Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments, 31120 [2018-14264]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 31120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments

    Pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Educational, Scientific and 
Cultural Materials Importation Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89-651, as amended 
by Pub. L. 106-36; 80 Stat. 897; 15 CFR part 301), we invite comments 
on the question of whether instruments of equivalent scientific value, 
for the purposes for which the instruments shown below are intended to 
be used, are being manufactured in the United States.
    Comments must comply with 15 CFR 301.5(a)(3) and (4) of the 
regulations and be postmarked on or before July 23, 2018. Address 
written comments to Statutory Import Programs Staff, Room 3720, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. Applications may be 
examined between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce in Room 3720.
    Docket Number: 17-017. Applicant: University of Pittsburgh of the 
Commonwealth System of Higher Education, 116 Atwood Street, Suite 201, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Instrument: Photonic Professional GT System. 
Manufacturer: Nanoscribe, Germany. Intended Use: The instrument will be 
used to support the fabrication of devices comprised primarily of both 
commercially available and in house developed UV curable polymers. 
Biomaterials and other biopolymers that have been specifically designed 
to be cured using a radical polymerization process will also be 
investigated in this device. Any polymer or biomaterial that can be 
ablated using the wavelength and power available in the Nanoscribe 
system will also be used for subtractive manufacturing. Justification 
for Duty-Free Entry: There are no instruments of the same general 
category manufactured in the United States. Application accepted by 
Commissioner of Customs: August 2, 2017.
    Docket Number: 18-001. Applicant: William March Rice University, 
6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005. Instrument: 3D-Discovery 
Bioprinter and Direct Write Electrospinner. Manufacturer: regenHU, 
Switzerland. Intended Use: The instrument will be used for a multitude 
of techniques across disciplines ranging from biology to materials 
science, chemical engineering and bioengineering. Techniques like 
thermoplastic and hydrogel extrusion, 3D printing, 2-component 
printing, cell-bioprinting, electrospinning/direct write 
electrospinning, drug/factor encapsulation. Justification for Duty-Free 
Entry: There are no instruments of the same general category 
manufactured in the United States. Application accepted by Commissioner 
of Customs: February 28, 2018.
    Docket Number: 18-002. Applicant: Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Building #17, Room 5225, Atlanta, GA 
30333. Instrument: CelloScope Optical Screening Instrument. 
Manufacturer: BioSense Solutions ApS, Denmark. Intended Use: The 
instrument will be used for research use only to study several Gram-
negative and Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. Use of this optical 
screening instrument, will be developing and evaluating an automated 
antimicrobial susceptibility test for bacterial pathogens based on 
time-lapse imaging of cells incubating in broth microdilution drug 
panels. Experiments to be conducted include growth assessment of these 
bacterial pathogens in the presence and absence of clinically relevant 
antibiotics. The antibiotics selected for our studies are those 
recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 
for primary testing. The objectives of the investigations are to more 
rapidly determine antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens. 
Currently, the gold-standard method for antimicrobial susceptibility 
testing requires 16-20 or 24-48 hours, depending on the species. The 
techniques required to perform these experiments include inoculation of 
a testing drug panel with a bacterial suspension and assessing 
susceptibly by optical screening. The research conducted using this 
instrument may substantially reduce the time required to make an 
informed therapeutic decision. Justification for Duty-Free Entry: There 
are no instruments of the same general category manufactured in the 
United States. Application accepted by Commissioner of Customs: March 
15, 2018.
    Docket Number: 18-003. Applicant: University of Virginia, Physics 
Department, 382 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Instrument: 
Superconducting Magnet System. Manufacturer: Cryogenic Ltd., United 
Kingdom. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to study the beta 
decay of neutrons. Neutrons are elementary constituents of any matter 
in our universe. The experiments require measuring the kinetic energies 
of electrons and protons, two of the particles that are produced in 
neutron decay. The Nab spectrometer is to extract the neutrino-electron 
correlation coefficient ``a'' and the Fierz term ``b'' which describes 
the dynamic properties of the decay particles; the results test our 
understanding of the Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics. The 
Nab spectrometer, electrons and protons are guided by the magnetic 
field, produced by the magnet system that we are importing. Electrons 
and protons eventually reach detectors. The detectors allow us to 
determine the kinetic energies of both particles, respectively. 
Justification for Duty-Free Entry: There are no instruments of the same 
general category manufactured in the United States. Application 
accepted by Commissioner of Customs: April 17, 2018.
    Docket Number: 18-004. Applicant: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 
Procurement Services, 1700 Y Street, Lincoln, NE 68588-0645. 
Instrument: Closed Cycle Cryogen Free Cryostat. Manufacturer: Autocue 
Systems, Germany. Intended Use: The instrument will be used to study 
the optoelectronic properties of novel atomically thin semiconductor 
materials such as metal chalcogenides, which are promising for 
application in energy conversion (for example solar cells) and micro-/
nanoelectronics. Leading-edge fundamental research on the 
optoelectronic properties of novel nanomaterials, with the goal of 
developing advanced materials to support the needs for new energy 
conversion processes and next-generation electronics and computing. 
Justification for Duty-Free Entry: There are no instruments of the same 
general category manufactured in the United States. Application 
accepted by Commissioner of Customs: April 17, 2018.

    Dated: June 27, 2018.
Gregory W. Campbell,
Director, Subsidies Enforcement, Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018-14264 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P