[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5440-5442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2227]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
15 CFR Part 336
19 CFR Part 357
RIN 0625-AA90
Withdrawal of Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven
Fabric and Short Supply Procedures; Opportunity for Public Comment
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: Import Administration (``IA'') issues this proposed rule for
the purpose of withdrawing regulations pertaining to imports of cotton
woven fabric and short supply procedures. Both sets of regulations are
obsolete.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments must be received no later than
April 3, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposal to withdraw these
regulations by one of the two following methods:
Electronic Submission: All comments must be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No.
ITA-2011-0004, unless the commenter does
[[Page 5441]]
not have access to the Internet. All comments should be addressed to
the Secretary of Commerce, Attention: Robert Goodyear, Director, Office
of Operations Support, Import Administration, ITA, Room 3099-A, U.S.,
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20230. Any questions concerning file formatting,
document conversion, access on the Internet, or other electronic filing
issues should be addressed to Andrew Lee Beller, Import Administration
Webmaster, at (202) 482-0866, email address: webmaster-support@ita.doc.gov.
Mail: Commenters that do not have access to the Internet may submit
the original and two copies of each set of comments by mail or hand
delivery/courier to the names and addresses listed above. Mark the
outside of the envelope ``Comments on proposed Withdrawal of
Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven Fabric and Short
Supply Procedures.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Goodyear, Director, Office of
Operations Support, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
at (202) 482-5194 or Scott McBride, Senior Attorney, Office of the
Chief Counsel for Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
at (202) 482-6292.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13563 on January 18,
2011, titled ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The
Executive Order directed all agencies, to ``develop and submit'' to the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs plans under which
agencies, ``consistent with law and [their] resources and regulatory
priorities,'' will ``periodically review [their] existing significant
regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be
modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed so as to make the agency's
regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the
regulatory objectives.'' The Executive Order states that one of the
purposes of implementing a program to perform a ``retrospective
analysis of existing rules'' is to withdraw regulations that are
``outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome.''
In August 2011, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued its Plan for
Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules. < http://open.commerce.gov/news/2011/08/23/commerce-plan-retrospective-analysis-existing-rules>.
Within the Department's Plan, International Trade Administration
indicated that IA intended to withdraw two groups of regulations which
it determined are obsolete.
The regulatory provisions titled ``Imports of Cotton Woven
Fabric,'' codified at 15 CFR 336.1-336.5, are no longer relevant. They
were implemented pursuant to the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of
2006, at Division C, Title IV, Section 406(b)(1) (Pub. L. 109-432)
(codified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, per
19 U.S.C. 3004) (2006). The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 set
forth tariff rate quotas for cotton woven fabric and the regulatory
provisions at issue provide for the administration of allocations of
those quotas by IA. The interim regulations were issued in 2007, and
then adopted without change, with an effective date of July 10, 2008.
Imports of Certain Cotton Shirting Fabric: Implementation of Tariff
Rate Quota Established Under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006
(Interim Final Rule), 72 FR 40235 (July 24, 2007); Imports of Certain
Cotton Shirting Fabric: Implementation of Tariff Rate Quota Established
Under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (Final Rule), 73 FR
39585 (July 10, 2008). However, the tariff rate quota on cotton woven
fabric expired on December 31, 2009. Accordingly, these regulations are
obsolete and should be withdrawn.
The regulations pertaining to ``Short Supply Procedures,'' which
are codified at 19 CFR 357.101-111, are also no longer relevant. These
regulations were issued pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Steel Trade
Liberalization Program Implementation Act (Pub. L. 101-221) (1989).
Short Supply Procedures (Interim--Final Rules), 55 FR 1348 (Jan. 12,
1990). They pertain to voluntary restraints on certain steel imports
from October 1, 1989 through March 31, 1992, and IA was tasked with
making short supply determinations under these regulations. IA has
determined that these regulations should also be withdrawn because they
are obsolete, as the associated import restraints have not affected
U.S. trade for over 19 years.
Classification
Executive Order 12866
It has been determined that this proposed rule is not significant
for purposes of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993
(``Regulatory Planning and Review'') (58 FR 51734) (October 4, 1993).
Neither set of regulations has an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more, or adversely affects in a material way the economy, a
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health, or safety. Id. at 51738.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed rule contains no new collection of information
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule does not contain policies with federalism
implications as that term is defined in section 1(a) of Executive Order
13132, dated August 4, 1999 (64 FR 43255) (August 10, 1999).
Environmental Impact
ITA has determined pursuant to 21 CFR 25.30 that this action is of
a type that does not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the human environment. Therefore, neither an environmental
assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (as amended by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996; 5 U.S.C.
601 et seq.), whenever a Federal agency is required to publish a notice
of rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare, and make
available for public comment, a regulatory flexibility analysis that
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small
businesses, small organizations, and small government jurisdictions).
However, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of
an agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the
Regulatory Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a
statement of the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The proposed rule would have no impact on small entities
because both sets of regulations are obsolete and this rule simply
makes a technical correction by withdrawing these obsolete regulations.
Proposed Effective Date
ITA is proposing that any final rule that may issue based upon this
proposed rule become effective upon its publication in the Federal
Register.
Comments
Parties are invited to comment on ITA's Proposed Withdrawal of
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Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven Fabric and Short
Supply Procedures within April 3, 2012. All submitted comments must be
public and submitted pursuant to the directions under the ADDRESSES
heading. ITA will not accept comments accompanied by a request that
part or all of the material be treated confidentially because of its
business proprietary nature or for any other reason. All comments
responding to this notice will be a matter of public record and will be
available for inspection at Import Administration's Central Records
Unit (Room 7046 of the Herbert C. Hoover Building) and on the
Department's Web site at http://www.trade.gov/ia/.
List of Subjects
15 CFR Part 336
Imports, Quotas, Reporting and recordkeeping, Tariffs, Textiles.
19 CFR Part 357
Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Steel.
15 CFR PART 336--IMPORTS OF COTTON WOVEN FABRIC
Accordingly, under the authority given pursuant to the Tax Relief
and Health Care Act of 2006, at Division C, Title IV, Section 406(a)(1)
(Pub. L. 109-432)(2006) (titled ``Temporary Duty Reductions for Certain
Cotton Shirting Fabric'' and listing 12/31/2009 as the end date for the
tariff rate quota), ITA proposes to amend 15 CFR chapter III by
removing part 336.
19 CFR PART 357--SHORT SUPPLY PROCEDURES
Accordingly, under the authority given by Section 4(b) of the Steel
Trade Liberalization Program Implementation Act (Pub. L. 101-221),
which by its terms was limited to imports through March 31, 1992, ITA
proposes to amend 19 CFR chapter III by removing part 357.
Dated: January 26, 2012.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-2227 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P