[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 171 (Friday, September 2, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54697-54700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22344]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

19 CFR Part 351

[Docket No. 0612243022-1484-02]
RIN 0625-AA66


Certification of Factual Information To Import Administration 
During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Supplemental 
Interim Final Rule

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

ACTION: Supplemental interim final rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is issuing 
this interim final rule to supplement an interim final rule published 
on February 10, 2011 (Interim Final Rule), which governs the 
certification of factual information submitted to the Department by a 
person or his or her representative during antidumping (``AD'') and 
countervailing duty (``CVD'') proceedings. This supplemental interim 
final rule concerns the certifications required of foreign governments.
    By this supplemental interim final rule, foreign governments will 
be allowed to submit certifications in either the format that was in 
use prior to the effective date of the Interim Final Rule or in the 
format provided in the Interim Final Rule. This supplemental interim 
final rule will remain in effect until such time as a final rule is 
published. All other aspects of the Interim Final Rule remain in effect 
and fully apply to all parties and their counsel. Companies should 
continue to use the company certification provided for in the Interim 
Final Rule. Representatives of companies or governments should continue 
to use the representative certification provided for in the Interim 
Final Rule. The Department is also requesting comments on the 
appropriateness of requiring foreign governments to submit the 
certification provided for in the Interim Final Rule, as discussed in 
more detail below. The Department is not soliciting comments with 
respect to any other issues concerning the Interim Final Rule as the 
deadline for such comments has expired.

DATES: Effective date: The effective date of this supplemental interim 
final rule is September 2, 2011.
    Applicability date: This supplemental interim final rule will apply 
to all investigations initiated on the basis of petitions filed on or 
after September 2, 2011, and other segments of AD/CVD proceedings 
initiated on or after September 2, 2011, as well as all ongoing 
investigations and ongoing segments of proceedings. Those foreign 
governments that submitted certifications between March 14, 2011, the 
effective date of the Interim Final Rule, and September 2, 2011 that 
did not conform with the certification formats required by the Interim 
Final Rule will have 30 days to submit certifications that conform with 
the formats provided for in this supplemental interim final rule.
    Request for public comment: The Department is requesting public 
comment on this supplemental interim final rule. To be assured of 
consideration, comments must be received no later than October 3, 2011. 
The Department is not soliciting rebuttal

[[Page 54698]]

comments. All comments should refer to RIN 0625-AA66. The Department 
intends to issue a final rule within a year after the publication of 
this supplemental interim final rule.

ADDRESSES: In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, the Department requires commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, unless they 
do not have access to the Internet. Comments to this notice should be 
submitted under docket number ITA-2010-0007. To find this docket, enter 
the docket number in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the http://www.regulations.gov home page and click ``Search.'' The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
that docket number. Find a reference to the supplemental interim final 
rule notice by selecting ``Rule'' under ``Document Type'' on the 
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a 
Comment.'' The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option 
of making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by attaching a 
document. ITA prefers submissions to be provided in an attached 
document. (For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on the ``Help'' tab.)
    Commenters who do not have access to the Internet may submit the 
original and two copies of each set of comments by mail or hand 
delivery/courier. All comments should be addressed to Ronald K. 
Lorentzen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Room 
1870, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.
    The Department will consider all relevant comments regarding the 
supplemental interim final rule that are received before the close of 
the comment period. The Department will not accept comments accompanied 
by a request that 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 inspection at Import Administration's Central 
Records Unit (Room 7046 of the Herbert C. Hoover Building) or on the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (``Portal'') at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Any questions concerning file formatting, document conversion, 
access to 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].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Cantu, Attorney, Office of the 
General Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel for Import Administration, or 
Myrna Lobo, International Trade Analyst, Office 6, Import 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20230, 202-482-4618 or 202-482-2371, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In the Interim Final Rule (see Certification of Factual Information 
to Import Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings: Interim Final Rule, 76 FR 7491 (February 10, 2011)) the 
Department invited comments and rebuttal comments from the public by 
May 11, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively. Subsequently, the 
Department reopened the period for rebuttal comments until July 14, 
2011 because interested parties were unable to file their rebuttal 
comments within the established deadline due to technical difficulties 
with the Portal. See Interim Final Rule on Certification of Factual 
Information To Import Administration During Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Reopening of Rebuttal Comment Period, 
76 FR 39770 (July 7, 2011).
    Some of the comments received in response to the Interim Final Rule 
discussed the appropriateness of requiring foreign governments and 
their officials to submit a certification that one commenter claims 
includes an acknowledgement that the certifying individual may be 
subject to criminal sanctions under U.S. law (including, but not 
limited to 18 U.S.C. 1001). This reference to 18 U.S.C. 1001 was not 
contained in the prior version of the certification. Some parties 
contend that it is inappropriate for the Department to impose a 
certification requirement that, these parties claim, subjects foreign 
government officials to potential liability from which they are immune, 
absent limited exceptions, pursuant to U.S. statutory law (e.g., the 
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) and common law.
    In addition, the new certification requirements include language 
which, certain parties claim, imposes additional, enforceable legal 
obligations on foreign governments. These parties have identified 
language in the new certifications which indicates that the submitter 
is aware that the Department may preserve the submission for purposes 
of determining the accuracy of a certification, even if a party 
otherwise withdraws the submission from the record, and also language 
which indicates that the submitter must maintain the original of the 
certification for a five-year period. These parties contend that the 
purported additional legal obligations which this language imposes are 
also contrary to principles of sovereign immunity.
    The Department requires additional time to analyze these comments 
as they relate specifically to the government certifications, to obtain 
public views on the comments described above, and to address fully the 
parties' comments. We are therefore supplementing the Interim Final 
Rule to allow foreign governments to submit certifications in either 
the format that was in use prior to the Interim Final Rule (which does 
not include the statutory reference or language described above) or in 
the new format provided in the Interim Final Rule until such time as a 
final rule is published. This supplemental interim final rule is 
applicable only to foreign government certifications (i.e., it is not 
applicable to company certifications or representative certifications).

Issuance of Supplemental Interim Final Rule

    In light of the comments received on the Interim Final Rule 
regarding the appropriateness of requiring foreign governments to 
provide certifications that include the new language provided for in 
the Interim Final Rule, the Department is hereby publishing a 
supplemental interim final rule pertaining to the government 
certifications that must accompany factual submissions in AD/CVD 
proceedings. This supplemental interim final rule, like the Interim 
Final Rule, is part of the ongoing rulemaking process whereby the 
Department is seeking to strengthen the certification requirements for 
all parties. This supplemental interim final rule allows foreign 
governments to submit certifications in either the format that was in 
use prior to the effective date of the Interim Final Rule or in the 
format provided in the Interim Final Rule until such time as a final 
rule is published.

Classification

    This supplemental interim final rule has been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Department finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive 
prior notice and the opportunity for public comment before this 
regulation becomes

[[Page 54699]]

effective. The purpose of this supplemental interim final rule is to 
permit foreign governments to file certifications in either the format 
that was in use prior to the effective date of the Interim Final Rule 
or in the format provided in the Interim Final Rule in order for the 
Department to have sufficient time to analyze fully the comments 
received for the Interim Final Rule. Any delay could impede the ability 
of foreign governments to participate in ongoing AD and CVD 
proceedings, including their ability to submit information, and as a 
result, any delay could negatively impact the Department's ability to 
administer the AD and CVD law. Thus, providing prior notice would be 
contrary to the public interest. For the same reasons, it would be 
contrary to the public interest to allow the public an opportunity to 
comment on this rule before it became effective. Since this is a 
supplement to the interim final rule, the public will have an 
opportunity to comment on this supplement until the end of the comment 
period. The Department will consider those comments before announcing 
the final rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq., the Chief Counsel for Regulation at the Department certified to 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration, that the 
proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The factual basis for this 
certification was published with the Interim Final Rule.\1\ The changes 
made by this rule do not change this conclusion, and a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis is not required and has not been prepared.
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    \1\ Interim Final Rule, 76 FR at 7498-99.
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Paperwork Reduction Act

    It has been determined that this rulemaking is not subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act.\2\
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    \2\ Id.
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Executive Order 13132

    It has been determined that the rulemaking does not contain 
federalism implications warranting the preparation of a federalism 
assessment.

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 351

    Administrative practice and procedure, Antidumping duties, Business 
and industry, Confidential business information, Countervailing duties, 
Investigations, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 25, 2011.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
    For the reasons stated above, 19 CFR part 351 is amended as 
follows:

PART 351--ANTIDUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTIES

0
1. The authority citation for 19 CFR part 351 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 1202 note; 19 U.S.C. 1303 
note; 19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.; and 19 U.S.C. 3538.


0
2. Section 351.303(g) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  351.303  Filing, document identification, format, translation, 
service, and certification of documents.

* * * * *
    (g) Certifications. A person must file with each submission 
containing factual information the certification in paragraph (g)(1) of 
this section and, in addition, if the person has legal counsel or 
another representative, the certification in paragraph (g)(2) of this 
section.
    (1) For the person(s) officially responsible for presentation of 
the factual information:
    (i) COMPANY CERTIFICATION *

    I, (PRINTED NAME AND TITLE), currently employed by  (COMPANY NAME), 
certify that I prepared or otherwise supervised the preparation of the 
attached submission of (IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC SUBMISSION BY TITLE AND 
DATE) pursuant to the (INSERT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: THE (ANTIDUMPING OR 
COUNTERVAILING DUTY) INVESTIGATION OF (PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE 
NUMBER) or THE (DATES OF POR) (ADMINISTRATIVE OR NEW SHIPPER) REVIEW 
UNDER THE (ANTIDUMPING OR COUNTERVAILING) DUTY ORDER ON (PRODUCT) FROM 
(COUNTRY)) (CASE NUMBER) or THE SUNSET REVIEW OR CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCE 
REVIEW OR SCOPE RULING OR CIRCUMVENTION INQUIRY OF AD/CVD ORDER ON 
(PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE NUMBER). I certify that the information 
contained in this submission is accurate and complete to the best of my 
knowledge. I am aware that the information contained in this submission 
may be subject to verification or corroboration (as appropriate) by the 
U.S. Department of Commerce. I am also aware that U.S. law (including, 
but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on 
individuals who knowingly and willfully make material false statements 
to the U.S. Government. In addition, I am aware that, even if this 
submission may be withdrawn from the record of the AD/CVD proceeding, 
the Department may preserve this submission, including a business 
proprietary submission, for purposes of determining the accuracy of 
this certification. I certify that I am filing a copy of this signed 
certification with this submission to the U.S. Department of Commerce 
and that I will retain the original for a five-year period commencing 
with the filing of this document. The original will be available for 
inspection by U.S. Department of Commerce officials.


Signature: _____________


Date: _______________

    * For multiple person certifications, all persons should be listed 
in the first sentence of the certification and all persons should sign 
and date the certification. In addition, singular pronouns and 
possessive adjectives should be changed accordingly, e.g., ``I'' should 
be changed to ``we'' and ``my knowledge'' should be changed to ``our 
knowledge.''

    (ii) GOVERNMENT CERTIFICATION **

    I,  (PRINTED NAME AND TITLE), currently employed by (GOVERNMENT), 
certify that I prepared or otherwise supervised the preparation of the 
attached submission of (IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC SUBMISSION BY TITLE AND 
DATE) pursuant to the (INSERT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: THE (ANTIDUMPING OR 
COUNTERVAILING DUTY) INVESTIGATION OF (PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE 
NUMBER) or THE (DATES OF POR) (ADMINISTRATIVE OR NEW SHIPPER) REVIEW 
UNDER THE (ANTIDUMPING OR COUNTERVAILING) DUTY ORDER ON (PRODUCT) FROM 
(COUNTRY)) (CASE NUMBER) or THE SUNSET REVIEW OR CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCE 
REVIEW OR SCOPE RULING OR CIRCUMVENTION INQUIRY OF AD/CVD ORDER ON 
(PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE NUMBER). I certify that the information 
contained in this submission is accurate and complete to the best of my 
knowledge. I am aware that the information contained in this submission 
may be subject to verification or corroboration (as appropriate) by the 
U.S. Department of Commerce. I am also aware that U.S. law (including, 
but not limited to, 18

[[Page 54700]]

U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who knowingly 
and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. Government. In 
addition, I am aware that, even if this submission may be withdrawn 
from the record of the AD/CVD proceeding, the Department may preserve 
this submission, including a business proprietary submission, for 
purposes of determining the accuracy of this certification. I certify 
that I am filing a copy of this signed certification with this 
submission to the U.S. Department of Commerce and that I will retain 
the original for a five-year period commencing with the filing of this 
document. The original will be available for inspection by U.S. 
Department of Commerce officials.


Signature: _____________


Date: _______________


** For multiple person certifications, all persons should be listed in 
the first sentence of the certification and all persons should sign and 
date the certification. In addition, singular pronouns and possessive 
adjectives should be changed accordingly, e.g., ``I'' should be changed 
to ``we'' and ``my knowledge'' should be changed to ``our knowledge.''


OR

    I, (name and title), currently employed by (person), certify that 
(1) I have read the attached submission, and (2) the information 
contained in this submission is, to the best of my knowledge, complete 
and accurate.

    (2) For the legal counsel or other representative:


REPRESENTATIVE CERTIFICATION ***

    I,  (PRINTED NAME), with  (LAW FIRM or OTHER FIRM), counsel or 
representative to (COMPANY OR GOVERNMENT OR PARTY), certify that I have 
read the attached submission of (IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC SUBMISSION BY 
TITLE AND DATE) pursuant to the (INSERT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: THE 
(ANTIDUMPING OR COUNTERVAILING DUTY) INVESTIGATION OF (PRODUCT) FROM 
(COUNTRY) (CASE NUMBER) or THE (DATES OF POR) (ADMINISTRATIVE OR NEW 
SHIPPER) REVIEW UNDER THE (ANTIDUMPING OR COUNTERVAILING) DUTY ORDER ON 
(PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE NUMBER) or THE SUNSET REVIEW OR CHANGED 
CIRCUMSTANCE REVIEW OR SCOPE RULING OR CIRCUMVENTION INQUIRY OF AD/CVD 
ORDER ON (PRODUCT) FROM (COUNTRY) (CASE NUMBER). In my capacity as an 
adviser, counsel, preparer or reviewer of this submission, I certify 
that the information contained in this submission is accurate and 
complete to the best of my knowledge. I am aware that U.S. law 
(including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal 
sanctions on individuals who knowingly and willfully make material 
false statements to the U.S. Government. In addition, I am aware that, 
even if this submission may be withdrawn from the record of the AD/CVD 
proceeding, the Department may preserve this submission, including a 
business proprietary submission, for purposes of determining the 
accuracy of this certification. I certify that I am filing a copy of 
this signed certification with this submission to the U.S. Department 
of Commerce and that I will retain the original for a five-year period 
commencing with the filing of this document. The original will be 
available for inspection by U.S. Department of Commerce officials.


Signature: _____________


Date: _______________


*** For multiple representative certifications, all representatives and 
their firms should be listed in the first sentence of the certification 
and all representatives should sign and date the certification. In 
addition, singular pronouns and possessive adjectives should be changed 
accordingly, e.g., ``I'' should be changed to ``we'' and ``my 
knowledge'' should be changed to ``our knowledge.''

[FR Doc. 2011-22344 Filed 9-1-11; 8:45 am]
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