Department of Commerce December 23, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is closing the U.S. pelagic longline fishery for bigeye tuna in the western and central Pacific Ocean as a result of the fishery reaching the 2009 catch limit.

This announcement provides notice that Chicago Deer River Properties, LLC, d/b/a Theodore Industrial Port (Theodore Industrial Port), has filed an administrative appeal with the Department of Commerce (Department), asking that the Secretary override an objection by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (Alabama) to the proposed filling of a tidal pond at Theodore Industrial Port facilities in Theodore, Alabama, near Mobile Bay.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), covering the period of review (``POR'') of December 1, 2007, through November 30, 2008. As discussed below, we have preliminarily determined to rescind this administrative review because we have found the sales made by Dongtai Peak Honey Industry Co., Ltd. (``Dongtai Peak'') that entered during the POR were not bona fide. In addition, we have preliminarily determined to apply adverse facts available (``AFA'') with respect to the PRC-wide entity which includes Anhui Native Produce Import and Export Corp. (``Anhui Native''), as it failed to cooperate to the best of its ability and impeded the proceeding. We are also preliminarily finding that Qinhuangdao Municipal Dafeng Industrial Co., Ltd. (``QMD''), Inner Mongolia Youth Trade Development Co., Ltd. (``Inner Mongolia''), and Wuhu Qinshgi Tangye (``Wuhu Qinshgi'') did not demonstrate their eligibility for a separate rate and thus are considered to be part of the PRC-wide entity. 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 for which importer- specific assessment rates are above de minimis. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

In response to requests from interested parties, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from the People's Republic of China. The period of review is August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009. The Department is rescinding this review.

This final rule amends title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 701, which implements Section 309 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (``Section 309''), as amended. The Bureau of Industry and Security (``BIS'') is amending part 701 to update and provide clarification with regard to the information U.S. firms are required to submit each year to BIS to support BIS's preparation of the annual report to Congress on offsets in defense trade.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is publishing this final rule to amend certain requirements in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that apply to Albania and Croatia. These changes are based upon the accession of Albania and Croatia to formal membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 1, 2009. Consistent with the EAR license requirements and licensing policies that apply to members of NATO, this final rule amends the EAR to remove certain crime control (CC), national security (NS), and regional stability (RS) license requirements for these two countries. A license continues to be required for exports and reexports to Albania or Croatia of items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) controlled for national security or regional stability reasons that are identified as requiring a license to destinations indicated under NS Column 1 (also NS Column 2, for Albania) or RS Column 1, respectively, on the Commerce Country Chart. Certain restraint devices, discharge type arms, and related technology described on the CCL continue to require a license for crime control reasons to Albania or Croatia. A license also continues to be required for specially designed implements of torture described on the CCL. Furthermore, this rule does not affect any license requirements that apply to these countries based on other reasons for control identified in the EAR. This final rule also removes the EAR prohibition that applied to certain in transit shipments through Albania, removes Albania from Country Group D, and adds Albania to Country Group B. Croatia has already been designated in the EAR as a Country Group B country. In addition, this rule amends the provisions of License Exception APR (Additional Permissive Reexports) that apply to reexports of certain thermal imaging cameras to include Albania and Croatia among the list of eligible destinations. Finally, this rule amends the definition of ``NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)'' in the EAR to include Albania and Croatia.