Department of Commerce March 3, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) further invasion of Ukraine, with this final rule, the Department of Commerce is adding new Russia license requirements and licensing policies to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. These new Russia measures: Impose new Commerce Control List (CCL)-based license requirements for Russia; add two new foreign ``direct product'' rules (FDP rules) specific to Russia and Russian `military end users;' specify a license review policy of denial applicable to all of the license requirements being added in this rule, with certain limited exceptions; significantly restrict the use of EAR license exceptions; expand the existing Russia `military end use' and `military end user' control scope to all items ``subject to the EAR'' other than food and medicine designated EAR99, or ECCN 5A992.c and 5D992.c unless for Russian ``government end users'' and Russian state-owned enterprises (SoEs); transfer forty-five Russian entities from the Military End-User (MEU) List to the Entity List with an expanded license requirement of all items subject to the EAR (including foreign-produced items subject to the Russia-MEU FDP rules); and add two new Russia entities and revise two Russia entities to the Entity List. Lastly, this rule imposes comprehensive export, reexport and transfer (in-country) restrictions for the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republics (LNR) regions of Ukraine (``Covered Regions of Ukraine'') and makes conforming revisions to export, reexport transfer (in-country) restrictions for Crimea Region of Ukraine provisions.

NMFS has received a request from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) for the re-issuance of a previously issued incidental harassment authorization (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHA authorized take of eight species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to Ferry Berth Improvements at Tongass Narrows, near Ketchikan, AK. The project has been delayed and none of the work covered in the initial IHA has been conducted. The initial IHA was effective from March 1, 2021 through February 28, 2022. ADOT&PF has requested re-issuance with new effective dates of March 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023. The scope of the activities and anticipated effects remain the same, authorized take numbers are not changed, and the required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting remains the same as included in the initial IHA. NMFS is, therefore, issuing a second identical IHA to cover the incidental take analyzed and authorized in the initial IHA.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (BS FEP) Team will be held on March 18, 2022, and on March 21, 2022.

This document makes technical corrections to a final rule that modified the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. The correction reinstates paragraphs that were inadvertently removed from the Code of Federal Regulations when the final rule published on September 17, 2021.

NMFS has received a request from the City of Seattle (City) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Pier 58 Reconstruction Project and Pier 63 Removal Project in Seattle, Washington. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue two incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to the City to incidentally take, by Level A and Level B harassment only, marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on possible one- time, one-year renewals of each IHA that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. 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 New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish Committee via webinar 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.

Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on pentafluoroethane (R-125) from the People's Republic of China (China).

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel (cold-drawn mechanical tubing) from India during the period of review, January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a joint public meeting of its Scallop Committee via webinar 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.