[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 82 (Friday, April 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25154-25157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6456]


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COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS


Special Procedures for Considering Requests from the Public for 
Textile and Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports from Australia

April 25, 2006.
AGENCY: The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the 
Committee).

ACTION: Notice of Procedures.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the procedures the Committee will 
follow in considering requests from the public for textile and apparel 
safeguard actions as provided for in Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 
through Section 328 of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement 
Implementation Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Requests must be submitted to: the Chairman, Committee for 
the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room H3100, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 
20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria D'Andrea, Office of Textiles and 
Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-4058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

BACKGROUND:

    Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the 
United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the 
``Act'') implements the textile and apparel safeguard provisions, 
provided for in Article 4.1 of the Agreement. The safeguard mechanism 
applies when, as a result of the elimination of a customs duty under 
the Agreement, a textile or apparel article from Australia is being 
imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in 
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and 
under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat 
thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive 
article. In these circumstances, Article 4.1 permits the United States 
to increase duties on the imported article to a level that does not 
exceed the lesser of the prevailing U.S. normal trade relations (NTR)/
most-favored-nation (MFN) duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/MFN 
duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement enters into force.
    The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that 
the Committee determines that a textile or apparel article from 
Australia, as defined in Section 301(2) of the Act, is being imported 
into the United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms 
or relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such 
conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a 
U.S. industry producing an article that is like, or directly 
competitive with, the imported article. The maximum period of import 
tariff relief, including provisional relief, as set forth in Sections 3 
and 4 of this notice, shall be two years. However, the Committee may 
extend the period of import relief for an additional two years if the 
Committee determines that the continuation is necessary to remedy or 
prevent serious damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate 
adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition, and that the 
domestic industry is, in fact, making a positive adjustment to import 
competition. Import tariff relief may not be imposed for an aggregate 
period greater than four years. Import tariff relief may not be applied 
to the same article at the same time under these procedures if relief 
previously has been granted with respect to that article under: (1) 
these provisions; (2) Subtitle A to Title III of the Act; or (3) 
Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974.
    Authority to provide import tariff relief with respect to an 
Australian textile or apparel article will expire ten years after 
duties on the article are eliminated.
    Under Article 4.1.7 of the Agreement, if the United States provides 
relief to a domestic industry under the textile and apparel safeguard, 
it must provide Australia ``mutually agreed trade liberalizing 
compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent 
trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional customs 
duties expected to result from the emergency [safeguard] action.'' Such 
concessions shall be limited to textile and apparel products, unless 
the United States and Australia agree otherwise. If the United States 
and Australia are unable to agree on trade liberalizing compensation, 
Australia may increase customs duties equivalently on U.S. products. 
The obligation to provide compensation terminates upon termination of 
the safeguard relief. Section 327 of the Act extends the authority 
under Section 123 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2133), as 
amended, to measures taken pursuant to the Agreement's textile and 
apparel safeguard provisions.
    In order to facilitate the implementation of Title III, Subtitle B, 
Section 321 through Section 328 of the United States-Australia Free 
Trade Agreement Implementation Act, the Committee has determined that 
actions taken under this safeguard fall within the foreign affairs 
exception to the rulemaking provision of 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1), and this 
notice does not waive that determination. These procedures are not 
subject to the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) and 553(b)(A).
    1. Requirements for Requests. Pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Act 
and Section 6 of Presidential Proclamation 7857 of December 23, 2004, 
an interested party may file a request for a textile or apparel 
safeguard action with the Committee. The Committee will review requests 
from an interested party sent to the Chairman, Committee for the 
Implementation of Textile Agreements, Room 3100, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. Ten 
copies of any such request must be provided. As provided in Section 328 
of the Act, the Committee will protect from disclosure any business 
confidential information that is marked ``business confidential'' to 
the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that business 
confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-confidential 
version must also be provided, in which business confidential 
information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At the conclusion 
of the request, an interested party must attest that ``all information 
contained in the request is complete and accurate and no false claims, 
statements, or representations have been made.'' Consistently with 
Section 321(a), the Committee will review a request initially to 
determine whether to commence consideration of the request on its 
merits. Within 15 working days of receipt of a request, the Committee 
will determine whether the request provides the information necessary 
for the

[[Page 25155]]

Committee to consider the request in light of the considerations set 
forth below. If the request does not, the Committee will promptly 
notify the requester of the reasons for this determination and the 
request will not be considered. However, the Committee will reevaluate 
any request that is resubmitted with additional information.
    Consistent with longstanding Committee practice in considering 
textile safeguard actions, the Committee will consider an interested 
party to be an entity (which may be a trade association, firm, 
certified or recognized union, or group of workers) that is 
representative of either: (A) a domestic producer or producers of an 
article that is like or directly competitive with the subject 
Australian textile or apparel article; or (B) a domestic producer or 
producers of a component used in the production of an article that is 
like or directly competitive with the subject Australian textile or 
apparel article.
    A request will only be considered if the request includes the 
specific information set forth below in support of a claim that a 
textile or apparel article from Australia is being imported into the 
United States in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or 
relative to the domestic market for that article, and under such 
conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a 
U.S. industry producing an article that is like, or directly 
competitive with, the imported article.
    A. Product description. Name and description of the imported 
article concerned, including the category or categories or part thereof 
of the U.S. Textile and Apparel Category System (see ``Textile 
Correlation'' at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/corr.htm) under which such 
article is classified, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States subheading(s) under which such article is classified, and the 
name and description of the like or directly competitive domestic 
article concerned.
    B. Import data. The following data, in quantity by category unit 
(see ``Textile Correlation''), on total imports of the subject article 
into the United States and imports from Australia into the United 
States:
    * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for 
which such data are available;
    * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are 
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the 
previous year (e.g., January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-
March 2004, April-June 2004).
    The data should demonstrate that imports of an Australian origin 
textile or apparel article that is like or directly competitive with 
the article produced by the domestic industry concerned are increasing 
rapidly in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that 
article.
    C. Production data. The following data, in quantity by category 
unit (see ``Textile Correlation''), on U.S. domestic production of the 
like or directly competitive articles of U.S. origin indicating the 
nature and extent of the serious damage or actual threat thereof:
    * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for 
which such data are available;
    * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are 
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the 
previous year (e.g., January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-
March 2004, April-June 2004).
    If the like or directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin does 
not correspond to a category or categories of the U.S. Textile and 
Apparel Category system for which production data are available from 
official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce (see ``U.S. 
Imports, Production, Markets, Import Production Ratios and Domestic 
Market Shares for Textile and Apparel Product Categories'' at website 
http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/ipbook.pdf), the requester must provide a 
complete listing of all sources from which the data were obtained and 
an affirmation that, to the best of the requester's knowledge, the data 
represent substantially all of the domestic production of the like or 
directly competitive article(s) of U.S. origin. In such cases, data 
should be reported in the first unit of quantity in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts) 
for the Australian origin textile and/or apparel article and the like 
or directly competitive articles of U.S. origin.
    D. Market share data. The following data, in quantity by category 
unit (see ``Textile Correlation''), on imports from Australia as a 
percentage of the domestic market (defined as the sum of domestic 
production of the like or directly competitive article and total 
imports of the subject article); on total imports as a percentage of 
the domestic market; and on domestic production of like or directly 
competitive articles as a percentage of the domestic market:
    * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for 
which such data are available;
    * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are 
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the 
previous year (e.g., January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-
March 2004, April-June 2004).
    E. Additional data showing serious damage or actual threat thereof. 
All data available to the requester showing changes in productivity, 
utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages, employment, 
domestic prices, profits, and investment, and any other information, 
relating to the existence of serious damage, or actual threat thereof, 
caused by imports from Australia to the industry producing the like or 
directly competitive article that is the subject of the request. To the 
extent that such information is not available, the requester should 
provide best estimates and the basis therefore:
    * Annual data for the most recent three full calendar years for 
which such data are available;
    * Quarterly data for the most recent year for which such data are 
partially available, and quarterly data for the same quarter(s) of the 
previous year (e.g., January-March 2005, April-June 2005 and January-
March 2004, April-June 2004).
    2. Consideration of Requests. Consistent with Section 321(c) of the 
Act, if the Committee determines that the request provides the 
information necessary for it to be considered, the Committee will cause 
to be published in the Federal Register a notice seeking public 
comments regarding the request, which will include a summary of the 
request and the date by which comments must be received. The Federal 
Register notice and the request, with the exception of information 
marked ``business confidential,'' will be posted by the Department of 
Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel (``OTEXA'') on the Internet 
(http://otexa.ita.doc.gov). The comment period shall be 30 calendar 
days. To the extent business confidential information is provided, a 
non-confidential version must also be provided, in which business 
confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. At 
the conclusion of its submission of such public comments, an interested 
party must attest that ``all information contained in the comments is 
complete and accurate and no false claims, statements, or 
representations have been made.'' Comments received, with the exception 
of information marked ``business confidential,'' will be available in 
the Department of Commerce's Trade Information Center for review by the 
public. If a comment alleges that there is no serious damage

[[Page 25156]]

or actual threat thereof, or that the subject imports are not the cause 
of the serious damage or actual threat thereof, the Committee will 
closely review any supporting information and documentation, such as 
information about domestic production or prices of like or directly 
competitive articles. In the case of requests submitted by entities 
that are not the actual producers of a like or directly competitive 
article, particular consideration will be given to comments 
representing the views of actual producers in the United States of a 
like or directly competitive article.
    Any interested party may submit information to rebut, clarify, or 
correct public comments submitted by any other interested party at any 
time prior to the deadline provided in this section for submission of 
such public comments. If public comments are submitted less than 10 
days before, or on, the applicable deadline for submission of such 
public comments, an interested party may submit information to rebut, 
clarify, or correct the public comments no later than 10 days after the 
applicable deadline for submission of public comments.
    With respect to any request considered by the Committee, the 
Committee will make a determination within 60 calendar days of the 
close of the comment period. If the Committee is unable to make a 
determination within 60 calendar days, it will cause to be published in 
a notice in the Federal Register, including the date by which it will 
make a determination. If the Committee makes a negative determination, 
it will cause this determination and the reasons therefore to be 
published in the Federal Register.
    3. Determination and Provision of Relief. The Committee shall 
determine whether, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a 
duty under the Agreement, an Australian textile or apparel article is 
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in 
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and 
under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat 
thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or 
directly competitive with, the imported article. In making this 
determination, the Committee: (1) shall examine the effect of increased 
imports on the domestic industry as reflected in such relevant economic 
factors as output, productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, 
market share, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits, and 
investment, none of which is necessarily decisive; and (2) shall not 
consider changes in technology or consumer preference as factors 
supporting a determination of serious damage or actual threat thereof. 
The Committee, without delay, will provide written notice of its 
decision to the Government of Australia and will consult with said 
party upon its request.
    If a determination under this section is affirmative, the Committee 
may provide import tariff relief to a U.S. industry to the extent 
necessary to remedy or prevent the serious damage or actual threat 
thereof and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import 
competition. Such relief may consist of an increase in duties to the 
lower of: (1) the NTR/MFN duty rate in place for the textile or apparel 
article at the time the relief is granted; or (2) the NTR/MFN duty rate 
for that article on the day before the Agreement enters into force.
    The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the date that 
the Committee's affirmative determination is published in the Federal 
Register. The maximum period of import tariff relief, including 
provisional relief (as set forth in Section 4 of this notice), shall be 
two years. However, the Committee may extend the period of import 
relief for a period of not more than two years if the Committee 
determines that the continuation is necessary to remedy or prevent 
serious damage or actual threat thereof and to facilitate adjustment, 
and that there is evidence that the domestic industry is making a 
positive adjustment to import competition. Import tariff relief may not 
be imposed for an aggregate period greater than four years. Import 
tariff relief may not be applied to the same article at the same time 
under these procedures if relief previously has been granted with 
respect to that article under: (1) these provisions; (2) Subtitle A to 
Title III of the Act; or (3) Chapter 1 of Title II of the Trade Act of 
1974.
    Authority to provide import tariff relief for a textile or apparel 
article from Australia that is being imported into the United States in 
such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the 
domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause 
serious damage or actual threat thereof to a U.S. industry producing a 
like or directly competitive article, will expire ten years after 
duties on the article are eliminated.
    4. Critical Circumstances. Section 321(b) of the Act allows an 
interested party filing a request for a textile or apparel safeguard 
measure to allege that ``critical circumstances'' exist. Within 60 days 
of the filing of the request, the Committee shall determine, on the 
basis of the available information, whether there is clear evidence 
that: (1) imports from Australia have increased as the result of the 
reduction or elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement; (2) 
such imports are causing serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to 
the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive 
with the imported article; and (3) delay in providing import tariff 
relief would cause damage to a U.S. industry that would be difficult to 
repair. If the determination is affirmative, the Committee shall 
determine the extent of provisional relief that is necessary to remedy 
or prevent the serious damage or actual threat thereof, consistent with 
Section 322(c) of the Act. Within 30 days after making an affirmative 
determination, the Committee, if the Committee considers provisional 
relief to be warranted, shall provide provisional relief for a period 
of up to 200 days. If the Committee provides such provisional relief, 
then liquidation of entries of the article subject to such relief shall 
be suspended during the period of such relief. Provisional relief shall 
be terminated on the day on which: (1) the Committee makes a negative 
determination regarding serious damage or actual threat thereof; (2) 
relief granted pursuant to Section 322(b) of the Act takes effect; (3) 
a decision by the Committee not to take any action pursuant to Section 
322(b) becomes final; or (4) the Committee determines that, because of 
changed circumstances, such relief is no longer warranted. Any 
suspension of liquidation ordered pursuant to Section 322(c)(3) of the 
Act shall be terminated on the date on which the provisional relief is 
terminated. If relief is provided pursuant to Section 322(b) of the 
Act, then any entries for which liquidation has been suspended pursuant 
to Section 322(c) of the Act shall be liquidated at the lower of: (1) 
the rate of duty resulting from the application of the provisional 
relief; and (2) the rate of duty applied pursuant to Section 322(b).
    5. Self Initiation. The Committee may, on its own initiative, 
consider whether imports of a textile or apparel article from Australia 
are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, 
in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, 
and under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat 
thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive 
article. In such considerations, the Committee will follow procedures 
consistent with those set forth in Section 2 of this notice, including 
causing to be published in the Federal

[[Page 25157]]

Register a notice seeking public comment regarding the action it is 
considering.
    6. Record Keeping and Business Confidential Information. OTEXA will 
maintain an official record for each request on behalf of the 
Committee. The official record will include all factual information, 
written argument, or other material developed by, presented to, or 
obtained by OTEXA regarding the request, as well as other material 
provided to the Department of Commerce by other government agencies for 
inclusion in the official record. The official record will include 
Committee memoranda pertaining to the request, memoranda of Committee 
meetings, meetings between OTEXA staff and the public, determinations, 
and notices published in the Federal Register. The official record will 
contain material which is public, business confidential, privileged, 
and classified, but will not include pre-decisional inter-agency or 
intra-agency communications. If the Committee decides it is appropriate 
to consider materials submitted in an untimely manner, such materials 
will be maintained in the official record. Otherwise, such material 
will be returned to the submitter and will not be maintained as part of 
the official record. OTEXA will make the official record public except 
for business confidential information, privileged information, 
classified information, and other information the disclosure of which 
is prohibited by U.S. law. The public record will be available to the 
public for inspection and copying in a public reading room located in 
the Department of Commerce, Trade Information Center.
    Information designated by the submitter as business confidential 
will normally be considered to be business confidential unless it is 
publicly available. The Committee will protect from disclosure any 
business confidential information that is marked ``business 
confidential'' to the full extent permitted by law. To the extent that 
business confidential information is provided, two copies of a non-
confidential version must also be provided, in which business 
confidential information is summarized or, if necessary, deleted. The 
Committee will make available to the public non-confidential versions 
of the request that is being considered, non-confidential versions of 
any public comments received with respect to a request, and, in the 
event consultations are requested, the statement of the reasons and 
justifications for the determination subsequent to the delivery of the 
statement to Australia.

Philip J. Martello,
Acting Chairman, Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements.
[FR Doc. E6-6456 Filed 4-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS