by category
unit (see ``Textile Correlation''), on imports from Oman as a
percentage of the domestic market (defined as the sum of domestic
production of the like or directly competitive article and total
imports of the subject article); on total imports as a percentage of
the domestic market; and on domestic production of like or directly
competitive articles as a percentage of the domestic market:
* Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for
which such data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the
previous year (e.g. January-March 2010, April-June 2010 and January-
March 2009, April-June 2009).
E. Additional data showing serious damage or actual threat thereof.
All data available to the requester showing changes in productivity,
utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages, employment,
domestic prices, profits, and investment, and any other information,
relating to the existence of serious damage or actual threat thereof
caused by imports from Oman to the industry producing the like or
directly competitive article that is the subject of the request. To the
extent that such information is not available, the requester should
provide best estimates and the basis therefore:
* Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for
which such data are available;
* Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the
previous year (e.g. January-March 2010, April-June 2010 and January-
March 2009, April-June 2009).
2. Consideration of Requests. Consistent with section 321(b) of the
Act, if the Committee determines that the request provides the
information necessary for it to be considered, the Committee will cause
to be published in the Federal Register a notice seeking public
comments regarding the request, which will include a summary of the
request and the date by which comments must be received. The Federal
Register notice and the request, with the exception of information
marked ``business confidential,'' will be posted by the Department of
Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel (``OTEXA'') on the Internet
(https://otexa.ita.doc.gov). The comment period shall be 30 calendar
days. To the extent business confidential information is provided, a
non-confidential version must also be provided, in which business
confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At
the conclusion of its submission of such public comments, an interested
party must attest that ``all information contained in the request is
complete and accurate and no false claims, statements, or
representations have been made.'' Comments received, with the exception
of information marked ``business confidential,'' will be available in
the Department of Commerce's Trade Information Center for review by the
public. If a comment alleges that there is no serious damage or actual
threat thereof, or that the subject imports are not the cause of the
serious damage or actual threat thereof, the Committee will closely
review any supporting information and documentation, such as
information about domestic production or prices of like or directly
competitive articles. In the case of requests submitted by entities
that are not the actual producers of a like or directly competitive
article, particular consideration will be given to comments
representing the views of actual producers in the United States of a
like or directly competitive article.
[[Page 28546]]
Any interested party may submit information to rebut, clarify, or
correct public comments submitted by any other interested party at any
time prior to the deadline provided in this section for submission of
such public comments. If public comments are submitted less than 10
days before, or on, the applicable deadline for submission of such
public comments, an interested party may submit information to rebut,
clarify, or correct the public comments no later than 10 days after the
applicable deadline for submission of public comments.
With respect to any request considered by the Committee, the
Committee will make a determination within 60 calendar days of the
close of the comment period. If the Committee is unable to make a
determination within 60 calendar days, it will cause to be published in
a notice in the Federal Register, including the date by which it will
make a determination. If the Committee makes a negative determination,
it will cause this determination and the reasons therefore to be
published in the Federal Register.
3. Determination and Provision of Relief. The Committee shall
determine whether, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a
duty under the Agreement, an Omani textile or apparel article is being
imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and
under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat
thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or
directly competitive with, the imported article. In making a
determination, the Committee: (1) Shall examine the effect of increased
imports on the domestic industry as reflected in such relevant economic
factors as output, productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories,
market share, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits, and
investment, none of which is necessarily decisive; and (2) shall not
consider changes in technology or consumer preference as factors
supporting a determination of serious damage or actual threat thereof.
The Committee, without delay, will provide written notice of its
decision to the Government of Oman and will consult with said party
upon its request.
If a determination under this section is affirmative, the Committee
may provide import tariff relief to a U.S. industry to the extent
necessary to remedy or prevent the serious damage or actual threat
thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import
competition. Such relief may consist of an increase in duties to the
lower of: (1) The NTR/MFN duty rate in place for the textile or apparel
article at the time the relief is granted; or (2) the NTR/MFN duty rate
for that article on the day before the Agreement enters into force.
The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that
the Committee's affirmative determination is published in the Federal
Register. The maximum period of import tariff relief shall be three
years. However, if the initial period for import relief is less than
three years, the Committee may extend the period of import relief to
the maximum three years if the Committee determines that the
continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage or actual
threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment, and that there is evidence
that the domestic industry is making a positive adjustment to import
competition. Import tariff relief may not be imposed for an aggregate
period greater than three years. Import tariff relief may not be
applied to the same article under these procedures if relief previously
has been granted with respect to that article under: (1) These
provisions; or (2) Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974.
Authority to provide import tariff relief for a textile or apparel
article from Oman that is being imported into the United States in such
increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic
market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause serious
damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or
directly competitive article, will expire ten years after duties on the
article are eliminated pursuant to this Agreement.
4. Self Initiation. The Committee may, on its own initiative,
consider whether imports of a textile or apparel article from Oman are
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and
under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat
thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive
article. In such considerations, the Committee will follow procedures
consistent with those set forth in section 2 of this notice, including
causing to be published in the Federal Register a notice seeking public
comment regarding the action it is considering.
5. Record Keeping and Business Confidential Information. OTEXA will
maintain an official record for each request on behalf of the
Committee. The official record will include all factual information,
written argument, or other material developed by, presented to, or
obtained by OTEXA regarding the request, as well as other material
provided to the Department of Commerce by other government agencies for
inclusion in the official record. The official record will include
Committee memoranda pertaining to the request, memoranda of Committee
meetings, meetings between OTEXA staff and the public, determinations,
and notices published in the Federal Register. The official record will
contain material which is public, business confidential, privileged,
and classified, but will not include pre-decisional inter-agency or
intra-agency communications. If the Committee decides it is appropriate
to consider materials submitted in an untimely manner, such materials
will be maintained in the official record. Otherwise, such material
will be returned to the submitter and will not be maintained as part of
the official record. OTEXA will make the official record public except
for business confidential information, privileged information,
classified information, and other information the disclosure of which
is prohibited by U.S. law. The public record will be available to the
public for inspection and copying in a public reading room located in
the Department of Commerce, Trade Information Center.
Information designated by the submitter as business confidential
will normally be considered to be business confidential unless it is
publicly available. The Committee will protect from disclosure any
business confidential information that is marked ``business
confidential'' to the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that
business confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-
confidential version must also be provided, in which business
confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. The
Committee will make available to the public non-confidential versions
of the request that is being considered, non-confidential versions of
any public comments received with respect to a request, and, in the
event consultations are requested, the statement of the reasons and
justifications for the determination subsequent to the delivery of the
statement to Oman.
Paperwork Reduction Act: The notice contains a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act
(``PRA''). The Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') has approved
the collection of information related to procedures for considering
requests from the public for textile and apparel safeguard actions on
[[Page 28547]]
imports from Oman under control number 0625-0266. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall
any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a
collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Kim Glas,
Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.
[FR Doc. 2010-12285 Filed 5-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
