Department of Commerce – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene two webinar meetings of its Groundfish Management Team (GMT) and one meeting of its Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP). The first meetings held by the GAP and the meeting of the GMT will discuss items on the Pacific Council's March 2024 meeting agenda. The second meeting of the GMT is to discuss items on the Pacific Council's April 2024 meeting agenda. These meetings are open to the public.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 126 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and Amendment 114 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). If approved, Amendments 126/114 would implement an electronic monitoring (EM) program for pelagic trawl pollock catcher vessels and tender vessels delivering to shoreside processors and stationary floating processors in the Bering Sea (BS), Aleutian Islands (AI), and GOA. This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), Amendments 126/114, the BSAI FMP, and the GOA FMP.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that SRF Limited/SRF Limited of India/SRF Limited Packaging Films (SRF) did not make sales of subject merchandise to the United States at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. We will apply SRF's rate to Jindal Poly Films Ltd. (India) (Jindal) and Polyplex Corporation Ltd. (Polyplex) for these final results.

NMFS proposes to implement an annual catch limit (ACL) and an annual catch target (ACT) for main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) Kona crab for fishing years 2024, 2025, and 2026. This proposed action would not revise, add, or remove current accountability measures (AMs) in the regulations. NMFS will close Federal waters to Kona crab fishing for the remainder of the fishing year if NMFS projects the fishery will reach the ACT. NMFS will reduce the ACT and ACL the subsequent fishing year by the overage if landings exceed the ACL. This proposed rule supports the long-term sustainability of MHI Kona crab.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel meeting to review the 2024 Pacific sardine stock assessment. The meeting will be co-hosted by the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

NMFS publishes the standard ex-vessel prices and fee percentage for cost recovery under the Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program). This action is intended to provide participants in a rockfish cooperative with the standard prices and fee percentage for the 2023 fishing year, which was authorized from May 1 through November 15. The fee percentage is 3.00 percent. The fee payments are due from each rockfish cooperative on or before February 15, 2024.

The Under Secretary for Economic Affairs requests the nomination of individuals to the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC or the Committee). The Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, in coordination with the Directors of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau, as well as the Commissioner of the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will consider nominations received in response to this notice, as well as from other sources.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order on sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and derivative products (sodium gluconate) from the People's Republic of China (China) would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping at the levels indicated in the ``Final Results of Sunset Review'' section of this notice.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce), in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is announcing a new functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for importers entering merchandise that is the subject of an antidumping and/or countervailing duty (AD/CVD) certification. Specifically, the capability will exist for importers to identify in the ACE entries that are the subject of an AD/CVD certification. Commerce intends to instruct parties to use this new functionality on a case-by-case basis. This new identification mechanism will facilitate Commerce's and CBP's administration of the AD/CVD laws by making such entry summaries more readily identifiable to Commerce and CBP.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC strand) from Thailand was not sold in the United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results of review.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order on xanthan gum from the People's Republic of China (China) would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping at the level indicated in the ``Final Results of Sunset Review'' section of this notice.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC or Committee) will hold an open meeting in-person and virtually via web conference on February 22, 2024, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. eastern time. The primary purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to report working group findings, identify actionable recommendations, receive public briefings and receive an update from the NAIAC Law Enforcement Subcommittee. The final agenda will be posted to the NAIAC website: ai.gov/naiac/.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain steel nails from Taiwan were sold in the United States at less than normal value during the period of review (POR), July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. Commerce also determines that certain companies under review made no shipments of certain steel nails from Taiwan or had no reviewable sales during the POR.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is extending the period for submitting comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the modernization and internal expansion of existing semiconductor fabrication facilities under the CHIPS Incentives Program. The original deadline for public comments was January 25, 2024. NIST is extending the deadline until February 9, 2024.

The CHIPS Research and Development Office (CHIPS R&D) intends to announce an open competition for a new Manufacturing USA Institute. The expected competition will seek to establish one (1) Manufacturing USA Institute focused on the topic of digital twins for semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, and assembly and the validation of such digital twins in a physical prototyping facility. This NOI is provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations among industry, academic, Federal laboratory, and state/local government partners.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in Framework Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plans for Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John (collectively, the island-based FMPs). If implemented, this proposed rule would modify annual catch limits (ACLs) for spiny lobster in the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John. The purpose of this proposed rule is to update management reference points for spiny lobster, consistent with the best scientific information available to prevent overfishing and achieve optimum yield (OY).

NMFS received a request from Bluepoint Wind, LLC (BPW) for the renewal of their currently active incidental harassment authorization (IHA) (hereinafter, the ``initial IHA'') to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys in coastal waters off of New York and New Jersey in the New York Bight, specifically within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (Lease) Area OCS-A 0537 and associated export cable route (ECR) area. BPW's activities will not be completed prior to the IHA's expiration. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to issuing the currently active IHA, NMFS requested comments on both the proposed IHA and the potential for renewing the initial authorization if certain requirements were satisfied. The renewal requirements have been satisfied, and NMFS is now providing an additional 15-day comment period to allow for any additional comments on the proposed renewal not previously provided during the initial 30- day comment period.

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 Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee (MPC) will hold an online public meeting.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the National Sea Grant Advisory Board (Board), a Federal Advisory Committee. Board members will discuss and provide advice on the National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) in the areas of program evaluation, strategic planning, education and extension, science and technology programs, and other matters as described in the agenda found on the Sea Grant website. For more information on this Federal Advisory Committee please visit the Federal Advisory Committee database: https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/ FACAPublicPage.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of certain collated steel staples (collated staples) that were exported from the Kingdom of Thailand (Thailand) or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam), using inputs (i.e., steel wire and wire bands) manufactured in the People's Republic of China (China), as specified below, are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on collated staples from China.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to incidentally harass marine mammals during construction activities associated with a sediment remediation project in San Francisco Bay.

NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Space Force (USSF) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to launches and supporting activities at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in Vandenberg, California from April, 2024 to April, 2029. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals incidental to the specified activities. NMFS is proposing regulations to govern that take, and requests comments on the proposed regulations. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision. Missile launches conducted at VSFB, which comprise a smaller portion of the activities, are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (2004 NDAA).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on the extension and revision of an existing information collection: 0651- 0031 (Patent Processing). The purpose of this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission of this information collection to OMB.