[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32315-32316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15024]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Export Administration

[Docket No. 010412092-1149-02]


Public Hearings on Section 232 National Security Investigation of 
Imports of Iron Ore and Semi-Finished Steel

AGENCY: Bureau of Export Administration, Office of Strategic Industries 
and Economic Security, Strategic Analysis Division, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings on section 232 national security 
investigation of imports of iron ore and semi-finished steel.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) is holding public 
hearings on the investigation that the Department of Commerce 
initiated, on February 1, 2001, to determine the effects on the 
national security of imports of iron ore and semi-finished steel. This 
investigation is being conducted under section 232 of the Trade 
Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). This notice 
identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in 
obtaining the public s views. It also sets forth the procedures for 
public participation in the hearings.

DATES: The hearings will be held on Thursday, July 5, 2001 at the 
Virginia High School, Goodman Auditorium, 411 5th Avenue, South, 
Virginia, MN 55792; on Sunday, July 15, 2001 at the Northern Michigan 
University, University Center, Michigan Room, 1401 Presque Isle, 
Marquette, MI 49855; and on Thursday, July 19, 2001 at the Newport 
Gateway, 19900 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 300 (Food and Drug 
Administration Office), Irvine, CA 92612. All hearings will begin at 12 
noon local time and conclude at 7 PM local time.

ADDRESSES: Send requests to speak and written summaries of the oral 
presentations to Brad Botwin, Director, Strategic Analysis Division, 
Bureau of Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 
3876, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, 
by June 25, 2001. Any person, whether presenting or not, may submit a 
written statement through August 17, 2001; 30 days after the last 
hearing date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Botwin, Director, Strategic 
Analysis Division, Bureau of Export Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, (202) 482-4060, [email protected] or Michael Vaccaro, Trade 
and Industry Analyst, Bureau of Export Administration, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, (202) 482-8232, [email protected]. For more information 
about the section 232 program, including the regulations and the text 
of previous investigations, see www.doc-bxa.bmpcoe.org under 
``Programs.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Specific Comments Requested

    On February 1, 2001, the Department of Commerce initiated an 
investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), to determine the effects on the national 
security of imports of iron ore and semi-finished steel. The findings 
and recommendations of the investigation are to be reported by the 
Secretary of Commerce to the President no later than October 29, 2001. 
For further details on this investigation, see the Federal Register 
notices of February 6, 2001 (66 FR 9067) and April 18, 2001 (66 FR 
19917).
    The iron ore and semi-finished steel products subject to this 
investigation include:

1. Iron Ore
    --Briquettes
    --Pellets
    --Sinter
2. Semi-finished Steel
    --Ingots
    --Billets
    --Blooms
    --Slab

    Consistent with the interest of the U.S. Department of Commerce in 
soliciting public comments on issues affecting U.S. industry and 
national security, BXA is holding public hearings as part of the 
investigation. The hearings will assist the Department in determining 
whether imports of iron ore and semi-finished steel threaten to impair 
the national security and in recommending remedies if such a threat is 
found to exist.
    The Department is particularly interested in comments and 
information directed to the criteria listed in 15 CFR part 705.4, 
Effect of Imported Articles on the National Security (``the 
regulations''), including the following: (a) Quantity of the articles 
subject to the investigation and other circumstances related to the 
importation of such articles; (b) Domestic production capacity needed 
for these articles to meet projected national defense requirements; (c) 
The capacity of domestic industries to meet projected national defense 
requirements; (d) Existing and anticipated availability of human 
resources, products, raw materials, production equipment, facilities, 
and other supplies and services essential to the national defense; (e) 
Growth requirements of domestic industries needed to meet national 
defense requirements and the supplies and services including the 
investment, exploration and development necessary to assure such 
growth; (f) The impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare 
of any domestic industry essential to our national security; (g) The 
displacement of any domestic products causing substantial unemployment, 
decrease in the revenues of government, loss of investment or 
specialized skills and productive capacity, or other serious effects; 
(h) Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a weakening of our 
national economy; and (i) Any other relevant factors.

Notice of Public Hearings

    The hearings will be held on Thursday, July 5, 2001 at the Virginia

[[Page 32316]]

High School, Goodman Auditorium, 411 5th Avenue, South, Virginia, MN 
55792; on Sunday, July 15, 2001 at the Northern Michigan University's 
University Center, Michigan Room, 1401 Presque Isle, Marquette, MI 
49855; and on Thursday, July 19, 2001 at the Newport Gateway, 19900 
MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 300 (Food and Drug Administration Office), 
Irvine, CA 92612. All hearings will begin at 12 noon local time and 
conclude at 7 PM local time.

Procedure for Requesting Participation

    The Department encourages interested public participants to present 
their views orally at the hearings. Any person wishing to make an oral 
presentation at the hearings must submit a written request to the 
Department of Commerce at the address indicated in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. The request to participate in the hearings must 
be accompanied by 3 copies of a summary of the oral presentation. The 
written request and summary must be received by the Department no later 
than Monday, June 25, 2001. In addition, the request to speak should 
contain (1) the name and address of the person requesting to make a 
presentation; (2) a daytime phone number where the person who would be 
making the oral presentation may be contacted before the hearing; (3) 
the organization or company they represent; (4) an e-mail address, if 
available, and (5) the location you will attend to make your 
presentation.
    Please note that the submission of comments for presentation at the 
public hearings is separate from the request for written comments 
contained in the February 6, 2001 and April 18, 2001 Federal Register 
notices. Since it may be necessary to limit the number of persons 
making presentations, the written request to participate in the public 
hearing should describe the individual's interest in the hearings and, 
where appropriate, explain why the individual is a proper 
representative of a group or class of persons that has such an 
interest. If all interested parties cannot be accommodated at the 
hearings, the summaries of the oral presentations will be used to 
allocate speaking time and to ensure that a full range of comments is 
heard.
    Each person selected to make a presentation will be notified by the 
Department of Commerce no later than 8 PM EDT on Friday, June 29, 2001. 
The Department will arrange the presentation times for the speakers. 
Attendees will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Persons 
selected to be heard are requested to bring 100 copies of their oral 
presentation and of all exhibits to the hearing site on the day of the 
hearing. All such material must be of a size consistent with ease of 
handling, transportation and filing. While large exhibits may be used 
during a hearing, copies of such exhibits in reduced size must be 
provided to the panel. Written submissions by persons not selected to 
make presentations will be made part of the public record of the 
proceeding. Any person, whether presenting or not, may submit a written 
statement through August 17, 2001; 30 days after the last hearing date. 
Confidential business information may not be submitted at a public 
hearing. In the event confidential business information is submitted it 
will be handled according to the same procedures applicable to such 
information provided in the course of an investigation. See 15 CFR 
705.6. Each hearing will be stenographically reported. Transcripts of 
the hearings may be purchased after the hearings have been completed 
from the Department for actual cost of duplication.
    Copies of the requests to participate in the public hearings, and 
the transcripts of the hearings will be maintained on the Bureau of 
Export Administration's web page, which can be found at 
http://www.bxa.doc.gov (see Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) heading). 
If the requesters cannot access the web site, they may call (202) 482-
2165 for assistance. The records related to this assessment are made 
accessible in accordance with the regulations published in part 4 of 
title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR 4.1 et seq.)

Conduct of the Hearing

    The Department reserves the right to select the persons to be heard 
at the hearings, to schedule their respective presentations, and to 
establish the procedures governing the conduct of the hearing. Each 
speaker will be limited to 10 minutes, and comments must be directly 
related to the criteria listed in 15 CFR part 705.4 of the regulations.
    A Commerce Department official will be designated to preside at the 
hearings. The presiding officer shall determine all procedural matters 
during the hearings. Representatives from the Commerce Department and 
other U.S. Government agencies will make up the hearing panel. This 
will be a fact-finding proceeding; it will not be a judicial or 
evidentiary-type hearing. Only members of the hearing panel may ask 
questions, and there will be no cross-examination of persons presenting 
statements. However, questions submitted to the presiding officer in 
writing may, at the discretion of the presiding officer, be posed to 
the presenter. No formal rules of evidence will apply to the hearings.
    Any further procedural rules for the proper conduct of the hearing 
will be announced by the presiding officer.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be received by the Department of Commerce no 
later than Friday, June 29, 2001 at the address indicated in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice.

    Dated: June 8, 2001.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-15024 Filed 6-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DT-U