Department of Commerce August 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) expands the scope of information that any party may cite in a patent file to include written statements of a patent owner filed in a proceeding before a Federal court or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) regarding the scope of any claim of the patent, and provides for how such information may be considered in ex parte reexamination, inter partes review, and post grant review. The AIA also provides for an estoppel that may attach with respect to the filing of an ex parte reexamination request subsequent to a final written decision in an inter partes review or post grant review proceeding. The Office is revising the rules of practice to implement these post-patent provisions, as well as other miscellaneous provisions, of the AIA.

In response to requests by interested parties, the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta (``pasta'') from Italy for the period of review (``POR'') July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. This review covers the following seven companies: Botticelli Mediterraneo S.a.r.l. (``Botticelli''), Fiamma Vesuviana S.r.L. (``Fiamma''), Industria Alimentare Filiberto Bianconi 1947 S.p.A. (``Filiberto''), Pastificio Fratelli Cellino, S.r.l. (``Fratelli''), Pastificio Attilio Mastromauro Granoro S.r.L. (``Granoro''), Rummo S.p.A. Molino e Pastificio and its affiliates (``Rummo''), and Pastificio Zaffiri (``Zaffiri''). We preliminarily find that Rummo, Filiberto, Fratelli, and Zaffiri sold subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) (dumping). We further find that there were no exports of subject merchandise to the United States during the POR by Fiamma and Botticelli. Finally, in response to its request for revocation and because this would be the third year of no dumping by Granoro, we preliminarily intend to revoke the antidumping duty order with regard to Granoro. If these preliminary results are adopted in the final results of this administrative review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise during the POR. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

We preliminarily determine that large residential washers (washers) from Mexico are being sold, or are likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. Because we are postponing the final determination, we will make our final determination not later than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the third seasonal apportionment of the Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the deep-water species fishery in the GOA has been reached.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will convene meetings of a privacy multistakeholder process concerning mobile application transparency.

The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') preliminarily determines that utility scale wind towers (``wind towers'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (``LTFV''), as provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). The preliminary dumping margins are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on pure magnesium in granular form (``pure granular magnesium'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') with respect to one producer/ exporter for the period of review (``POR'') November 1, 2010, through October 31, 2011.\1\ 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 all appropriate entries of subject merchandise during the period of review.

In response to requests from petitioner Aqualon Company, a unit of Hercules Incorporated and a U.S. manufacturer of purified carboxymethylcellulose, and Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals B.V. (Akzo Nobel), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on purified carboxymethylcellulose (purified CMC) from the Netherlands. This administrative review covers imports of subject merchandise produced and exported by Akzo Nobel and exported by CP Kelco B.V. (CP Kelco) during the period of review of July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise by Akzo Nobel were not made at less than normal value during the period of review and CP Kelco had no shipments of subject merchandise during the period of review. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of administrative review, we will issue appropriate assessment instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit argument in this review are requested to submit with the argument: (1) A statement of the issues; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') has determined that a request for a new shipper review (``NSR'') of the antidumping duty order on tapered roller bearings from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for initiation. The period of review (``POR'') for this NSR is June 1, 2011, through May 31, 2012.

The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot- rolled carbon steel flat products (``hot-rolled steel'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), covering the period of review (``POR'') November 1, 2010 through October 31, 2011. As discussed below, the Department preliminarily determines that the PRC-wide entity made sales in the United States at prices below normal value (``NV''). If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of review, the Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to assess antidumping duties on entries of subject merchandise during the POR.

In accordance with section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is automatically initiating a five-year review (``Sunset Review'') of the antidumping duty orders listed below. The International Trade Commission (``the Commission'') is publishing concurrently with this notice its notice of Institution of Five-Year Review which covers the same orders.

This action delays some and revises other portions of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Trawl Rationalization Program (program) regulations. These changes are necessary to enable the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to implement new regulations for the program to comply with a court order requiring NMFS to reconsider the initial allocation of Pacific whiting (whiting) to the shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fishery and the at-sea mothership fishery. The rule affects the transfer of Quota Share (QS) and Incidental Bycatch Quota (IBQ) between QS accounts in the shorebased individual IFQ fishery, and severability in the mothership fishery, both of which will be delayed until NMFS can implement any necessary new allocation regulations required by the court's order.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to identify the Hawaiian population of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and delist the DPS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The green turtle was listed under the ESA on July 28, 1978. Breeding populations of the green turtle in Florida and along the Pacific Coast of Mexico are listed as endangered; all other populations are listed as threatened. We find that the petition viewed in the context of information readily available in our files presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We are hereby initiating a status review of green turtles as currently listed to determine whether the petitioned action is warranted and to examine green turtles globally with regard to application of the DPS policy in light of significant new information since the listing of the species in 1978. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to this species and potential critical habitat from any interested party.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on certain pasta from Italy for the period January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. We preliminarily determine that Molino e Pastificio Tomasello S.p.A. (``Tomasello'') received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (``POR''). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.