[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 241 (Friday, December 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 75507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From the 
People's Republic of China: Request for Comment

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce

DATES: Effective Date: December 15, 2006.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce invites comments on the 
applicability of the countervailing duty law to imports from the 
People's Republic of China.

DATES: Comments must be submitted no later than thirty days after 
publication of this Notice.

ADDRESSES: Written comments (original and eight copies) should be sent 
to Susan H. Kuhbach, Senior Office Director for Import Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Central Records Unit, Room 1870, 
Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Callie Conroy or David Layton, Import 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone: 202-482-0754 
or 202-482-0371, respectively.

Background

    In 1986, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that 
the Department of Commerce (the Department) has the discretion not to 
apply the countervailing duty (CVD) law to non-market economy (NME) 
countries in Georgetown Steel Corp. v. United States, 801 F.2d 1308 
(Fed. Cir. 1986) (Georgetown Steel). On November 20, the Department 
initiated a countervailing duty investigation on imports of coated free 
sheet paper from the People's Republic of China (PRC). This is the 
first CVD investigation involving the PRC since 1991, when the 
Department initiated investigations on lugnuts and ceiling fans, which 
were terminated before going to order. See Rescission of Initiation of 
Countervailing Duty Investigation and Dismissal of Petition: Chrome-
Plated Lug Nuts and Wheel Locks From the People's Republic of China 
(``PRC''), 57 FR 10459 (March 26, 1992); and Final Negative 
Countervailing Duty Determinations: Oscillating and Ceiling Fans From 
the People's Republic of China, 57 FR 24018 (June 5, 1992). In both 
cases, the Department did not find at that time a basis for applying 
the CVD law to the industry in question, consistent with Georgetown 
Steel. The initiation of the present investigation requires that the 
Department review its long-standing policy of not applying the CVD law 
to NMEs, such as the PRC.
    The Department intends during the course of the present 
investigation to determine whether the countervailing duty law should 
now be applied to imports from the PRC. Given the complex legal and 
policy issues involved, the Department, therefore, invites public 
comment on this matter.
    Persons wishing to comment should file a signed original and eight 
copies of each set of comments before the close of the comment period. 
Comments should be limited to thirty pages, double spaced. The 
Department will not accept comments accompanied by a request that a 
part or all of the material be treated confidentially because of its 
business proprietary nature or for any other reason. All comments 
responding to this notice will be a matter of public record and will be 
available for public inspection and copying at Import Administration's 
Central Records Unit, Room B-099, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 
p.m. on business days. The Department requires that comments be 
submitted in written form, but also recommends submission of comments 
in electronic form to accompany the required paper copies. Comments 
filed in electronic form should be submitted either by e-mail to the 
webmaster below, or on CD-ROM, as comments submitted on diskettes are 
likely to be damaged by postal radiation treatment. Comments received 
in electronic form will be made available to the public in Portable 
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the Import Administration Web 
site at the following address: http://ia.ita.doc.gov/. Any questions 
concerning file formatting, document conversion, access on the 
Internet, or other electronic filing issues should be addressed to 
Andrew Lee Beller, Import Administration Webmaster, at (202) 482-0866, 
e-mail address: [email protected].
    All comments and submissions should be mailed to Susan H. Kuhbach, 
Senior Office Director for Import Administration; Subject: Application 
of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports from the People's Republic of 
China: Request for Comment; Room 1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, by no later 
than 5 p.m., on the above-referenced deadline date.

    Dated: December 11, 2006.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
 [FR Doc. E6-21437 Filed 12-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P