[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 227 (Wednesday, November 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73702-73704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29932]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


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

AGENCY: International Trade Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 January 25, 
2016.

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 Maria D'Andrea, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Tel. (202) 482-1550, Maria.D'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    Article 4.1 of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (the 
``Agreement'') provides for a textile and apparel safeguard mechanism. 
This safeguard mechanism applies when, as a result of the reduction or 
elimination of a customs duty under the Agreement, a Korean 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 4.1 
permits the United States to (a) suspend any further reduction in the 
rate of duty provided for under Annex 2-B of the Agreement in the duty 
imposed on the article; or (b) increase duties on the imported article 
from Korea to a level that does not exceed the lesser of the prevailing 
U.S. normal trade relations (``NTR'')/most-favored-

[[Page 73703]]

nation (``MFN'') duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/MFN duty 
rate in effect on the day before the Agreement enters into force.
    The Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the U.S.-Korea 
Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (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 332(a) of the Act, and for providing 
relief under section 332(b) of the Act.
    In Proclamation No. 8783 (77 FR 14265, March 9, 2012), the 
President delegated to CITA his authority under Subtitle C of Title III 
of the Act with respect to textile and apparel safeguard measures.
    The textile and apparel safeguard mechanism will be of considerable 
benefit to firms manufacturing textile and apparel goods in the United 
States in the event that an industry finds itself to be adversely 
impacted by preferential duty or duty-free imports of textiles and 
apparel from Korea.
    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 Korea, thereby allowing CITA to take 
corrective action to protect the viability of the domestic textile and 
apparel industry, subject to section 332(b) of the Act.
    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 and apparel 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 Korean 
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 Korean textile or apparel 
article.
    In order for a request to be considered, the requestor must provide 
the following information in support of a claim that a textile or 
apparel article from Korea 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 a Korea 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 Korea 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 investment, and any other information, relating to the 
existence of serious damage or actual threat thereof caused by imports 
from Korea 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 will be posted on the 
dedicated Korea Free Trade Agreement textile safeguards section of the 
Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) Web site. The confidential 
version of the request, 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. If CITA determines that the request provides the necessary 
information to be considered, it publishes a Federal Register notice 
seeking public comments on the request. To the extent business 
confidential information is provided, a non-confidential version must 
also be provided. Any interested party may submit information to rebut, 
clarify, or correct public comments submitted by any interested party.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0625-0269.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Business.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 14 (4 for Request; 10 for 
Comments).
    Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours (for each Request) 4 hours 
(for each Comment).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 56 hours (16 hours for 
Requests; 40 hours for Comments).
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $2,800.

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

[[Page 73704]]

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: November 19, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-29932 Filed 11-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P