[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31832-31833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12994]



[[Page 31832]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Procedures for 
Considering Requests and Comments From the Public for Textile and 
Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports From Colombia

AGENCY: International Trade Administration (ITA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Robert Carrigg, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Telephone: 202-482-2573, Fax: 202-482-0858, 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the 
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act 
(the ``Act'') [Public Law 112-42] implements the textile and apparel 
safeguard provisions, provided for in Article 3.1 of the United States-
Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (the ``Agreement''). This safeguard 
mechanism applies when, as a result of the elimination of a customs 
duty under the Agreement, a Colombian textile or apparel article is 
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in 
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and 
under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat 
thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive 
article. In these circumstances, Article 3.1 permits the United States 
to increase duties on the imported article from Colombia to a level 
that does not exceed the lesser of the prevailing U.S. normal trade 
relations (NTR)/most-favored-nation (MFN) duty rate for the article or 
the U.S. NTR/MFN duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement 
entered into force.
    The Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the Act 
provides that the Committee for the Implementation of Textile 
Agreements (CITA) will issue procedures for requesting such safeguard 
measures, for making its determinations under Section 322(a) of the 
Act, and for providing relief under section 322(b) of the Act.
    In Proclamation No. 8818 (77 FR 29519, May 18, 2012), the President 
delegated to CITA his authority under Subtitle B of Title III of the 
Act with respect to textile and apparel safeguard measures.
    CITA must collect information in order to determine whether a 
domestic textile or apparel industry is being adversely impacted by 
imports of these products from Colombia, thereby allowing CITA to take 
corrective action to protect the viability of the domestic textile 
industry, subject to section 322(b) of the Act.
    Pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Act and Section (9) of 
Presidential Proclamation 8818, an interested party in the U.S. 
domestic textile and apparel industry may file a request for a textile 
and apparel safeguard action with CITA. Consistent with longstanding 
CITA practice in considering textile safeguard actions, CITA will 
consider an interested party to be an entity (which may be a trade 
association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers) 
that is representative of either: (A) A domestic producer or producers 
of an article that is like or directly competitive with the subject 
Colombian textile or apparel article; or (B) A domestic producer or 
producers of a component used in the production of an article that is 
like or directly competitive with the subject Colombian textile or 
apparel article.
    In order for a request to be considered, the requester must provide 
the following information in support of a claim that a textile or 
apparel article from Colombia is being imported into the United States 
in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the 
domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause 
serious damage or actual threat thereof, to a U.S. industry producing 
an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported 
article: (1) Name and description of the imported article concerned; 
(2) import data demonstrating that imports of an Colombian origin 
textile or apparel article that are like or directly competitive with 
the articles produced by the domestic industry concerned are increasing 
in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article; 
(3) U.S. domestic production of the like or directly competitive 
articles of U.S. origin indicating the nature and extent of the serious 
damage or actual threat thereof, along with an affirmation that to the 
best of the requester's knowledge, the data represent substantially all 
of the domestic production of the like or directly competitive 
article(s) of U.S. origin; (4) imports from Colombia as a percentage of 
the domestic market of the like or directly competitive article; and 
(5) all data available to the requester showing changes in 
productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages, 
employment, domestic prices, profits, and investments, and any other 
information, relating to the existence of serious damage or actual 
threat thereof caused by imports from Colombia to the industry 
producing the like or directly competitive article that is the subject 
of the request. To the extent that such information is not available, 
the requester should provide best estimates and the basis therefore.
    If CITA determines that the request provides the information 
necessary for it to be considered, CITA will publish a notice in the 
Federal Register seeking public comments regarding the request. The 
comment period shall be 30 calendar days. The notice will include a 
summary of the request. Any interested party may submit information to 
rebut, clarify, or correct public comments submitted by any interested 
party.
    CITA will make a determination on any request it considers within 
60 calendar days of the close of the comment period. If CITA is unable 
to make a determination within 60 calendar days, it will publish a 
notice in the Federal Register, including the date it will make a 
determination.
    If a determination under Section 322(b) of the Act is affirmative, 
CITA may provide tariff relief to a U.S. industry to the extent 
necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage or actual threat thereof 
and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import 
competition. The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the 
date that CITA's affirmative determination is published in the Federal 
Register.
    Entities submitting requests, responses or rebuttals to CITA may 
submit both a public and confidential version of their submissions. If 
the request is accepted, the public version

[[Page 31833]]

will be posted on the dedicated Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement 
textile safeguards section of the Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) 
Web site. The confidential version of the requests, responses or 
rebuttals will not be shared with the public as it may contain business 
confidential information. Entities submitting responses or rebuttals 
may use the public version of the request as a basis for responses.

II. Method of Collection

    When an interested party files a request for a textile and apparel 
safeguard action with CITA, ten copies of any such request must be 
provided in a paper format. If business confidential information is 
provided, two copies of a non-confidential version must also be 
provided.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (new information collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6 (1 for Request; 5 for Comments).
    Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours for a Request; and 4 hours for 
each Comment.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 24.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $960.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: May 23, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-12994 Filed 5-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P