[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 230 (Wednesday, December 1, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67148-67152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30971]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Insular Affairs

15 CFR Part 303

[Docket No. 990813222-9309-02]
RIN 0625-AA55


Extend Production Incentive Benefits to Jewelry Manufacturers in 
the U.S. Insular Possessions

AGENCIES: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce; Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the 
Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action amends the Departments' regulations governing 
duty-exemption allocations and duty-refund benefits for watch producers 
in the United States insular possessions (the U.S. Virgin Islands, 
Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands) due to the enactment of Pub. L. 106-36. This law amends 
additional U.S. notes to chapter 71 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (``HTSUS'') to provide a duty-refund benefit for 
any article of jewelry within heading 7113 which is the product of the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands in 
accordance with the new provisions of the note in chapter 71 and 
additional U.S. note 5 to chapter 91. The rule amends the regulations 
by changing Title 15 CFR part 303 to include jewelry, creating a 
Subpart A for the current insular watch and watch movement regulations 
and a Subpart B for the new regulations pertaining to jewelry duty-
refund benefits authorized by Pub. L. 106-36.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Faye Robinson, (202) 482-3526.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We published proposed regulatory revisions 
on August 27, 1999 (64 FR 46872) and invited comments. Referring to the 
requirement in the proposed section 303.16(a)(5) that a new jewelry 
firm be ``completely separate from and not associated with, by way of 
ownership or control'' with other jewelry program participants in a 
territory, one commenter suggested that we replace ``ownership or 
control'' with ``ownership and control''. The commenter hoped to be 
free to have, as

[[Page 67149]]

a new jewelry firm, a non-controlling association with another firm in 
the territory.
    The Departments agree that the language ``completely separate from 
and not associated with, by way of ownership or control'' may be too 
restrictive and might have the effect of discouraging widespread 
participation in the expanded benefits enacted by Congress. A mere 
association, whether by way of overlapping ownership or of family 
relationships, may not necessarily disqualify otherwise qualified new 
firm applicants.
    The change suggested by the applicant, however, would not remove 
this perceived difficulty because both terms in the phrase ``ownership 
and control'' are modified by the unexceptionable ``completely separate 
from.'' Nevertheless, in order to evaluate the unique circumstances of 
each applicant, we have revised the proposed language to include new 
terminology borrowed from existing fair trade law regulations. The 
final language will enable the Secretaries to make case-by-case 
determinations and ensure that the purpose of the restrictions, to 
prevent circumvention of the statutory 750,000 unit benefit ceiling and 
the declining duty-refund benefits received after the first 300,000 
units, is observed in all instances.
    The insular possessions watch industry provision in Sec. 110 of 
Pub. L. No. 97-446 (96 Stat. 2331) (1983), as amended by Sec. 602 of 
Pub. L. No. 103-465 (108 Stat. 4991) (1994); additional U.S. Note 5 to 
chapter 91 of the HTSUS, as amended by Pub. L. 94-241 (90 Stat 263) 
(1976) requires the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the 
Interior, acting jointly, to establish a limit on the quantity of 
watches and watch movements which may be entered free of duty during 
each calendar year. The law also requires the Secretaries to establish 
the shares of this limited quantity which may be entered from the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands (``CNMI''). After the Departments have 
verified the data submitted on the annual application (Form ITA-334P), 
the producers' duty-exemption allocations are calculated from the 
territorial share in accordance with Section 303.14 of the regulations 
(15 CFR 303.14) and each producer is issued a duty-exemption license. 
The law further requires the Secretaries to issue duty-refund 
certificates to each territorial watch and watch movement producer 
based on the company's duty-free shipments and creditable wages paid 
during the previous calendar year.
    Pub. L. 106-36 authorizes the issuance of a duty-refund certificate 
to each territorial jewelry producer for any article of jewelry 
provided for in heading 7113 of the HTSUS which is the product of any 
such territory based on creditable wages paid and duty-free units 
shipped into the United States during the previous calendar year. 
Although the law specifically mentions the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam 
and American Samoa, the issuance of the duty-refund certificate would 
also apply to the CNMI due to the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United 
States of America (Pub. L. 94-241), which states that goods from the 
CNMI are entitled to the same tariff treatment as imports from Guam. 
(See also 19 CFR 7.2(a)). The law provides that during the first two 
years, beginning August 9, 1999 (45 days after the date of enactment), 
jewelry that is assembled in the territories shall be treated as a 
product of such territories. Thereafter, in order to be considered a 
product of such territories, the jewelry must meet the U.S. Customs 
Service substantial transformation requirements (the jewelry must 
become a new and different article of commerce as a result of 
production or manufacture performed in the territory). To receive duty-
free treatment, the jewelry must also satisfy the requirements of 
General Note 3(a)(iv) of the HTSUS and applicable Customs Regulations 
(19 CFR 7.3).
    The law specifies, in addition, that watch producer benefits shall 
not to be diminished as a consequence of extending duty-refund benefits 
to jewelry manufacturers. In the event that the aggregate amount of the 
calculated duty refunds for both watches and jewelry exceeds the total 
amount available under Pub. L. 97-446, as amended by Pub. L. 103-465, 
the watch producers shall receive their calculated amounts; the jewelry 
producers would then receive amounts proportionately reduced from the 
remainder.
    Under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), the 
effective date of this rule need not be delayed for 30 days because 
this rule relieves a restriction by making insular jewelry producers 
eligible to receive a duty-refund benefit similar to the duty-refund 
benefit insular watch producers receive.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq., the Chief Counsel for Regulation at the Department of Commerce 
has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, that the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. This rulemaking will 
not affect the five watch companies currently participating in the 
insular possessions watch program because Pub. L. 106-36 does not allow 
watch producers' benefits to be reduced as a consequence of extending 
benefits to jewelry manufacturers. We expect up to five jewelry 
companies to set up production facilities in the insular possessions in 
response to the extension to them of existing incentives by Pub. L. 
106-36. However, as with watch producers, the duty refund benefit per 
company does not apply to shipments exceeding 750,000 units of jewelry 
into the United States per year. The last Census of Manufacturers 
statistics (1992) indicate that there are 2,180 precious jewelry 
manufacturers located in the U.S. employing 32,300 employees. Because 
the insular jewelry industry would represent such a small percentage of 
the existing U.S. industry and because there is a limit on the benefit 
extended to insular jewelry producers, the regulations will not have a 
significant adverse impact on any small business entities. We expect a 
positive impact in the form of new jobs in the small U.S. insular 
economies. No comments were received on this certification.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rulemaking involves new collection-of-information requirements 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which have been 
approved under OMB control number 0625-0040 and 0625-0134. The 
extension of the insular watch program to include the jewelry benefit 
will require the use of three of the current forms, modified to 
accommodate jewelry. The public reporting burden for these collection-
of-information requirements includes the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Form ITA-334P, the annual application, would 
be completed once a year by each jewelry producer and requires one 
burden hour. Form ITA-360P, the certificate of refund, would also be 
used once a year and is completed by the Department of Commerce and 
imposes no burden hours. Form ITA-361P, the request for refund of 
duties, would normally be used once or twice a year per jewelry 
producer and takes about 10 minutes to complete.

[[Page 67150]]

    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

E.O. 12866

    It has been determined that the rulemaking is not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 303

    Administrative practice and procedure, American Samoa, Customs 
duties and inspection, Guam, Imports, Marketing quotas, Northern 
Mariana Islands, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Virgin 
Islands, Watches and jewelry.

    For reasons set forth above, The Departments amend 15 CFR part 303 
as follows:

PART 303--WATCHES, WATCH MOVEMENTS AND JEWELRY PROGRAM

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR Part 303 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. 97-446, 96 Stat. 2331 (19 U.S.C. 1202, note); 
Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4991; Pub. L. 94-241, 90 Stat. 263 (48 
U.S.C. 1681, note); Pub. L. 106-36, 113 Stat. 127,167.

    2. Revise the heading for part 303 to read as set forth above.
    3. Designate Sec. 303.1 through 303.14 as subpart A and add a 
subpart heading as set forth below.

Subpart A--Watches and Watch Movements

    4. Add subpart B to read as follows:

Subpart B--Jewelry

Sec.
303.15  Purpose.
303.16  Definitions and forms.
303.17  Annual jewelry application.
303.18  Sale and transfer of business.
303.19  Issuance and use of production incentive certificates.
303.20  Duty refund.
303.21  Appeals.

Subpart B--Jewelry


Sec. 303.15  Purpose.

    (a) This subpart implements the responsibilities of the Secretaries 
of Commerce and the Interior (``the Secretaries'') under Pub. L. 106-
36, enacted 25 June 1999 which substantially amended Pub. L. 97-446, 
enacted 12 January 1983, amended by Pub. L. 89-805, enacted 10 November 
1966, amended by Pub. L. 94-88, enacted 8 August 1975, amended by Pub. 
L. 94-241, enacted 24 March 1976, and amended by Pub. L. 103-465, 
enacted 8 December 1994.
    (b) The amended law provides for the issuance of certificates to 
insular jewelry producers who have met the requirements of the laws and 
regulations, entitling the holder (or any transferee) to obtain refunds 
of duties on watches and watch movements and parts (except discrete 
watch cases) imported into the customs territory of the United States. 
The amounts of these certificates may not exceed specified percentages 
of the producers' verified creditable wages in the insular possessions 
(90% of wages paid for the production of the first 300,000 duty-free 
units and declining percentages, established by the Secretaries, of 
wages paid for incremental production up to 750,000 units by each 
producer) nor an aggregate annual amount for all certificates exceeding 
$5,000,000 adjusted for growth by the ratio of the previous year's 
gross national product to the gross national product in 1982. However, 
the law specifies that watch producer benefits are not to be diminished 
as a consequence of extending the duty refund to jewelry manufacturers. 
In the event that the amount of the calculated duty refunds for watches 
and jewelry exceeds the total aggregate annual amount that is 
available, the watch producers shall receive their calculated amounts 
and the jewelry producers would receive amounts proportionately reduced 
from the remainder. Refund requests are governed by regulations issued 
by the Department of the Treasury (see 19 CFR 7.4).
    (c) Section 2401(a) of Pub. L. 106-36 and additional U.S. note 5 to 
chapter 91 of the HTSUS authorize the Secretaries to issue regulations 
necessary to carry out their duties. The Secretaries may cancel or 
restrict the certificate of any insular manufacturer found violating 
the regulations.


Sec. 303.16  Definitions and forms.

    (a) Definitions. For purposes of the subpart, unless the context 
indicates otherwise:
    (1) Act means Pub. L. 97-446, enacted 12 January 1983 (19 U.S.C. 
1202), 96 Stat. 2329, as amended by Pub. L. 103-465, enacted on 8 
December 1994, 108 Stat. 4991 and, as amended by Pub. L. 106-36, 
enacted on 25 June 1999.
    (2) Secretaries means the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary 
of the Interior or their delegates, acting jointly.
    (3) Director means the Director of the Statutory Import Programs 
Staff, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
    (4) Sale or transfer of a business means the sale or transfer of 
control, whether temporary or permanent, over a firm which is eligible 
for a jewelry program duty-refund to any other firm, corporation, 
partnership, person or other legal entity by any means whatsoever, 
including, but not limited to, merger and transfer of stock, assets or 
voting trusts.
    (5) New firm means a jewelry company which has requested in writing 
to the Secretaries permission to participate in the program. In 
addition to any other information required by the Secretaries, new firm 
requests shall include a representation that the company agrees to 
abide by the laws and regulations of the program, an outline of the 
company's anticipated economic contribution to the territory (including 
the number of employees) and a statement as to whether the company is 
affiliated by ownership or control with any other watch or jewelry 
company in the insular possessions. The Secretaries will then review 
the request and make a decision based on the information provided and 
the economic contribution to the territory. A new jewelry firm may not 
be affiliated through ownership or control with any other jewelry duty-
refund recipient. In assessing whether persons or parties are 
affiliated, the Secretaries will consider the following factors, among 
others: stock ownership; corporate or family groupings; franchise or 
joint venture agreements; debt financing; and close supplier 
relationships. The Secretaries may not find that control exists on the 
basis of these factors unless the relationship has the potential to 
affect decisions concerning production, pricing, or cost. Also, no 
jewelry duty-refund recipient may own or control more than one watch 
duty-refund recipient.
    (6) Jewelry producer means a company, located in one of the insular 
territories (see paragraph (a)(8) of this section), that produces 
jewelry provided for in heading 7113, HTSUS, which meets all the U.S. 
Customs Service requirements for duty-free entry set forth in General 
Note 3(a)(iv), HTSUS, and 19 CFR 7.3, and has maintained its 
eligibility for duty refund benefits by complying with these 
regulations.
    (7) Unit of jewelry means a single article, pair (example: 
earrings, cufflinks), subassembly or component which is contained in 
HTSUS heading 7113.
    (8) Territories, territorial and insular possessions refers to the 
insular possessions of the United States (i.e., the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, Guam,

[[Page 67151]]

American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands).
    (9) Creditable wages means all wages--up to the amount per person 
of $38,650--paid to permanent residents of the territories employed in 
the firm's manufacture of HTSUS heading 7113 articles of jewelry which 
are a product of the insular possessions and have met the U.S. Customs 
Service's criteria for duty-free entry into the United States, plus any 
wages paid for the repair of non-insular HTSUS heading 7113 jewelry up 
to an amount equal to 50 percent of the firm's total creditable wages. 
Excluded, however, are wages paid for special services rendered to the 
firm by accountants, lawyers, or other professional personnel plus any 
wages paid for the assembly of dutiable jewelry or the repair of 
dutiable jewelry to the extent that such wages exceed the percentage 
set forth above. Wages paid to persons engaged in production of jewelry 
that has entered the U.S. both duty-free and duty-paid may be credited 
proportionately provided the firm maintains production and payroll 
records adequate for the Departments' verification of the creditable 
wages portion (see Sec. 303.17(b)).
    (10) Dutiable jewelry includes jewelry which does not meet the 
requirements for duty-free entry under General Note 3(a)(iv), HTSUS, 
and 19 CFR 7.3, contains any material which is the product of any 
country with respect to which Column 2 rates of duty apply or is 
ineligible for duty-free treatment pursuant to other laws or 
regulations.
    (b) Forms.
    (1) ITA--334P ``Annual Application for License to Enter Watches and 
Watch Movements into the Customs Territory of the United States.'' The 
Director shall issue instructions for jewelry manufacturers on the 
completion of the relevant portions of the form. The form must be 
completed annually by all jewelry producers desiring to receive a duty 
refund.
    (2) ITA--360P ``Certificate of Entitlement to Secure the Refund of 
Duties on Watches and Watch Movements.'' This document authorizes a 
territorial jewelry producer to request the refund of duties on imports 
of watches, watch movements and parts therefor, with certain 
exceptions, up to a specified value. Certificates may be used to obtain 
duty refunds only when presented with a properly executed Form ITA-
361P.
    (3) ITA--361P ``Request for Refund of Duties on Watches and Watch 
Movements.'' This form must be completed to obtain the refund of duties 
authorized by the Director through Form ITA-360P. After authentication 
by the Department of Commerce, it may be used for the refund of duties 
on items which were entered into the customs territory of the United 
States during a specified time period. Copies of the appropriate 
Customs entries must be provided with this form to establish a basis 
for issuing the claimed amounts. The forms may also be used to transfer 
all or part of the producer's entitlement to another party (see Sec. 
303.19(c)).

(The information collection requirements in paragraph (b)(1) were 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
0625-0040. The information collection requirements in paragraphs (b) 
(2) and (3) were approved under control number 0625-0134.)


Sec. 303. 17  Annual jewelry application.

    (a) Form ITA-334P shall be furnished to producers by January 1 and 
must be completed and returned to the Director no later than January 31 
of each calendar year.
    (b) All data supplied are subject to verification by the 
Secretaries and no duty refund shall be made to producers until the 
Secretaries are satisfied that the data are accurate. To verify the 
data, representatives of the Secretaries shall have access to relevant 
company records including, but not limited to:
    (1) Work sheets used to answer all questions on the application 
form, as specified by the instructions;
    (2) Original records from which such data are derived;
    (3) Records pertaining to ownership and control of the company;
    (4) Records pertaining to all duty-free and dutiable shipments of 
HTSUS 7113 jewelry, including Customs entry documents;
    (5) Records pertaining to corporate income taxes, gross receipts 
taxes and excise taxes paid by each producer in the territories;
    (6) Customs, bank, payroll, and production records;
    (7) Records on purchases of components and sales of jewelry, 
including proof of payment; and
    (8) Any other records in the possession of the parent or affiliated 
companies outside the territory pertaining to any aspect of the 
producer's jewelry operations.
    (c) Data verification shall be performed in the territories, unless 
other arrangements satisfactory to the Departments are made in advance, 
by the Secretaries' representatives by the end of February of each 
calendar year. In the event a company cannot substantiate the data in 
its application, the Secretaries shall determine which data will be 
used.
    (d) Records subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this 
section, shall be retained for a period of two years following their 
creation.


Sec. 303.18  Sale or transfer of business.

    (a) The sale or transfer of a business together with its duty 
refund entitlement shall be permitted with prior written notification 
to the Departments. Such notification shall be accompanied by 
certifications and representations, as appropriate, that:
    (1) The transferee is neither directly nor indirectly affiliated 
with any other territorial duty refund jewelry recipient in any 
territory;
    (2) The transferee will not modify the jewelry operations in a 
manner that will significantly diminish its economic contributions to 
the territory.
    (b) At the request of the Departments, the transferee shall permit 
representatives of the Departments to inspect whatever records are 
necessary to establish to their satisfaction that the certifications 
and representations contained in paragraph (a) of this section have 
been or are being met.
    (c) Any transferee who is either unwilling or unable to make the 
certifications and representations specified in paragraph (a) of this 
section shall secure the Departments' approval in advance of the sale 
or transfer of the business. The request for approval shall specify 
which of the certifications specified in paragraph (a) of this section 
the firm is unable or unwilling to make, and give reasons why such fact 
should not constitute a basis for the Departments' disapproval of the 
sale or transfer.


Sec. 303.19  Issuance and use of production incentive certificates.

    (a) Issuance of certificates. (1) Certificates of Entitlement, Form 
ITA-360, shall be issued before March 1 of each year.
    (2) Certificates shall not be issued to more than one jewelry 
company in the territories owned or controlled by the same corporate 
entity.
    (b) Security and handling of certificates. (1) Certificate holders 
are responsible for the security of the certificates. The certificates 
shall be kept at the territorial address of the producer or at another 
location having the advance approval of the Departments.
    (2) All refund requests made pursuant to the certificates shall be 
entered on the reverse side of the certificate.
    (3) Certificates shall be returned by registered, certified or 
express carrier mail to the Department of Commerce when:
    (i) A refund is requested which exhausts the entitlement on the 
face of the certificate,

[[Page 67152]]

    (ii) The certificate expires, or
    (iii) The Departments request their return with good cause.
    (4) Certificate entitlements may be transferred according to the 
procedures described in paragraph (c) of this section.
    (c) The use and transfer of certificate entitlements. (1) Insular 
producers issued a certificate may request a refund by executing a Form 
ITA-361P (see Sec. 303.16(b)(3)) and the instructions on the form). 
After authentication by the Department of Commerce, Form ITA-361P may 
be used to obtain duty refunds on watch movements, watches, and parts 
therefor. Duties on watch cases not containing a movement and on 
articles containing any material which is the product of a country with 
respect to which Column 2 rates of duty apply may not be refunded. 
Articles for which duty refunds are claimed must have entered the 
customs territory of the United States during the two-year period prior 
to the issue date of the certificate or during the one-year period the 
certificate remains valid. Copies of the appropriate Customs entries 
must be provided with the refund request in order to establish a basis 
for issuing the claimed amounts. Certification regarding drawback 
claims and liquidated refunds relating to the presented entries is 
required from the claimant on the form.
    (2) Regulations issued by the U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Department 
of the Treasury, govern the refund of duties under 19 CFR 7.4. If the 
Departments receive information from the Customs Service that a 
producer has made unauthorized use of any official form, they may 
cancel the affected certificate.
    (3) The territorial producer may transfer a portion of all of its 
certificate entitlement to another party by entering in block C of Form 
ITA-361P the name and address of the party.
    (4) After a Form ITA-361P transferring a certificate entitlement to 
a party other than the certificate holder has been authenticated by the 
Department of Commerce, the form may be exchanged for any consideration 
satisfactory to the two parties. In all cases, authenticated forms 
shall be transmitted to the certificate holder or its authorized 
custodian for disposition (see paragraph (b) of this section).
    (5) All disputes concerning the use of an authenticated Form ITA-
361P shall be referred to the Departments for resolution. Any party 
named on an authenticated Form ITA-361P shall be considered an 
``interested party'' within the meaning of Sec. 303.21 of this part.


Sec. 303.20  Duty refund.

    (a) Territorial jewelry producers are entitled to duty refund 
certificates only for jewelry that they produce which is provided for 
in heading 7113, HTSUS, is a product of a territory and otherwise meets 
the requirements for duty-free entry under General Note 3 (a)(iv), 
HTSUS, and 19 CFR 7.3.
    (1) An article of jewelry is considered to be a product of a 
territory if:
    (i) The article is wholly the growth or product of the territory; 
or
    (ii) The article became a new and different article of commerce as 
a result of production or manufacture performed in the territories.
    (2) Two-year exception. Any article of jewelry provided for in 
heading 7113, HTSUS, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption during the two-year period beginning August 9, 1999, that 
is assembled in a territory shall be considered a product of the 
insular possessions. At the expiration of the two-year period, only 
jewelry which satisfies either of the criteria set forth in paragraph 
(a)(1) of this section shall be considered a product of an insular 
possession.
    (b) Calculation of the value of production incentive certificates. 
(1) The value of each producer's certificate shall equal the producer's 
average creditable wages per unit shipped free of duty into the United 
States multiplied by the sum of:
    (i) The number of units shipped up to 300,000 units times a factor 
of 90%; plus
    (ii) Incremental units shipped up to 450,000 units times a factor 
of 85%; plus
    (iii) Incremental units shipped up to 600,000 times a factor of 
80%; plus
    (iv) Incremental shipments up to 750,000 units times a factor of 
75%.
    (2) The Departments may make adjustments for these data in the 
manner set forth in Sec. 303.17(c).


Sec. 303.21  Appeals.

    (a) Any official decision or action relating to the issuance or use 
of production incentive certificates may be appealed to the Secretaries 
by any interested party. Such appeals must be received within 30 days 
of the date on which the decision was made or the action taken in 
accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraph (b) of this 
section. Interested parties may petition for the issuance of a rule, or 
amendment or repeal of a rule issued by the Secretaries. Interested 
parties may also petition for relief from the application of any rule 
on the basis of hardship or extraordinary circumstances resulting in 
the inability of the petitioner to comply with the rule.
    (b) Petitions shall bear the name and post office address of the 
petitioner and the name and address of the principal attorney or 
authorized representative (if any) for the party concerned. They shall 
be addressed to the Secretaries and filed in one original and two 
copies with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, Washington, DC 20230, Attention: 
Statutory Import Programs Staff. Petitions shall contain the following:
    (1) A reference to the decision, action or rule which is the 
subject of the petition;
    (2) A short statement of the interest of the petitioner;
    (3) A statement of the facts as seen by the petitioner;
    (4) The petitioner's argument as to the points of law, policy or 
fact. In cases where policy error is contended, the alleged error 
together with the policy the submitting party advocates as the correct 
one should be described in full;
    (5) A conclusion specifying the action that the petitioner believes 
the Secretaries should take.
    (c) The Secretaries may at their discretion schedule a hearing and 
invite the participation of other interested parties.
    (d) The Secretaries shall communicate their decision, which shall 
be final, to the petitioner by registered, certified or express mail.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Department of 
Commerce.
Ferdinand Aranza,
Director, Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 99-30971 Filed 11-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P 4310-93-P