[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75695-75696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30422]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 1205-8 (Addendum)]


Certain Footwear: Recommendations for Modifying the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Issuing an Addendum to an investigation for the purpose of 
making further recommendations.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request from the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) on November 8, 2010, the Commission has decided 
to issue an Addendum to investigation No. 1205-8, Certain Footwear: 
Recommendations for Modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States, for the purpose of making certain further 
recommendations to the President relating to the addition of new tariff 
lines applicable to the subject footwear.

DATES: 
    December 22, 2010: Deadline for filing submissions relating to 
entries liquidated prior to April 13, 2010, under heading 6405;
    December 29, 2010: Date by which Commission will post proposed 
recommendations on its Web site;
    January 12, 2011: Deadline for filing written views by other 
Federal agencies and interested parties;
    February 21, 2011: Transmittal of (final) recommendations to the 
President.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices are located in the United States 
International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, 
DC. All written submissions 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://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Beck, Director, Office of Tariff 
Affairs and Trade Agreements (202-205-2603, fax 202-205-2616, 
[email protected]), or Janis L. Summers, Attorney Advisor, Office of 
Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements (202-205-2605, 
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, 
Office of External Affairs (202-205-1819, 
[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 Web site at 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 1205(a) of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act) (19 U.S.C. 3005(a)) provides 
that the Commission shall keep the HTS under continuous review and 
periodically recommend to the President such modifications in the HTS 
as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate, inter alia, to 
promote the uniform application of the Harmonized System Convention. 
Subsections (b)-(d) of section 1205 set out procedures and requirements 
that the Commission must follow in making its recommendations.
    On August 9, 2010, the Commission transmitted to the President a 
report containing its recommendations regarding modifications to the 
HTS for certain footwear that was the subject of its investigation No. 
1205-8 (USITC Publication 4178, August 2010). A copy of that report is 
available on the Commission's Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/tariff_affairs/hts_documents/1205-8FINALREPORTCOMBINED.pdf. Pursuant to 
section 1206 of the 1988 Act, the President has submitted a report 
containing those recommendations to the House Committee on Ways and 
Means and Senate Committee on Finance for a 60-day layover period. The 
Commission noted in that report that it would keep the investigation 
open to allow it to make further recommendations.
    On November 8, 2010, the Commission received a letter from the USTR 
requesting that the Commission make certain further recommendations 
concerning the footwear that was the subject of recommendations in the 
Commission's August 2010 report. More specifically, the USTR requested 
that the Commission, consistent with the provisions of section 
1205(d)--
    (1) Make further recommendations, based on new submissions to be 
filed by interested parties relating to entries liquidated prior to the 
Commission's initiation of this investigation on April 13, 2010, on the 
appropriateness of inserting new tariff lines under subheadings 6404.11 
and 6404.19, in addition to those already recommended by the Commission 
in its August 2010 report; and
    (2) Provide a further recommendation regarding whether the 
information previously provided to the Commission in investigation No. 
1205-8 by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) and 
by Pro Line Manufacturing Company (Pro Line), covering entries 
liquidated prior to the initiation of the Commission's investigation on 
April 13, 2010, provides adequate support for their requests to add 
tariff lines under subheadings 6402.91.90, 6402.99.40, and 6401.99.

[[Page 75696]]

    With respect to the first request, the USTR noted that the 
Commission in its August 2010 report correctly included descriptions 
specifying that footwear falling under the certain new tariff lines 
under current HTS subheadings 6404.11 and 6404.19 feature uppers of 
textile material other than vegetable fibers. The USTR further noted, 
however, that, because these descriptions appeared for the first time 
in the final report, interested parties may not have recognized the 
need to submit information on the tariff classification and rate of 
duty applied to imports in liquidated and undisputed entries of other 
footwear (e.g., having uppers of man-made fibers) falling into these 
new subheadings, so that the Commission could maintain tariff rate 
neutrality in making its recommendation.
    With regard to the second request, the USTR noted that, shortly 
before the Commission issued its August 2010 report and recommendation, 
two interested parties, the FDRA and Pro Line, submitted copies of 
documents that, in their view, supported the need for the Commission to 
propose additional tariff lines under headings 6401 and 6402. The USTR 
noted that the Commission report indicated that the FDRA requested the 
addition of tariff lines under subheadings 6402.91.90 and 6402.99.40 
for certain footwear, and that Pro Line requested an additional tariff 
line under subheading 6401.99 for other footwear. The USTR noted that 
the Commission did not recommend including these additional tariff 
lines and indicated that additional time could have been useful to the 
Commission in evaluating the information provided by the FDRA and Pro 
Line in that context.
    For an up-to-date copy of the HTS, which incorporates the 
international Harmonized System in its structure, see the Commission's 
Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm.
    Written Submissions: Interested parties are invited to submit 
written copies of liquidated entries by December 22, 2010. The entry 
documentation solicited by the Commission in this notice should be for 
import entries liquidated before April 13, 2010, and covering footwear 
(1) having an outer sole with textile materials having the greatest 
surface area in contact with the ground; (2) currently classified under 
heading 6405; and (3) subject to reclassification under subheading 
6404.11 or 6404.19 as a result of the Commission's recommendation set 
out in its August 2010 report. Recommendations in the Commission's 
addendum will be limited to the possible new tariff subheadings 
specified in the USTR's request letter of November 8, 2010, and will 
not address any other facet of the Commission's August 2010 
recommendation.
    The Commission will post its proposed recommendations on this 
matter on its Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/tariff_affairs/modifications_hts.htm by December 29, 2010. Interested Federal 
agencies and the public may file views on these proposed modifications 
by January 12, 2011.
    All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary and 
received no later than December 22, 2010 (for copies of the liquidated 
entries described above), and no later than January 12, 2011 (with 
regard to Commission's proposed recommendations). Submissions should be 
marked to refer to ``Investigation No. 1205-8 (Addendum)''. 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 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 Filing Procedures, http://www.usitc.gov/docket_services/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 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 
for inspection by the public. Any confidential business information 
received in the course of the investigation may be included in the 
report that the Commission sends to the USTR and the President and may 
be made available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to the U.S. 
Census Bureau. The Commission will not otherwise publish or release any 
confidential business information received, nor release it to other 
government agencies or other persons.

     Issued: November 30, 2010.

    By order of the Commission.

Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-30422 Filed 12-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P