Department of Commerce June 7, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On May 11, 2016, the United States Court of International Trade (``the Court'') issued final judgment in Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers' Coalition v. United States, Court No. 13-00168,\1\ sustaining the Department of Commerce's (``the Department'') voluntary final remand results concerning the Implemented PRC Section 129 Determination.\2\ In the Final Section 129 Remand, the Department determined that it was appropriate to reinstate the partially revoked antidumping duty order (``the order'') on diamond sawblades and parts thereof (``diamond sawblades'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') with respect to Advanced Technology & Materials Co., Ltd. (``AT&M'') \3\ where the basis for the Implemented PRC Section 129 Determination was no longer valid.\4\

In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) proposes to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove the Special Iraq Reconstruction License (SIRL) from the EAR. The action, if published in final form, would further the objectives of the Retrospective Regulatory Review Initiative that directs BIS and other federal agencies to streamline regulations and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on the public. Specifically, the SIRL is outdated and seldom used by exporters, who now have more efficient options for exports and reexports to Iraq and transfers (in-country) in Iraq. This rule also makes conforming changes.

In this rule, NMFS proposes to adjust the 2016 fishing season quotas for North and South Atlantic swordfish based upon 2015 commercial quota underharvests and international quota transfers consistent with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Recommendations 13-02 and 13-03. The rule also discusses our intent to simplify the annual North and South Atlantic quota adjustment process when the adjustment simply applies a previously-adopted formula or measure. Finally, the proposed rule would remove extraneous regulatory text about the percentage of the annual baseline quota allocation that may be carried over in a given year. This proposed rule could affect commercial and recreational fishing for swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. This action implements ICCAT recommendations, consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and furthers domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the recommendations presented at the February 2015 Australia Group (AG) intersessional implementation meeting, and later adopted pursuant to the AG silent approval procedure, and the understandings reached at the June 2015 AG Plenary meeting. This rule amends three Commerce Control List (CCL) entries to reflect the February 2015 intersessional recommendations that were adopted by the AG. Specifically, this rule amends the CCL entry that controls chemical precursors by adding the chemical diethylamine (C.A.S. 109-89-7), which was not previously identified on the AG's ``Chemical Weapons Precursors'' common control list. This rule also amends the CCL entry that controls certain human and zoonotic pathogens and toxins by adding two viruses that were not previously identified on the AG ``List of Human and Animal Pathogens and Toxins for Export Control'' and by updating the nomenclature of certain viruses that were already identified on this AG common control list. In addition, this rule amends the CCL entry that controls equipment capable of handling biological materials to reflect the AG intersessional updates to the controls on biocontainment chambers, isolators, and biological safety cabinets and the controls on aerosol inhalation equipment described on the AG ``Control List of Dual-Use Biological Equipment and Related Technology and Software.'' Consistent with the understandings adopted at the June 2015 AG Plenary meeting, this rule also amends the CCL entry that controls equipment capable of handling biological materials by updating the controls on freeze-drying (lyophilization) equipment. Finally, this rule amends the EAR to reflect the addition of Angola and Burma as States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and also amends the Chemical Weapons Convention Regulations (CWCR) to reflect the addition of these two countries as States Parties.