Department of Commerce April 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Export Trading Company Affairs (``ETCA''), International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, has received an application for an Export Trade Certificate of Review (``Certificate''). This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification is sought and requests comments relevant to whether the Certificate should be issued.

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.

A major activity of the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) is the production of a series of 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs) that are designed to inform and aid decision making by policy makers, resource managers, stakeholders, the media, and the general public on issues related to global climate change. The Unified Synthesis Product (USP) Development Committee (USPDC), established by a Decision Memorandum on February 29, 2008, is the Federal Advisory Committee charged with responsibility to develop a draft USP that will synthesize the information contained in the 21 SAPs in the context of other recent climate and global change scientific studies and formal assessments. Please note that meeting location, times, and agenda topics described here are subject to change. Meeting information will be available online on the USPDC website: https://www.climate.noaa.gov/index.jsp?pg=./ccsp/unified_synth esis.jsp

In response to a request from New-Tec Integration (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. (``New-Tec''), the U.S. Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on hand trucks and certain parts thereof from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The period of review (``POR'') is December 1, 2006, through May 31, 2007. We have preliminarily determined that sales have not been made below normal value (``NV'') by New-Tec. 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 entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which the importer- specific assessment rates are above de minimis. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit comments are requested to submit with each argument a statement of the issue and a brief summary of the argument. We will issue the final results no later than 90 days from the date of this notice.

NMFS announces a meeting of the General Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) on June 2, 2008. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

Notice is hereby given that Raymond Carthy, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110485, Gainesville, Florida 23611-0450, has been issued a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

Pursuant to the Notice of Consent Motion to Terminate the Panel Review by the case participants, the panel review is terminated as of April 18, 2008. A panel was appointed to this panel review and has been dismissed pursuant to Rule 71(2) of the Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Review, effective April 18, 2008.

NMFS has received an application from the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Energy Services (AES) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting shallow hazard and site clearance surveys in the Chukchi Sea between July and November 2008. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposed IHA for these activities.

In response to objections raised, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (``USPTO'') withdraws its prior proposal to amend the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases to require a request for reconsideration of an examining attorney's final refusal or requirement to be filed through the Trademark Electronic Application System (``TEAS'') within three months of the mailing date of the final action. The USPTO instead proposes to require a fee of $50 for filing a request for reconsideration on paper, whereas no fee would be required for a request for reconsideration filed through TEAS. The proposed fee would cover the USPTO's added costs of processing a request for reconsideration filed on paper, rather than through TEAS. Currently, no fee is required in connection with a request for reconsideration, filed either on paper or through TEAS.

NMFS approves and implements new management measures for the monkfish fishery recommended in Framework Adjustment 5 (Framework 5) to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which has been submitted jointly by the New England (NEFMC) and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils). This action approves and implements revised biological reference points in the FMP to be consistent with the recommendations resulting from the most recent stock assessment for this fishery (Northeast Data Poor Stocks Working Group (DPWG, July 2007)), and approves and implements revised management measures to ensure that the monkfish management program succeeds in keeping landings within the target total allowable catch (TAC) levels.

On April 6, 2006, in Alloy Piping Products, Inc., Flowline Division, et al. v. United States, Slip Op. 06-47, (``Alloy Piping II''), the Court of International Trade (``CIT'') affirmed the Department of Commerce's (the ``Department'') Final Results of Determination Pursuant to Remand (``Remand Results''), dated August 16, 2004, and entered a judgment order. This litigation related to the Department's review of the antidumping order on certain stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Taiwan, covering the period of review (``POR'') June 1, 1998, through May 31, 1999. See Certain Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 65 FR 81827, 81828 (December 27, 2000) (``Final Results''). On June 5, 2006, Ta Chen Stainless Steel Pipe, Ltd. (``Ta Chen'') appealed the CIT's decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (``CAFC''). On September 21, 2006, the CAFC dismissed the appeal pursuant to the parties' dismissal agreement. See Ta Chen Stainless Steel Pipe, Ltd., v. United States, 208 Fed. Appx. 818, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 24777 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (``Ta Chen Stainless Steel''). Because Alloy Piping II constitutes a final and conclusive court decision in this action, we are amending the final results of review in this proceeding and we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to liquidate entries subject to this review.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with March anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department also received a request to revoke one antidumping duty order in part.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has modified email addresses for submitting public hearing comments for Amendment 16 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan and for the Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific details.

NMFS announces the aboriginal subsistence whaling quota it has assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) for bowhead whales, and other limitations deriving from regulations adopted at the 59\th\ Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 2008, the quota is 75 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other limitations govern the harvest of bowhead whales by members of the AEWC.

This Notice announces the availability of grant funds in calendar year 2008 for U.S. manufacturers of certain worsted wool fabrics. The purpose of this notice is to provide the general public with a single source of program and application information related to the worsted wool grant offerings and it contains the information about the program required to be published in the Federal Register.

NOAA publishes this notice to announce the availability of the draft NOAA Hurricane Forecasting Improvement Project Plan for public comment. The Plan has been written to document NOAA's commitment to work with its partners in hurricane research and development to improve its capabilities to forecast hurricanes.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application submitted by David Beutel and Laura Skrobe of the University of Rhode Island (URI) contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would enable researchers to test an experimental net that uses very large mesh panels to increase escapement of cod relative to haddock by granting exemption from the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas II and III. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under this EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow two commercial fishing vessels to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

NMFS announces that the percentage of the tilefish annual total allowable landings (TAL) available to the tilefish Part-time permit category for the 2008 fishing year has been harvested. Therefore, commercial vessels fishing under the Part-time tilefish category may not harvest tilefish from within the Golden Tilefish Management Unit for the remainder of the 2008 fishing year (through October 31, 2008) as of April 25, 2008. Regulations governing the tilefish fishery require publication of this notification to advise the public of this closure.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for northern rockfish and pelagic shelf rockfish for trawl catcher vessels participating in the entry level rockfish fishery in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of northern rockfish and pelagic shelf rockfish allocated to trawl catcher vessels participating in the entry level rockfish fishery in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.

This notice advises the public that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene meetings of the Hawaii Archipelago Advisory Panel, the Hawaii Archipelago Plan Team and the Hawaii Archipelago Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee in Honolulu, HI.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Multispecies (Groundfish) Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).