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

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Critical Cybersecurity Hygiene: Patching the Enterprise Building Block. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Critical Cybersecurity Hygiene: Patching the Enterprise Building Block. Participation in the building block is open to all interested organizations.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee Subgroup will hold a teleconference on March 27, 2019.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold a meeting.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a public hearing via webinar to discuss Shrimp Amendment 18Evaluation of Shrimp Effort Threshold Reduction in the Area Monitored for Juvenile Red Snapper Bycatch.

NMFS is amending the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) based on the results of the 2017 stock assessment and a subsequent binding recommendation by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) for North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks. The North Atlantic shortfin mako shark stock is overfished and is experiencing overfishing. Consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), NMFS is implementing management measures that will reduce fishing mortality on shortfin mako sharks and establish the foundation for rebuilding the shortfin mako shark population consistent with legal requirements. The final measures could affect U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen who target and harvest shortfin mako sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, by increasing live releases and reducing landings. NMFS is also clarifying the definition of fork length (FL) in the definitions section of the HMS regulations.

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of New Jersey. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised commercial quotas for North Carolina and New Jersey.

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

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that certain companies covered by this administrative review made sales of chlorinated isocyanurates from the People's Republic of China (China) at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) June 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017.

NMFS proposes to approve and implement the measures of Framework Adjustment 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan that establishes scallop specifications and other measures for fishing years 2019 and 2020. This action is necessary to prevent overfishing and improve both yield-per-recruit and the overall management of the Atlantic sea scallop resource. The intended effect of this rule is to notify the public of these proposed measures and to solicit comment on the potential scallop fishery management changes.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. An environmental impact statement may be necessary for the amendment to analyze the impacts of potential management measures in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council has initiated this amendment to review and consider modifications to both the permitting system for Illex squid and the fishery management plan goals and objectives. This notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed, and for identifying the significant issues related to this action. This notice alerts the interested public of the scoping process, the potential development of a draft environmental impact statement, and to provide for public participation in that process.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a meeting of the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee (ETTAC).

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) published a document on February 11, 2019, announcing the agenda for upcoming meetings of the Council and its advisory committees. The announcement omitted an item from the agenda.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, we are announcing a meeting of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee. The meeting will address proposed improvements, extensions and research related to BEA's economic accounts. In addition, the meeting will include an update on recent statistical developments.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 15 scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead, rockfish, eulachon, and green sturgeon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https:/ /apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

NMFS issued regulations to implement management measures described in Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and Atlantic Region (Amendment 31), as prepared by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Council) and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (South Atlantic Council) (Councils). This final rule removes Atlantic migratory group cobia (Atlantic cobia) from Federal management under the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). At the same time, this final rule implements comparable regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act) to replace the existing Magnuson-Stevens Act based regulations in Atlantic Federal waters. The purpose of Amendment 31 is to facilitate improved coordination of Atlantic cobia in state and Federal waters, thereby more effectively constraining harvest and preventing overfishing and decreasing adverse socio-economic effects to fishermen.

On January 30, 2019, the United States Court of International Trade (the CIT) entered final judgment sustaining the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) second remand results pertaining to the fifteenth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from the People's Republic of China (China) for Shenzhen Xinboda Industrial Co., Ltd. (Xinboda). Commerce is notifying the public that the final judgment in this case is not in harmony with the final results and partial rescission of the fifteenth antidumping duty administrative review, and that Commerce has amended the dumping margin found for Xinboda.

On December 27, 2018, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement annual limits on commercial catch of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) for 2019 and 2020. Comments were due by January 16, 2019. However, due to a lapse in appropriations, the link to the public comment portal provided in the proposed rule was not active. Consequently, NMFS is reopening the public comment period for an additional 15 calendar days.

On November 1, 2018, the Court of International Trade (CIT) remanded the International Trade Commission's (ITC) negative injury determination on truck and bus tires from the People's Republic of China (China). On January 30, 2019, the ITC filed its remand determination, finding material injury to an industry in the United States by reason of imports of truck and bus tires from China. Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the ITC, Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty order on truck and bus tires from the China. In addition, Commerce is amending its final determination to correct ministerial errors. Therefore, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation and collect cash deposits on entries of truck and bus tires from China at the ad valorem rates listed below.

The Acting Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an exempted fishing permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This permit would allow Coonamessett Farm Foundation to test the selectivity of alternate gillnet configurations to target haddock while reducing catch of other groundfish species. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed exempted fishing permits.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) requires the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to establish and maintain an inventory of marine mammals in zoos and aquariums. The Office of Protected Resources maintains the inventory for marine mammals under NMFS' jurisdiction including cetaceans and pinnipeds [excluding walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)]. The MMPA requires that the holders of marine mammals in human care provide the inventory data. We propose to make our current database, the National Inventory of Marine Mammals (NIMM), accessible to holders of marine mammals for inventory reporting and to the public for access to the inventory data, which is regularly requested through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). NMFS is requesting public comment on proposed policies and procedures for the administration and maintenance of the online inventory database, NIMM, including maintenance of historical information, reporting births and stillbirths, reporting cause of death, and other administrative procedures for NIMM.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes to amend the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases and the rules regarding Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office to require applicants, registrants, or parties to a proceeding whose domicile or principal place of business is not located within the United States (U.S.) or its territories (hereafter foreign applicants, registrants, or parties) to be represented by an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state in the U.S. (including the District of Columbia and any Commonwealth or territory of the U.S.). A requirement that such foreign applicants, registrants, or parties be represented by a qualified U.S. attorney will instill greater confidence in the public that U.S. registrations that issue to foreign applicants are not subject to invalidation for reasons such as improper signatures and use claims and enable the USPTO to more effectively use available mechanisms to enforce foreign applicant compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements in trademark matters.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a one- day meeting of its Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP).