[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 716-718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-214]


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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 Ductile Iron 
Waterworks Fittings 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 ductile 
iron waterworks fittings \1\ from the People's

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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 ductile iron 
waterworks fittings 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 ductile iron waterworks fittings to consist of cast pipe or 
tube fittings of ductile iron (containing 2.5 percent carbon and 
over 0.02 percent magnesium or magnesium and cerium, by weight) with 
mechanical, push-on (rubber compression) or flanged joints attached. 
Included within this definition are fittings of all nominal 
diameters and of both full-bodied and compact designs. The imported 
products are provided for in statistical reporting number 
7307.19.3070 of the Harmonized Schedule of the United States (HTS).

DATES: Requests for USTR to hold a public hearing are due by January 
20, 2004. Written comments and requests to testify at any public 
hearing are due by January 22, 2004. If a request for USTR to hold a 
public hearing is received, the hearing will be held on February 2, 
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2004.

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 regarding the subject of this notice should be addressed to 
Terrence J. McCartin, Office of North Asian Affairs, USTR, telephone 
(202) 395-3900, or Mar[iacute]a L. Pag[aacute]n, Office of General 
Counsel, USTR, telephone (202) 395-7305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. The ITC Investigation and Section 421

    Following receipt of a petition filed on September 5, 2003, on 
behalf of McWane, Inc., the ITC instituted investigation No. TA-421-4, 
under section 421(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2451(b)) to determine 
whether the subject ductile iron waterworks fittings 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. In addition, the petitioner sought provisional relief under 
section 421(i) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2451(i)), alleging that 
critical circumstances exist such that a delay in taking action under 
the statute would cause damage to the relevant domestic industry which 
would be difficult to repair. On October 16, 2003, the ITC made a 
negative critical circumstances determination and continued its 
investigation. The ITC made an affirmative market disruption 
determination on December 4, 2003, and transmitted a report on its 
determination, as well as its remedy proposals, to USTR on December 24, 
2003. The views of the ITC, including its remedy proposals, and the ITC 
staff report are available on the ITC's Web site (http://www.usitc.gov) 
and are contained in USITC Publication 3657 (December 2003), entitled 
``Certain Ductile Iron Waterworks Fittings from China''. A copy of that 
publication can be obtained from the ITC after January 14, 2004, 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 tariff-rate quota 
on imports of the subject ductile iron waterworks fittings from China 
for a three-year period as follows: A 50 percent tariff, in addition to 
the current rate of duty, on imports exceeding 14,324 short tons in the 
first year; a 40 percent tariff, in addition to the current rate of 
duty, on imports exceeding 15,398 short tons in the second year; and a 
30 percent tariff, in addition to the current rate of duty, on imports 
exceeding 16,553 short tons 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. 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 
tariff-rate quota on the subject imports from China, with an in-quota 
volume, out-of-quota tariff rate, and/or period different from the ITC 
recommendation; imposition of an additional duty on imports of 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 ductile iron 
waterworks fittings 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 ductile iron 
waterworks fittings industry, its workers, and other domestic 
industries or communities.
    An interested party may request that USTR hold a public hearing, 
which request must be received by January 20, 2004. Written comments, 
as well as requests to testify at any public hearing, must be received 
by January 22, 2004, and should be submitted in accordance with the 
instructions below. Parties that have 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 February 2, 2004, 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-

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mail) submissions in response to this notice.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``Ductile Iron Waterworks Fittings'' 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 files. 
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 will 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.

Charles Freeman,
Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative, Office of North 
Asian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 04-214 Filed 1-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W3-P