Department of Commerce June 22, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 9, 2016, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar (SSB) from Brazil.\1\ The period of review (POR) is February 1, 2014, through January 31, 2015. The review covers one producer/exporter of the subject merchandise, Villares Metals S.A. (Villares). We invited parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. None were received. Accordingly, for the final results, we continue to find that Villares did not make sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value.

In order to assess and promote the accuracy and integrity of the trademark register, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes to amend its rules concerning the examination of affidavits or declarations of continued use or excusable nonuse filed pursuant to section 8 of the Trademark Act, or affidavits or declarations of use in commerce or excusable nonuse filed pursuant to section 71 of the Trademark Act. Specifically, the USPTO proposes to require the submission of information, exhibits, affidavits or declarations, and such additional specimens of use as may be reasonably necessary for the USPTO to ensure that the register accurately reflects marks that are in use in the United States for all the goods/services identified in the registrations, unless excusable nonuse is claimed in whole or in part. A register that does not accurately reflect marks in use in the United States for the goods/services identified in registrations imposes costs and burdens on the public. The proposed rules will allow the USPTO to require additional proof of use to verify the accuracy of claims that a trademark is in use in connection with particular goods/services identified in the registration.

This final rule revises the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) guidance regarding administrative enforcement cases based on violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The rule rewrites that guidance in the EAR, setting forth the factors that the Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) considers when setting penalties in settlements of administrative enforcement cases and when deciding whether to pursue administrative charges or settle allegations of EAR violations. This final rule does not apply to alleged violations of regulations concerning restrictive trade practices and boycotts, which would continue to be subject to the guidance.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is self-initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) orders on certain pasta from Italy \1\ (1) in furtherance of the purpose of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) initiative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) efforts to modernize the electronic submission of import documents using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), and (2) to align across the AD/CVD Italy Pasta Orders the scope language regarding certifications accompanying imports of organic pasta. Specifically, in conjunction with this initiation, the Department preliminarily determines to convert the certification submission requirement to a record-keeping requirement, to authorize electronic submission of the certification, to update the scope language relating to the organic pasta exclusion, and to align the certification language across the AD/ CVD Italy Pasta Orders. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.