Department of Commerce September 12, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 25, 2022, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued its final judgment in Saha Steel Pipe Public Company, Ltd v. United States, Court No. 20-00133, Slip Op. 22-99 (Saha Steel), sustaining the Department of Commerce (Commerce)'s final results of redetermination pertaining to the scope ruling for the antidumping duty (AD) order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes (CWP) from Thailand. In the redetermination, Commerce found that dual-stenciled standard pipe and line pipe are outside the scope of the order, pursuant to the CIT's remand order in Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Company Ltd v. United States, 547 F. Supp. 3d 1278 (CIT Oct. 6, 2021) (Remand Order). Commerce is notifying the public that the CIT's final judgment is not in harmony with Commerce's final scope ruling, and that Commerce is amending the scope ruling to find that dual-stenciled standard pipe and line pipe are outside the scope of the order.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) published a notice in the Federal Register on July 7, 2022, in which Commerce announced the final results, and partial rescission, of the 2019 administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, (solar cells) from the People's Republic of China (China). This notice inadvertently included two companies in Appendix III, which is a list of companies for which Commerce rescinded the review, instead of listing them in Appendix II, which is a list of ``Non-Selected Companies Under Review.'' We also incorrectly titled Appendix III ``Intent to Rescind Review, In Part,'' instead of ``Rescission of Review, In Part.'' Further, Commerce also published a notice in the Federal Register of August 15, 2022, in which Commerce amended the final results of the administrative review. In this notice, Commerce also inadvertently did not list the same two companies as ``Non- Selected Companies Under Review'' in the appendix. We are correcting these inadvertent errors with this notice, as described below.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Groundfish Subcommittee of the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and other scientists will hold an online meeting to review an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) acoustic and visual survey for nearshore groundfish. This methodology review will be coupled with a workshop to evaluate Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hook-and-line surveys for groundfish species. Participants will recommend how data generated from these surveys may inform future groundfish stock assessments.

The SEDAR 82 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of Gray Triggerfish will consist of a data workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a review workshop. A SEDAR 82 Post-Data Workshop webinar is scheduled for October 3, 2022.

This proposed rule would modify existing limits on fishing effort by U.S. purse seine vessels in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the high seas between the latitudes of 20[deg] N and 20[deg] S, in the area of application of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention). In addition, this proposed rule would adjust the 2022 bigeye tuna catch limit in the area of application of the Convention (Convention Area) for U.S. longline commercial fishing vessels to 3,358 metric tons (mt), due to an overage of the 2021 catch limit. The proposed rule would clarify that adjustments to the purse seine fishing effort limits or longline bigeye tuna catch limits could occur each year, due to any overage of the prior year's limit. This proposed rule would also modify the following: the process for closing the fishery once NMFS expects the effort limits will be reached; the process for obtaining daily purse seine fishing effort reports; and the process for adjusting established annual catch and effort limits in the Convention Area. This action is necessary for the United States to implement provisions of a conservation and management measure adopted by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC or Commission) and to satisfy the obligations of the United States under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party. NMFS is seeking comments on this proposed rule and will respond to those comments in a subsequent final rule.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA Regulations for Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell) for the take of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activity in the Gulf of Mexico.