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

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 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 on the proposed extension of the Generic Clearance for Internet Panel Pretesting and Qualitative Survey Methods Testing, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is extending the deadline for nominations for the Minority Business Enterprises Advisory Council (MBEAC) pursuant to the authority of the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended. The Council will advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development on various topics impacting socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. MBDA is looking to appoint nine (9) members for the initial term of the Council. These individuals shall be from the private sector with a balanced and broad range of interests regarding the social and economic life of minority business concerns. The private sector members may include individuals from academia and think tanks, companies, chambers of commerce, financial entities, labor and trade associations, non-profit organizations, and stakeholders involved in socially and economically disadvantaged business concerns.

The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) seeks nominations to fill vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC or Committee). MAFAC is responsible to advise the Secretary, NOAA, and NMFS on all matters concerning living marine resources that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. The Committee makes recommendations to assist in the development and implementation of departmental regulations, policies, and programs critical to the mission and goals of NMFS. Nominations are encouraged from all individuals involved with or representing interests affected by NMFS actions in managing living marine resources. Nominees should possess demonstrable expertise in a field related to the management of living marine resources and be able to fulfill the time commitment required for two annual meetings and year-round subcommittee work. Individuals serve for a term of 3 years for no more than two consecutive terms if re-appointed. NMFS seeks qualified nominees to fill pending vacancies.

NOAA announces the appointment of members who will serve on the 2023 NOAA Performance Review Board (PRB). The NOAA PRB is responsible for reviewing performance appraisals and ratings of Senior Executive Service (SES), Senior Level (SL), and Scientific and Professional (ST) members and making written recommendations to the appointing authority on retention and compensation matters, including performance-based pay adjustments, awarding of bonuses, and reviewing recommendations for potential Presidential Rank Award nominees. The appointment of members to the NOAA PRB will be for a period of 2 years.

The USA-CDA-2020-1904-05 Panel has granted a consent motion filed on behalf of the Full Member Subgroup of the American Institute of Steel Construction, LLC, requesting the termination of panel review in the Certain Fabricated Structural Steel from Canada; Final Negative Injury Determination (Fabricated Structural Steel from Canada IN) dispute. Given the Panel's ruling on this consent motion, and pursuant to Rule 71(2) of the NAFTA Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Reviews (Rules), the Fabricated Structural Steel from Canada IN dispute has been terminated. As a result, and in accordance with Rule 78(a), notice is hereby given that panel review of the Fabricated Structural Steel from Canada IN dispute has been completed effective September 28, 2023.

NMFS has received a request from BNSF Railway (BNSF) for the reissuance of two consecutive, previously issued incidental harassment authorizations (IHA) with the only change being effective dates. The initial IHAs authorized take of seven species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to construction.

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 antidumping duty (AD) orders on steel wire garment hangers (hangers) from Taiwan and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam), and the countervailing duty (CVD) order on hangers from Vietnam would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping, countervailable subsidies, and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of these AD orders and this CVD order.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a public webinar to collect input on summer flounder commercial mesh regulations and exemptions.

The SEDAR 87 assessment process of Gulf of Mexico white, pink, and brown shrimp will consist of a Data Workshop, and a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a series of scoping meetings via webinar pertaining to Framework Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region. The amendment addresses Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel catch levels.

Notice is hereby given that permits, permit amendments, and permit modifications have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

On July 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued its final judgment in NEXTEEL Co., Ltd. et al. v. United States, Slip. Op. 23-103, Consol. Court No. 20-03898 (CIT 2023), sustaining the U.S. Department of Commerce's (Commerce) second final results of redetermination pertaining to the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on welded line pipe (WLP) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) covering the period of review (POR) December 1, 2017, through November 30, 2018. Commerce is notifying the public that the CIT's final judgment is not in harmony with Commerce's Final Results of the administrative review and that Commerce is amending the Final Results with respect to the dumping margins assigned to NEXTEEL Co., Ltd. (NEXTEEL), SeAH Steel Corporation (SeAH), and non-selected respondents Husteel Co., Ltd. (Husteel) and Hyundai Steel Company/ Hyundai HYSCO (Hyundai Steel).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that certain producers/exporters subject to this administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) March 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022.

NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the October through November 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. This action also waives the previously-scheduled restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for the remainder of the October through November time period. With the RFDs waived during the closure, 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 December 1, 2023, the fishery will reopen automatically.

In this rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 49 entities under 52 entries to the Entity List. These entries are under the destinations of the People's Republic of China (China) (42), Estonia (1), Finland (1), Germany (1), India (3), Turkey (2), United Arab Emirates (1), and the United Kingdom (1). Some entities may have multiple entries, accounting for the difference in the total number of entities and entries. These 49 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 U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that producers/exporters of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber) from Mexico did not make sales at prices below normal value during the period of review (POR) September 1, 2021, through August 31, 2022. We also preliminarily find that Dynasol Elastomeros S.A. de C.V. (Dynasol Elastomeros) had no shipments during the POR. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that the respondents selected for individual examination, Ceuta Produce S de R.L. de C.V. and its affiliate, Rancho la Memoria, S. de R.L. de C.V. (collectively, Ceuta) and Valores Horticolas Del Pacifico S.A. De C.V. (VALHPAC), complied with the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty (AD) Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (2019 Agreement), for the period of review (POR) September 1, 2021, through August 31, 2022, except for certain instances of inconsequential and/or inadvertent noncompliance. We preliminarily determine that such noncompliance does not materially frustrate the purposes of the 2019 Agreement. Commerce also preliminarily determines that the 2019 Agreement continued to meet the statutory requirements under sections 734(c) and (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) during the POR.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that companies in the People's Republic of China (China) made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) September 10, 2020, through February 28, 2022.

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: U.S. Environmental Technologies Business Development Mission to IFAT (Internationale Fachausstellung fuer Abwasser Technologie)May 8-15, 2024. 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 U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that Adisseo Espa[ntilde]a S.A. (Adisseo Espa[ntilde]a) made sales of methionine from Spain at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) March 4, 2021, through August 31, 2022. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.