[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71007-71009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30307]


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

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Notice of Proposed Measure and Opportunity for Public Comment 
Pursuant to Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974: Pedestal Actuators 
From the People's Republic of China

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of proposed measure; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has 
determined, pursuant to section 421(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended (the Trade Act)(19 U.S.C. 2451(b)(1)), that pedestal actuators 
\1\ from the People's Republic of China (China) are being imported into 
the United States in such increased quantities or under such conditions 
as to cause market disruption to the domestic producers of like or 
directly competitive products. Pursuant to section 421(h)(1) of the 
Trade Act, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is publishing 
notice of proposed restrictions with respect to imports of pedestal 
actuators from China. USTR invites domestic producers, importers, 
exporters, and other interested parties to submit their views and 
evidence on the

[[Page 71008]]

appropriateness of the proposed restrictions and whether they would be 
in the public interest. USTR also invites interested parties to 
participate in a public hearing (if requested).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ For purposes of the ITC investigation, pedestal actuators 
consist of electromechanical linear actuators, imported with or 
without motors, or as part of scooter subassemblies, all the 
foregoing used for lifting and lowering, or for pushing or pulling. 
The product includes any subassembly of pedestal actuator parts and 
components. Pedestal actuators are powered by fractional horsepower 
DC or AC motors, which drive a ball bearing screw or acme screw 
through a gear reducer to convert rotary to linear motion. The 
products are designed for flat or base mounting, have telescoping 
members, with bearings or bearing surfaces, and rigidly support the 
load and provide anti-rotation. Pedestal actuators are provided for 
in subheadings 8483.40.50 and 8483.40.80 and in heading 8501 of the 
Harmonized Tariff System of the United States. They are primarily 
used in mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs.

DATES: Requests for USTR to hold a public hearing are due by December 
9, 2002. Written comments and requests to testify at any public hearing 
are due by December 11, 2002. If a request for USTR to hold a public 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
hearing is received, the hearing will be held on December 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected].
    Submissions by facsimile: Sandy McKinzy, USTR, at (202) 395-9672.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
public comments and holding of a public hearing, contact Sandy McKinzy, 
USTR, telephone (202) 395-9483, facsimile (202) 395-9672. Other 
questions should be addressed to Terrence J. McCartin, Office of North 
Asian Affairs, USTR, telephone (202) 395-3900, or David L. Weller, 
Office of General Counsel, USTR, telephone (202) 395-3581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. The ITC Investigation and Section 421

    Following receipt of a petition filed on August 19, 2002, on behalf 
of Motion Systems Corporation, the ITC instituted investigation No. TA-
421-1, Pedestal Actuators From China, under section 421 of the Trade 
Act (19 U.S.C. 2451) to determine whether pedestal actuators from China 
are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities 
or under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause market 
disruption to the domestic producers of like or directly competitive 
products. The ITC made an affirmative determination on October 18, 
2002, and transmitted a report on its determination, as well as its 
remedy proposals, to USTR on November 7, 2002. The views of the ITC, 
including its remedy proposals, are available on the ITC's Web site 
(http://www.usitc.gov/7ops/chinasafeguard.htm) and are contained in 
USITC Publication 3557 (November 2002), entitled ``Pedestal Actuators 
from China: Investigation No. TA-421-1''. A copy of that publication, 
which also includes the ITC staff report, can be obtained from the ITC 
by faxing a request to (202) 205-2104 or calling (202) 205-1809.
    Following an affirmative determination by the ITC, and pursuant to 
Section 421(h) of the Trade Act, USTR is required to make a 
recommendation to the President concerning what action, if any, to take 
to remedy the market disruption. Within 15 days after receipt of USTR's 
recommendation, the President is required to provide import relief 
unless the President determines that provision of such relief is not in 
the national economic interest of the United States or, in 
extraordinary cases, that the taking of action would cause serious harm 
to the national security of the United States. (Section 421(k)) Prior 
to making a recommendation, USTR is required to publish notice of any 
proposed measures and of the opportunity to comment.

2. Proposed Measure and Opportunity for Comment

    The ITC recommended that the President impose a quantitative 
restriction for a three-year period on imports of pedestal actuators 
from China, in the amount of 5,626 units in the first year; 6,470 units 
in the second year; and 7,440 units in the third year. (67 FR 69557) 
USTR proposes this remedy for further consideration by domestic 
producers, importers, exporters, and other interested parties, and 
invites any of these parties to submit their views and evidence on the 
appropriateness of the proposed remedy and whether it would be in the 
public interest. In addition, USTR invites comments on other possible 
actions, including: imposition of a quota on imports of pedestal 
actuators from China, with a quantity and/or duration different from 
the ITC recommendation; imposition of a tariff-rate quota on imports of 
pedestal actuators from China; increased duties on imports of pedestal 
actuators from China; an import monitoring mechanism; or no import 
relief (pursuant to a determination under Section 421(k) of the Trade 
Act regarding the national economic interest or national security). In 
commenting on possible actions, interested parties are requested to 
address: (i) The short- and long-term effects that implementation of 
the proposed action is likely to have on the domestic pedestal actuator 
industry, on other domestic industries (including the mobility scooter 
industry), and on downstream consumers, and (ii) the short- and long-
term effects that not taking the proposed action is likely to have on 
the domestic pedestal actuator industry, its workers, and on other 
domestic industries or communities.
    An interested party may request that USTR hold a public hearing, 
which request must be received by December 9, 2002. Written comments, 
as well as requests to testify at any public hearing, must be received 
by December 11, 2002, and should be submitted in accordance with the 
instructions below. Parties that have submitted comments and/or 
requested to testify at any public hearing will be informed if a 
hearing is to be held. In addition, information on any public hearing 
may be obtained by contacting Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483. If a 
public hearing is requested, it will be held on December 18, 2002, at 
10 a.m. in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. Requests 
to testify must include the following information: (1) Name, address, 
telephone number, fax number, and firm or affiliation of the person 
wishing to testify; and (2) a brief summary of the comments to be 
presented.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response 
to this notice.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``Pedestal Actuators'' followed by (as appropriate) 
``Written Comments'', ``Request for Public Hearing'', or ``Request to 
Testify''. Documents should be submitted as either WordPerfect, MSWord, 
or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as 
spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. For any document 
containing business confidential information submitted electronically, 
the file name of the business confidential version should begin with 
the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of the public version should 
begin with the characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be 
followed by the name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by 
e-mail should not provide separate cover letters; information that 
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission 
itself. To the extent possible, any attachments to the submission 
should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not 
as separate files.
    Written comments submitted in response to this request will be 
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, 
except business confidential information exempt from public inspection 
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential information 
submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of each page, including any cover 
letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential 
summary of the confidential information. All public

[[Page 71009]]

documents and nonconfidential summaries shall be available for public 
inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to 
the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 
4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment to review the file must 
be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling 
(202) 395-6186.

Wendy S. Cutler,
Assistant United States Trade Representative, Office of North Asian 
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 02-30307 Filed 11-25-02; 2:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P