[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12522-12523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05225]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-503]


Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness 
of the Program for Certain Apparel From the Dominican Republic, Seventh 
Annual Review

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to provide written comments in connection 
with the Commission's seventh annual review.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) has 
announced its schedule, including deadlines for filing written 
submissions, in connection with the preparation of its seventh annual 
review in investigation No. 332-503, Earned Import Allowance Program: 
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for Certain Apparel from 
the Dominican Republic, Seventh Annual Review.

DATES: 
    April 15, 2016: Deadline for filing written submissions.
    July 29, 2016: Transmittal of seventh report to House Committee on 
Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions, 
including statements, and briefs, should be addressed to the Secretary, 
United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. The public record for this investigation may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Laura Rodriguez (202-
205-3499 or [email protected]) for information specific to this 
investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this 
investigation, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of 
the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [email protected]). The 
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations 
(202-205-1819 or [email protected]). Hearing-impaired 
individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its Web 
site (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons with mobility impairments who will 
need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should 
contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.
    Background: Section 404 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-
United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (DR-CAFTA Act) 
(19 U.S.C. 4112) required the Secretary of Commerce to establish an 
Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP) and directed the Commission to 
conduct annual reviews of the program to evaluate its effectiveness and 
make recommendations for improvements. Section 404 of the DR-CAFTA Act 
authorizes certain apparel articles wholly assembled in an eligible 
country to enter the United States free of duty if accompanied by a 
certificate that shows evidence of the purchase of certain U.S. fabric. 
The term ``eligible country'' is defined to mean the Dominican 
Republic. More specifically, the program allows producers (in the 
Dominican Republic) that purchase a certain quantity of qualifying U.S. 
fabric to produce certain cotton bottoms in the Dominican Republic to 
receive a credit that can be used to ship a certain quantity of 
eligible apparel using third-country fabrics from the Dominican 
Republic to the United States free of duty.
    Section 404(d) directs the Commission to conduct an annual review 
of the program to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make 
recommendations for improvements. The Commission is required to submit 
its reports containing the results of its reviews to the House 
Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance. Copies 
of the Commission's first six annual reviews are available on the 
Commission's Web site at www.usitc.gov, including the sixth annual 
review, which was published on July 24, 2015 (ITC Publication 4544). 
The Commission expects to submit its report on its seventh annual 
review by July 29, 2016.
    The Commission instituted this investigation pursuant to section 
332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 to facilitate docketing of submissions 
and also to facilitate public access to Commission records through the 
Commission's EDIS electronic records system.
    Written Submissions: Interested parties are invited to file written 
submissions concerning this seventh annual review. All written 
submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, and all such 
submissions should be received no later than 5:15 p.m., April 15, 2016. 
All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section

[[Page 12523]]

201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 
201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing 
Procedures require that interested parties file documents 
electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) 
true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. 
In the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, 
interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper 
copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the 
confidential information must be deleted (see the paragraph below for 
further information regarding confidential business information). 
Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the 
Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (202-205-1802).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information 
(CBI) must also conform with the requirements in section 201.6 of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 
201.6 of the rules requires that the cover of the document and the 
individual pages be clearly marked as to whether they are the 
confidential or non-confidential version, and that the confidential 
business information is clearly identified by means of brackets. All 
written submissions, except for confidential business information, will 
be made available for inspection by interested parties.
    The Commission intends to prepare only a public report in this 
investigation. The report that the Commission makes available to the 
public will not contain confidential business information. However, all 
information, including confidential business information, submitted in 
this investigation may be disclosed to and used: (i) By the Commission, 
its employees and Offices, and contract personnel (a) for developing or 
maintaining the records of this or a related proceeding, or (b) in 
internal investigations, audits, reviews, and evaluations relating to 
the programs, personnel, and operations of the Commission including 
under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. government employees and 
contract personnel solely for cybersecurity purposes. The Commission 
will not otherwise disclose any confidential business information in a 
manner that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the 
information.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish 
summaries of the positions of interested persons in this report. If you 
wish to have a summary of your position included in an appendix of the 
report, please include a summary with your written submission. The 
summary may not exceed 500 words, should be in MSWord format or a 
format that can be easily converted to MSWord, and should not include 
any confidential business information. The summary will be published as 
provided if it meets these requirements and is germane to the subject 
matter of the investigation. In the report the Commission will identify 
the name of the organization furnishing the summary, and will include a 
link to the Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) 
where the full written submission can be found.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: March 3, 2016.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-05225 Filed 3-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P