[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61819-61820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25061]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Dispute No. WTO/DS449]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding United States--
Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Products From China

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(``USTR'') is providing notice that on September 17, 2012, the People's 
Republic of China (``China'') requested consultations with the United 
States under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization (``WTO Agreement'') concerning Public Law 112-99, ``An act 
to apply the countervailing duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 
to nonmarket economy countries, and for other purposes'' (``Pub. L. 
112-99''), and the countervailing and anti-dumping duty determinations 
and actions by the Department of Commerce, the U.S. International Trade 
Commission and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on imports of the 
products from China listed below. That request may be found at 
www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS449/1. USTR 
invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised 
in this dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before November 1, 2012, to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted electronically to 
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0031. If you are unable to 
provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy 
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.
    If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential 
information, then the comment should be submitted by fax only to Sandy 
McKinzy at (202) 395-3640.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Wang, Assistant General Counsel, 
or Joseph Rieras, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20508, 
(202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is providing notice that consultations 
have been requested pursuant to the WTO Understanding on Rules and 
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (``DSU''). If such 
consultations should fail to resolve the matter and a dispute 
settlement panel is established pursuant to the DSU, such panel, which 
would hold its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, would be expected to 
issue a report on its findings and recommendations within nine months 
after it is established.

Major Issues Raised by China

    On September 17, 2012, China requested consultations concerning: 
(1) Section 1 of Public Law 112-99, ``Application of Countervailing 
Duty Provisions to Nonmarket Economy Countries''; and (2) Section 2 of 
Public Law 112-99, ``Adjustment of Antidumping Duty in Certain 
Proceedings Relating to Imports from Nonmarket Economy Countries.''
    China also challenges the concurrent application of anti-dumping 
and countervailing duties under the nonmarket economy methodology with 
respect to the following investigations and reviews initiated between 
November 20, 2006 and March 13, 2012 on imports from China: Coated Free 
Sheet Paper (C-570-907); Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe (C-
570-911); Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube (C-570-915); Laminated 
Woven Sacks (C-570-917); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires; (C-
570-913); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires, Administrative 
Review (C-570-913); Raw Flexible Magnets (C-570-923); Lightweight 
Thermal Paper (C-570-921); Sodium Nitrite (C-570-926); Circular Welded 
Austenitic Stainless Pressure Pipe (C-570-931); Certain Circular Welded 
Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe (C-570-936); Citric Acid and Certain 
Citrate Salts (C-570-938); Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts, 
Administrative Review (C-570-938); Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and 
Certain Parts Thereof (C-570-940); Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving 
and Racks (C-570-942); Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks, 
Administrative Review (C-570-942), Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods 
(C-570-944), Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand (C-570-946); 
Certain Steel Grating (C-570-948); Wire Decking (C-570-950); Narrow 
Woven Ribbons With Woven Selvedge (C-570-953); Certain Magnesia Carbon 
Bricks (C-570-955); Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard, 
Line, and Pressure Pipe (C-570-957); Certain Coated Paper Suitable for 
High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses (C-570-959); 
Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts (C-570-963); Drill Pipe (C-570-966); 
Aluminum Extrusions (C-570-968); Multilayered Wood Flooring (C-570-
971); Certain Steel Wheels (C-570-974); Galvanized Steel Wire (C-570-
976); High Pressure Steel Cylinders (C-570-978); Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, (C-570-980); 
Utility Scale Wind Towers (C-570-982); Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks (C-
570-984); Coated Free Sheet Paper (A-570-906); Circular Welded Carbon 
Quality Steel Pipe (A-570-910); Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube 
(A-570-916); Laminated Woven Sacks (A-570-914); Certain New Pneumatic 
Off-The-Road Tires (A-570-912); Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road 
Tires, Administrative Review (A-570-912); Raw Flexible Magnets (A-570-
922); Lightweight Thermal Paper (A-570-920); Sodium Nitrite (A-570-
925); Circular Welded Austenitic Stainless Pressure Pipe (A-570-930); 
Certain Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Line Pipe (A-570-935); 
Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts (A-570-937); Citric Acid and 
Certain Citrate Salts, Administrative Review (A-570-937); Certain Tow 
Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof (A-570-939); Certain 
Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks (A-570-941); Certain Kitchen 
Appliance Shelving and Racks,

[[Page 61820]]

Administrative Review (A-570-941); Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods 
(A-570-943); Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand (A-570-945); 
Certain Steel Grating (A-570-947); Wire Decking (A-570-949); Narrow 
Woven Ribbons With Woven Selvedge (A-570-952); Certain Magnesia Carbon 
Bricks (A-570-954); Certain Seamless Carbon and Alloy Steel Standard, 
Line, and Pressure Pipe (A-570-956); Certain Coated Paper Suitable for 
High-Quality Print Graphics Using Sheet-Fed Presses (A-570-958); 
Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts (A-570-962); Drill Pipe (A-570-965); 
Aluminum Extrusions (A-570-967); Multilayered Wood Flooring (A-570-
970); Certain Steel Wheels (A-570-973); Galvanized Steel Wire (A-570-
975); High Pressure Steel Cylinders (A-570-977); Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules (A-570-979); 
Utility Scale Wind Towers (A-570-981); and Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks 
(A-570-983).
    China alleges inconsistencies with Articles VI, X:1, X:2, X:3 of 
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (``GATT 1994''), 
Articles 10, 15, 19, 21 and 32 of the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures, and Articles 9 and 11 of the Agreement on 
Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994. The challenged 
investigations and reviews are available at the following web page of 
the Department of Commerce: http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons may submit public 
comments electronically to www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2012-
0031. If you are unable to provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, 
please contact Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an 
alternative method of transmission.
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2012-0031 on the home page and click ``search''. The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice'' 
under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-results page, 
and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!.'' (For further 
information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult 
the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use 
Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of the page.)
    The www.regulations.gov site provides the option of providing 
comments by filling in a ``Type Comments'' field or by attaching a 
document using an ``upload file'' field. It is expected that most 
comments will be provided in an attached document. If a document is 
attached, it is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type 
Comments'' field.
    A person requesting that information contained in a comment 
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such 
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment 
containing business confidential information must be submitted by fax 
to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640. A non-confidential summary of the 
confidential information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The 
non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket and open to 
public inspection.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information 
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
    (1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
    (2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE'' 
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
    (3) Must provide a non-confidential summary of the information or 
advice. Any comment containing confidential information must be 
submitted by fax. A non-confidential summary of the confidential 
information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The non-
confidential summary will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a docket on this dispute settlement 
proceeding accessible to the public at www.regulations.gov, docket 
number USTR-2012-0031.
    The public file will include non-confidential comments received by 
USTR from the public with respect to the dispute. If a dispute 
settlement panel is convened or in the event of an appeal from such a 
panel, the U.S. submissions, any non-confidential submissions, or non-
confidential summaries of submissions, received from other participants 
in the dispute, will be made available to the public on USTR's Web site 
at www.ustr.gov, and the report of the panel, and, if applicable, the 
report of the Appellate Body, will be available on the Web site of the 
World Trade Organization, www.wto.org. Comments open to public 
inspection may be viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web site.

Juan Millan,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-25061 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P