[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7849]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 1, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[A-821-802]
Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping
Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 11, 1994.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon, Eric Hassman, or
Melissa Skinner, Office of Agreements Compliance, Import
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-1391, (202) 482-1382, or (202) 482-0159,
respectively.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) and the Government
of the Russian Federation (GRF) have signed an Amendment (the
Amendment) to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on
Uranium from the Russian Federation (the Agreement). The parties signed
the Amendment recognizing that the Agreement to date had not generated
the anticipated increase in the price of U.S.-origin natural uranium
that would have permitted renewed sales of Russian uranium under the
price-tied quota mechanism nor increased sales of U.S.-origin natural
uranium or employment in the U.S. uranium industry.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 16, 1992, the Department and the GRF signed the
suspension agreement on uranium and, on October 30, 1992, the Agreement
was published in the Federal Register (57 FR 49220, 49235). The
Department's latest price calculation, under the terms of the
Agreement, on October 1, 1993, did not reach the threshold price of
$13.00 per pound which would allow for Russian Federation imports of
uranium into the U.S. market under the price-tied quota mechanism
(Appendix A of the Agreement). Thus, the GRF requested consultations
with the Department, as specified in Section X.C of the Agreement, in
order to review the market situation and consider adjustments to the
quota.
As a result of these consultations, a proposed amendment to the
Russian suspension agreement, based on the concept of joint sales
between U.S. and Russian producers, was initialled on December 15,
1993, by the Department and the GRF. The Department subsequently
released the proposed amendment to interested parties for comment.
After careful consideration by the Department of the comments submitted
and further consultations between the two parties, the Department and
the GRF signed the final amendment on March 11, 1994. The text of the
Amendment follows in Annex 1 to this notice.
Information on the amount of annual matched imports remaining
available for the year, as noted in Section IV.E of the Amendment, may
be obtained from the above-noted contacts in the Office of Agreements
Compliance. Confirmation requests should be submitted, in accordance
with 19 CFR 353.31 and 353.32, to: Secretary of Commerce, Attention:
Import Administration (Office of Agreements Compliance), Central
Records Unit, Room B-099, U.S. Department of Commerce, Pennsylvania
Avenue and 14th St. NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: March 25, 1994.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Annex 1--Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping
Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation
The parties recognize that the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (``the
Agreement'') has not generated the anticipated increase in the price of
U.S.-origin natural uranium that would have permitted renewed sales of
Russian uranium under the price-tied quota mechanism; nor has the
Agreement increased sales of U.S.-origin natural uranium or employment
in the U.S. uranium industry. Because an objective of this Agreement is
to restore the competitive position of the U.S. industry, the parties
agree as follows.
The Agreement is hereby extended until March 31, 2004. Consistent
with the requirement of Section 734(l) of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (the Act) to prevent the suppression or undercutting of
price levels of domestic products in the United States, Sections II,
IV, VIII and XIV are amended as set forth below. Appendix A of the
Agreement is suspended until March 31, 2004, in accordance with amended
Section XIV. All other provisions of the Agreement, particularly
Section VII, remain in force and apply to this Amendment.
The following definitions are added to Section II.
II. Definitions
(e) For purposes of this Agreement, ``United States'' shall
comprise the customs territory of the United States of America (the 50
States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and foreign trade
zones located in the territory of the United States of America. (f)
Separative work unit, or SWU, means the standard measure of enrichment
services. The effort expended in separating a mass F of feed of assay
xf into a mass P of product of assay xp and waste of mass W
and assay xw is expressed in terms of the number of separative
work units needed, given by the expression
SWU=WV(xw)+PV(xp)-FV(xf), where V(x) is the ``value
function,'' defined as V(x)=(1-2x)ln[(1-x)/x].
(g) ``U.S. producer'' means: (1) a company that owns a production
interest in a licensed or permitted mine capable of producing uranium
with sufficient economically recoverable reserves to justify production
or (2) a U.S. converter or enricher.
(h) ``For consumption'' means for further processing (as necessary)
and use as nuclear fuel. Consumption may include such uses as swaps or
exchanges of material, only where such swaps or exchanges are
documented to be conducted solely for the purpose of facilitating the
further processing and use as nuclear fuel by the end-user. The
material shall not be loaned. The material shall not be resold except
as a result of force majeure.
(i) ``End-user'' means an entity, such as an electric utility,
hospital, or scientific institution, which consumes uranium.
(j) A ``Spot Contract'' means any contract for natural uranium and/
or SWU that specifies that all deliveries must be completed within 12
months of contract execution. A ``Long-Term'' contract means any
contract that is not a spot contract.
(k) ``Newly-produced'' natural uranium in the form of
U3O8 means uranium produced, on or after the effective date
of this Amendment, by conventional mining, in-situ leaching (``ISL'')
production, co-product or by-product production, or mine water recovery
production. Newly-produced natural uranium in the form of UF6
means UF6 containing newly-produced U3O8. If the Russian
Federation Ministry of Atomic Energy (MINATOM) has not concluded sales
of at least 2,204,620 pounds U3O8 equivalent during the first
six months of this Amendment, up to 1,000,000 pounds U3O8
equivalent mined prior, and milled subsequent to, the effective date of
the Amendment, may be used for the purpose of matched sales for the
remainder of that year.
Section IV.A., IV.B., and IV.C.1., and to the extent that they
relate to Appendix A, other portions of Section IV, are replaced with:
IV. Matched Imports. Matched imports are imports of Russian-origin
natural uranium or SWU that are matched with U.S.-origin natural
uranium or SWU for delivery to end-users for consumption in the United
States in accordance with the terms of this Amendment. Russian-origin
natural uranium or SWU may be imported into the United States under
this Amendment only if they qualify as matched imports as described
below. The importer must document that the United States Department of
Commerce (``the Department'') has issued a confirmation under which the
shipment may be imported and any prior imports under that confirmation.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this Amendment, matched imports are
authorized up to the limits, and subject to the conditions, set forth
below.
To qualify as a matched import under this section, ``Russian-
origin'' natural uranium (i.e. U3O8 or UF6) or SWU must
be matched with an equal portion of ``newly-produced'' U.S.-origin
natural uranium (i.e. U3O8 or UF6) or SWU, subject to
adjustment under Section D. For purposes of this Section, Russian-
origin means natural uranium (i.e. U3O8 or UF6) or SWU
which is produced in Russia, and which is exported from Russia for the
first time after the effective date of this Amendment. Matched imports
are subject to the following conditions:
(a) The U.S.-origin natural uranium must be mined in the United
States, and/or the U.S.-produced SWU must be or have been performed in
the United States, subsequent to the effective date of this Amendment
and must be delivered pursuant to a new contract, or a new extension or
modification of a contract, to supply the needs of an end-user which
are uncommitted as of the date of the Amendment;
(b) In the case of SWU, prior to the presentation of the matched
sale to the Department for confirmation, the U.S. producer must be
informed of all material terms of the matched sale to the end-user and
must consent to the matching of its SWU in that sale with the imported
Russian SWU;
(c) In the case of natural uranium, if the U.S. producer is not the
contracting party with the end-user, then, prior to the presentation of
the matched sale to the Department for confirmation, the U.S. producer
must consent to the matching of its uranium in that sale with the
imported Russian uranium; and
(d) Prior to the presentation of the matched sales contract to the
Department for confirmation, the U.S. producer and the Russian producer
must agree to the schedule of deliveries to the end-user of the
imported Russian uranium or SWU and of the U.S. uranium or SWU.
Matched sales may be made only by matching spot contracts to spot
contracts and long-term contracts to long-term contracts, as defined in
Section II, and uranium-type to uranium-type (i.e., U3O8 or
UF6). Consistent with Section III of the Agreement, conversion
does not change the country-of-origin of uranium ore, and, thus, U.S.-
origin UF6 is U.S-origin U3O8 converted at any
converter.
A. Limits for Matched Imports
For 1994 (April 1, 1994-March 31, 1995) and 1995 (April 1, 1995-
March 31, 1996), this Amendment authorizes annual matched sales of up
to 3,000 metric tons (6,613,860 pounds U3O8 equivalent) per
year of Russian-origin natural uranium and up to 2 million Russian-
origin SWU per year from the Russian Federation to the United States.
The matching natural uranium must be sold during 1994 and 1995 but may
be imported for delivery at any time during the life of the Amendment,
subject to the conditions contained herein. For the years 1996 through
2003, this Amendment authorizes additional matching deliveries of
natural uranium up to, but not exceeding, the levels listed in
Attachment 1. Deliveries pursuant to the 3,000 metric ton matched
natural uranium quotas, confirmed in 1994 and 1995 and delivered in
subsequent years, shall not be counted against the quota limitations
listed in Attachment 1 for the years 1996 through 2003. Because the
annual matching SWU quota expires two years from the effective date of
this Amendment, no additional matched SWU sales, or corresponding
imports of SWU, will be allowed. However, the matching SWU sold during
1994 and 1995 may be delivered at any time during the life of the
matched sales contract.
For purposes of counting against the 1994 and 1995 sales quota
limitations for both natural uranium and SWU, the date of the
Department's confirmation (see Section IV.E) shall determine whether a
matched import comes within the annual limit. However, for purposes of
counting against the natural uranium delivery quota limitations for the
years 1996 through 2003, the date of delivery of the Russian component
of the confirmed matched sale (see Section IV.E) shall determine
whether a matched import comes within the annual limit. The sales
quotas in the first two years and the delivery quotas in subsequent
years of the Amendment for natural uranium are separate and distinct.
Enriched uranium from Russia may be imported only if there is a
matched sale for the SWU component of such enriched uranium. When
Russian enriched UF6 is imported pursuant to a matching SWU sale,
an equivalent amount of natural uranium (based on the U235 assay
of the product assuming a 0.3 tails assay) must be deposited with,
exchanged, or returned to the seller's account on, before, or up to
five days after the date of delivery of the imported enriched UF6
to the buyer or the buyer's account. The feed component shall be
counted against the natural uranium matched sales quota, through use in
a matched sale, unless the feed material or its equivalent that is
returned to the seller is either exported or quarantined from the U.S.
market. Regardless of the ultimate disposition of the natural feed
component associated with a sale of Russian-origin SWU, from the time
any uranium products are delivered or returned to the seller or for the
seller's account until the time such material is disposed of in
accordance with the terms of this Section of the Amendment, the seller
agrees to the following:
To maintain the material in a separate account exclusively
for the accounting of this material at the converter, enricher, or
fabricator;
To make available to the Department, quarterly, a full
accounting of all deliveries into and out of this account at the
converter, enricher, or fabricator including delivery from the account,
to whom delivery was made, pursuant to which contract, in what
quantity, and confirmation of the status of any transaction that
occurred from the account; and
To certify not to use the imported uranium for loans,
swaps, or use as loan repayment or any purpose other than delivery in
accordance with this Section of the Amendment, unless: (i) The amount
is destined for consumption as defined in Section II(h); (ii) the
amount is counted against the quota in connection with a confirmed
matched sale; and (iii) the Department is notified of the transaction.
Any natural uranium deposited with, exchanged, or returned to the
seller or the seller's account as a result of sales of Russian SWU
under matched contracts shall be deemed to be of Russian origin at the
time of deposit, exchange or return, and, if re-exported, shall clearly
be identified as Russian origin in all accompanying documentation and
packaging.
MINATOM will restrict the volume of direct or indirect exports to
the United States of the merchandise subject to this Amendment on or
after the effective date of this Amendment, and will continue to
restrict the transfer or withdrawal from inventory (consistent with the
provisions of this Section) of the merchandise subject to this
Amendment.
MINATOM will ensure that all exports of merchandise made under this
provision qualify as matched imports made in conjunction with a U.S.
producer or enricher, composed of equal parts Russian and newly-
produced U.S.-origin natural uranium (subject to adjustment under
Section D) or SWU.
B. Per Company Limits for Matched Imports
For each calendar year's quantity of confirmed matched imports, no
more than 20 percent of the total allowable limit of matched imports of
uranium may be matched with uranium sourced from any single U.S.
producer. Nor may more than fifty (50) percent of the total allowable
limit be matched with uranium from any single group of producers under
common ownership or control. For purposes of this section, ``ownership
or control'' shall be defined consistent with Section 771(13) of the
Act.
C. Price Limits for Matched Imports
The unit price paid to the U.S. producer for the U.S. component for
each sale involving matched imports must be greater than the unit price
paid by the end-user for consumption in the United States. (If the
producer is the seller to the end-user, there may be no separate
payment for the U.S. component.)
D. Monitoring of U.S. Production
Given that a goal of this Amendment is to stimulate the production
of natural uranium in the United States, the Department will monitor
the level of uranium production in the United States through
information obtained from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Regardless of the level of U.S. production, matched imports during
the first year of this Amendment will be on a 50-50 basis. Depending on
the level of U.S. uranium production achieved in the first year, the
matching requirements for matched imports in the second year may be
modified as described below.
The Department will determine the annualized level of U.S.
production of natural uranium in 1994 using data from April 1, 1994,
through March 31, 1995. On April 30, 1995, the Department will announce
the level of U.S. production for 1994 for the purpose of possible
adjustment to the matching requirement ratio for the following year. If
the annualized level of U.S. production in the first year is less than
9 million pounds or more than 10 million pounds, then the ratio
required for matched import limits during the second year of this
Amendment will be adjusted in accordance with the following schedule:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matching
requirement for
second year
U.S. production for first year (millions of lbs.) (percentages)
-------------------
U.S. Russian
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-5................................................. 55 45
5-6................................................. 54 46
6-7................................................. 53 47
7-8................................................. 52 48
8-9................................................. 51 49
9-10................................................ (1) (1)
10-11............................................... 49 51
11-12............................................... 48 52
12-13............................................... 47 53
13-14............................................... 46 54
14-15............................................... 45 55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1No change.
Any changes in the ratio required for matched imports during the
second year of this Amendment will not affect matched imports confirmed
by the Department during the first year of this Amendment.
Such a ratio adjustment will only be in force during 1995. For all
subsequent years of the Amendment, the ratio for matching sales will
remain at 50-50.
E. Department Confirmation of Matched Imports.
Any matched sales contract to the end-user to be used in a matched
sale under this Amendment must be submitted to and confirmed by the
Department in accordance with this Section. To be confirmed as a
matched contract, the party submitting the contract must provide the
following information:
The date and terms, including price, of the contract with
the end-user pursuant to which the matched import(s) will be made;
A description of the physical material being imported;
Identification of the Russian supplier of the matched
import(s);
The estimated date on which the matched import(s) will
enter the customs territory of the United States;
The export license number under which the import(s) will
be exported;
The U.S. producer and specific production facility from
which the matched material was or will be sourced;
Explanation of the U.S. producer's relation to any other
enterprise involved in the production and/or sale of uranium in the
United States;
A copy of the contract with the end-user pursuant to which
the matched import(s) are to be made;
A copy of any separate contract or agreement made for the
U.S. material;
Certification from the U.S. producer that its production
will be ``newly-produced'' (within the meaning of this Amendment) to
fulfill the contract, and its ability and commitment to provide, at the
time specified in the contract, the contracted volume of natural
uranium and/or SWU;
Certification from the U.S. producer that it consents to
the matching of its material and the estimated delivery schedule;
An estimated delivery schedule;
Certification from the end-user that it will consume the
matched product in the United States in accordance with Section II(h)
of this Amendment;
All documentation relating to the escrow account set up
for the matched sale; and
Any other information that the Department, after
consultation with MINATOM, determines necessary to confirm that the
requirements of this Amendment have been met.
Within 15 days of filing with the Import Administration's Central
Records Unit a complete confirmation request, the Department will
confirm that the matched sales contract qualifies for matching under
this Amendment or will state specifically why it does not qualify. In
making such a determination, the Department will limit its review to
determining (i) whether the contract under review comes within total
annual limits remaining available for the year in which the request was
submitted; (ii) whether the U.S. uranium matched under the matched
sales contract exceeds the per company limitations set forth in Section
IV.B; and (iii) whether the sales price for the newly-produced U.S.
uranium, if there is such a separate sale, meets the requirements set
forth in Section IV.C. Further, in the process of confirmation request
and approval, the Department will review the specific terms of the
escrow account documentation.
The end-user must pay a blended price for all deliveries. When
deliveries of Russian uranium are made prior to deliveries of the
matching U.S. product, either:
a. The U.S. product must be delivered to the end-user within 1
month of delivery of the Russian component to the end-user, or
b. The difference between the price paid to the Russian producer
and the blended price will be paid into a properly drawn escrow account
specified in the contract. However, the amount deposited in the escrow
account shall in no case be less than 10 percent of the total
contracted value of the U.S. component of the matched sale. The escrow
funds will be forfeited if the U.S. producer fails to deliver any
portion of the U.S. component of the matched sale. The Department and
MINATOM will develop a way to dispose of any forfeited escrow funds,
but in no event will such funds be returned to any matched sales
participant, e.g., the U.S. or Russian producer, the end-user, or the
importer.
If the Department determines upon review that any party has failed
to deliver or cancelled delivery of uranium or SWU in a matched sale
contract for any reason other than force majeure, or has otherwise not
complied with the terms of the Amendment, that party shall be precluded
from participation in any further matched sales.
Upon confirmation, the Department will subtract the total amount of
contracted Russian-origin matched-import uranium and/or SWU from the
remaining quota for that year. The Department shall also make available
on a current and continuous basis the amount of annual matched imports
that remain available for the year. The Department will publish the
contact office (and telephone number) for obtaining such information
and the office to which confirmation requests should be sent. If the
Department fails to respond to a confirmation request for a matched
import within 15 days, the request shall be deemed to be approved
notwithstanding any other provisions of this Amendment.
Russian natural uranium or SWU may be imported into the United
States prior to the scheduled time for delivery pursuant to a confirmed
matched sales contract only if:
(1) The material is placed in a dedicated account for the approved
contract;
(2) The importer (if the owner of material, or the person for whom
or on whose behalf the material is imported) or his consignee,
certifies to the Department that such material will not be sold,
loaned, swapped, or utilized other than for delivery to the U.S. end-
user for consumption in accordance with Section II(h) of this
Amendment; and
(3) The material enters the U.S. but is not liquidated until such
time as it is delivered to the end-user.
Prior to U.S. Customs clearance of the Russian-origin uranium, the
importer (if the owner of material, or the person for whom or on whose
behalf the uranium is imported) will notify the Department of the date
of import, the quantity and declared value of the shipment, the vessel
name, the port of entry, and the pre-confirmed individual contract
pursuant to which the shipment is entering. If such information is
consistent with a pre-confirmed contract and the notice of request for
delivery from the end-user, the Department will notify the U.S. Customs
Service within five business days. The importer will provide
certification to U.S. Customs at time of import that the material will
be used only for a matched sale subject to the conditions of this
Amendment and will be consumed in accordance with Section II(h) of this
Amendment. Once the U.S. Customs Service has received the foregoing
notification and certification, it will promptly release the shipment.
The following paragraph constitutes an addendum to Section VIII of
the Agreement:
MINATOM agrees to adhere to all reporting requirements specified in
Section VIII.A. of the Agreement. Appendix B data will be submitted to
the Department according to the reporting requirements specified in
Section VIII.A. of the Agreement, and will be treated and verified in
accordance with the Letter of Administration exchanged between the
Department and MINATOM simultaneously with the signing of this
Amendment. The Department and MINATOM agree that the Letter of
Administration constitutes an integral part of this Amendment.
Section XIV of the Agreement is amended by adding the following:
C. Miscellaneous
The parties agree to consult on a regular basis during the term of
this Agreement on Russia being treated as a market economy or the
Russian uranium industry being treated as a market-oriented industry
under U.S. antidumping laws. During such consultations the Department
will identify the criteria that Russia or the Russian uranium industry
would need to satisfy to be accorded such treatment by the Department.
The parties further agree that their intention is, consistent with
Section IV.J of the Agreement, that Russia be accorded treatment no
less favorable than any other Republic of the former Soviet Union that
also has a suspension agreement with the United States with respect to
trade in uranium. Accordingly, if U.S. law, regulation, administrative
practice, or policy should change in any manner that would result in
relatively less favorable treatment for Russia, or if the United States
should enter into any agreement or understanding or take any action
that would cause that result, the parties will promptly enter into
consultations with a view to amending this Agreement so as to eliminate
such less favorable treatment.
The Parties agree that this Amendment constitutes an integral part
of the Agreement.
The English language version of this Amendment shall be
controlling.
Signed on this 11th day of March, 1994.
For the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation:
Nikolai Yegorov.
For the United States Department of Commerce:
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Attachment 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Natural
uranium
Year (lbs U3O8e) SWU
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994\1\....................................... 6,613,860 2,000,000
1995\1\....................................... 6,613,860 2,000,000
1996.......................................... 1,930,000 n/a
1997.......................................... 2,710,000 n/a
1998.......................................... 3,600,000 n/a
1999.......................................... 4,040,000 n/a
2000.......................................... 4,230,000 n/a
2001.......................................... 4,040,000 n/a
2002.......................................... 4,890,000 n/a
2003.......................................... 4,300,000 n/a
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The quota volume in these years apply to sales. Deliveries pursuant
to these contracts may be delivered in subsequent years.
[FR Doc. 94-7849 Filed 3-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P