Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment, 66584-66585 [2012-26947]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 215 / Tuesday, November 6, 2012 / Notices
sector; they are, therefore, not Special
Government Employees. Each member
of the CINTAC must be a U.S. citizen,
and must not be registered as a foreign
agent under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act. No member shall
represent a company that is majority
owned or controlled by a foreign
government entity or entities.
Members shall serve at the pleasure of
the Secretary from the date of
appointment to the Committee to the
date on which the Committee’s charter
terminates. The Secretary shall
designate the CINTAC Chair and Vice
Chair. The Chair and Vice Chair shall
serve in those positions at the pleasure
of the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary
of Commerce for Manufacturing and
Services shall designate a Designated
Federal Officer (DFO) from among the
employees of the Office of Energy and
Environmental Industries. The
Committee meets approximately four
times a year, usually in Washington,
D.C.
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III. Compensation
Members of the CINTAC will not be
compensated for their services or
reimbursed for their travel expenses.
15:06 Nov 05, 2012
Jkt 229001
Dated: October 31, 2012.
Edward A. O’Malley,
Director, Office of Energy and Environmental
Industries.
[FR Doc. 2012–26998 Filed 11–5–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
IV. Nominations
The Secretary of Commerce invites
nominations to the CINTAC for the
charter term consistent with the above
membership requirements. Selfnominations will be accepted. If you are
interested in nominating someone to
become a member of the CINTAC,
please provide the following
information (2 pages maximum):
(1) Name;
(2) Title;
(3) Work phone, fax, and, email
address;
(4) Company or trade association
name and address including Web site
address;
(5) Short biography of nominee
including credentials;
(6) Brief description of the company
or trade association and its business
activities, company size (number of
employees and annual sales), and export
markets served; and,
(7) An affirmative statement that the
applicant and entity to be represented
meet all eligibility criteria, specifically
addressing that the applicant:
(a) Is a U.S. citizen;
(b) Is not required to register as a
foreign agent under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act of 1938, as amended;
and,
(c) Is not a federally-registered
lobbyist, and that the applicant
understands that if appointed, the
applicant will not be allowed to
VerDate Mar<15>2010
continue to serve as a CINTAC member
if the applicant becomes a federallyregistered lobbyist.
Please do not send company or trade
association brochures or any other
information.
All nominations should be submitted
in pdf or MS Word format via email to
David.Kincaid@trade.gov, via FAX to
202–482–5665, or via mail to David
Kincaid, Office of Energy &
Environmental Industries, Room 4053,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230.
Nominations for immediate
consideration must be received by close
of business December 7, 2012.
Nominees selected for appointment to
CINTAC will be notified by return mail.
Subsidy Programs Provided by
Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber
and Softwood Lumber Products to the
United States; Request for Comment
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Department) seeks public comment on
any subsidies, including stumpage
subsidies, provided by certain countries
exporting softwood lumber or softwood
lumber products to the United States
during the period January 1 through
June 30, 2012.
DATES: Comments must be submitted
within thirty days after publication of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: See the Submission of
Comments section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Terpstra, Import Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202)
482–3965.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
Background
On June 18, 2008, section 805 of Title
VIII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (the
Softwood Lumber Act of 2008) was
enacted into law. Under this provision,
the Secretary of Commerce is mandated
to submit to the appropriate
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Congressional committees a report every
180 days on any subsidy provided by
countries exporting softwood lumber or
softwood lumber products to the United
States, including stumpage subsidies.
The Department submitted its last
subsidy report on June 15, 2012. As part
of its newest report, the Department
intends to include a list of subsidy
programs identified with sufficient
clarity by the public in response to this
notice.
Request for Comments
Given the large number of countries
that export softwood lumber and
softwood lumber products to the United
States, we are soliciting public comment
only on subsidies provided by countries
whose exports accounted for at least one
percent of total U.S. imports of softwood
lumber by quantity, as classified under
Harmonized Tariff Schedule code
4407.1001 (which accounts for the vast
majority of imports), during the period
January 1 through June 30, 2012.
Official U.S. import data published by
the United States International Trade
Commission Tariff and Trade DataWeb
indicate that only one country, Canada,
exported softwood lumber to the United
States during that time period in
amounts sufficient to account for at least
one percent of U.S. imports of softwood
lumber products. We intend to rely on
similar previous six-month periods to
identify the countries subject to future
reports on softwood lumber subsidies.
For example, we will rely on U.S.
imports of softwood lumber and
softwood lumber products during the
period July 1 through December, 2012,
to select the countries subject to the
next report.
Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists
where a government authority: (i)
Provides a financial contribution; (ii)
provides any form of income or price
support within the meaning of Article
XVI of the GATT 1994; or (iii) makes a
payment to a funding mechanism to
provide a financial contribution to a
person, or entrusts or directs a private
entity to make a financial contribution,
if providing the contribution would
normally be vested in the government
and the practice does not differ in
substance from practices normally
followed by governments, and a benefit
is thereby conferred. See section
771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended.
Parties should include in their
comments: (1) The country which
provided the subsidy; (2) the name of
the subsidy program; (3) a brief
description (at least 3–4 sentences) of
the subsidy program; and (4) the
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 215 / Tuesday, November 6, 2012 / Notices
government body or authority that
provided the subsidy.
Submission of Comments
Persons wishing to comment should
file comments by the date specified
above. Comments should only include
publicly available information. The
Department will not accept comments
accompanied by a request that a part or
all of the material be treated
confidentially due to business
proprietary concerns or for any other
reason. The Department will return such
comments or materials to the persons
submitting the comments and will not
include them in its report on softwood
lumber subsidies. The Department
requests submission of comments filed
in electronic Portable Document Format
(PDF) submitted on CD–ROM or by
email to the email address of the IA
Webmaster, below.
The comments received will be made
available to the public in PDF on the
Import Administration Web site at the
following address: https://ia.ita.doc.gov/
public-comments.html. Any questions
concerning file formatting, access on the
Internet, or other electronic filing issues
should be addressed to Andrew Lee
Beller, Import Administration
Webmaster, at (202) 482–0866, email
address: webmaster_support@trade.gov.
All comments and submissions in
response to this Request for Comment
should be received by the Department
no later than 5 p.m., on the abovereferenced deadline date.
Dated: October 26, 2012.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012–26947 Filed 11–5–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XC304
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act Provisions; General
Provisions for Domestic Fisheries;
Application for Exempted Fishing
Permits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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AGENCY:
The Assistant Regional
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,
Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant
Regional Administrator), has made a
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:06 Nov 05, 2012
Jkt 229001
preliminary determination that an
Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)
application contains all of the required
information and warrants further
consideration. This EFP application
would exempt 11 commercial fishing
vessels from the following Federal
American lobster regulations: (1) Gear
specifications, including escape vents;
(2) trap limits; and (3) trap tag
requirements. In order to understand
patterns of larval dispersal and
settlement in the offshore Lobster
Management Area 3 (Area 3), 11
federally permitted vessels would
utilize a maximum combined total of 50
modified lobster traps to target juvenile
American lobsters.
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of
this notification to provide interested
parties the opportunity to comment on
applications for proposed EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before November 21, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice
may be submitted by email. The
mailbox address for providing email
comments is NERO.EFP@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments
on AOLA Lobster EFP.’’ Written
comments should be sent to: John
Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
NE Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on
AOLA Lobster EFP.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maria Jacob, Environmental Technician,
978–281–9180, Maria.Jacob@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
proposed project would be conducted
by the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s
Association (AOLA) in conjunction with
scientists and the fishing industry.
AOLA submitted a complete application
for an EFP on September 28, 2012, to
conduct commercial fishing activities
that the regulations would otherwise
restrict. This EFP application would
exempt 11 commercial fishing vessels
from the following Federal regulations:
Gear specifications (including escape
vents) specified under § 697.21(c); trap
limits specified under § 697.19(b)(5);
and trap tags specified under § 697.19(f).
The EFP would authorize 11 federally
permitted vessels to be exempted from
parts of the Federal lobster regulations
to allow the participating vessels to fish
modified lobster traps, exceed trap
limits, and deploy the modified traps
without trap tags to analyze the extent
to which young lobsters are present in
the offshore Area 3. Some scientists
believe that the lobster larvae will only
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66585
survive in the inshore fishery due to the
depths and available light, and that
there are no small lobsters offshore;
however, data resulting from this project
are intended to determine whether there
are new lobster nursery grounds
offshore.
The modified gear may include
smaller wire mesh sizes, modified
entrance heads/rings, and closed escape
vents. The deployment of the
experimental traps throughout Area 3
(statistical areas 464, 465, 561, 562, 525,
526, 537, 613, 616, and 626) would
begin shortly after the issuance of the
EFP and is expected to continue for 1
year. AOLA would submit progress
reports twice a year to cover the first
and second half of the 12-month study
period. The exact specification for the
chosen design would be provided in the
first progress report. Participating
vessels would use the experimental
lobster traps as part of a commercial
lobster trap trawl deployed under
routine industry conditions, by adding
up to three of the modified traps to the
trap trawl. Under these exemptions,
each vessel would be allowed to fish up
to 10 traps in excess of its Federal trap
allocation, for no more than 50 modified
traps in the water at any given time.
Modified traps would remain in the
water for up to 12 consecutive months
(365 days), being hauled weekly
following the normal fishing schedule of
the participating vessels. The gear
would be compliant with the Atlantic
Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.
The research activities occurring in
Area 3 are not anticipated to have any
more environmental impacts than those
already occurring as part of a
commercial lobster trap trawl deployed
under usual industry conditions.
Impacts to the lobster resource would be
negligible given the limited scope of the
exempted activity. Given the small
mesh and entrance heads, the modified
gear is not expected to catch legal
lobsters. Any sublegal lobsters caught
would briefly be retained onboard only
for the purposes of recording their size,
sex, egg stage of female lobsters, and
presence of shell disease, before being
promptly released back into the ocean.
There should be minimal impact to
bycatch species due to the use of small
mesh and small entrance heads and, in
addition, all bycatch species hauled
from modified gear would be returned
promptly to the ocean. Likewise, there
would not be significant impacts on
benthic habitats, given that 50
additional traps is negligible in
comparison to the number of traps
deployed by the lobster commercial
fishery at large.
E:\FR\FM\06NON1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66584-66585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26947]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Subsidy Programs Provided by Countries Exporting Softwood Lumber
and Softwood Lumber Products to the United States; Request for Comment
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) seeks public comment
on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by certain
countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the
United States during the period January 1 through June 30, 2012.
DATES: Comments must be submitted within thirty days after publication
of this notice.
ADDRESSES: See the Submission of Comments section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Terpstra, Import Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3965.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 18, 2008, section 805 of Title VIII of the Tariff Act of
1930 (the Softwood Lumber Act of 2008) was enacted into law. Under this
provision, the Secretary of Commerce is mandated to submit to the
appropriate Congressional committees a report every 180 days on any
subsidy provided by countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood
lumber products to the United States, including stumpage subsidies.
The Department submitted its last subsidy report on June 15, 2012.
As part of its newest report, the Department intends to include a list
of subsidy programs identified with sufficient clarity by the public in
response to this notice.
Request for Comments
Given the large number of countries that export softwood lumber and
softwood lumber products to the United States, we are soliciting public
comment only on subsidies provided by countries whose exports accounted
for at least one percent of total U.S. imports of softwood lumber by
quantity, as classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule code 4407.1001
(which accounts for the vast majority of imports), during the period
January 1 through June 30, 2012. Official U.S. import data published by
the United States International Trade Commission Tariff and Trade
DataWeb indicate that only one country, Canada, exported softwood
lumber to the United States during that time period in amounts
sufficient to account for at least one percent of U.S. imports of
softwood lumber products. We intend to rely on similar previous six-
month periods to identify the countries subject to future reports on
softwood lumber subsidies. For example, we will rely on U.S. imports of
softwood lumber and softwood lumber products during the period July 1
through December, 2012, to select the countries subject to the next
report.
Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy exists where a government
authority: (i) Provides a financial contribution; (ii) provides any
form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of
the GATT 1994; or (iii) makes a payment to a funding mechanism to
provide a financial contribution to a person, or entrusts or directs a
private entity to make a financial contribution, if providing the
contribution would normally be vested in the government and the
practice does not differ in substance from practices normally followed
by governments, and a benefit is thereby conferred. See section
771(5)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
Parties should include in their comments: (1) The country which
provided the subsidy; (2) the name of the subsidy program; (3) a brief
description (at least 3-4 sentences) of the subsidy program; and (4)
the
[[Page 66585]]
government body or authority that provided the subsidy.
Submission of Comments
Persons wishing to comment should file comments by the date
specified above. Comments should only include publicly available
information. The Department will not accept comments accompanied by a
request that a part or all of the material be treated confidentially
due to business proprietary concerns or for any other reason. The
Department will return such comments or materials to the persons
submitting the comments and will not include them in its report on
softwood lumber subsidies. The Department requests submission of
comments filed in electronic Portable Document Format (PDF) submitted
on CD-ROM or by email to the email address of the IA Webmaster, below.
The comments received will be made available to the public in PDF
on the Import Administration Web site at the following address: https://ia.ita.doc.gov/public-comments.html. Any questions concerning file
formatting, access on the Internet, or other electronic filing issues
should be addressed to Andrew Lee Beller, Import Administration
Webmaster, at (202) 482-0866, email address: webmaster_support@trade.gov.
All comments and submissions in response to this Request for
Comment should be received by the Department no later than 5 p.m., on
the above-referenced deadline date.
Dated: October 26, 2012.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-26947 Filed 11-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
