Department of Commerce April 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites interested parties to attend a pre-consortium meeting on May 16, 2005 to be held on the NIST campus in Boulder, Colorado. The goal of the one-day meeting is to evaluate industry interest in creating a NIST/industry consortium focused on gene expression metrology. The goals of such a consortium would include the development of measurement methods of known quality for microarray gene expression results. The consortium would be supervised and administered by NIST. Consortium research and development would be conducted by NIST staff members along with at least one technical representative from each participating member company. Membership in the Consortium is open to manufacturers of complete microarray gene expression systems (i.e. systems which include all components required to measure a genome-wide expression profile form isolated RNA). Consortium Members will be required to provide the NIST staff members with a complete system representative of their technology platform to support measurement and standards development. The initial term of the consortium is intended to be three years.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and SSC Biological Subcommittee and Socio-economic Subcommittee in Charleston, SC.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by increasing the country scope of chemical/biological (CB) controls on those Commerce Control List (CCL) entries that contain chemical/ biological equipment and related technology included on the Australia Group (AG) Common Control Lists. Specifically, this final rule expands the country scope of the CB license requirements for these CCL entries from certain countries of concern for chemical/biological weapons reasons to all destinations, worldwide, except for those countries that participate in the Australia Group (AG). These changes are intended to make the EAR license requirements that apply to chemical/biological equipment and related technology identified on the AG Common Control Lists consistent with the AG ``Guidelines for Transfers of Sensitive Chemical or Biological Items.'' In addition, this rule amends certain end-user and end-use based controls in the EAR by expanding these controls to include transfers (in-country), as well as exports and reexports. Specifically, this final rule expands the EAR restrictions on certain chemical and biological weapons end-uses to apply to exports, reexports, and transfers of items subject to the EAR to or within any country or destination, worldwide. Prior to the publication of this rule, such restrictions applied only to exports and reexports. Finally, this rule amends the EAR by expanding the country scope of the restrictions on certain activities of U.S. persons to include activities in support of the design, development, production, stockpiling, or use of chemical or biological weapons in or by any country or destination, worldwide. This change makes the country scope of these U.S. person controls consistent with the country scope of the chemical and biological weapons end-user/end-use controls in Section 744.4 of the EAR, as described above.

NMFS proposes 2005 fishing year (FY) Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for Georges Bank (GB) cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area, and provides notice that these TACs may be adjusted during FY 2005, if NMFS determines that the harvest of these stocks in FY 2004 exceeded the TACs specified for FY 2004. The intent of this action is to provide for the conservation and management of those three stocks of fish.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a public meeting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 13, 2005 at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD. This meeting pertains to a new DHS Program to develop comprehensive standards related to the development, testing, and certification of effective technologies for Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) robotics. These US&R robotic performance standards cover sensing, mobility, navigation, planning, integration, and operator control in order to ensure that the robots can meet operational requirements under the extremely challenging conditions that rescuers are faced with, including long endurance missions. The standards will also address issues of robotic component interoperability to reduce costs. The US&R robotic standards effort focuses on fostering collaboration between first responders, robot vendors, and technology developers to advance consensus standards for task specific robot capabilities and interoperability of components. These standards will allow DHS to provide guidance to local, state, and federal homeland security entities regarding the purchase, deployment and use of US&R robotic systems. The meeting is intended as a method of disseminating information pertaining to this newly initiated program. Attendees at the May 13 forum are expected to include: robot platform vendors, robot peripherals and software providers, sensor (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, environmental) providers, researchers working on robotic components, platforms, and algorithms, government agencies working on applicable robotic technologies and sensors, federal, state, and local responders and response agencies, and testing and evaluation sites and laboratories. There will be an $80 charge for this meeting and pre-registration is required. An electronic registration site will be available at https://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/ US&RRobotStandards.

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.

On December 8, 2004, the Department of Commerce published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on silicomanganese from Brazil. The review covers exports of this merchandise to the United States by the collapsed parties, Rio Doce Manganes S.A. (RDM), Companhia Paulista de Ferro-Ligas (CPFL), and Urucum Minera[ccedil] o S.A. (Urucum) (collectively, RDM/CPFL), for the period December 1, 2002, through November 30, 2003. We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the preliminary results. Based on our analysis of the comments received, we did not revise our calculations for these final results. The final weighted-average margin is listed below in the ``Final Results of Review'' section of this notice.

On December 7, 2004, the Department of Commerce published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from Germany. The period of review is March 1, 2003, through February 29, 2004. Based on our analysis of the comments received and an examination of our calculations, we have made certain changes for the final results. Consequently, the final results differ from the preliminary results. The final weighted-average dumping margin is listed below in the section entitled ``Final Results of the Review.''

Pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), the United States International Trade Commission (the ITC) determined that revocation of the antidumping order on frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) from Brazil would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time (70 FR 15884 (Mar. 29, 2005)). Therefore, pursuant to section 751(d)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(i)(1)(iii), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is revoking the antidumping order on FCOJ from Brazil. Pursuant to section 751(c)(6)(A)(iv) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(i)(2)(i), the effective date of revocation of the antidumping duty order is August 5, 2004.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 10 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Scallop Fishery off Alaska (FMP), which would modify the gear endorsements under the license limitation program (LLP) for the scallop fishery. This action is necessary to allow increased participation by LLP license holders in the scallop fisheries off Alaska. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/processor vessels using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2005 first seasonal allowance of the Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) specified for catcher/processor vessels using pot gear in the BSAI.

Pursuant to the Notice of Consent Motion to Stay Panel Proceedings by the complainants, the panel review is stayed pending the outcome of the ongoing Extraordinary Challenge Committee proceeding. A panel has not been appointed to this panel review. Pursuant to Rule 83(1) of the Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Review, this panel review is stayed as of March 22, 2005.

NMFS issues a final rule to implement resolutions adopted by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and by the Parties to the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (IDCP). The final rule prohibits activities that undermine the effective implementation and enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (DPCIA), and International Dolphin Conservation Program Act (IDCPA).

The United States Court of International Trade has affirmed the Department of Commerce's redetermination pursuant to remand regarding the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on stainless steel plate in coils from Belgium covering the period September 4, 1998, through December 31, 1999. See ALZ N.V. v. United States, Slip Op. 04-38, Court No. 01-00834 (CIT April 22, 2004). Although the Department of Commerce appealed the United States Court of International Trade's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Department of Commerce did not further pursue this appeal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed the case. As there is now a final and conclusive court decision in this case, we are amending the final results of review and we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to liquidate entries subject to this review.

In response to timely requests by the petitioners,\1\ the Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from Japan with respect to one company. The period of review is July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004. We preliminarily determine that, because the respondent did not participate in this review, it is appropriate to base its rate on adverse facts available.

On January 3, 2005, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty orders on cotton shop towels from Bangladesh and the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), and the countervailing duty order on cotton shop towels from Pakistan. See Initiation of Five-Year (``Sunset'') Reviews, 70 FR 75 (January 3, 2005). Because no domestic interested party responded to the sunset review notice of initiation by the applicable deadline, the Department is revoking the antidumping duty orders on cotton shop towels from Bangladesh and the PRC, and the countervailing duty order on cotton shop towels from Pakistan.

NMFS issues this notice to owners and leaseholders of all vessels listed in this document to submit a Historical Catcher Vessel Economic Data Report (EDR) for each vessel that made at least one crab landing in the Crab Rationalization (CR) fisheries in any of the calendar years 1998, 2001, or 2004. A Historical Catcher Vessel EDR must be submitted for each year 1998, 2001 and 2004, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act) and applicable regulations. The intent of this action is to provide notice for an evaluation of the economic effects of the CR.

The Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) is seeking public comment on the impact that recent (2000 through present) increases in natural gas prices had and will have on U.S. manufacturing industries. This notice of inquiry is part of an effort to collect information to assist in the preparation of a study and a report that the Congress has charged the Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Secretaries of Energy and Labor, to prepare on the economic impact of rising natural gas prices.

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, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its Bottomfish Plan Team (BPT) meeting in Honolulu, HI. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific times, dates, and agenda items.