Department of Commerce February 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing electronic patent issuance to reduce pendency of patent applications, foster a green economy by reducing paper waste, and permit complete issued patents to be viewable and printable by both the applicants as well as the public immediately upon issuance in Patent Center, the USPTO's electronic patent application filing and management system. Patent grants will no longer be issued on paper, and as a result, they will no longer be mailed to the correspondence address of record as part of the patent issuance process. During a transition period, the USPTO will provide a paper copy of the electronic patent grant as a courtesy ceremonial copy, delivered to the patentee's correspondence address of record. After the transition period, a selection of patent grant copies, including the ceremonial copy, will be available for purchase at a nominal charge. The electronic patent grant will be the official statutory patent grant.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of dual-piston engines with a single, common combustion chamber, of the type designed by FNA Group, Inc. (FNA), produced in, and exported from the People's Republic of China (China), constitute later-developed merchandise that is circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain vertical shaft engines between 99cc and up to 225cc, and parts thereof (small vertical engines), from China. Commerce is also applying this affirmative circumvention finding on a country-wide basis.

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 147th Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and its 194th Council meeting to take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region. The Council will also hold meetings of the following advisory groups and standing committees: Joint Meeting of the American Samoa Advisory Panel (AP), Hawaii AP, and Fishing Industry Advisory Committee (FIAC); Guam Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee (REAC); Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) REAC; Mariana Archipelago AP; and Executive and Budget Standing Committee (SC) meeting.

This rule amends the Export Administrations Regulations (EAR) to impose new export control measures on Iran. These measures address the use of Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by the Russian Federation (Russia) in its ongoing war against Ukraine, contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Although UAVs are also known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), for purposes of consistency with the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) they are referred to as UAVs in the EAR. These amendments to the EAR target Iran's supply of UAVs to Russia to enhance Russia's defense industrial base and its military efforts against Ukraine and build on prior EAR amendments, including the addition of Iranian entities to the Entity List as Russian `military end users.' Specifically, these controls impose license requirements for a subset of EAR99 items that are destined to Iran, regardless of whether a U.S. person is involved in the transaction. Such items are identified by Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)-6 Codes in a new supplement added to the EAR, which will allow BIS and other relevant U.S. Government agencies to track and quantify these exports. This rule also identifies certain foreign- produced items as subject to the EAR by adding a new foreign direct product (FDP) rule specific to Iran that applies to items in certain categories of the Commerce Control List (CCL) and the EAR99 items identified in this new supplement. This rule similarly revises the EAR's existing Russia/Belarus FDP rule to reference these EAR99 items. Together with a separate rule published in the same issue of the Federal Register adding export controls for Russia and Belarus, these changes impose license requirements on additional exports from abroad and reexports to Iran, Russia, and Belarus, with the purpose of degrading the Iranian UAV program and Russia's use of such UAVs against Ukraine.

In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) ongoing aggression against Ukraine, as substantially enabled by Belarus, the Department of Commerce is expanding and strengthening the existing sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including the scope of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)'s Russian and Belarusian industry sector sanctions and `luxury goods' sanctions. This rule also refines existing export controls on Russia and Belarus. The Department of Commerce is taking these actions to enhance the effectiveness of its controls on both countries and to better align them with those implemented by U.S. allies and partners.

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 sodium nitrite from India.

The Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding seventy-six entities to the Entity List. These 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 and are listed on the Entity List under the destination of Russia. This rule also revises four existing entries on the Entity List under the destination of Russia.

The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council and the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping (IWG-OCM) request public comment from all interested parties on the IWG-OCM's draft Standard Ocean Mapping Protocol (SOMP). The draft SOMP was developed in accordance with Objective 2.1 of the National Strategy for Ocean Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (National Strategy). Objective 2.1 directs the IWG-OCM to establish a SOMP to encourage consistency in data acquisition, stewardship and data management across a subset of ocean sensing capabilities for seafloor mapping, including bathymetry (acoustic and airborne), seabed backscatter, water column backscatter, side scan sonar imagery, sub-bottom profiling, and magnetometer data readings.

On November 23, 2022, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued its final judgment in HiSteel Co., Ltd., and Kukje Steel Co., Ltd. v. United States, Court No. 20-00146, sustaining the U.S. Department of Commerce's (Commerce) remand results pertaining to the first administrative review of the antidumping duty order on heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes (HWR) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) covering the period of review (POR), September 1, 2017, through August 31, 2018. Commerce is notifying the public that the CIT's final judgment is not in harmony with Commerce's final results in the administrative review and that Commerce is amending the final results with respect to the dumping margins assigned to HiSteel Co., Ltd. (HiSteel) and Kukje Steel Co., Ltd. (Kukje).

This notice announces a public meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on spectrum management policy matters.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that there were no shipments of merchandise subject to the antidumping duty (AD) order on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings (SSBWF) from the Philippines during the period of review (POR) February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022, from any of the companies under review.

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA), is announcing one upcoming trade mission that will be recruited, organized, and implemented by ITA. This mission is: Healthcare Trade Mission to Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah) September 9-14, 2023. A summary of the mission is found below. Application information and more detailed mission information, including the commercial setting and sector information, can be found at the trade mission website: https:// www.trade.gov/trade-missions. For each mission, recruitment will be conducted in an open and public manner, including publication in the Federal Register, posting on the Commerce Department trade mission calendar (https:// www.trade.gov/trade-missions-schedule) and other internet websites, press releases to general and trade media, direct mail, broadcast fax, notices by industry trade associations and other multiplier groups, and publicity at industry meetings, symposia, conferences, and trade shows.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Committee (EBFM) and Advisory Panel Chairs 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.

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.

In compliance with Executive Order 12866, entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, the Department of Commerce (Commerce), in the spring and fall of each year, publishes in the Federal Register an agenda of regulations under development or review over the next 12 months. Rulemaking actions are grouped according to pre-rulemaking, proposed rules, final rules, long-term actions, and rulemaking actions completed since the spring 2022 agenda. The purpose of the Agenda is to provide information to the public on regulations that are currently under review, being proposed, or recently issued by Commerce. It is expected that this information will enable the public to participate more effectively in the Department's regulatory process. Commerce's fall 2022 regulatory agenda includes regulatory activities that are expected to be conducted during the period November 1, 2022, through October 31, 2023.

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

Notice is hereby given of a virtual public meeting of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC). IMDCC members will discuss Federal marine debris activities, with a particular emphasis on the topics identified in the section on Matters to Be Considered.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) have determined that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) orders on chlorinated isocyanurates (chlorinated isos) from the People's Republic of China (China) and Spain would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury to an industry in the United States. Therefore, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of these AD orders.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) District Advisory Panels (DAPs) will hold public meetings to address the items contained in the tentative agenda included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.