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

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain refractory brick samples tested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) do not reflect the chemical composition of magnesia alumina carbon (MAC) bricks and are covered by the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain magnesia carbon bricks (bricks) from the People's Republic of China (China). Additionally, Commerce preliminarily finds that it is unable to determine whether certain other samples tested by CBP have the chemical composition of a bricks subject to the AD and CVD orders on bricks from China. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

Notice is hereby given that the Sea Research Foundation, Inc. dba Mystic Aquarium, 55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355 (Responsible Party: Katie Cubina), has applied in due form for a permit to collect, receive, import, and export marine mammal parts for scientific research.

Notice is hereby given that the Pacific Whale Foundation (Responsible Party: Jens Curie), 300 Ma'alaea Rd. Ste. 211, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on 22 species of cetaceans within waters of the Hawaiian Islands.

The Census Bureau is giving notice of a virtual meeting of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC). The Committee will address policy, research, and technical issues relating to a full range of Census Bureau programs and activities, including decennial, economic, field operations, information technology, and statistics. Last minute changes to the schedule are possible, which could prevent giving advance public notice of schedule adjustments.

NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the January through March subquota time period. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. Fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag-and-release BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. On June 1, 2023, the fishery will reopen automatically.

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 North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Scallop Plan Team will meet on March 6, 2023.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Snapper Grouper Committee; Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) Committee, Mackerel Cobia Committee; and Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Committee. The meeting week will also include a formal public comment session, public hearing, and a meeting of the Full Council.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel will hold one public meeting.

As a result of the determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that revocation of the countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of Korea (Korea) would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of net countervailable subsidies and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of these CVD orders.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a three-day in-person meeting of its Standing, Reef Fish, Shrimp, Socioeconomic, and Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd. (aka Inner Mongolia Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd.), Shandong Fufeng Fermentation Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd. (collectively, Fufeng) sold xanthan gum from the People's Republic of China (China) at less than normal value during the period of review (POR), July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Additionally, we find that Meihua Group International Trading (Hong Kong) Limited, Langfang Meihua Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Meihua Amino Acid Co., Ltd. (collectively, Meihua), Jianlong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (formerly, Inner Mongolia Jianlong Biochemical Co., Ltd) (Jianlong), and Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) Ltd., Deosen Biochemical Ltd. (collectively, Deosen) have each demonstrated that they are eligible for a separate rate. Additionally, Commerce determines that a company for which we initiated a review had no shipments during the POR.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted by the applicant. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

NOAA's Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (UxSRTO) in OAR has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Funding, Procurement, and Operation of NOAA Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). We are making the draft EA available for public review and comment.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is extending the comment period for the notice titled ``Request for Comments on USPTO Initiatives to Ensure the Robustness and Reliability of Patent Rights'' that was published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2022. The notice's comment period was previously extended until February 1, 2023. The comment period is now extended a second time; this will be the last extension of the comment period.

In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding six entities to the Entity List, under the destination of the People's Republic of China (China). These six 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.

The Internet of Things (IoT) Advisory Board will meet Tuesday, March 7, 2023; Tuesday, April 18, 2023 and Wednesday, April 19, 2023; and Tuesday, May 16, 2023 and Wednesday, May 17, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. All sessions will be open to the public.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in this notice is publishing a report that summarizes the findings of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (``section 232''), into the effect of imports of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets on the national security of the United States. This report was completed in June 2022 and posted on the BIS website in September 2022. BIS has not published the appendices to the report in this notification of report findings, but they are available online at the BIS website, along with the rest of the report (see the ADDRESSES section).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plays an important role in incentivizing and protecting innovation, including innovation enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), to ensure continued U.S. leadership in AI and other emerging technologies (ET). In June 2022, the USPTO announced the formation of the AI/ET Partnership, which provides an opportunity to bring stakeholders together through a series of engagements to share ideas, feedback, experiences, and insights on the intersection of intellectual property and AI/ET. To build on the AI/ET Partnership efforts, the USPTO is seeking stakeholder input on the current state of AI technologies and inventorship issues that may arise in view of the advancement of such technologies, especially as AI plays a greater role in the innovation process. As outlined in sections II to IV below, the USPTO is pursuing three main avenues of engagement with stakeholders to inform its future efforts on inventorship and promoting AI-enabled innovation: a series of stakeholder engagement sessions; collaboration with academia through scholarly research; and a request for written comments to the questions identified in section IV. The USPTO encourages stakeholder engagement through one or more of these avenues.