[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9028-9029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04308]


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

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, Ninth 
Annual Review

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

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

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) has 
announced its schedule, including deadlines for filing written 
submissions, in connection with preparing a report on its ninth 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, Ninth Annual Review.

DATES: 
    April 30, 2018: Deadline for filing written submissions.
    August 3, 2018: Transmittal of ninth 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 file for this investigation may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Mary Roop (202-708-2277 
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 website (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 prior reports are available on the Commission's 
website at www.usitc.gov, including the eighth annual report, which was 
published on September 28, 2017 (ITC Publication 4730). The Commission 
expects to submit its report on its ninth annual review by August 3, 
2018.
    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. The Commission published 
notice of

[[Page 9029]]

institution of this investigation in the Federal Register on April 29, 
2009 (47 FR 19592), and published notice of the Commission's invitation 
to submit information in connection with the eighth annual report in 
the Federal Register on May 1, 2017 (82 FR 20375).
    Written Submissions: Interested parties are invited to file written 
submissions concerning this ninth 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 30, 2018. 
All written submissions must conform to the provisions of section 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. If 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 following paragraphs 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).
    Confidential Business Information. Any submissions that contain 
confidential business information must also conform to the requirements 
of 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 will not include any confidential business 
information in the report that it sends to the Committees or makes 
available to the public. 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 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.
    Summary of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish a 
summary of the written submissions of interested persons in an appendix 
to its report. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position 
included in the appendix should include a summary with their 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 appendix 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: February 27, 2018.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-04308 Filed 3-1-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P