[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10614-10617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5726]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Docket No. 96-114; Notice 1


Notice of Tentative Decision That Certain Noncomplying Vehicles 
Are Eligible for Importation

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments on tentative decision that certain 
noncomplying vehicles are eligible for importation into the United 
States.

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SUMMARY: This notice requests comments on a tentative decision by the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that certain 
vehicles that do not comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle 
safety standards, but that are certified by their original manufacturer 
as complying with all applicable Canadian motor vehicle safety 
standards, are eligible for importation into the United States. The 
vehicles in question either (1) are substantially similar to vehicles 
that were certified by their manufacturers as complying with the U.S. 
safety standards and are capable of being readily altered to conform to 
those standards, or (2) have safety features that comply with, or are 
capable of being altered to comply with all U.S. safety standards. This 
notice also requests comments on a proposal to rescind the existing 
vehicle eligibility number applicable to all vehicles certified by 
their original manufacturer as complying with Canadian safety standards 
(eligibility number VSA-1), and to assign four separate eligibility 
numbers, based on vehicle classification and weight.

DATE: The closing date for comments on this tentative decision is April 
7, 1997.

ADDRESS: Comments should refer to the docket number and notice number 
and be submitted to: Docket Section, Room 5109, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20590. (Docket hours are from 9:30 am to 4 pm.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Entwistle, Office of Vehicle 
Safety Compliance, NHTSA (202-366-5306).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A), a motor vehicle that was not 
originally manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) shall be refused admission into the 
United States unless NHTSA has decided, that the vehicle is 
substantially similar to a motor vehicle of the same model year that 
was originally manufactured for importation into and sale in the United 
States and was certified as complying with all applicable FMVSS, and 
also finds that the noncompliant vehicle is capable of being readily 
altered to conform to all applicable FMVSS. Where there is no 
substantially similar U.S.-certified motor vehicle, 49 U.S.C. 
30141(a)(1)(B) permits a nonconforming motor vehicle to be admitted 
into the United States if NHTSA decides that its safety features comply 
with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all applicable 
FMVSS.

A. First Decision on Canadian Vehicles

    On August 13, 1990, NHTSA published a Federal Register notice at 55 
FR 32988 announcing that it had made a final determination on its own 
initiative that certain motor vehicles that are certified by their 
original manufacturer as complying with all applicable Canadian motor 
vehicle safety standards (CMVSS) are eligible for importation into the 
United States. The agency made this determination under the precursor 
to 49 U.S.C.

[[Page 10615]]

30141(a)(1)(A), on the basis that the Canadian-certified vehicles 
involved are substantially similar to U.S.-certified vehicles, and are 
capable of being readily modified to conform to all applicable FMVSS. 
As identified in the notice, the Canadian-certified vehicles determined 
to be eligible for importation include:

all passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 1989 which 
are equipped by their original manufacturer with an automatic 
restraint system that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection.

    The notice explained that NHTSA had examined the CMVSS and found 
that, in most essential respects, they are identical to the FMVSS, and 
that the most significant difference between the two sets of standards 
concerned occupant protection requirements. NHTSA noted that CMVSS No. 
208, Occupant Restraint Systems, does not require a passenger car to be 
equipped with automatic restraints, in contrast to FMVSS No. 208, 
Occupant Crash Protection, which requires automatic restraints in front 
designated seating positions for all passenger cars manufactured on and 
after September 1, 1989. Owing to this difference, and the agency's 
uncertainty that Canadian-certified vehicles could be retrofitted with 
automatic restraint systems, NHTSA limited its eligibility 
determination to passenger cars manufactured before September 1, 1989, 
or those manufactured on or after that date that are equipped by their 
original manufacturer with an automatic restraint system that complies 
with FMVSS No. 208.

B. Second Decision on Canadian Vehicles

1. Passenger Cars
    On October 8, 1991, NHTSA published a Federal Register notice at 56 
FR 50749 announcing that it had made a final determination on its own 
initiative that certain other motor vehicles certified by their 
original manufacturer as complying with all applicable CMVSS are 
eligible for importation into the United States. This determination was 
made under the precursor to 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(B), on the basis that 
there was no U.S.-certified vehicle substantially similar to the 
Canadian-certified vehicles involved, but that those Canadian-certified 
have safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered 
to comply with, all applicable FMVSS based on destructive test data or 
such other evidence deemed adequate by NHTSA. As identified in that 
notice, the Canadian-certified vehicles determined to be eligible for 
importation include:

all passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 1989, and 
before September 1, 1996, which are equipped with an automatic 
restraint system that complies with FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash 
Protection.

    The notice observed that the CMVSS did not contain dynamic side 
impact requirements (found in FMVSS No. 214, Side Impact Protection) 
that would become effective for all passenger cars on September 1, 
1996. Owing to this difference, passenger cars manufactured on or after 
that date were not included in the agency's import eligibility 
determination. Because this determination effectively restricts the 
importation of Canadian-certified passenger cars manufactured on or 
after September 1, 1996 that are not the subject of import eligibility 
petitions granted by NHTSA under 49 CFR 593.7(f), the agency recognizes 
the need for a new eligibility decision on the Administrator's 
initiative, covering such vehicles that are manufactured to comply with 
FMVSS Nos. 208 and 214.
2. Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars
    On October 8, 1991, NHTSA also determined the following Canadian-
certified vehicles to be eligible for importation under the precursor 
to 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(B):

    All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses 
manufactured on and after September 1, 1991, by their original 
manufacturer to comply with the requirements of FMVSS Nos. 202 and 
208 to which they would have been subject had they been manufactured 
for sale in the United States.

56 FR 50750. As the notice explained, September 1, 1991 was selected as 
the cutoff date in response to a comment from the Ford Motor Company 
(Ford), which observed that there would be significant changes to FMVSS 
No. 208 and to FMVSS No. 202, Head Restraints, affecting vehicles other 
than passenger cars beginning with the 1992 model year, and that these 
changes would not be reflected in the corresponding CMVSS. As described 
in the notice, these changes would require multipurpose passenger 
vehicles (MPVs) and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 
8,500 pounds or less having an unloaded vehicle weight of 5,500 pounds 
or less to comply with FMVSS No. 208's frontal crash test requirements 
using, in Ford's words, either ``active belts or passive restraints.'' 
The notice additionally stated that for 1992 and subsequent model 
years, ``MPVs (except for motor homes), trucks and buses (except school 
buses) with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, must be equipped with rear 
seat lap/shoulder belts at the outboard seating positions.'' 56 FR 
50749. Finally, the notice observed that ``MPVs, trucks, and buses with 
a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less must comply with head restraint 
requirements'' of FMVSS No. 202 that were not added to the Canadian 
standards. Ibid.

C. Amendment to Prior Determination on Vehicles Other Than Passenger 
Cars

    NHTSA stated in the October 8, 1991 final determination notice that 
Ford's comments would also require the agency to amend a determination 
that it had published on August 13, 1990 at 55 FR 32988 concerning 
Canadian trucks, buses, and MPVs that it found eligible for importation 
under the precursor to 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A). 56 FR 50750. A notice 
announcing that amendment was published on October 26, 1992 at 57 FR 
48539. The vehicles identified in that notice as being eligible for 
importation included the following:

    All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses 
manufactured on and after September 1, 1991, and before September 1, 
1993, by their original manufacturer to comply with the requirements 
of U.S. FMVSS Nos. 202 and 208 to which they would have been subject 
had they been manufactured for sale in the United States; and
    All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses 
manufactured on or after September 1, 1993, by their original 
manufacturer to comply with the requirements of U.S. FMVSS Nos. 202, 
208, and 216 to which they would have been subject had they been 
manufactured for sale in the United States.

57 FR 48539. The notice stated that September 1, 1993 was selected as a 
cutoff date in light of ``significant changes'' that had been made to 
FMVSS No. 216 Roof Crush Resistance affecting vehicles other than 
passenger cars beginning with the 1994 model year, and that 
corresponding changes had not been made to the CMVSS. Ibid. As 
described in the notice, those changes would require multipurpose 
passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses whose GVWR is less than 6,000 
pounds manufactured on and after September 1, 1993 to comply with the 
standard's roof crush resistance requirements.

D. Amendments Omitted From Annual Lists

    Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(b)(2), NHTSA is required to publish annually 
in the Federal Register a list of all vehicles for which import 
eligibility decisions have been made. Through an oversight, the 
amendments to NHTSA's

[[Page 10616]]

determinations concerning Canadian trucks, buses, and MPVs that were 
announced in the October 26, 1992 notice were not reflected in the 
annual lists that the agency published on February 23, 1994 (at 59 FR 
8671), February 13, 1995 (at 60 FR 8268), and March 1, 1996 (at 61 FR 
8097). Those amendments were also not reflected in the final rule 
published by NHTSA on October 1, 1996 at 61 FR 51242, which amended the 
agency's regulations establishing procedures for import eligibility 
decisions at 49 CFR Part 593 by adding an appendix listing all vehicles 
that have been decided to be eligible for importation. Because these 
publications of the list of eligible vehicles merely identified 
vehicles that had been determined eligible for importation, but did not 
make any such determinations or amend those previously made, they do 
not affect the validity of the omitted October 26, 1992 amendments to 
NHTSA's import eligibility determinations concerning Canadian trucks, 
buses, and MPVs.

E. Need for New Import Eligibility Decision on Vehicles Other Than 
Passenger Cars

    In addition to the regulatory changes that led NHTSA to amend its 
prior import eligibility determination for Canadian trucks, buses, and 
MPVs on October 26, 1992, another anticipated change has raised the 
need for the agency to make a new decision regarding the import 
eligibility of these vehicles. Dynamic side impact requirements that 
are not found in the corresponding CMVSS have recently been added to 
FMVSS No. 214, Side Impact Protection, and will become effective on 
September 1, 1998 for certain MPVs, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 
6,000 pounds or less. These requirements will apply to all such 
vehicles, except for walk-in vans, motor homes, tow trucks, dump 
trucks, ambulances and other emergency rescue/medical vehicles 
(including vehicles with fire-fighting equipment), vehicles equipped 
with wheelchair lifts, and vehicles which have no doors or exclusively 
have doors that are designed to be easily attached or removed so the 
vehicle can be operated without doors. To accommodate this regulatory 
change, NHTSA has tentatively decided to limit its previous import 
eligibility decision covering Canadian MPVs, trucks, and buses to those 
manufactured before September 1, 1998, and to make a new decision that 
those manufactured on or after that date must comply with FMVSS Nos. 
202, 208, 214, and 216 to be eligible for importation.

F. Need to Limit Currently Open-Ended Import Eligibility Decisions

    To avoid the need for additional amendments of prior eligibility 
decisions in the event that there are any further requirements imposed 
under the FMVSS that are not carried into the corresponding CMVSS, 
NHTSA has tentatively decided to limit all currently open-ended import 
eligibility decisions for Canadian-certified passenger cars, MPVs, 
trucks, and buses to such vehicles manufactured before September 1, 
2002. That is the date on which revised interior impact protection 
requirements that are to be phased in under FMVSS No. 201, Occupant 
Protection in Interior Impact, and that are not found in the 
corresponding CMVSS, will become effective for all passenger cars and 
for MPVs, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. The 
agency intends to issue new decisions covering vehicles manufactured on 
or after September 1, 2002 within a sufficient period before that date 
is reached.

Tentative Decision

    Pending its review of any comments submitted in response to this 
notice, NHTSA hereby tentatively decides that:
    (a) All passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 1996 
and before September 1, 2002, that, as originally manufactured, are 
equipped with an automatic restraint system that complies with Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, and that comply with 
FMVSS No. 214;
    (b) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses 
manufactured on or after September 1, 1993, and before September 1, 
1998, that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 202, 
208, and 216; and
    (c) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses 
manufactured on or after September 1, 1998, and before September 1, 
2002, that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 202, 
208, 214, and 216;

that are certified by their original manufacturer as complying with all 
applicable Canadian motor vehicle safety standards, are eligible for 
importation into the United States on the basis that either:
    1. They are substantially similar to vehicles of the same make, 
model, and model year originally manufactured for importation into and 
sale in the United States, or originally manufactured in the United 
States for sale there, and certified as complying with all applicable 
FMVSS, and are capable of being readily altered to conform to all 
applicable FMVSS, or
    2. They have safety features that comply with, or are capable of 
being altered to comply with, all applicable FMVSS.

Vehicle Eligibility Number

    The importer of a vehicle admissible under any final decision must 
indicate on the form HS-7 accompanying entry the appropriate vehicle 
eligibility number indicating that the vehicle is eligible for entry. 
If this tentative decision is made final, NHTSA proposes to rescind 
Vehicle Eligibility Number VSA-1, which currently applies to all 
eligible vehicles certified by their original manufacturer as complying 
with all applicable CMVSS, and assign the following eligibility numbers 
to those vehicles:

 Vehicles Certified by Their Original Manufacturer as Complying With All
           Applicable Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Number                              Vehicles                    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VSA-80................  All passenger cars less than 25 years old that  
                         were manufactured before September 1, 1989;    
                        All passenger cars manufactured on or after     
                         September 1, 1989, and before September 1,     
                         1996, that, as originally manufactured, are    
                         equipped with an automatic restraint system    
                         that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
                         Standard (FMVSS) No. 208;                      
                        All passenger cars manufactured on or after     
                         September 1, 1996 and before September 1, 2002,
                         that, as originally manufactured, are equipped 
                         with an automatic restraint system that        
                         complies with FMVSS Nos. 208, and that comply  
                         with FMVSS No. 214.                            
VSA-81................  All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and
                         buses with a GVWR of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or 
                         less that are less than 25 years old and that  
                         were manufactured before September 1, 1991;    
                        All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and
                         buses with a GVWR of 4536 kg. (10,0000 lbs.) or
                         less that were manufactured on and after       
                         September 1, 1991, and before September 1,     
                         1993, and that, as originally manufactured,    
                         comply with FMVSS Nos. 202 and 208;            

[[Page 10617]]

                                                                        
                        All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and 
                         buses with a GVWR of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or 
                         less that were manufactured on or after        
                         September 1, 1993, and before September 1,     
                         1998, and that, as originally manufactured,    
                         comply with FMVSS Nos. 202, 208, and 216;      
                        All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and 
                         buses with a GVWR of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or 
                         less, that were manufactured on or after       
                         September 1, 1998, and before September 1,     
                         2002, and that, as originally manufactured,    
                         comply with the requirements of FMVSS Nos. 202,
                         208, 214, and 216.                             
VSA-82................  All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and 
                         buses with a GVWR greater than 4536 kg. (10,000
                         lbs.) that are less than 25 years old.         
VSA-83................  All trailers, and all motorcycles that are less 
                         than 25 years old.                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Readers should note that in the preparation of this list, some 
changes were made from the language used in some prior import 
eligibility decisions. For example, prior eligibility decisions 
generally identify multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses 
that are eligible for importation as those ``certified by their 
original manufacturer to comply with [specified standards] to which 
they would have been subject had they been manufactured for sale in the 
United States.'' For the sake of clarity, the above list identifies 
eligible vehicles as those ``that, as originally manufactured, comply 
with'' specified standards. Although this language replaces text that 
was previously used only in decisions pertaining to multipurpose 
passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses, it is also being used in the 
list to describe passenger cars that must comply with specified 
standards to be eligible for importation. This is being done to achieve 
consistency in the description of vehicles eligible for importation, 
and to better reflect the agency's intent when it made the pertinent 
eligibility decisions.
    Readers should also note that NHTSA is proposing to assign 
different vehicle eligibility numbers to multipurpose passenger 
vehicles, trucks, and buses, based on whether their gross vehicle 
weight rating (GVWR) is greater than, or at or below, 4536 kg. (10,000 
lbs.). This proposal reflects the agency's awareness that there are 
differences between Canadian and U.S. standards that apply to 
multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR at or 
below 4536 kg., but that these differences do not exist for vehicles of 
the same class that are above that weight rating.
    Because of these proposed modifications to the text of its prior 
import eligibility decisions, NHTSA believes there is a need to replace 
the existing vehicle eligibility number, VSA-1, that is now applied to 
all eligible vehicles certified by their original manufacturer as 
complying with all applicable CMVSS. The agency proposes to replace 
this single eligibility number with four separate numbers, based on 
vehicle classification, and, in the case of multipurpose passenger 
vehicles, trucks and buses, by weight. This will allow for easier 
modification in the event that there are any future changes in the 
standards that affect only certain classes of vehicles.

Comments

    Section 30141(b) of Title 49, U.S. Code requires NHTSA to provide a 
minimum period for public notice and comment on decisions made on its 
own initiative consistent with ensuring expeditious, but full 
consideration and avoiding delay by any person. NHTSA believes that a 
minimum comment period of 30 days is appropriate for this purpose. 
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the tentative 
decisions described above. It is requested, but not required, that five 
copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the closing 
date indicated above will be considered, and will be available for 
examination in the docket at the above address both before and after 
that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the closing 
date will also be considered. Notice of NHTSA's final decision will be 
published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated 
below.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), and (b)(1); 49 
CFR 593.8; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued on: March 4, 1997.
Ricardo Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-5726 Filed 3-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P