Department of Commerce 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on small diameter graphite electrodes (graphite electrodes) from the People's Republic of China (PRC), covering the period February 1, 2015, through January 31, 2016. The Department has preliminarily determined that three companies, the Fangda Group, Fushun Jinly Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (Fushun Jinly), and Jilin Carbon Import and Export Company (Jilin Carbon), had no shipments of subject merchandise during the period of review (POR).

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is rescinding its administrative review of utility scale wind towers (``wind towers'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') for the period or review (``POR'') February 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016, based on the withdrawal of request for review.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for authorization to take, by harassment, marine mammals incidental to conducting operations of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar for the period beginning August 2017 and ending August 2022. Pursuant to the implementing regulations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing our receipt of the Navy's request for regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and inviting information, suggestions, and comments on the Navy's application and request.

Pursuant to provisions under Title IV of the Jobs Through Trade Expansion Act, 22. U.S.C. 2151, and under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, the Department of Commerce announces the reestablishment of the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee (the Committee). ETTAC was first chartered on May 31, 1994. ETTAC serves as an advisory body to the Environmental Trade Working Group of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), reporting directly to the Secretary of Commerce in his/her capacity as Chairman of the TPCC. ETTAC advises on the development and administration of policies and programs to expand U.S. exports of environmental technologies, goods, and services.

NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to fully use the 2016 total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch specified for the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area.

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 is exchanging unused flathead sole and rock sole Community Development Quota (CDQ) for yellowfin sole CDQ acceptable biological catch (ABC) reserves in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow the 2016 total allowable catch of yellowfin sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area to be harvested.

As a result of the determinations by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty order on certain hot- rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products (hot-rolled steel) from the Russian Federation (Russia) would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States, the Department is publishing a notice of continuation of this antidumping duty order.

The Department of Commerce is rescinding the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on citric acid and certain citrate salts from the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the period of review January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015, based on the timely withdrawal of the only request for review.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Herring Advisory Panel 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 final rule amends regulations of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-13, Survey of New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. This rule also amends the reporting requirements for certain private funds on BEA's surveys of foreign direct investment in the United States, including the BE-605, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States; the BE-15, Annual Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States; and the BE-13, Survey of New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. The BE-13 survey collects information on the acquisition or establishment of U.S. business enterprises by foreign investors, and information on expansions by existing U.S. affiliates of foreign companies. The data collected through the survey are used to measure the amount of new foreign direct investment in the United States and ensure complete coverage of BEA's other foreign direct investment statistics. BEA will make several changes to the survey that will simplify reporting and provide more complete information for use in BEA's direct investment statistics. BEA will also change the survey form design and accompanying instructions to improve the quality of the data collected and reduce respondent burden. This mandatory BE-13 survey is required from persons subject to the reporting requirements, whether or not they are contacted by BEA.

On June 14, 2016, the Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on narrow woven ribbons with woven selvedge (``NWR'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The period of review (``POR'') is September 1, 2014, through August 31, 2015. The review covers one company, Yama Ribbons Co., Ltd. (``Yama Ribbons''). We invited interested parties to comment on our preliminary results. None were received. Accordingly, for the final results, we continue to find that Yama Ribbons did not have reviewable transactions during the POR.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Enforcement Committee and Advisory Panel 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 is closing the directed fishery for Atlantic herring in Herring Management Area 1A, based on a projection that a prescribed trigger for that area has been reached. Federally permitted vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than an incidental amount of Atlantic herring in or from Area 1A through December 31, 2016, and federally permitted dealers may not purchase more than this incidental amount of herring from federally permitted vessels for the duration of this action. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent over harvest in Area 1A.

NMFS' Office of Protected Resources has received a request from the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to conducting fisheries research, over the course of five years from the date of issuance. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the AFSC's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the AFSC's application and request.

NMFS is prohibiting retention of the incidental catch allowance for Pacific Ocean perch in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the 2016 total allowable catch of Pacific Ocean perch apportioned to the incidental catch allowance in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA has been reached.