[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19592-19593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9705]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-503]


Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness 
of the Program for Certain Apparel From the Dominican Republic

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of hearing.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 404(d) of the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 
U.S.C. 4112(d)), and pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the U.S. International Trade Commission 
(Commission) has instituted investigation No. 332-503, Earned Import 
Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for 
Certain Apparel from the Dominican Republic, for the purpose of 
submitting annual reports on the effectiveness of the program and 
recommendations for improvements.

DATES: 

October 30, 2009: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing.
November 3, 2009: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
November 18, 2009: Public hearing.
November 30, 2009: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
statements.
February 24, 2010: Deadline for all other written submissions.
July 28, 2010: Transmittal of first report to House Committee on Ways 
and Means and Senate Committee on Finance.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions, 
including requests to appear at the hearing, statements, and briefs, 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record 
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS) at http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Laura Rodriguez (202-
205-3499 or [email protected]) for information specific to this 
investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this 
investigation, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of 
the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [email protected]). The 
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations 
(202-205-1819 or [email protected]). Hearing-impaired 
individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.
    Background: Section 404 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-
United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (DR-CAFTA Act) 
requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Earned Import 
Allowance Program (EIAP) and directs the Commission to conduct annual 
reviews of the program for the purpose of evaluating its effectiveness 
and making recommendations for improvements. Section 404 of the DR-
CAFTA Act was added by section 2 of Public Law 110-436, ``An Act to 
extend the Andean Trade Preference Act, and for other purposes.'' It 
authorizes certain apparel articles wholly assembled in an eligible 
country to enter the United States free of duty if accompanied by a 
certificate that shows evidence of the purchase of certain U.S. fabric. 
The term ``eligible country'' is defined to mean the Dominican 
Republic. More specifically, the program allows producers (in the 
Dominican Republic) that purchase a certain quantity of qualifying U.S. 
fabric for use in the production of certain bottoms of cotton in the 
Dominican Republic to receive a credit that can be used to ship a 
certain quantity of eligible apparel using third country fabrics from 
the Dominican Republic to the United States duty free. Section 404(d) 
directs the Commission to conduct an annual review of the program for 
the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the program and making 
recommendations for improvements. The Commission is required to submit 
its reports to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate 
Committee on Finance. The statute provides that the program will be in 
effect for the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the 
President certifies to the committees that sections A, B, C, and D of 
the Annex to Presidential Proclamation 8213 (December 20, 2007) have 
taken effect. The Commission expects to submit its first report to the 
committees by July 28, 2010.
    The Commission has also instituted this investigation pursuant to 
section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 to facilitate docketing of 
submissions and also to facilitate public access to Commission records 
through the Commission's EDIS electronic records system.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing in connection with this 
investigation will be held at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
November 18, 2009. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary no later than 5:15 p.m., October 30, 2009, in 
accordance with the requirements in the ``Submissions'' section below. 
All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be filed not later than 
5:15 p.m., November 3, 2009; and all post-hearing briefs and statements 
responding to matters raised at the hearing should be filed not later 
than 5:15 p.m., November 30, 2009. If, as of the close of business on 
October 30, 2009, no witnesses are scheduled to appear at the hearing, 
the hearing will be canceled. Any person interested in attending the 
hearing as an observer or non-participant may call the Secretary (202-
205-2000) after October 30, 2009, to determine whether the hearing will 
be held.
    Submissions: All written submissions, including requests to appear 
at the hearing, statements, and briefs, should be addressed to the 
Secretary and must conform to the provisions of section 201.8 of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 
201.8 requires that a signed original (or a copy so designated) and 
fourteen (14) copies of each document be filed. In the event that 
confidential treatment of a document is requested, at 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 
authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means only to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of the 
rules (see Handbook for Electronic

[[Page 19593]]

Filing Procedures, http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/documents/handbook_on_electronic_filing.pdf). Persons with 
questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Secretary 
(202-205-2000). Any submissions that contain confidential business 
information must also conform to 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 is clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties.
    The Commission anticipates that the reports it sends to the 
committees in this investigation will be made available to the public 
in their entirety. Consequently, the reports that the Commission sends 
to the committees will not contain any confidential business 
information. Any confidential business information received by the 
Commission in this investigation and used in preparing its report will 
not be published in a manner that would reveal the operations of the 
firm supplying the information.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: April 23, 2009.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
William R. Bishop,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-9705 Filed 4-28-09; 8:45 am]
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