[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73732-73734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29872]
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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.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative
(``USTR'') is providing notice that on November 19, 2012, the People's
Republic of China (``China'') requested the establishment of a dispute
settlement panel 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. The panel request may be found at www.wto.org contained in a
document designated as WT/DS449/2. 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 December 30, 2012, to be assured of timely
consideration by USTR.
[[Page 73733]]
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted electronically to
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0031. If you are unable to
provide submissions at 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: Joseph Rieras, Assistant General
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative; or Lisa
Wang, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade
Representative. Contact information is: 600 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 127(b)(1) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (``URAA'') (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)) requires that notice
and opportunity for comment be provided after the United States submits
or receives a request for the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement
panel. Consistent with this obligation, USTR is providing notice that
China has requested a panel pursuant to the WTO Understanding on Rules
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (``DSU''). Once it
is established, the panel will hold its meetings in Geneva,
Switzerland, and 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 November 19, 2012, China requested the establishment of a panel
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 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 the following 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, 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 that
the United States acted inconsistently 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 (``SCM Agreement''), and Articles 9 and 11 of
the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (``AD
Agreement''). 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.
The panel request was largely similar to the consultations request
filed on September 17, 2012.
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 at 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 Site'' on the bottom of the page.)
[[Page 73734]]
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. 2012-29872 Filed 12-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P