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

This notice extends the proposal submission deadline for the NOAA Rear Admiral Richard T. Brennan Ocean Mapping Matching Fund program by two weeks to October 16, 2022. Notice of the Brennan Matching Fund opportunity originally appeared in the Federal Register on June 10, 2022, 87 FR 35509.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) will hold a meeting of the Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel (AP) October 18- 20, 2022, in Charleston, SC.

The SEDAR 77 assessment of the Atlantic stock of hammerhead sharks will consist of a stock identification (ID) process, data webinars/workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a review workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

This rulemaking proposes to add the Omega net mesh measurement gauge as a permissible device for net mesh measurement and correct regulatory references to gear restrictions. This action is required to allow the use of the Omega gauge as another method for measuring and enforcing net mesh size. Adoption of the Omega gauge, a handheld electronic device, is intended to improve the efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness of enforcement boardings at-sea.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V. (Negromex) did not make sales of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber) from Mexico at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) published a notice in the Federal Register of August 24, 2022, in which Commerce announced the final results of the changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain large vertical shaft engines between 225cc and 999cc, and parts thereof (vertical shaft engines) from the People's Republic of China (China). In this notice, Commerce inadvertently failed to apply the finding to subject merchandise produced and exported by Jialing-Honda Motors Co., Ltd (Jialing) or produced and exported by Honda Power Products (China) Co., Ltd. (Honda). In addition, Commerce did not include the term ``large'' in the heading of the notice.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order granting a one-year interim extension of the term of U.S. Patent No. 6,406,699 ('699 patent).

This final rule amends regulations of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-13, Survey of New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States (``BE-13 survey''). The BE-13 survey collects information on the acquisition or establishment of U.S. business enterprises by foreign investors, and information on expansions by existing U.S. affiliates of foreign companies. The data collected through the survey are used to measure the amount of new foreign direct investment in the United States and ensure complete coverage of BEA's other foreign direct investment statistics. BEA will change the reporting requirements of the survey to reduce respondent burden, simplify reporting, and increase the efficiency of the data collection. This mandatory BE-13 survey is required from persons subject to the reporting requirements, whether or not they are contacted by BEA.

The final rule amends regulations of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for the 2022 BE-12, Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. The BE-12 survey is conducted every five years; the prior survey covered 2017. The benchmark survey covers the universe of foreign direct investment in the United States and is BEA's most detailed survey of such investment. For the 2022 BE-12 survey, BEA will make changes in data items collected, the design of the survey forms, and the reporting requirements for the survey to satisfy changing data needs and to improve data quality and the effectiveness and efficiency of data collection.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Argentina are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) during the period of investigation, October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of investigation is January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

Based on a request from Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy Co., Ltd. (Hello Tech), the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating changed circumstances reviews (CCR) to consider the possible revocation, in part, of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules (solar cells), from the People's Republic of China (China) with respect to certain off-grid small portable crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) panels as described below.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Coastal Management, will hold a public meeting to solicit comments on the performance evaluation of the Ohio Coastal Management Program.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is postponing the deadline for issuing the final determination in the less-than-fair- value (LTFV) investigation of certain steel nails (nails) from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) until December 19, 2022, and is extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period of not more than six months.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Sustainable Fisheries will host a hybrid meeting of the Council Coordination Committee, also known as the CCC, consisting of the Regional Fishery Management Council chairs, vice chairs, and executive directors from October 18 to October 20, 2022. This meeting will be chaired by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The intent of this meeting is to discuss issues of relevance to the Councils and NMFS, including issues related to the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received scope ruling applications, requesting that scope inquiries be conducted to determine whether identified products are covered by the scope of antidumping duty (AD) and/or countervailing duty (CVD) orders and that Commerce issue scope rulings pursuant to those inquiries. In accordance with Commerce's regulations, we are notifying the public of the filing of the scope ruling applications listed below in the month of August 2022.

In preparation for an intersessional meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) on management strategy evaluation (MSE) for Atlantic bluefin tuna, the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to ICCAT is announcing the convening of a special fall meeting.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an IHA to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Ferries Division to incidentally harass marine mammals during two in-water construction projects on Bainbridge Island, Washington: the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal Overhead Loading Replacement Project and Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility Slip F Improvement Project.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 50 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). For red porgy, this proposed rule would revise the sector annual catch limits (ACLs), commercial seasonal quotas, commercial trip limits, recreational bag and possession limits, recreational fishing season, and recreational accountability measures (AMs). In addition, Amendment 50 would establish a new rebuilding plan, and revise the acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual optimum yield (OY), and sector allocations. The purpose of this proposed rule and Amendment 50 is to end overfishing of red porgy, rebuild the stock, and achieve OY while minimizing, to the extent practicable, adverse social and economic effects.

The SEDAR 74 assessment of Gulf of Mexico red snapper will consist of a Data workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a Review workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.