[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9576-9578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4349]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Civil Nuclear Policy Mission to Central and Eastern Europe

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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Mission Description

    The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade 
Administration is organizing a Civil Nuclear Policy Mission to Warsaw, 
Poland; Prague, Czech Republic and Bratislava, Slovakia from April 18-
23, 2010. Led by a senior Department of Commerce official, the mission 
will focus on: (1) Infrastructure and tender development, to include 
the safe, secure and proliferation-resistant trade in goods and 
services; (2) promotion of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation 
for Nuclear Damages (CSC) nuclear liability regime; (3) bilateral 
cooperation on civil nuclear commercial opportunities, and (4) ensuring 
opportunities for U.S. firms. The mission will demonstrate significant 
U.S. support for its civil nuclear industry and the wide range of

[[Page 9577]]

technical and commercial capabilities it possesses. The mission will 
promote U.S. companies from across the civil nuclear supply chain, 
including engineering services; fuel providers and processing services; 
reactor designers and builders; program managers; universities and 
other nuclear training institutions; and, small modular reactor 
technologies.

Commercial Setting

    The Central and Eastern European market offers significant 
commercial opportunities for the U.S. civil nuclear industry. 
Increasing energy demands, dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and a 
small but aging fleet of Russian reactor technologies is colliding with 
pressure from the EU to meet stricter carbon emissions standards. 
Competitors of the U.S. civil nuclear sector are predominantly 
government owned entities and receive major support from their 
respective governments. Developments in each of the policy mission 
countries signal an historic opportunity to provide U.S. industry the 
kinds of government support most foreign companies receive. While there 
are opportunities in many of the countries in the region, Poland, the 
Czech Republic, and Slovakia offer near term viable commercial 
opportunities now.
    Poland is rapidly moving towards significant developments of its 
civil nuclear infrastructure and there is momentum within the 
government to achieve its aggressive goal of having a nuclear reactor 
online by 2020. In terms of infrastructure development, the Polish 
government has released an official public declaration of its 
intentions to develop and support an indigenous civil nuclear 
industry--the first of many milestones laid out by the International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Poland has expressed great interest in 
diversifying its energy portfolio, which is now overwhelmingly 
dominated by coal-based electricity production.
    The Czech Republic has significant past experience with nuclear 
energy but is looking to make decisions about a new reactor build at 
its Temelin site--at the end of the recent preliminary qualification 
round the U.S. was identified as one of the competing technologies for 
the nuclear tender to be released later this year.
    While Slovakia is still a year or more away from releasing a 
nuclear tender, language included in the Czech Republic's nuclear 
tender allows for the awarded company to have the opportunity to build 
reactors wherever CEZ, the managing utility group, has possible sites. 
This includes one new reactor in Slovakia.

Mission Goals

    The objective of this policy mission is to leverage U.S. support 
for its civil nuclear sector, demonstrate technical capabilities in 
support of the development of upcoming nuclear tenders, and introduce 
U.S. companies to key government officials and utility executives. The 
mission will also seek to inform secondary U.S. suppliers--those not 
directly bidding on the design aspect of nuclear tenders--about the 
market opportunities available to them.
    In addition, mission goals include:
     Encouraging the nuclear industry in participating 
countries to seek opportunities for new construction;
     Promoting fair, open, and transparent contract bidding 
processes;
     Advancing the principle that contracts should be awarded 
based on commercial and technical merits; and,
     Promoting ratification of the Convention on Supplementary 
Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) as the global nuclear liability 
regime--the only international instrument that provides the basis for 
establishing a global regime, including countries with and without 
nuclear power facilities. Without such a regime, in the unlikely event 
of a nuclear incident, claims for damage would be the subject of 
protracted and complicated litigation in the courts of many countries 
against multiple potential defendants with no guarantee of recovery. 
The U.S. ratified CSC in 2008.
    This mission advances the goals of the Department's Civil Nuclear 
Trade Initiative, which is aimed at supporting the U.S. nuclear 
industry's endeavors to rebuild its manufacturing base by capturing 
opportunities abroad. We believe this will result in important economic 
gains for the United States in terms of new jobs, technological 
innovations, specialized manufacturing capabilities, and large-scale 
trade and investment opportunities.

Mission Scenario

    Participants will visit capitals in each of the three countries--
Warsaw, Prague, and Bratislava.
    During the trade mission participants will: (1) Be briefed on the 
status of the civil nuclear infrastructure in each country; (2) be 
introduced to government officials and decision makers; and (3) be 
taken on a site visit to the Temelin reactor.

                       Proposed Mission Timetable
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             Date                     Day                Activity
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April 18.....................  Sunday--Warsaw..   Arrive in
                                                  Warsaw, Poland.
                                                  Reception
                                                  dinner.
April 19.....................  Monday--Warsaw..   Meetings with
                                                  Government of Poland
                                                  officials and decision
                                                  makers from the Polish
                                                  utility PGE.
                                                  Commercial
                                                  briefings from Embassy
                                                  staff and Commerce
                                                  experts.
April 20.....................  Tuesday--Warsaw/   Additional
                                Prague.           meetings with Polish
                                                  officials and
                                                  potential private
                                                  sector partners.
                                                  Travel to
                                                  Prague.
                                                  Meetings with
                                                  Government of Czech
                                                  Republic officials and
                                                  decision makers from
                                                  CEZ.
                                                  Reception
                                                  dinner in Prague.
April 21.....................  Wednesday--Pragu   Meetings with
                                e.                Government of Czech
                                                  Republic officials and
                                                  decision makers from
                                                  CEZ.
April 22.....................  Thursday--Bratis   Travel to
                                lava.             Temelin for a site
                                                  visit.
                                                  Travel to
                                                  Bratislava.
                                                  Commercial
                                                  briefings from Embassy
                                                  staff and Commerce
                                                  experts.
                                                  Reception
                                                  dinner in Bratislava.
April 23.....................  Friday--Bratisla   Government and
                                va.               utility meetings.

[[Page 9578]]

 
                                                  Depart for
                                                  Vienna and DC.
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Note: The final schedule and potential site visits will depend on the
  availability of local government and business officials, specific
  goals of mission participants, and air travel schedules.

Participation Requirements

    All persons interested in participating in the Civil Nuclear Policy 
Mission must complete and submit an application for consideration by 
the Department of Commerce. All applicants will be evaluated on their 
ability to meet certain conditions and best satisfy the selection 
criteria as outlined below. Approximately 8 to 12 companies will be 
selected to participate in the mission from the applicant pool. U.S. 
companies already doing business in the region as well as U.S. 
companies seeking to enter the region for the first time are encouraged 
to apply.

Fees and Expenses

    After a company or trade organization has been selected to 
participate in the mission, a payment to the Department of Commerce in 
the form of a participation fee is required. The participation fee, 
which will cover one representative, will be $4,500.00 for large firms 
and $3,000.00 for a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) \1\ or non-
government organization.\2\ The fee for each additional firm 
representative is $600. Expenses for travel, lodging, most meals, and 
incidentals will be the responsibility of each mission participant.
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    \1\ An SME is defined as a firm with 500 or fewer employees or 
that otherwise qualifies as a small business under SBA regulations 
(see http://www.sba.gov/services/contracting opportunities/
sizestandardstopics/index.html).
    \2\ Parent companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries will be 
considered when determining business size. The dual pricing reflects 
the Commercial Service's user fee schedule that became effective May 
1, 2008 (see http://www.export.gov/newsletter/march2008/initiatives.html for additional information).
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Conditions for Participation

     An applicant must submit a completed and signed mission 
application and supplemental application materials, including adequate 
information on the company's products and/or services, primary market 
objectives, and goals for participation. If the U.S. Department of 
Commerce receives an incomplete application, the Department may reject 
the application, request additional information, or take the lack of 
information into account when evaluating.
     Certify that the products and services the export of which 
it seeks to promote through the mission are either produced in the 
United States, or, if not, marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and 
have at least fifty-one percent U.S. content. Because of the unique 
nature of the energy sector targeted by this mission, in cases where 
the U.S. content does not exceed fifty percent, especially where the 
applicant intends to pursue investment and major project opportunities, 
the following factors, often associated with U.S. ownership, may be 
considered in determining whether the applicant's participation in the 
trade mission is in the U.S. national interest:

--U.S. materials and equipment content;
--U.S. labor content;
--Repatriation of profits to the U.S. economy; and/or
--Potential for follow-on business that would benefit the U.S. economy;

     No applicant may represent a company that is majority 
owned or controlled by a foreign government entity or entities.

Selection Criteria for Participation

    Selection will be based on the following criteria:
     Suitability of the company's products or services;
     Applicant's potential for business in Poland, Czech 
Republic and Slovakia, including likelihood of exports resulting from 
the mission; and
     Consistency of the applicant's goals and objectives with 
the stated scope of the mission.
    Referrals from political organizations and any documents containing 
references to partisan political activities (including political 
contributions) will be removed from an applicant's submission and not 
considered during the selection process.

Timeframe for Recruitment and Applications

    Mission recruitment will be conducted in an open and public manner, 
including publication in the Federal Register, posting on the Commerce 
Department trade mission calendar (http://www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html) and other Internet Web sites, press releases to general and 
trade media, direct mail, notices by industry trade associations and 
other multiplier groups, and publicity at industry meetings, symposia, 
conferences, and trade shows.
    Recruitment for the mission will begin immediately and conclude no 
later than Monday, March 15, 2010. The U.S. Department of Commerce will 
review all applications after the deadline. We will inform applicants 
of selection decisions after March 15, 2010. Applications received 
after the deadline will be considered only if space and scheduling 
constraints permit.

Contacts

David Kincaid, Manufacturing and Services, Office of Energy and 
Environmental Industries, Tel: 202-482-1706, Fax: 202-482-5665, E-mail: 
[email protected] ;

Reginald Miller, Regional Director for Central/Eastern Europe and 
Russia, Tel: 202-482-5402, Fax: 202-482-2456, E-mail: 
[email protected].

Sean Timmins,
Global Trade Programs, Commercial Service Trade Missions Program.
[FR Doc. 2010-4349 Filed 3-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-FP-P