Department of Commerce May 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) instead of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as previously announced through publication of a Notice of Intent published on September 16, 2011. NMFS intends to prepare the EA as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the potential effects on the human environment of proposed alternatives and actions in Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. The EA will analyze potential environmental impacts of various proposed alternatives related to the Atlantic commercial shark fisheries consistent with the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and other relevant Federal Laws.

This notice announces receipt of an application and the public comment period for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. John Gauvin of Gauvin and Associates, LLC. If granted, this permit would allow the applicant to continue the development and testing of a salmon excluder device for the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. This activity is intended to promote the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) by reducing salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery.

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.

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.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') preliminarily determines that non-oriented electrical steel (``NOES'') from Taiwan is being, or is 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''). The period of investigation (``POI'') is July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013. The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are listed in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily determines that non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from the People's Republic of China (the PRC) is being, or is likely to be, sold to 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). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2013, through June 30, 2013. The dumping margin is shown in the ``Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

In response to requests from interested parties, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain activated carbon from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') for the period of review (``POR'') April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013. The Department preliminarily determines that sales have been made below normal value (``NV''). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Groundfish Oversight Committee 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.

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.

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2014 summer flounder fishery, and the 2015 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. This final rule specifies allowed harvest limits for both commercial and recreational fisheries. This action prohibits federally permitted commercial fishing vessels from landing summer flounder in Delaware in 2014 due to continued quota repayment from previous years' overages. These actions are necessary to comply with regulations implementing the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, and to ensure compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The intent of this action is to establish harvest levels and other management measures to ensure that these species are not overfished or subject to overfishing in 2014 and 2015.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is rescinding the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbazole violet pigment 23 (CVP-23) from the People's Republic of China (the PRC) covering the period of review of December 1, 2012 through November 30, 2013.

The Bureau of the Census (U.S. Census Bureau) is giving notice of a meeting of the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC). The Committee will advise the Directors of the Economics and Statistics Administration's (ESA) two statistical agencies, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau, and the Commissioner of the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on statistical methodology and other technical matters related to the collection, tabulation, and analysis of federal economic statistics. Last minute changes to the agenda are possible, which could prevent giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a Visioning Project Workshop, receive a presentation from NOAA Fisheries on the Development of a National Recreational Fishing Policy, and hold a joint committee meeting of the Habitat & Environmental Protection Committee and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee. The Council will also hold meetings of the: Executive Finance Committee; Protected Resources Committee; Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Selection Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Advisory Panel Selection Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Law Enforcement Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) Committee; Snapper Grouper Committee; Joint committee meeting of the Dolphin Wahoo Committee and Snapper Grouper Committee; Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Committee; King & Spanish Mackerel Committee; Information and Education Committee; Golden Crab Committee, Data Collection Committee; and a meeting of the Full Council. The Council will take action as necessary. The Council will also hold an informal public question and answer session regarding agenda items and a formal public comment session.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is eliminating the Patents Search Templates from the USPTO Web site. In 2006, the USPTO implemented Patents Search Templates, which were created to better identify the field of search, search tools, and search methodologies that should be considered each time an invention related to a particular USPC is searched. There are over 1200 search templates covering more than 600 USPC classes and subclasses. Historically, usage of the search templates by the public has been extremely low. Additionally, various aspects of the search templates, such as references to commercial database vendor information, are in need of updating. Further, in January 2013, the USPTO launched a new classification system, the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, that is based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) system. The CPC, a joint patent classification system developed by the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO), incorporates the best classification practices of both the U.S. and European systems. Since CPC is a detailed, collaborative, and dynamic system that will enable patent examiners and the public to efficiently conduct thorough patent searches, the search templates will become obsolete.

On December 13, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit (CAFC), issued its decision in AMS Associates, Inc. v. United States, 737 F.3d 1338 (CAFC 2013) (AMS II), affirming the Court of International Trade's (CIT) decision in AMS Associates, Inc. v. United States, 881 F. Supp. 2d 1374 (CIT 2012) (AMS I). In AMS I, the CIT held that the Department of Commerce (the Department) exceeded its authority under 19 CFR 351.225(l) by retroactively suspending liquidation of entries of laminated woven sacks (LWS) produced in the People's Republic of China (PRC) using fabric imported from third- countries. Accordingly, the CIT remanded the case and ordered the Department to issue instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to lift the suspension of liquidation and liquidate the affected entries without regard to duties. Consistent with the decision of the CAFC in Timken,\1\ as clarified by Diamond Sawblades,\2\ the Department is notifying the public that the final judgment in this case is not in harmony with the Department's AR2 Final Results,\3\ that it will liquidate the entries at issue in AMS I and AMS II without regard to duties, and that it is amending the effective date of its country of origin determination regarding LWS produced in the PRC from imported fabric.

The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') has determined that revocation of the antidumping duty (``AD'') order on circular welded carbon quality steel line pipe from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and that revocation of the countervailing duty (``CVD'') order on circular welded carbon quality steel line pipe from the PRC would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of a countervailable subsidy. The U.S. International Trade Commission (the ``USITC'') has also determined that revocation of these AD and CVD orders would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States. The Department is publishing this notice of the continuation of these AD and CVD orders.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is rescinding the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip (PET film) from Brazil for the period November 1, 2012 through October 31, 2013.

NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia is transferring a portion of its 2014 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of New Jersey. NMFS is adjusting the quotas and announcing the revised commercial quota for each state involved.