Department of Commerce January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) has established a 21st Century Strategic Plan to transform the Office into a more quality-focused, highly productive, responsive organization supporting a market-driven intellectual property system. One goal of the 21st Century Strategic Plan is the electronic exchange of information and documents between intellectual property offices. Consistent with this goal, the Office is revising the rules of practice to provide for the electronic transfer of certified copies of applications for which priority is claimed under the Paris Convention (priority applications) from other intellectual property offices with which the Office has negotiated priority document exchange agreements. The Office is also revising the rules of practice to permit applicants to request that the Office permit other participating intellectual property offices to electronically retrieve certified copies of United States patent applications without payment of a fee. This electronic exchange of copies of priority documents will benefit applicants by reducing the cost of ordering paper certified copies of priority applications for filing in other participating intellectual property offices, and will benefit participating intellectual property offices by reducing the administrative costs associated with handling paper copies of priority documents and scanning them into their electronic image record management systems.

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS or sanctuary) is seeking applicants for the following vacant seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council (council): At-Large (two seats), Agriculture, Business/Industry, Commercial Fishing, Recreational Fishing, Recreation, Research, and Conservation. Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve 3-year terms, pursuant to the council's Charter.

NMFS is adjusting the annual total allowable catch amount (TAC) for the Central and Western Aleutian District Atka mackerel fisheries. This action is necessary because NMFS has determined these TACs are incorrectly specified. This action will ensure the A and B season harvests of Central and Western Aleutian District Atka mackerel do not exceed the appropriate amount based on the best available scientific information for Atka mackerel in the Aleutian Islands subarea. This action is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP).

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a working meeting, which is open to the public.

NMFS proposes specifications for the 2007-2009 Atlantic herring fishery. The intent of the specifications is to conserve and manage the Atlantic herring resource and provide for a sustainable fishery.

As a result of the determinations by the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') and the International Trade Commission (``ITC'') that revocation of the antidumping duty order on Foundry Coke Products from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States, the Department is publishing this notice of continuation of this antidumping duty (``AD'') order.

In response to a request from the petitioner, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Argentina. This review covers one manufacturer/exporter of the subject merchandise, Siderca S.A.I.C. (Siderca). The Department is now rescinding this review based on record evidence indicating the respondent had no entries of subject merchandise during the period of review (POR). The POR is August 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Controlled Access Committee in Charleston, SC.

This final rule is being issued to adjust civil monetary penalties (CMPs) provided by law within the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce (the Department). Recent changes to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Patriot Act), Public Law 109-177, increased the penalties for two violations. The intent of this rule is to make the Department's regulations consistent with those changes.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review and a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on hand trucks and certain parts thereof (hand trucks) from the People's Republic of China (PRC) covering the period December 1, 2004, through November 30, 2005. We have preliminarily determined that sales have been made below normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted in the final results of these reviews, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. We will issue the final results no later than 120 days from the date of publication of this notice.

On November 14, 2006, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') published a notice of initiation and preliminary results of an antidumping duty (``AD'') changed circumstances review with intent to revoke, in part, the AD order on wooden bedroom furniture from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). See Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China: Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent to Revoke Order in Part, 71 FR 66309 (November 14, 2006) (``Initiation and Preliminary Results''). We are now revoking this order in part, with regard to the following product: Cheval style mirrored jewelry cabinets, as described in footnote 12 the ``Scope of the Order'' section of this notice, based on the fact that domestic parties have expressed no further interest in the relief provided by the order with respect to the imports of these jewelry cabinets, as so described. In its September 20, 2006, submission, the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade and its individual members (the ``AFMC'') stated that it no longer has any interest in seeking antidumping relief from imports of such cheval style mirrored jewelry cabinets with respect to the subject merchandise defined in the ``Scope of the Order'' section below. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

In accordance with section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b), DuPont Teijin Films (DuPont), Mitsubishi Polyester Film, Inc. (Mitsubishi), and Toray Plastics (America) (Toray), Inc. (collectively DuPont, Mitsubishi, and Toray are the Petitioners), filed a request for the Department to initiate a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip (PET film) from Korea. Petitioners allege that Kolon Industries Inc. (Kolon), a Korean PET film producer previously revoked from the antidumping duty order, has resumed selling subject merchandise at prices below normal value (NV). Petitioners explain that Kolon has agreed in writing to reinstatement in the antidumping duty order if Kolon were found to have resumed dumping. Petitioners contend that Kolon has violated its agreement not to sell PET film at prices below NV in the United States subsequent to Kolon's revocation from the order. Therefore, Petitioners request that the Department reinstate the antidumping duty order with respect to Kolon. Petitioners further request that the Department of Commerce (the Department) immediately order suspension of liquidation for all entries of Korean PET film manufactured and exported by Kolon. The Department finds the information submitted by Petitioners is sufficient to warrant initiation of a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on PET film from Korea. In this changed circumstances review, we will determine whether Kolon is selling PET film at less than NV subsequent to its revocation from the order. If we determine in this changed circumstances review that Kolon sold at less than NV and resumed dumping PET film, we will direct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of Korean PET film manufactured and exported by Kolon.

NMFS has received requests from ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) and from Union Oil Company of California (UOCC) for authorizations to take small numbers of five marine mammal species incidental to seismic operations in portions of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue authorizations to CPAI and UOCC to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of these species between approximately mid-March and mid-June, 2007.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Recreational Advisory Panel (Panel) in January, 2007 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

Notice is hereby given that a document entitled ``Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2'' is available to the public. This document has been prepared by the state and federal natural resource trustee agencies (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI); Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO); and Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality (LDEQ); Natural Resources (LDNR); and Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF)) to address natural resource injuries resulting from discharges of oil in Region 2 of the State of Louisiana. The Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2 is the first of nine regional plans being prepared under the statewide Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program developed by NOAA, DOI, and the State of Louisiana. For Further Information Contact: Requests for copies of the ``Final Regional Restoration Plan for Region 2'' or for further information, request or contact Tony Penn, Southeast Branch Chief, NOAA/Assessment and Restoration Division, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC 4, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone number 301-713-3038 x197; fax number 301-713-4387; e-mail address: Tony.Penn@noaa.gov. Or contact Charles Armbruster, RRP Program Manager, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, 150 Third Street, Suite 405, Baton Rouge, LA 70801; phone number 225-219-5800; fax number 225-219-5802; e-mail address: Charles.Armbruster@losco.state.la.us. When submitting a request, please indicate whether you would like the document on compact disk, a hardcopy, or the Internet address to download an electronic copy. Supplementary Information: Louisiana's economy is based, in part, on the state's vast natural resources. Both renewable (hunting, fishing, forest products) and nonrenewable (cultural, oil, natural gas) resources are important, and the industries associated with each have coexisted for years. Although Louisiana's oil and gas industry tries to avoid adverse impacts on renewable natural resources, injuries do occur as a result of oil spill incidents. The impact of these incidents on fish, wildlife, and the environment can be significant and adversely affect the industries and communities depending on natural resources for commerce and recreation. Federal and Louisiana natural resource trustees have developed a statewide Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program (RRP Program) to assist them in carrying out their Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) responsibilities for discharges or substantial threats of discharges of oil. Goals of the statewide Louisiana RRP Program are to: (1) Expedite and reduce the cost of the NRDA process; (2) Provide for consistency and predictability by describing in detail the NRDA process, thereby increasing understanding of the process by the public and industry; and (3) Increase restoration of lost trust resources and services injured by oil spills. The Louisiana RRP Program identifies the statewide program structure, decision-making process, and criteria that are used to select the restoration project(s) that may be implemented to restore the trust resources and services injured by an oil spill. The Louisiana RRP Program divides the state into nine regions. For each region, a Regional Restoration Plan (RRP) will be developed that identifies: the affected environment and resources; potentially injured trust resources and services; appropriate restoration types for each of the potentially injured resources and services; and available restoration projects that have been identified to date. The Final RRP for Region 2 covers an area of southeast Louisiana, including all or part of the following parishes: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist. The natural resource trustees (NOAA, DOI, LOSCO, LDEQ, LDNR, LDWF) are designated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 2706(c), Executive Order 12777, and the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600 and 300.605. Pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 30:2460, the State of Louisiana Oil Spill Contingency Plan (September 1995) describes the state trust resources to include the following: Vegetated wetlands, surface waters, ground waters, air, soil, wildlife, aquatic life, and the appropriate habitats on which they depend. DOI has been designated as trustee for the natural resources that it manages or controls. Examples of those resources are described in the National Contingency Plan, 40 CFR 300.600(b)(2) and (3), and include the following and their supporting ecosystems: migratory birds, anadromous fish, endangered species and marine mammals, federally owned minerals, certain federally managed water resources, and natural resources located on, over, or under land administered by DOI. NOAA's trust resources include, but are not limited to: commercial and recreational fish species, anadromous and catadromous fish species, marshes and other coastal habitats, marine mammals, and endangered and threatened marine species. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.56, the natural resource trustees are authorized to develop regional restoration plans as part of the Oil Pollution Act's mandate for the trustees to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of natural resources and services injured by oil spill incidents and to compensate for interim losses of such resources and services. The Administrative Record (AR) for the statewide RRP Program and RRP for Region 2 is being maintained at: (1) NOAA Assessment and Restoration Division, SSMC 4, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3281; (2) Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Suite 405, 150 Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801; and (3) https://www.losco.state.la.us/admin/RRP/RRPprogramview.asp. The AR includes documents that the trustees relied upon during the development of the Final RRP for Region 2. Pursuant to 15 CFR 990.23 & 990.56, the trustees sought public involvement in developing the Final RRP for Region 2, through public review and comment of the documents contained in the AR, as well as through publication of the ``Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS)''.

On December 8, 2006, the United States Court of International Trade (``CIT'') sustained the final remand determination made by the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') pursuant to the CIT's remand of the final determination of the less-than-fair-value investigation of Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 (``CVP 23'') from the People's Republic of China. See Goldlink Industries Co., Ltd., Trust Chem Co., Ltd., Tianjin Hanchem International Trading Co., Ltd. V. United States, and Nation Ford Chemical Company and Sun Chemical Corporation, and Clariant Corporation, Consol. Ct. 05-00060, (Ct. Int'l Trade Dec. 8, 2006). This case arises out of the Department's final determination in the investigation covering the period April 1, 2003, through September 30, 2003. See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value for Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 from the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 67304 (November 17, 2004) (``Final Determination''). The final judgment in this case was not in harmony with the Department's Final Determination.

In response to a request for a changed-circumstances review from Holcim Apasco, S.A. de C.V. (Apasco) and pursuant to Section II.B.6 of the Agreement between the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the United States Department of Commerce and Secretaria de Economia on Trade in Mexican Cement (the Agreement) dated March 6, 2006, the Department of Commerce is initiating a changed-circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on gray portland cement and clinker from Mexico.

NMFS published a notice of intent (NOI) to initiate an amendment to the Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) on November 7, 2006. Today's notice announces the availability of an issues and options presentation describing potential measures for inclusion in the forthcoming Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP and provides details for seven scoping meetings to discuss and collect comments on the issues described in the presentation. Comments received on the issues and options presentation, in the scoping meetings, and on the NOI will assist NMFS in developing Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP. These scoping meetings will be combined with public hearings to gather comment on a proposed rule to utilize the North Atlantic swordfish quota. Those hearings are announced today in an separate Federal Register document.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting new shipper reviews of the antidumping duty order on honey from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') in response to requests from Inner Mongolia Altin Bee-Keeping Co., Ltd. (``Inner Mongolia''), Qinhuangdao Municipal Dafeng Industrial Co., Ltd. (``QMD''), and Dongtai Peak Honey Industry Co., Ltd. (``Dongtai Peak''), (collectively, ``respondents''). The period of review (``POR'') is from December 1, 2004, through November 30, 2005. With regard to Inner Mongolia and Dongtai Peak, we have preliminarily determined that their sales have been made below normal value during the POR. In addition, we have preliminarily determined that Inner Mongolia's, and Dongtai Peak's sales are bona fide transactions. However, with regard to QMD, we have preliminarily determined its POR sale was not a bona fide transaction and are rescinding its review, as further explained in the bona fide analysis and preliminary intent to rescind sections of this notice. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to assess antidumping duties on appropriate entries of subject merchandise during the POR. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.