Department of Commerce February 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of cast iron soil pipe (soil pipe) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2019 Pacific cod total allowable catch apportioned to trawl catcher vessels in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding the administrative review, in part, of the antidumping duty order on certain steel nails from Taiwan for the period July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey).

NMFS is holding a stakeholder meeting by conference call to provide information on recent progress related to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) bluefin tuna management strategy evaluation (MSE). NMFS will also receive input on issues to be considered at an upcoming intersessional meeting of ICCAT's Panel 2, which will focus on initial operational management objectives for the bluefin tuna MSE. The conference call is open to the public.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). For information on the estimated subsidy rates, see the ``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from Canada is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) during the period of investigation (POI) January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017.

NMFS' Office of Protected Resources has received a request from NMFS' Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in the Atlantic Ocean along the southeastern U.S. coast and select estuaries, the Gulf of Mexico and select estuaries, and the Caribbean Sea over the course of five years from the date of issuance. We have also received a request from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries research in Texas bay systems. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations to the SEFSC and, separately, TPWD, to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that GGB Bearing Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (GGB) sold tapered roller bearings and parts thereof, finished and unfinished (TRBs) from the People's Republic of China (China) at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR), June 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017.

On December 20, 2018, the United States Court of International Trade (Court) issued a final judgment in Prosperity Tieh Enterprise Co., Ltd. et al. v. United States, Consol. Court No. 16-00138; Slip Op. 18-175 (CIT Dec. 20, 2018), sustaining the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) remand results for the final determination of the antidumping investigation of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from Taiwan, covering the period of investigation (POI) April 1, 2014, through March 31, 2015. Commerce is notifying the public that the Court has made a final judgment that is not in harmony with Commerce's amended final determination of the antidumping investigation, and that Commerce is amending the final determination.

The New England Fishery Management Council initiated development of Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which considered limited access alternatives for the small-mesh multispecies fishery, in 2015. At its December 2018 meeting, the Council voted to take no action on any of the limited access alternatives analyzed in the draft amendment and draft environmental impact statement. With this decision the Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service have completed all the necessary work on this action and hereby withdraw the draft environmental impact statement from further consideration.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has received petitions for certification of eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance from the firms listed below. Accordingly, EDA has initiated investigations to determine whether increased imports into the United States of articles like or directly competitive with those produced by each of the firms contributed importantly to the total or partial separation of the firms' workers, or threat thereof, and to a decrease in sales or production of each petitioning firm.

The Department of Commerce is currently seeking applications for membership on the 2019-2021 term of the President's Advisory Council (Advisory Council) on Doing Business in Africa. The purpose of the Advisory Council is to advise the President through the Secretary of Commerce on strengthening commercial engagement between the United States and Africa. This term, the Secretary is particularly interested in advice on advancing President Trump's new strategy for Africa.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that producers and/or exporters subject to this investigation received countervailable subsidies. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

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 Alaska Groundfish and Halibut Seabird Working Group will meet to discuss use of leading indicators as tool to assess inseason seabird bycatch risk, vessel-specific seabird bycatch mortality, and an update on studies examining seabird bycatch in the trawl fisheries.

NMFS is closing the Southern Exclusion Zone (SEZ) to deep-set longline fishing for all vessels registered under the Hawaii longline limited access program, as a result of the fishery reaching the established annual trigger of two observed false killer whale mortalities or serious injuries (M&SI) in the fishery within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Hawaii. This action is necessary to comply with False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) regulations that establish the SEZ closure trigger and procedures to limit M&SI of false killer whales in the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that sales of circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe (CWP) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been made below normal value. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee) will hold an open meeting via webinar on March 12, 2019, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.