[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56789-56790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-2306]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[TA-W-55,021]


Parametric Technology Corporation Solutions and Marketing Group 
WC Publication and Documentation Department, Needham, MA; Notice of 
Negative Determination Regarding Application for Reconsideration

    By application of July 22, 2004, a petitioner requested 
administrative reconsideration of the Department's negative 
determination regarding eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment 
Assistance (TAA), applicable to workers and former workers of the 
subject firm. The denial notice was signed on July 1, 2004, and 
published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2004 (69 FR 46574).
    Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c) reconsideration may be granted under 
the following circumstances:
    (1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously considered 
that the determination complained of was erroneous;
    (2) If it appears that the determination complained of was based on 
a mistake in the determination of facts not previously considered; or
    (3) If in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a 
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justified reconsideration of 
the decision.
    The petition for the workers of Parametric Technology Corporation, 
Solutions and Marketing Group, WC Publication and Documentation 
Departments, Needham, Massachusetts engaged in developing, writing and 
maintaining technical documentation integrated into the software code 
was denied because the petitioning workers did not produce an article 
within the meaning of section 222 of the Act.
    The petitioner contends that the Department erred in its 
interpretation of work performed at the subject facility as a service 
and further conveys that workers of the subject company produced 
manuals and help systems which were components of compact disks--a 
physical product sold to customers. He further states that because 
these components were essential parts of complete products, the workers 
writing manuals should be considered workers engaged in production.
    A company official was contacted for clarification in regard to the 
nature of the work performed at the subject facility. The official 
stated that petitioning group of workers at the subject firm develops, 
writes, and maintains technical documentation, which indeed includes 
online help files and manuals. The official further clarified that the 
documentation created is merged with the software code which is further 
compiled onto the gold CDs. However, the physical gold CDs are not sold 
to customers, but rather represent a master copy of the software, which 
in its turn is sent to an independent non-affiliated party vendor for 
further duplication and distribution. The official supported the 
information previously provided by the subject firm that codes and 
software created at the subject facility are not recorded on any media 
device by the subject firm for further duplication and distribution to 
customers and that there are no products manufactured within Parametric 
Technology Corporation, Needham, Massachusetts.
    The sophistication of the work involved is not an issue in 
ascertaining whether the petitioning workers are eligible for trade 
adjustment assistance, but rather only whether they produced an article 
within the meaning of section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974.
    Developing, writing, editing, and maintaining on-line technical 
documentation are not considered production of an article within the 
meaning of section 222 of the Trade Act. Petitioning workers do not 
produce an ``article'' within the meaning of the Trade Act of 1974. 
Information electronic databases, technical documentation and codes, 
which are not printed or recorded on media devices (such as CD-ROMs) 
for further mass production and distribution, are not tangible 
commodities, and they are not listed on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (HTS), as classified by the United States 
International Trade Commission (USITC), Office of Tariff Affairs and 
Trade Agreements, which describes articles imported to the United 
States.
    To be listed in the HTS, an article would be subject to a duty on 
the tariff schedule and have a value that makes it marketable, fungible 
and interchangeable for commercial purposes. Although a wide variety of 
tangible products are described as articles and characterized as 
dutiable in the HTS, informational products that could historically be 
sent in letter form and that can currently be electronically 
transmitted are not listed in the HTS. Such products are not the type 
of products that customs officials inspect and that the TAA program was 
generally designed to address.
    The investigation on reconsideration supported the findings of the 
primary investigation that the petitioning group of workers does not 
produce an article.
    The petitioner further alleges that because workers lost their jobs 
due to a transfer of job functions to India, petitioning workers should 
be considered import impacted.
    The company official stated that some technical writing positions 
were shifted to India. The official further stated that the results of 
the work assignments completed in India is transmitted back to the US 
group who create the gold CD via Parametric's Technology Corporation's 
electronic internal systems.
    Informational material that is electronically transmitted is not 
considered production within the context of TAA eligibility 
requirements, so there are no imports of products in this instance. 
Further, as the technical material does not become a product

[[Page 56790]]

until it is recorded on media device, there was no shift in production 
of an ``article'' within the meaning of the Trade Act of 1974.
    In your request for reconsideration, you doubt the accuracy of the 
information provided by Parametric Technology Corporation and request 
copies of all the submissions made by the subject firm during the 
investigation process.
    The Department has no evidence that would suggest that the 
officials of the Parametric Technology Corporation had any reason to 
mislead the investigation or that they had any interest in the outcome 
of this determination that might have been adverse to the former 
employees of the subject firm.
    The Department is unable to provide you with the requested copies 
of documents as all commercial and financial data submitted by the 
subject firm is entitled to confidential treatment, in accordance with 
29 CFR 90.33, and will not be disclosed except to the extent required 
by applicable law or court order.

Conclusion

    After review of the application and investigative findings, I 
conclude that there has been no error or misinterpretation of the law 
or of the facts which would justify reconsideration of the Department 
of Labor's prior decision. Accordingly, the application is denied.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 10th day of September, 2004.
Elliott S. Kushner,
Certifying Officer, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
 [FR Doc. E4-2306 Filed 9-21-04; 8:45 am]
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