Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Interim Procedures for Considering Requests Under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (U.S.-Panama TPA), 75147-75148 [2012-30555]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2012 / Notices
notice. The Department requires that all
comments be submitted in written form.
The Department encourages interested
persons who wish to comment to do so
at the earliest possible time. The period
for submission of comments will close
on January 18, 2013. The Department
will consider all comments received
before the close of the comment period.
Comments received after the end of the
comment period will be considered if
possible, but their consideration cannot
be assured. The Department will not
accept comments accompanied by a
request that a part or all of the material
be treated confidentially because of its
business proprietary nature or for any
other reason. The Department will
return such comments and materials to
the persons submitting the comments
and will not consider them. All
comments submitted in response to this
notice will be a matter of public record
and will be available for public
inspection and copying.
The Office of Administration, Bureau
of Industry and Security, U.S.
Department of Commerce, displays
public comments on the BIS Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) Web site at
https://www.bis.doc.gov/foia. This office
does not maintain a separate public
inspection facility. If you have technical
difficulties accessing this Web site,
please call BIS’s Office of
Administration, at (202) 482–1093, for
assistance.
Dated: December 12, 2012.
Kevin J. Wolf,
Assistant Secretary for Export
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012–30480 Filed 12–18–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Interim Procedures
for Considering Requests Under the
Commercial Availability Provision of
the United States-Panama Trade
Promotion Agreement (U.S.-Panama
TPA)
International Trade
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
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Jkt 229001
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before February 19,
2013.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6616,
14th and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at JJessup@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Laurie Mease, Office of
Textiles and Apparel, Telephone: 202–
482–3400, Fax: 202–482–0858, Email:
Laurie.Mease@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Title II, Section 203(o) of the United
States-Panama Trade Promotion
Agreement Implementation Act (the
‘‘Act’’) [Pub. L. 112–43] implements the
commercial availability provision
provided for in Article 3.25 of the
United States-Panama Trade Promotion
Agreement (the ‘‘Agreement’’). The
Agreement entered into force on
October 31, 2012. Subject to the rules of
origin in Annex 4.1 of the Agreement,
pursuant to the textile provisions of the
Agreement, fabric, yarn, and fiber
produced in Panama or the United
States and traded between the two
countries are entitled to duty-free tariff
treatment. Annex 3.25 of the Agreement
also lists specific fabrics, yarns, and
fibers that the two countries agreed are
not available in commercial quantities
in a timely manner from producers in
Panama or the United States. The fabrics
listed are commercially unavailable
fabrics, yarns, and fibers, which are also
entitled to duty-free treatment despite
not being produced in Panama or the
United States.
The list of commercially unavailable
fabrics, yarns, and fibers may be
changed pursuant to the commercial
availability provision in Chapter 3,
Article 3.25, Paragraphs 4–6 of the
Agreement. Under this provision,
interested entities from Panama or the
United States have the right to request
that a specific fabric, yarn, or fiber be
added to, or removed from, the list of
commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns,
and fibers in Annex 3.25 of the
Agreement.
Chapter 3, Article 3.25, paragraph 6 of
the Agreement requires that the
President ‘‘promptly’’ publish
procedures for parties to exercise the
right to make these requests. Section
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
75147
203(o)(4) of the Act authorizes the
President to establish procedures to
modify the list of fabrics, yarns, or fibers
not available in commercial quantities
in a timely manner in either the United
States or Panama as set out in Annex
3.25 of the Agreement. The President
delegated the responsibility for
publishing the procedures and
administering commercial availability
requests to the Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements
(‘‘CITA’’), which issues procedures and
acts on requests through the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Office of
Textiles and Apparel (‘‘OTEXA’’) (See
Proclamation No. 8894, 77 FR 66507,
November 5, 2012).
The intent of the U.S.-Panama TPA
Commercial Availability Procedures is
to foster the use of U.S. and regional
products by implementing procedures
that allow products to be placed on or
removed from a product list, on a timely
basis, and in a manner that is consistent
with normal business practice. The
procedures are intended to facilitate the
transmission of requests; allow the
market to indicate the availability of the
supply of products that are the subject
of requests; make available promptly, to
interested entities and the public,
information regarding the requests for
products and offers received for those
products; ensure wide participation by
interested entities and parties; allow for
careful review and consideration of
information provided to substantiate
requests, responses, and rebuttals; and
provide timely public dissemination of
information used by CITA in making
commercial availability determinations.
CITA must collect certain information
about fabric, yarn, or fiber technical
specifications and the production
capabilities of Panamanian and U.S.
textile producers to determine whether
certain fabrics, yarns, or fibers are
available in commercial quantities in a
timely manner in the United States or
Panama, subject to Section 203(o) of the
Act.
II. Method of Collection
Participants in a commercial
availability proceeding must submit
public versions of their Requests,
Responses or Rebuttals electronically
(via email) for posting on OTEXA’s Web
site. Confidential versions of those
submissions which contain business
confidential information must be
delivered in hard copy to OTEXA.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(new information collection).
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75148
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2012 / Notices
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
16.
Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours
per Request, 2 hours per Response, and
1 hour per Rebuttal.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 89.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $5,340.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: December 14, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012–30555 Filed 12–18–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Limitation of Duty-Free Imports of
Apparel Articles Assembled in Haiti
Under the Haitian Hemispheric
Opportunity Through Partnership for
Encouragement Act (HOPE)
International Trade
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of annual
quantitative limit on certain apparel
under HOPE.
AGENCY:
DATES:
Effective Date: December 20,
2012.
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maria Dybczak, International Trade
Specialist, Office of Textiles and
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce,
(202) 482–3651.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HOPE
provides for duty-free treatment for
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Jkt 229001
certain apparel articles imported
directly from Haiti. Section
213A(b)(1)(B) of HOPE outlines the
requirements for certain apparel articles
to qualify for duty-free treatment under
a ‘‘value-added’’ program. In order to
qualify for duty-free treatment, apparel
articles must be wholly assembled, or
knit-to-shape, in Haiti from any
combination of fabrics, fabric
components, components knit-to-shape,
and yarns, as long as the sum of the cost
or value of materials produced in Haiti
or one or more countries, as described
in HOPE, or any combination thereof,
plus the direct costs of processing
operations performed in Haiti or one or
more countries, as described in HOPE,
or any combination thereof, is not less
than an applicable percentage of the
declared customs value of such apparel
articles. Pursuant to HELP, the
applicable percentage for the period
December 20, 2012 through December
19, 2013, is 50 percent or more.
For every twelve-month period
following the effective date of HOPE,
duty-free treatment under the valueadded program is subject to a
quantitative limitation. HOPE provides
that the quantitative limitation will be
recalculated for each subsequent 12month period. Section 213A (b)(1)(C) of
HOPE, as amended by Title V of the Tax
Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 and
the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act
of 2008 (HOPE II) and Haiti Economic
Lift Program Act of 2010 (HELP),
requires that, for the twelve-month
period beginning on December 20, 2012,
the quantitative limitation for qualifying
apparel imported from Haiti under the
value-added program will be an amount
equivalent to 1.25 percent of the
aggregate square meter equivalent of all
apparel articles imported into the
United States in the most recent 12month period for which data are
available. The aggregate square meters
equivalent of all apparel articles
imported into the United States is
derived from the set of Harmonized
System lines listed in the Annex to the
World Trade Organization Agreement
on Textiles and Clothing (‘‘ATC’’), and
the conversion factors for units of
measure into square meter equivalents
used by the United States in
implementing the ATC. For purposes of
this notice, the most recent 12-month
period for which data are available as of
December 20, 2012 is the 12-month
period ending on October 31, 2012.
Therefore, for the one-year period
beginning on December 20, 2012 and
extending through December 19, 2013,
the quantity of imports eligible for
preferential treatment under the valueadded program is 306,742,329 square
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
meters equivalent. Apparel articles
entered in excess of these quantities will
be subject to otherwise applicable
tariffs.
Authority: The Caribbean Basin Recovery
Act (CBERA), as amended by the Haitian
Hemispheric Opportunity Through
Partnership for Encouragement Act of 2006
(HOPE), Title V of the Tax Relief and Health
Care Act of 2006 and the Food, Conservation,
and Energy Act of 2008 (HOPE II); the Haiti
Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (HELP);
and implemented by Presidential
Proclamations No. 8114, 72 FR 13655, 13659
(March 22, 2007), and No. 8596, 75 FR 68,153
(November 4, 2010).
Dated: December 11, 2012.
Janet E. Heinzen,
Acting, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Textiles and Apparel.
[FR Doc. 2012–30341 Filed 12–18–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Applications for United
States Travel and Tourism Advisory
Board
International Trade
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of an opportunity to
apply for membership on the United
States Travel and Tourism Advisory
Board.
AGENCY:
The Department of Commerce
is currently seeking applications for four
memberships on the United States
Travel and Tourism Advisory Board
(Board). The purpose of the Board is to
advise the Secretary of Commerce on
matters relating to the travel and
tourism industry.
DATES: All applications for immediate
consideration for appointment must be
received by the Office of Advisory
Committees by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time (EST) on December 28, 2012. After
that date, the Department will continue
to accept applications under this notice
through August 30, 2013 to fill any
vacancies that may arise.
ADDRESSES: Please submit application
information by mail to Jennifer Pilat,
Office of Advisory Committees, U.S.
Travel and Tourism Advisory Board
Executive Secretariat, U.S. Department
of Commerce, Room 4043, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20230 or via email to
oacie@trade.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Pilat, U.S. Travel and Tourism
Advisory Board Executive Secretariat,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM
19DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75147-75148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30555]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Interim
Procedures for Considering Requests Under the Commercial Availability
Provision of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (U.S.-
Panama TPA)
AGENCY: International Trade Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 19,
2013.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet
at JJessup@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should
be directed to Laurie Mease, Office of Textiles and Apparel, Telephone:
202-482-3400, Fax: 202-482-0858, Email: Laurie.Mease@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Title II, Section 203(o) of the United States-Panama Trade
Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (the ``Act'') [Pub. L. 112-43]
implements the commercial availability provision provided for in
Article 3.25 of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (the
``Agreement''). The Agreement entered into force on October 31, 2012.
Subject to the rules of origin in Annex 4.1 of the Agreement, pursuant
to the textile provisions of the Agreement, fabric, yarn, and fiber
produced in Panama or the United States and traded between the two
countries are entitled to duty-free tariff treatment. Annex 3.25 of the
Agreement also lists specific fabrics, yarns, and fibers that the two
countries agreed are not available in commercial quantities in a timely
manner from producers in Panama or the United States. The fabrics
listed are commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns, and fibers, which
are also entitled to duty-free treatment despite not being produced in
Panama or the United States.
The list of commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns, and fibers may
be changed pursuant to the commercial availability provision in Chapter
3, Article 3.25, Paragraphs 4-6 of the Agreement. Under this provision,
interested entities from Panama or the United States have the right to
request that a specific fabric, yarn, or fiber be added to, or removed
from, the list of commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns, and fibers
in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement.
Chapter 3, Article 3.25, paragraph 6 of the Agreement requires that
the President ``promptly'' publish procedures for parties to exercise
the right to make these requests. Section 203(o)(4) of the Act
authorizes the President to establish procedures to modify the list of
fabrics, yarns, or fibers not available in commercial quantities in a
timely manner in either the United States or Panama as set out in Annex
3.25 of the Agreement. The President delegated the responsibility for
publishing the procedures and administering commercial availability
requests to the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
(``CITA''), which issues procedures and acts on requests through the
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Textiles and Apparel (``OTEXA'')
(See Proclamation No. 8894, 77 FR 66507, November 5, 2012).
The intent of the U.S.-Panama TPA Commercial Availability
Procedures is to foster the use of U.S. and regional products by
implementing procedures that allow products to be placed on or removed
from a product list, on a timely basis, and in a manner that is
consistent with normal business practice. The procedures are intended
to facilitate the transmission of requests; allow the market to
indicate the availability of the supply of products that are the
subject of requests; make available promptly, to interested entities
and the public, information regarding the requests for products and
offers received for those products; ensure wide participation by
interested entities and parties; allow for careful review and
consideration of information provided to substantiate requests,
responses, and rebuttals; and provide timely public dissemination of
information used by CITA in making commercial availability
determinations.
CITA must collect certain information about fabric, yarn, or fiber
technical specifications and the production capabilities of Panamanian
and U.S. textile producers to determine whether certain fabrics, yarns,
or fibers are available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in
the United States or Panama, subject to Section 203(o) of the Act.
II. Method of Collection
Participants in a commercial availability proceeding must submit
public versions of their Requests, Responses or Rebuttals
electronically (via email) for posting on OTEXA's Web site.
Confidential versions of those submissions which contain business
confidential information must be delivered in hard copy to OTEXA.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (new information collection).
[[Page 75148]]
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 16.
Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours per Request, 2 hours per
Response, and 1 hour per Rebuttal.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 89.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $5,340.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: December 14, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-30555 Filed 12-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
