[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61819-61820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25061]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Dispute No. WTO/DS449]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding United States--
Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Products From China
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative
(``USTR'') is providing notice that on September 17, 2012, the People's
Republic of China (``China'') requested consultations with the United
States under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization (``WTO Agreement'') concerning Public Law 112-99, ``An act
to apply the countervailing duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930
to nonmarket economy countries, and for other purposes'' (``Pub. L.
112-99''), and the countervailing and anti-dumping duty determinations
and actions by the Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade
Commission and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on imports of the
products from China listed below. That request may be found at
www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS449/1. USTR
invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised
in this dispute.
DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be
submitted on or before November 1, 2012, to be assured of timely
consideration by USTR.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted electronically to
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0031. If you are unable to
provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential
information, then the comment should be submitted by fax only to Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395-3640.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Wang, Assistant General Counsel,
or Joseph Rieras, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the United
States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20508,
(202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is providing notice that consultations
have been requested pursuant to the WTO Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (``DSU''). If such
consultations should fail to resolve the matter and a dispute
settlement panel is established pursuant to the DSU, such panel, which
would hold its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, would be expected to
issue a report on its findings and recommendations within nine months
after it is established.
Major Issues Raised by China
On September 17, 2012, China requested consultations concerning:
(1) Section 1 of Public Law 112-99, ``Application of Countervailing
Duty Provisions to Nonmarket Economy Countries''; and (2) Section 2 of
Public Law 112-99, ``Adjustment of Antidumping Duty in Certain
Proceedings Relating to Imports from Nonmarket Economy Countries.''
China also challenges the concurrent application of anti-dumping
and countervailing duties under the nonmarket economy methodology with
respect to the following investigations and reviews initiated between
November 20, 2006 and March 13, 2012 on imports from China: Coated Free
Sheet Paper (C-570-907); Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe (C-
570-911); Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube (C-570-915); Laminated
Woven Sacks (C-570-917); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires; (C-
570-913); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires, Administrative
Review (C-570-913); Raw Flexible Magnets (C-570-923); Lightweight
Thermal Paper (C-570-921); Sodium Nitrite (C-570-926); Circular Welded
Austenitic Stainless Pressure Pipe (C-570-931); Certain Circular Welded
Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe (C-570-936); Citric Acid and Certain
Citrate Salts (C-570-938); Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts,
Administrative Review (C-570-938); Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and
Certain Parts Thereof (C-570-940); Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving
and Racks (C-570-942); Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks,
Administrative Review (C-570-942), Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods
(C-570-944), Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand (C-570-946);
Certain Steel Grating (C-570-948); Wire Decking (C-570-950); Narrow
Woven Ribbons With Woven Selvedge (C-570-953); Certain Magnesia Carbon
Bricks (C-570-955); Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard,
Line, and Pressure Pipe (C-570-957); Certain Coated Paper Suitable for
High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses (C-570-959);
Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts (C-570-963); Drill Pipe (C-570-966);
Aluminum Extrusions (C-570-968); Multilayered Wood Flooring (C-570-
971); Certain Steel Wheels (C-570-974); Galvanized Steel Wire (C-570-
976); High Pressure Steel Cylinders (C-570-978); Crystalline Silicon
Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, (C-570-980);
Utility Scale Wind Towers (C-570-982); Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks (C-
570-984); Coated Free Sheet Paper (A-570-906); Circular Welded Carbon
Quality Steel Pipe (A-570-910); Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube
(A-570-916); Laminated Woven Sacks (A-570-914); Certain New Pneumatic
Off-The-Road Tires (A-570-912); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road
Tires, Administrative Review (A-570-912); Raw Flexible Magnets (A-570-
922); Lightweight Thermal Paper (A-570-920); Sodium Nitrite (A-570-
925); Circular Welded Austenitic Stainless Pressure Pipe (A-570-930);
Certain Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe (A-570-935);
Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts (A-570-937); Citric Acid and
Certain Citrate Salts, Administrative Review (A-570-937); Certain Tow
Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof (A-570-939); Certain
Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks (A-570-941); Certain Kitchen
Appliance Shelving and Racks,
[[Page 61820]]
Administrative Review (A-570-941); Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods
(A-570-943); Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand (A-570-945);
Certain Steel Grating (A-570-947); Wire Decking (A-570-949); Narrow
Woven Ribbons With Woven Selvedge (A-570-952); Certain Magnesia Carbon
Bricks (A-570-954); Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard,
Line, and Pressure Pipe (A-570-956); Certain Coated Paper Suitable for
High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses (A-570-958);
Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts (A-570-962); Drill Pipe (A-570-965);
Aluminum Extrusions (A-570-967); Multilayered Wood Flooring (A-570-
970); Certain Steel Wheels (A-570-973); Galvanized Steel Wire (A-570-
975); High Pressure Steel Cylinders (A-570-977); Crystalline Silicon
Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules (A-570-979);
Utility Scale Wind Towers (A-570-981); and Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks
(A-570-983).
China alleges inconsistencies with Articles VI, X:1, X:2, X:3 of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (``GATT 1994''),
Articles 10, 15, 19, 21 and 32 of the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures, and Articles 9 and 11 of the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994. The challenged
investigations and reviews are available at the following web page of
the Department of Commerce: http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html.
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons may submit public
comments electronically to www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2012-
0031. If you are unable to provide submissions by www.regulations.gov,
please contact Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an
alternative method of transmission.
To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number
USTR-2012-0031 on the home page and click ``search''. The site will
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice''
under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-results page,
and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!.'' (For further
information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult
the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use
Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of the page.)
The www.regulations.gov site provides the option of providing
comments by filling in a ``Type Comments'' field or by attaching a
document using an ``upload file'' field. It is expected that most
comments will be provided in an attached document. If a document is
attached, it is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type
Comments'' field.
A person requesting that information contained in a comment
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business
information must certify that such information is business confidential
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter.
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment
containing business confidential information must be submitted by fax
to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640. A non-confidential summary of the
confidential information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The
non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket and open to
public inspection.
Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
(1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE''
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
(3) Must provide a non-confidential summary of the information or
advice. Any comment containing confidential information must be
submitted by fax. A non-confidential summary of the confidential
information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The non-
confidential summary will be placed in the docket and open to public
inspection.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a docket on this dispute settlement
proceeding accessible to the public at www.regulations.gov, docket
number USTR-2012-0031.
The public file will include non-confidential comments received by
USTR from the public with respect to the dispute. If a dispute
settlement panel is convened or in the event of an appeal from such a
panel, the U.S. submissions, any non-confidential submissions, or non-
confidential summaries of submissions, received from other participants
in the dispute, will be made available to the public on USTR's Web site
at www.ustr.gov, and the report of the panel, and, if applicable, the
report of the Appellate Body, will be available on the Web site of the
World Trade Organization, www.wto.org. Comments open to public
inspection may be viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web site.
Juan Millan,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-25061 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P