[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41126-41128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20124]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[A-821-802; A-834-802; A-844-802]


Suspension Agreements on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 
Kazakstan, and Uzbekistan

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final decision.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's final decision regarding natural 
uranium from the Russian Federation, Kazakstan, and Uzbekistan which is 
enriched in a third country prior to importation into the United 
States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 7, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Doyle or Alexander Braier, 
Office of Agreements Compliance, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-
0172 or (202) 482-1324, respectively.

Background

    On March 27, 1995, the Department of Commerce (the Department) and 
the Republic of Kazakstan signed an amendment to the Kazakstani uranium 
suspension agreement. In part, this amendment provided that the 
quantitative restraints on Kazakstani-origin uranium include all 
uranium ore from Kazakstan that is milled into U3O8 and/or 
converted into UF6 and/or enriched in U\235\ in another country 
prior to direct and/or indirect importation into the United States (60 
FR 25692, 25693 (May 12, 1995)). In light of the fact that similar 
amendments were being considered for Uzbekistan and the Russian 
Federation, on September 22, 1995, the Department solicited contract-
specific information from U.S. utilities which hold contracts for 
Kazakstani, Uzbek, or Russian uranium in order to assess the effect 
such an amendment has on importations pursuant to such contracts (60 FR 
49259). The Department received five responses to its Federal Register 
notice.
    On October 13, 1995, the Department and the Government of 
Uzbekistan signed an amendment providing the same quantitative 
restraints on Uzbek-origin uranium as those contained in the Kazakstani 
amendment (60 FR 55004 (October 27, 1995)). From January 22 to 26, 
1996, and from February 19 to 23, 1996, the Department and the Ministry 
of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (MINATOM) held the fourth 
and fifth rounds of consultations regarding, among other issues, the 
enrichment of Russian-origin uranium in third countries. Consultations 
between MINATOM and the Department are ongoing.
    On March 19, 1996, the Department published a proposed solution on 
the third country enrichment issue and solicited comments on this 
proposal by April 8, 1996 (61 FR 11185). The Department received 13 
responses to its Federal Register notice. Based upon analysis of the 
parties' comments, discussion with the Petitioners and representatives 
for the affected utilities, and significant internal consideration, the 
Department detailed certain adjustments to the March 19, 1996, Federal 
Register proposed solution in its May 14, 1996, memorandum of Final 
Department Action on the Grandfathering of Third Country Enrichment of 
Subject Natural Uranium from Joseph A. Spetrini to Paul L. Joffe.

[[Page 41127]]

In this memorandum, the Department requested that all eligible 
contracts (as defined in the Department's March 19, 1996, Federal 
Register notice) be submitted in their entirety within 10 days in order 
to establish an upper limit to the volume of annual deliveries. The 
Department further requested that the utilities with eligible contracts 
provide the following information to the Department within 10 days: all 
prior deliveries made pursuant to their eligible contracts; the country 
of origin of the natural uranium concentrates for past and future 
permitted deliveries; and a certification that they permit Department 
verification of all information related to this matter, including, for 
example, requests for delivery and contracts signed with the enricher. 
In response to its request, the Department received five eligible 
contracts accompanied by the requested information and certifications.
    The Department's March 19, 1996, Federal Register notice and May 
14, 1996, memorandum and the eligible contracts and information 
received from the affected utilities, contributed to the Department's 
final decision regarding natural uranium from the Russian Federation, 
Kazakstan, and Uzbekistan which is enriched in a third country prior to 
importation into the United States. The specific elements of this 
decision are included in the attached Annex.

    Dated: August 1, 1996.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Compliance.

Annex--Third Country Enrichment of Subject Uranium Decision

    The Department of Commerce's decision regarding the issue of the 
importation of subject uranium enriched in third countries permits the 
entry of portions of the volume specified in certain contracts. The 
contracts must have been signed by March 27, 1995, which was the 
effective date of the first amendment to a uranium suspension agreement 
which addressed this issue. The Department will divide the volume of 
eligible contracts into two portions: (1) 75% of the volume will be 
permitted entry without the requirement of matching with an equal 
amount of newly-produced U.S. uranium; and (2) the remaining 25% will 
be permitted entry only if matched with an equal amount of newly-
produced U.S. uranium. The decision also establishes certain procedures 
necessary for its efficient administration within the auspices of the 
suspension agreements and the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

Eligible Contracts and Permitted Volumes

     An eligible contract is defined as a natural uranium 
supply contract signed before March 27, 1995, that was identified in 
response to, and within the deadlines established by, the Department's 
September 22, 1995, Federal Register notice. No other natural uranium 
contracts, regardless of origin, shall be eligible for inclusion within 
the terms of the third country enrichment decision;
     The permitted volume for each contract is the nominal 
volume contained in each eligible contract.1 If there is no 
specific nominal volume identified in the contract, the permitted 
volume shall be the midpoint between the highest and lowest volumes 
stipulated in the contract. For any contract containing an option for 
an additional volume which was exercised prior to March 27, 1995, the 
permitted volume shall be the nominal/midpoint volume of the eligible 
contract plus the volume of the exercised option. Similarly, for any 
contract which was amended prior to March 27, 1995, to provide for an 
additional volume, the permitted volume shall be the nominal/midpoint 
volume plus the volume specified in such amendment. For any contract 
containing an option for an additional volume which was exercised prior 
to March 27, 1995, and which was amended prior to March 27, 1995, to 
provide for an additional volume, the permitted volume shall be the sum 
of the nominal/midpoint volume, the optional volume, and the volume 
specified in the amendment;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Most natural uranium supply contracts specify a nominal 
volume around which buyers and sellers expectations converge. 
Typically these contracts also bracket the target volume with 
minimum and/or maximum volumes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     For each eligible contract, 75 percent of the permitted 
volume will be allowed entry with no documents required beyond those 
identified below;
     For each eligible contract, up to 25 percent of the 
remaining permitted volume will be allowed entry only if such 
importation is pursuant to a matching sale contract for an equal amount 
of newly produced U.S. uranium that is presented, along with complete 
supporting documentation, to the Department by September 3, 1996;
     Upon completion of all required actions and notification 
to the Department on or before September 3, 1996, a utility may 
increase the permitted volume of its pre-March 17, 1995, eligible 
contract to the contract's maximum only if the utility also presents a 
matching contract(s) and complete supporting documentation for 25 
percent of the contract's maximum volume to the Department by September 
3, 1996; and
     All prior deliveries of uranium made pursuant to eligible 
contracts will be deducted from the contract's permitted volume.

Administrative Procedures

     All eligible contracts must have been submitted to the 
Department by May 24, 1996, and are releasable in their entirety only 
to qualified representatives of those interested parties which 
specifically request and are granted access under administrative 
protective order;
     By May 24, 1996, all holders of eligible contracts must 
have notified the Department of all prior deliveries made pursuant to 
their eligible contracts, specified the country of origin of the 
natural uranium concentrates for past and future permitted deliveries, 
and provided a certification that they permit Department verification 
of all information related to this matter, including, for example, 
requests for delivery and contracts signed with the enricher. Pursuant 
to the March 19, 1996, Federal Register notice, all holders of eligible 
contracts must have agreed to permit Department verification of 
information regarding shipment of the permitted volumes, including, but 
not limited to, analyses of the tails assays and enrichment percentages 
to derive feed-to-product ratios;
     In order to facilitate Customs clearance of shipments of 
permitted volumes, holders of eligible contracts shall provide the 
Department with appropriate shipping information at least 10 days in 
advance of the date the shipment is due to reach the United States. 
Upon receipt of complete and accurate shipping information, the 
Department will provide Customs with clearance within five days. 
Certifications or licenses from the appropriate suspension agreement 
countries shall not be required (see document requirements below);
     The Department will administer each eligible contract on a 
contract-by-contract basis, directly with the utility which is a party 
to the eligible contract; and
     The Department will administer any such matching sales 
consistent with the Department's existing practice, as specified in 
Section IV of the Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (the Amended 
Russian Agreement), and appropriate

[[Page 41128]]

Statements of Administrative Intent, and any subsequent amendments 
incorporating such practice.

Documents Required for Shipment Clearance

    For both unmatched and matched shipments under eligible contracts, 
the information identified below must be provided to the Department as 
early as possible, but in no case later than ten days, prior to 
importation into the United States:
    1. Contract information, including the holder of the grandfathered 
contract (company's name), the particular eligible contract, whether 
the shipment volume is matched or unmatched, and, if matched, the 
applicable matched sale;
    2. The following shipment information regarding the uranium to be 
imported: volume, value, port of export, port of entry, exporter and 
importer of the merchandise, party for whose account the material is 
being imported, shipment date, vessel name and estimated date of 
arrival;
    3. Bills of lading, airway bills or other documentation from a 
third party showing the amount, type and value of the shipment;
    4. Packing lists/shipping specifications;
    5. Request(s) for delivery from the utility(ies)/customer(s) to the 
natural uranium supplier(s) and enricher(s); if not otherwise included 
in these requests for delivery, the enrichment percentage and tails 
assay must be provided;
    6. Entry number from Customs (if available); and
    7. Certification(s) from the party for whose account the uranium is 
being imported addressed to Customs which state the following:
    a. The uranium being imported was not obtained under any 
arrangement, swap, exchange or other transaction designed to circumvent 
the agreements with Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, and/
or Uzbekistan and/or the antidumping duty on Ukraine and/or the export 
limits for uranium pursuant to the March 27, 1995, amendment to the 
Kazakstani agreement and the October 13, 1995, amendment to the Uzbek 
agreement;
    b. The country of origin of the mining and, if applicable, 
conversion, enrichment and/or fabrication; and
    c. The imported material will not be sold, loaned, swapped or 
utilized other than for delivery to the United States end-user for 
consumption in accordance with Section II(h) of the amended Russian 
suspension agreement, Section II(e) of the amended Kazakstani 
suspension amendment or Section II(f) of the amended Uzbek suspension 
agreement, as appropriate.

Total Volumes

    The total volume of all eligible contracts submitted to the 
Department in response to its May 14, 1996, memorandum is 11,531,154 
pounds U3O8 equivalent on the basis of maximum values; 
correspondingly, 25 percent of this maximum value total is 2,882,789 
pounds U3O8 equivalent. In accordance with Section IV.B ``Per 
Company Limits for Matched Imports'' of the Amended Russian Agreement, 
a U.S. producer may match up to 20 percent of the available material 
under these eligible contracts. Therefore, U.S. producers intending to 
enter into matching sales with holders of eligible contracts may match 
up to 576,558 pounds U3O8 equivalent of uranium.

[FR Doc. 96-20124 Filed 8-6-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P