Modification to Content Published by Import Administration in the Federal Register, 25405-25406 [2012-10354]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 83 (Monday, April 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25405-25406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10354]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Modification to Content Published by Import Administration in the 
Federal Register

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

SUMMARY: Due to the mounting costs of publishing notices in the Federal 
Register and widespread access to the internet, Import Administration 
intends to modify the manner in which its determinations in antidumping 
and countervailing duty proceedings are made available to the public. 
The content of many of Import Administration's Federal Register notices 
will be reduced, with much of the information previously included in 
our Federal Register notices being made available to the public in 
separate memoranda published on Import Administration's Web site. 
Extension notices for preliminary and final results of reviews and 
certain other notices will no longer be published in the Federal 
Register.

DATES:  Effective Date: April 30, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dustin Ross, AD/CVD Operations, Office 
1, Import Administration, or Shana Hofstetter, Office of Chief Counsel 
for Import Administration, U.S. Department

[[Page 25406]]

of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-0747 and (202) 482-3414, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Pursuant to sections 703(c)(2), 733(c)(3), 751(a)(1), 751(b)(1), 
751(c)(2), and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended (``the 
Act''), Import Administration (IA) is required to publish certain 
notices in the Federal Register (FR). Following review of the 
requirements of the Act and our regulations, we have identified ways to 
shorten the length of many of our FR publications while also making 
available to the public and interested parties all pertinent 
information regarding our decisions. In addition, as neither the Act 
nor the Department of Commerce (``Department'') regulations require 
publication of extension notices for the preliminary and final results 
of reviews conducted under section 751 of the Act, we will no longer 
publish such notices. Further, IA will cease publishing a list of 
pending scope decisions in its quarterly scope ruling publication and 
will cease publishing an Advance Notification of Sunset Reviews when no 
such review is scheduled for initiation the following month.
    These modifications are in line with the modification IA adopted in 
2000, when it reduced the size of FR notices for final determinations 
and results of review by developing Issues and Decision Memoranda that 
now regularly accompany FR notices. See Notice of Reduction in the Size 
of Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Federal Register Notices, 65 FR 3654 
(January 24, 2000). The proven success of that modification, and the 
fact that interested parties now accept that as the standard for the 
final determinations and results of review, inform the decision to 
adopt these changes.
    Outside parties and the public at large will continue to have 
access to all significant information that historically has been 
included in our FR notices. With the exception of the Advance 
Notification of Sunset Reviews, when no such review is scheduled for 
initiation the following month, and pending scope determinations, the 
information that we are henceforth omitting from the FR notices will be 
transferred to other memoranda, included in disclosure packages, and 
published on IA's Web site.

Modifications

    IA has determined that it will no longer publish extension notices 
for preliminary and final results of reviews, as there are no statutory 
or regulatory requirements for doing so and the financial burden 
outweighs the benefits associated with their publication. Rather, the 
Department will place a memorandum extending the deadline on the 
official case file which, when the service becomes available, will be 
accessible to parties on IA ACCESS, at https://iaaccess.trade.gov. In 
addition, parties and the public will be informed of upcoming deadlines 
and any extensions associated with these deadlines in a calendar 
published on IA's Web site.
    IA will cease publishing our notices of Advance Notification of 
Sunset Review when no such reviews are scheduled for initiation in the 
following month. IA has also determined to cease publishing a list of 
pending scope inquiries in its quarterly publication of scope 
decisions.
    All other notices will continue to be published in the FR, in a 
modified and condensed format. IA will continue to include in its 
published notices fundamental case information (e.g., segment of 
proceeding, an abbreviated scope description, period of review, summary 
of findings, summary of methodology, names of exporters/producers 
subject to the proceeding, margins calculated, notification of 
disclosure and public comment, notifications of assessment and cash 
deposit instructions, and a reminder of any deadlines associated with 
the notice's publication) in accordance with the requirements of the 
Act. For preliminary and final determinations of investigations, and 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders, IA will include the entire 
scope discussion in the FR, and not an abbreviated format. Abbreviated 
scope descriptions in other notices will provide a reference to the 
location of the full scope description. All other information will be 
transferred to separate memoranda. For example, for preliminary results 
of an administrative review, IA will issue a memorandum to accompany 
the FR notice, which will include the complete, detailed discussion of 
our margin calculation methodology, significant case issues, and 
background/history of the order. The memorandum will be a public 
document released to interested parties and published on IA's Web site. 
External services, such as Lexis and Westlaw, may also make the 
memorandum available to their clients in an electronically searchable 
format. In the coming months, IA will create such memoranda for most 
notices that will continue to be published in the FR and identify the 
content that will remain in the FR notices and the content that will be 
included in the separate memorandum.

Implementation

    The modifications described in this notice will be incrementally 
implemented. Beginning May 15, 2012, IA will no longer publish 
extension notices in the FR. Rather, these extensions will be published 
in calendar form on the IA Web site, available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/. On that date, IA will stop publishing Advance 
Notification of Sunset Reviews when no such review is scheduled for 
initiation the following month. The next quarterly scope decision will 
no longer contain a list of pending scope decisions. Beginning 
September 1, 2012, abbreviated notices for all preliminary 
determinations and preliminary results of review will be published in 
the FR, while the memorandum accompanying each notice that includes the 
background, methodology, and additional content will be adopted through 
the notice's publication and posted on the IA Web site, available at 
https://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/ext/.
    Finally, we anticipate that other IA notices will be published in 
abbreviated format in the near future, following implementation of the 
changes discussed in this notice.

    Dated: April 23, 2012.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-10354 Filed 4-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P