[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5440-5442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2227]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

15 CFR Part 336

19 CFR Part 357

RIN 0625-AA90


Withdrawal of Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven 
Fabric and Short Supply Procedures; Opportunity for Public Comment

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

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Import Administration (``IA'') issues this proposed rule for 
the purpose of withdrawing regulations pertaining to imports of cotton 
woven fabric and short supply procedures. Both sets of regulations are 
obsolete.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments must be received no later than 
April 3, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposal to withdraw these 
regulations by one of the two following methods:
    Electronic Submission: All comments must be submitted through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. 
ITA-2011-0004, unless the commenter does

[[Page 5441]]

not have access to the Internet. All comments should be addressed to 
the Secretary of Commerce, Attention: Robert Goodyear, Director, Office 
of Operations Support, Import Administration, ITA, Room 3099-A, U.S., 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20230. 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, email address: [email protected].
    Mail: Commenters that 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 to the names and addresses listed above. Mark the 
outside of the envelope ``Comments on proposed Withdrawal of 
Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven Fabric and Short 
Supply Procedures.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Goodyear, Director, Office of 
Operations Support, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
at (202) 482-5194 or Scott McBride, Senior Attorney, Office of the 
Chief Counsel for Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
at (202) 482-6292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13563 on January 18, 
2011, titled ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The 
Executive Order directed all agencies, to ``develop and submit'' to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs plans under which 
agencies, ``consistent with law and [their] resources and regulatory 
priorities,'' will ``periodically review [their] existing significant 
regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be 
modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed so as to make the agency's 
regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the 
regulatory objectives.'' The Executive Order states that one of the 
purposes of implementing a program to perform a ``retrospective 
analysis of existing rules'' is to withdraw regulations that are 
``outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome.''
    In August 2011, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued its Plan for 
Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules. < http://open.commerce.gov/news/2011/08/23/commerce-plan-retrospective-analysis-existing-rules>. 
Within the Department's Plan, International Trade Administration 
indicated that IA intended to withdraw two groups of regulations which 
it determined are obsolete.
    The regulatory provisions titled ``Imports of Cotton Woven 
Fabric,'' codified at 15 CFR 336.1-336.5, are no longer relevant. They 
were implemented pursuant to the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 
2006, at Division C, Title IV, Section 406(b)(1) (Pub. L. 109-432) 
(codified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, per 
19 U.S.C. 3004) (2006). The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 set 
forth tariff rate quotas for cotton woven fabric and the regulatory 
provisions at issue provide for the administration of allocations of 
those quotas by IA. The interim regulations were issued in 2007, and 
then adopted without change, with an effective date of July 10, 2008. 
Imports of Certain Cotton Shirting Fabric: Implementation of Tariff 
Rate Quota Established Under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 
(Interim Final Rule), 72 FR 40235 (July 24, 2007); Imports of Certain 
Cotton Shirting Fabric: Implementation of Tariff Rate Quota Established 
Under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (Final Rule), 73 FR 
39585 (July 10, 2008). However, the tariff rate quota on cotton woven 
fabric expired on December 31, 2009. Accordingly, these regulations are 
obsolete and should be withdrawn.
    The regulations pertaining to ``Short Supply Procedures,'' which 
are codified at 19 CFR 357.101-111, are also no longer relevant. These 
regulations were issued pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Steel Trade 
Liberalization Program Implementation Act (Pub. L. 101-221) (1989). 
Short Supply Procedures (Interim--Final Rules), 55 FR 1348 (Jan. 12, 
1990). They pertain to voluntary restraints on certain steel imports 
from October 1, 1989 through March 31, 1992, and IA was tasked with 
making short supply determinations under these regulations. IA has 
determined that these regulations should also be withdrawn because they 
are obsolete, as the associated import restraints have not affected 
U.S. trade for over 19 years.

Classification

Executive Order 12866

    It has been determined that this proposed rule is not significant 
for purposes of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 
(``Regulatory Planning and Review'') (58 FR 51734) (October 4, 1993). 
Neither set of regulations has an annual effect on the economy of $100 
million or more, or adversely affects in a material way the economy, a 
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
environment, public health, or safety. Id. at 51738.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This proposed rule contains no new collection of information 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

Executive Order 13132

    This proposed rule does not contain policies with federalism 
implications as that term is defined in section 1(a) of Executive Order 
13132, dated August 4, 1999 (64 FR 43255) (August 10, 1999).

Environmental Impact

    ITA has determined pursuant to 21 CFR 25.30 that this action is of 
a type that does not individually or cumulatively have a significant 
effect on the human environment. Therefore, neither an environmental 
assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996; 5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq.), whenever a Federal agency is required to publish a notice 
of rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare, and make 
available for public comment, a regulatory flexibility analysis that 
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small 
businesses, small organizations, and small government jurisdictions). 
However, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of 
an agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a 
statement of the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The proposed rule would have no impact on small entities 
because both sets of regulations are obsolete and this rule simply 
makes a technical correction by withdrawing these obsolete regulations.

Proposed Effective Date

    ITA is proposing that any final rule that may issue based upon this 
proposed rule become effective upon its publication in the Federal 
Register.

Comments

    Parties are invited to comment on ITA's Proposed Withdrawal of

[[Page 5442]]

Regulations Pertaining to Imports of Cotton Woven Fabric and Short 
Supply Procedures within April 3, 2012. All submitted comments must be 
public and submitted pursuant to the directions under the ADDRESSES 
heading. ITA 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) and on the 
Department's Web site at http://www.trade.gov/ia/.

List of Subjects

15 CFR Part 336

    Imports, Quotas, Reporting and recordkeeping, Tariffs, Textiles.

19 CFR Part 357

    Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Steel.

15 CFR PART 336--IMPORTS OF COTTON WOVEN FABRIC

    Accordingly, under the authority given pursuant to the Tax Relief 
and Health Care Act of 2006, at Division C, Title IV, Section 406(a)(1) 
(Pub. L. 109-432)(2006) (titled ``Temporary Duty Reductions for Certain 
Cotton Shirting Fabric'' and listing 12/31/2009 as the end date for the 
tariff rate quota), ITA proposes to amend 15 CFR chapter III by 
removing part 336.

19 CFR PART 357--SHORT SUPPLY PROCEDURES

    Accordingly, under the authority given by Section 4(b) of the Steel 
Trade Liberalization Program Implementation Act (Pub. L. 101-221), 
which by its terms was limited to imports through March 31, 1992, ITA 
proposes to amend 19 CFR chapter III by removing part 357.

    Dated: January 26, 2012.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-2227 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P