International Trade Commission 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commission hereby gives notice that it is inviting parties to the referenced proceeding to file comments in the remand proceeding ordered by the United States Court of International Trade (CIT). For further information concerning the conduct of this proceeding and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subpart A (19 CFR part 207).

The United States International Trade Commission (Commission) gives notice of the court-ordered remand of its final antidumping duty investigation, Investigation No. 731-TA-961 (Final) (Remand).

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on November 6, 2006, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of ATEN International Co., Ltd. of Taiwan and ATEN Technology, Inc. of Irvine, California. A supplement to the complaint was filed on November 27, 2006. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain switches and products containing same by reason of infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,035,112. The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United States exists or is in the process of being established as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337. The complainant requests that the Commission institute an investigation and, after the investigation, issue a permanent exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders.

Following receipt of a request on October 27, 2006, from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)) and in accordance with section 103 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), the Commission instituted Investigation Nos. 332-482 and Singapore FTA-103-015, U.S.-Singapore FTA: Probable Economic Effect of Accelerated Tariff Elimination and Modification of Rules of Origin.

Following receipt on November 2, 2006, of a request from the Committee on Finance of the U.S. Senate (Committee) under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-481, Industrial Biotechnology: Development and Adoption by the U.S. Chemical and Biofuel Industries. Background: As requested by the Committee, the Commission will institute an investigation under section 332(g) with respect to the competitive conditions affecting certain industries that are developing and adopting new biotechnology processes and products. The Commission will transmit its report to the Committee by July 2, 2008. As requested by the Committee, the Commission's report will focus to the extent practicableon firms in the U.S. chemical industry that are developing bio-based products (e.g., fibers and plastics) and renewable chemical platforms, as well as U.S. producers of liquid biofuels. The Commission will 1. Describe and compare government policies in the United States and key competitor countries throughout the world relating to the development of products by these industries; 2. Analyze the extent of business activity in these industries, including, but not limited to, trends in production, financial performance, investment, research and development, and impediments to development and trade; 3. Examine factors affecting the development of bio-based products, including liquid biofuels, and renewable chemical platforms being developed by the U.S. chemical industry, including, but not limited to, globalization of supply chains, capital investment sources, strategic alliances, intellectual property rights, and technology transfer mechanisms; 4. Determine, to the extent feasible, how the adoption of industrial biotechnology processing and products impacts the productivity and competitiveness of firms in these industries; and 5. Assess how existing U.S. government programs may affect the production and utilization of agricultural feedstocks for liquid biofuels as well as bio-based products and renewable chemical platforms being developed by the U.S. chemical industry.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC, or Commission) has determined that, beginning January 9, 2007, it will distribute Administrative Protective Order (APO) Release documents in electronic format on either a compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD) to parties on the APO service list for Title VII and Safeguard investigations. Parties requiring paper copies will be accommodated based on receipt of a request made to the Secretary to the Commission. The request may be made at the time the party files its application for disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) or confidential business information (CBI) under APO. It may also be made subsequent to filing of the application at which point it will be accommodated within three (3) business days of receipt of the request. Each CD/DVD will include APO Release documents in PDF format. In addition, it will include an ASCII text file with a table of contents listing all document files included on the CD/DVD, as well as the investigation number and phase of the investigation for which the documents were submitted. Each CD/DVD will be color coded and clearly marked as containing BPI or CBI. It will also be labeled with the investigation number, phase of the investigation, and date of release. Multiple CDs or DVDs will be used when the cumulative size of all document files exceeds the amount of space available on an individual CD or DVD. The ITC is instituting this practice as a means of addressing several cost and resource issues with paper distribution, including increasing paper costs, greater storage and handling requirements, and higher postal costs for mailing the documents. In addition, feedback from the Service List community also indicated a preference for receiving APO Release documents in electronic form via CD/DVD. All obligations imposed on recipients of APO releases by Commission rules and APOs continue in force with respect to the releases made on CD and DVD.

Following receipt on October 25, 2006 of a request from the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Commission instituted investigation No. 332-479, Certain Textile Articles: Performance Outerwear, under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)).

The Commission hereby gives notice that it will proceed with full reviews pursuant to section 751(c)(5) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)(5)) to determine whether revocation of the countervailing duty orders on hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from Argentina, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Thailand and the antidumping duty orders on hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and Ukraine would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. A schedule for the reviews will be established and announced at a later date. For further information concerning the conduct of these reviews and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).

The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of an expedited review pursuant to section 751(c)(3) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)(3)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty order on foundry coke from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. For further information concerning the conduct of this review and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).

The Commission hereby gives notice that it will proceed with full reviews pursuant to section 751(c)(5) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)(5)) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty orders on steel concrete reinforcing bar from Belarus, China, Indonesia, Korea, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. A schedule for the reviews will be established and announced at a later date. For further information concerning the conduct of these reviews and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on October 6, 2006, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of Fluke Corporation of Everett, Washington. Letters supplementing the complaint were filed on October 27 and October 30, 2006. The complaint, as supplemented, alleges violations of section 337 in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain digital multimeters, and products with multimeter functionality by reason of infringement of U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,796,480 and also by reason of infringement of trade dress, the threat or effect of which is to destroy or substantially injure an industry in the United States. The complaint further alleges that there exists an industry in the United States with respect to the asserted intellectual property rights. The complainant requests that the Commission institute an investigation and, after the investigation, issue a permanent general exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders.

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on October 6, 2006, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of Norgren, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado. An amended complaint was filed on October 25, 2006 and a supplement thereto was filed on November 1, 2006. The complaint, as amended and supplemented, alleges violations of section 337 in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain connecting devices, known as ``quick clamps,'' for compressed air conditioning units, which include filters, regulators, and lubricators, known collectively as ``FRL's,'' which together are used in larger pneumatic systems, by reason of infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,372,392. The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337. The complainant requests that the Commission institute an investigation and, after the investigation, issue a permanent exclusion order and a permanent cease and desist order.

Following receipt of a request letter on October 2, 2006, from the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives (Committee) under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. (332(g)), the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-478, U.S.-China Trade: Implications of U.S.-Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Trends. Background: In its October 2, 2006 letter, the Committee requested that the Commission prepare three reports with respect to U.S.-China trade, with the first report to be delivered 12 months after receipt of the letter and the second and third reports, 18 and 24 months after receipt of the letter, respectively. This notice announces institution of the first of three investigations for the purpose of preparing the requested reports. The Commission will issue separate notices relating to the second and third reports at a later date (see below). As requested by the Committee, in its first report the Commission will analyze the principal trends and patterns in trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) between Asia-Pacific countries and the United States and their implications for the U.S.-China trade relationship. The report will include: (1) A discussion of the main factors influencing these trends; (2) an in-depth examination of the industries that have had a major effect on trade and investment patterns in recent years; and (3), if required, formal quantitative analyses that may help explain these trends and provide an assessment of the reliability of the data used in each analysis. The report will also review the relationship between international trade and FDI, the trade and investment policies in the major countries of the region, and their effect on economic activity both on a global scale and within the Asian and Pacific region. The Commission will provide its first report to the Committee by October 2, 2007. The Committee also directed that the Commission provide two other reports on U.S.-China trade. For the second report, the Committee asked the Commission to investigate the driving factors behind the rapid growth in U.S.-China trade. The Commission expects to initiate the investigation relating to this report in April 2007 and to provide its report to the Committee by April 2, 2008. For the third report, the Committee asked the Commission to provide an in-depth examination of China's integration with the global economy through processing trade and FDI, and its implications for U.S.-China trade and investment. The Commission expects to initiate the investigation relating to this report in October 2007 and to provide its report to the Committee by October 2, 2008.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined not to review an initial determination (``ID'') issued by the presiding administrative law judge (``ALJ'') granting Old Dominion Footwear, Inc.'s motion to intervene in the above-captioned investigation for the limited purpose of obtaining a ruling as to whether its Aqua Ducks shoe products infringe the asserted design patent.

The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty orders on welded large diameter line pipe from Japan and Mexico would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section 751(c)(2) of the Act, interested parties are requested to respond to this notice by submitting the information specified below to the Commission; \1\ to be assured of consideration, the deadline for responses is December 21, 2006. Comments on the adequacy of responses may be filed with the Commission by January 16, 2007. For further information concerning the conduct of these reviews and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined not to review an initial determination (``ID'') (Order No. 7) of the presiding administrative law judge (``ALJ'') granting motion of Acclaim Innovations, LLC (``Acclaim'') to intervene as co-complainant in the above-captioned investigation under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337).

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined to review in part the initial determination (``ID'') of the presiding administrative law judge (``ALJ'') issued on September 6, 2006, in the above-captioned investigation under section 337 of the Tariff Act as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337. Specifically, the Commission has determined to review the issues of (1) claim construction of the limitations ``logical processor number'' and ``added to each instruction,'' (2) whether there are genuine issues of material fact precluding summary determination, and (3) the ALJ's interpretation of the law concerning the doctrine of equivalents.