[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 150 (Friday, August 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45423-45424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15491]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 332-350 and 332-351]


Monitoring of U.S. Imports of Tomatoes; Monitoring of U.S. 
Imports of Peppers

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to submit information for 2005 monitoring 
reports.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to statute (see below), the Commission monitors U.S. 
imports of fresh or chilled tomatoes and fresh or chilled peppers for 
the purpose of expediting an investigation under certain U.S. safeguard 
laws, should an appropriate petition be filed. As part of that 
monitoring, the Commission compiles data on imports and the domestic 
industry and has made its data series available to the public on an 
annual basis. The Commission is in the process of preparing its data 
series for the period ending June 30, 2005, and is seeking input from 
interested members of the public. The Commission expects to make its 
data series available to the public in November in electronic form on 
the Commission's Web site.

DATES: Effective July 28, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy McCarty (202-205-3324, 
[email protected]) or Cathy Jabara (202-205-3309, 
[email protected]), Agriculture and Fisheries Division, Office of 
Industries, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20436, for general information, or William Gearhart 
(202-205-3091, [email protected]), Office of the General 
Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission, for information on legal 
aspects. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter 
by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on (202) 205-1810. General 
information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing 
its Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for these 
investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket 
(EDIS-ON LINE) at http://eds.usitc.gov/hvwebex.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background.--Section 316 of the North American Free-Trade Agreement 
Implementation Act (NAFTA Implementation Act) (19 U.S.C. 3881) requires 
that the Commission monitor U.S. imports of fresh or chilled tomatoes 
(HTS heading 0702.00) and fresh or chilled peppers, other than chili 
peppers (HTS subheading 0709.60.00),

[[Page 45424]]

until January 1, 2009, for purposes of expediting an investigation 
concerning provisional relief under section 202 of the Trade Act of 
1974 or section 302 of the NAFTA Implementation Act. Section 316 does 
not require that the Commission publish reports on this monitoring 
activity or otherwise make the information available to the public. 
However, the Commission maintains current data files on tomatoes and 
peppers in order to conduct an expedited investigation should a request 
be received. In response to the monitoring requirement, the Commission 
instituted investigation No. 332-350, Monitoring of U.S. Imports of 
Tomatoes (59 FR 1763) and investigation No. 332-351, Monitoring of U.S. 
Imports of Peppers (59 FR 1762).
    The Commission will make its reports available to the public in 
electronic form, and will maintain electronic copies of its reports on 
its Web site until one year after the monitoring requirement expires on 
January 1, 2009. The most recent Commission monitoring reports in this 
series were published in November 2004 and are available on the 
Commission's Web site.
    Written submissions.--The Commission does not plan to hold a public 
hearing in connection with preparation of these reports. However, 
interested persons are invited to submit written statements containing 
data and other information concerning the matters to be addressed in 
the reports. All submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, 
United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436, and should be received no later than the close of 
business on August 20, 2005. All written submissions must conform with 
the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice 
and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 of the rules requires that 
a signed original (or a copy designated as an original) and fourteen 
(14) copies of each document be filed. In the event that confidential 
treatment of the document is requested, as least four (4) additional 
copies must be filed, in which the confidential information must be 
deleted (see the following paragraph for further information regarding 
confidential business information). The Commission's rules do not 
authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means, except to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of 
the rules (see Handbook for Electronic Filing Procedures, ftp://ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/electronic_filing_handbook.pdf ).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information must 
also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the 
rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages 
be clearly marked as to whether they are the ``confidential'' or ``non-
confidential'' version, and that the confidential business information 
be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written submissions, 
except for confidential business information, will be made available in 
the Office of the Secretary to the Commission for inspection by 
interested parties.
    The Commission will not publish such confidential business 
information in the monitoring reports it posts on its Web site in a 
manner that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the 
information. However, the Commission may include such information in 
the report it sends to the President under section 202 of the Trade Act 
of 1974 or section 302 of the NAFTA Implementation Act, if it is 
required to conduct an investigation involving these products under 
either of these statutory authorities. Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Secretary at 202-205-2000.

    By order of the Commission.
    Issued: August 1, 2005.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 05-15491 Filed 8-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P