[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 44 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10765-10767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5329]


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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: Certain Steel Wire 
Garment Hangers From the People's Republic of China

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of proposed measure; request for comments.

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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 certain steel wire 
garment hangers \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 the subject steel wire garment hangers from China. USTR 
invites domestic producers, importers, exporters, and other interested 
parties to submit their views and evidence on the 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).
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    \1\ For purposes of its investigation, the ITC considered 
certain steel wire garment hangers to consist of garment hangers, 
fabricated from steel wire in gauges from 9 to 17, inclusive (3.77 
to 1.37 millimeters, inclusive), whether or not galvanized or 
painted, whether or not coated with latex or epoxy or other similar 
gripping materials, and whether or not fashioned with paper covers 
or capes (with or without printing) and/or nonslip features such as 
saddles, tubes, or struts. After fabrication, such hangers are in 
lengths from 7 to 20 inches, inclusive (177.8 to 508 millimeters, 
inclusive), and the hanger's length or bottom bar is composed of 
steel wire and/or saddles, tubes, or struts. The product may also be 
identified by its commercial designation, referring to the shape 
and/or style of the hanger or the garment for which it is intended, 
including but not limited to Shirt, Suit, Strut, and Caped hangers. 
Specifically excluded are wooden, plastic, aluminum, and other 
garment hangers that are covered under separate subheadings of the 
Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTS). The products 
subject to the investigation are classified in subheading 7326.20.00 
of the HTS and reported under statistical reporting number 
7326.20.0020.

DATES: Requests for USTR to hold a public hearing are due by March 18, 
2003. Written comments and requests to testify at any public hearing 
are due by March 20, 2003. If a request for USTR

[[Page 10766]]

to hold a public hearing is received, the hearing will be held on April 
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1, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected]; 
Submissionsse 3581 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 November 27, 2002, on 
behalf of CHC Industries, Inc., M&B Metal Products Co., Inc., and 
United Wire Hanger Corp., the ITC instituted investigation No. TA-421-
2, under section 421 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2451) to determine 
whether the subject steel wire garment hangers 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 January 27, 2003, and 
transmitted a report on its determination, as well as its remedy 
proposals, to USTR on February 14, 2003. 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 3575 (February 2003), entitled ``Certain Steel Wire 
Garment Hangers from China: Investigation No. TA-421-2''. 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 duty, in addition 
to the current rate of duty, for a three-year period on imports of the 
subject steel wire garment hangers from China, as follows: 25 percent 
ad valorem in the first year, 20 percent ad valorem in the second year, 
and 15 percent ad valorem in the third year. The ITC further 
recommended that, if applications are filed, the President direct the 
U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor to provide 
expedited consideration of trade adjustment assistance for firms and/or 
workers affected by the subject imports. (68 FR 8926) 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 an additional duty on imports of the subject steel wire 
garment hangers from China, at a rate and/or for a period different 
from the ITC recommendation; imposition of a tariff-rate quota on the 
subject imports from China; imposition of a quota on the subject 
imports 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 steel wire 
garment hanger industry, other domestic industries, and downstream 
consumers, and (ii) the short- and long-term effects that not taking 
the proposed action is likely to have on the domestic steel wire 
garment hanger 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 March 18, 2003. Written comments, as 
well as requests to testify at any public hearing, must be received by 
March 20, 2003, 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 April 1, 2003, at 9:30 
a.m. in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 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: ``Wire Hangers'' 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 documents and 
nonconfidential summaries shall be available for public

[[Page 10767]]

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. 03-5329 Filed 3-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P