Department of Commerce September 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is issuing a final rule amending the regulations pertaining to the operation of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and the operation of its accreditation programs. The regulations are being revised to include recognition of proficiency testing as an accreditation activity, add or revise terms, and update NVLAP mailing information, in accordance with the applicable international standard. These changes will not impact the public directly, and will only result in minor changes to NIST's internal practices.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy for the period February 1, 2019, through January 31, 2020, based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review.

In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding forty- seven entities, under fifty-one entries to the Entity List. These forty-seven entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. These entities are located under the destinations of Canada, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. This rule also corrects four existing entries on the Entity List under the destination of China.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is rescinding the administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on biodiesel from Indonesia for the period of review (POR) April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020, based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Advisory Panel (AP) will hold a meeting.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) St. Thomas/St. John District Advisory Panel (STT/STJ DAP) will hold a public virtual meeting to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2020 total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its proposed List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2021, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The LOF for 2021 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must classify each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of mortality and serious injury of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The classification of a fishery on the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan (TRP) requirements.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) for the take of marine mammals incidental to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities construction project in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

NMFS extends this temporary rule (also referred to herein as ``emergency action'') to provide it with authority to continue to waive observer coverage requirements. NMFS is taking this action to address public health concerns relating to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The intended effect is to provide the waiver mechanism necessary to respond to the ongoing public health emergency. This action also authorizes NMFS to waive some training or other program requirements to ensure that as many observers are available as possible while ensuring the safety and health of the observers and trainers.

NMFS is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on December 20, 2019, that requires all skimmer trawl vessels 40 feet and greater in length to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) designed to exclude small sea turtles in their nets. There is an error in the description of the small turtle TED flap. This correction is necessary to prevent sea turtle bycatch and mortality.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, October 14, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and Thursday, October 15, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. All sessions will be open to the public.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Workgroup (Workgroup) will host an online meeting over a two-day period that is open to the public.

Notice is hereby given that permits and permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

Patents and published patent applications provide a key source of free-flowing technical information among the world's brightest minds, thus promoting further innovation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) recognizes that its charge to issue high-quality patents to inventors goes hand-in-hand with dissemination of this important information. Such information flow is now more important than ever in view of the urgent challenges posed by COVID-19. Therefore, the USPTO is implementing a deferred-fee provisional patent application pilot program (the program) to promote the expedited exchange of information about inventions designed to combat COVID-19. Under this program, the USPTO will permit applicants to defer payment of the provisional application filing fee until the filing of a corresponding nonprovisional application. In turn, applicants must agree that the technical subject matter disclosed in their provisional applications will be made available to the public via a searchable collaboration database maintained on the USPTO's website. To qualify for the program, the subject matter disclosed in the provisional application must concern a product or process related to COVID-19, and such product or process must be subject to an applicable Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for COVID-19 use, whether such approval has been obtained, is pending, or will be sought prior to marketing the subject matter for COVID-19.

This final rule revises measures that govern interactions between the Hawaii shallow-set pelagic longline fishery and sea turtles. This rule lowers the annual fleet interaction limit (``hard cap'') for leatherback sea turtles from 26 to 16, and removes the annual fleet hard cap for North Pacific loggerhead turtles. This rule also creates individual trip interaction limits of two leatherback and five North Pacific loggerhead turtle interactions, with accountability measures for reaching a limit. This rule provides managers and fishermen with the necessary tools to respond to and mitigate changes in North Pacific loggerhead and leatherback turtle interactions to ensure a continued supply of fresh domestic swordfish to U.S. markets, consistent with the conservation needs of these sea turtles. This action also ensures that the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery operates in compliance with the conditions of a recent biological opinion (BiOp).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Rosatom) have initialed a draft amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (Agreement). The draft amendment will allow the Russian Federation to export Russian uranium products to the United States in accordance with the export limits and other terms detailed in the amendment. Commerce is inviting interested parties, industrial users, and the public to comment on the text of the draft amendment to the Agreement.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2020 Pacific cod total allowable catch allocated to catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that mandatory respondents, Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) and Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Steel), producers and exporters of hot- rolled steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from Japan, did not sell subject merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during the period of review (POR) October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. In addition, Commerce determines that Honda Trading Canada, Inc. (Honda) had no shipments during the POR.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/processors using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2020 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to catcher/processors using pot gear in the BSAI.

NMFS announces the initiation of a 5-year review for the following five foreign sturgeon species: Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii), European sturgeon (A. sturio), Chinese sturgeon (A. sinensis), Sakhalin sturgeon (A. mikadoi), and Kaluga sturgeon (Huso dauricus). NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to ensure that the listing classifications of species are accurate. The 5-year review must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We request submission of any such information on these five sturgeon species, particularly information on the status, threats, and recovery of the species that has become available since their listing, effective July 2, 2014.

NMFS announces that the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area is closed to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2020 fishing year. No vessel issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action once it is projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area will be taken.

Pursuant to provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, the Department of Commerce (the Department) announces that the charter for the U.S. Department of Commerce Trade Finance Advisory Council was renewed on August 7, 2020. This discretionary federal advisory committee advises the Secretary in identifying effective ways to help expand access to finance for U.S. exporters and their foreign buyers. The charter renewal of this advisory committee was necessary to provide the Secretary with advice from industry stakeholders on the development of effective policies and programs that support the Department's strategic goal of enhancing job creation by strengthening U.S. companies' export capabilities and reducing the costs and complexities associated with exporting. This notice also requests nominations for membership.