[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24735-24737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11708]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Notice of Request for Public Comments and Public Hearing on
Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Automobiles,
Including Cars, SUVs, Vans and Light Trucks, and Automotive Parts
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments and public hearing.
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SUMMARY: On May 23, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an
investigation to determine the effects on the national security of
imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks,
and automotive parts. This investigation has been initiated under
section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. Interested
parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or
other information pertinent to the investigation to the Department of
Commerce by June 22, 2018. Rebuttal comments will be due by July 6,
2018. The Department of Commerce will also hold a public hearing on the
investigation on July 19 and 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. This notice
identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in
obtaining the public's views. It also sets forth the procedures for
public participation in the hearing.
DATES: The due date for filing comments, for requests to appear at the
public hearing, and for submissions of a summary of expected testimony
at the public hearing is June 22, 2018.
The due date is July 6, 2018 for rebuttal comments submitted in
response to any comments filed on or before June 22, 2018.
The public hearings will be held on July 19 and 20, 2018. The
hearings will begin at 8:30 a.m. local time and conclude at 5:00 p.m.
local time, each day.
ADDRESSES: Written comments: All written submissions must be in English
and must be addressed to Section 232 Automobile and Automotive Parts
Imports Investigation, and filed through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via
www.regulations.gov, enter docket number DOC-2018-0002 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 and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For
further information on using www.regulations.gov, please consult the
resources provided on the website by clicking on ``How to Use This
Site'' on the left side of the home page). For alternatives to on-line
submissions, please contact Sahra Park-Su at (202) 482-2811.
Hearings: The public hearings will be held in the Department of
Commerce's auditorium at 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sahra Park-Su, U.S. Department of
Commerce (202) 482-2811. For more information about the section 232
program, including the regulations and the text of previous
investigations, see www.bis.doc.gov/232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 23, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce (``Secretary'')
initiated an
[[Page 24736]]
investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as
amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), to determine the effects on the national
security of imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and
light trucks, and automotive parts. If the Secretary finds that
automobiles and/or automotive parts are being imported into the United
States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to
impair the national security, the Secretary shall recommend actions and
steps that should be taken to adjust automobile and/or automotive parts
imports so that they will not threaten to impair the national security.
Written Comments
This investigation is being undertaken in accordance with part 705
of the National Security Industrial Base Regulations (15 CFR parts 700
to 709) (``NSIBR''). Interested parties are invited to submit written
comments, data, analyses, or information pertinent to this
investigation to the U.S. Department of Commerce by June 22, 2018.
Rebuttal comments submitted in response to comments received on or
before June 22, 2018 may be filed no later than July 6, 2018.
The Department is particularly interested in comments and
information directed to the criteria listed in Sec. 705.4 of the NSIBR
as they affect national security, including the following:
The quantity and nature of imports of automobiles,
including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts and
other circumstances related to the importation of automobiles and
automotive parts;
Domestic production needed for projected national defense
requirements;
Domestic production and productive capacity needed for
automobiles and automotive parts to meet projected national defense
requirements;
The existing and anticipated availability of human
resources, products, raw materials, production equipment, and
facilities to produce automobiles and automotive parts;
The growth requirements of the automobiles and automotive
parts industry to meet national defense requirements and/or
requirements to assure such growth, particularly with respect to
investment and research and development;
The impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare
of the U.S. automobiles and automotive parts industry;
The displacement of any domestic automobiles and
automotive parts causing substantial unemployment, decrease in the
revenues of government, loss of investment or specialized skills and
productive capacity, or other serious effects;
Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a
weakening of our national economy;
The extent to which innovation in new automotive
technologies is necessary to meet projected national defense
requirements;
Whether and, if so, how the analysis of the above factors
changes when U.S. production by majority U.S.-owned firms is considered
separately from U.S. production by majority foreign-owned firms; and
Any other relevant factors.
Additional Requirements for Written Comments
The www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by
filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document using
an ``Upload File'' field. The Department prefers that comments be
provided in an attached document. The Department prefers submissions in
Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the submission is in
an application other than those two, please indicate the name of the
application in the ``Type Comment'' field. Please do not attach
separate cover letters to electronic submissions; rather, include any
information that might appear in a cover letter in the comments
themselves. Similarly, to the extent possible please include any
exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in the same file as part of the
submission itself rather than in separate files.
Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public
inspection, except confidential business information. Comments may be
viewed on www.regulations.gov by entering docket number DOC-2018-0002
in the search field on the home page.
Material that is business confidential information will be exempted
from public disclosure as provided for by Sec. 705.6 of the
regulations. Anyone submitting business confidential information should
clearly identify the business confidential portion of the submission,
then file a statement justifying nondisclosure and referring to the
specific legal authority claimed, and provide a non-confidential
version of the submission which can be placed in the public file on
http://www.regulations.gov.
For comments submitted electronically containing business
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page containing
business confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. The file name of the non-
confidential version should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC''
and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or entity
submitting the comments or rebuttal comments. Filers submitting
comments containing no business confidential information should name
their file using the name of the person or entity submitting the
comments.
Communications from agencies of the United States Government will
not be made available for public inspection. Please note that the
submission of a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing is
separate from the submission of other written comments and should be
submitted separately.
Public Hearing
Consistent with the interest of the U.S. Department of Commerce in
soliciting public comments on issues affecting U.S. industry and
national security, the Department is holding a public hearing as part
of the investigation. The hearing will further assist the Department in
determining whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts
threaten to impair the national security and in recommending remedies
if such a threat is found to exist. Public comments at the hearing
should address the criteria listed in Sec. [thinsp]705.4 of the NSIBR
as they affect national security described above.
The hearing will be held on July 19 and 20, 2018 at the U.S.
Department of Commerce auditorium, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230. The hearing will begin at 8:30 a.m. local time
and conclude at 5:00 p.m. local time, each day.
Procedure for Requesting Participation
The Department encourages interested public participants to present
their views orally at the hearing. Any person wishing to make an oral
presentation at the hearing must submit a written request to the
Department of Commerce by June 22, 2018. The request to appear must
include a summary of the expected testimony, and may also be
accompanied by additional material. Remarks at the hearing may be
limited to five minutes to allow for possible questions from U.S.
government representatives.
All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via
www.regulations.gov. To submit a request to appear at the hearing via
www.regulations.gov, enter docket number DOC-2018-0002. In the ``Type
[[Page 24737]]
Comment'' field, include name, address, email address, and telephone
number of the person presenting the testimony, as well as the
organization or company that they represent. Attach a summary of the
testimony, and pre-hearing submission if provided, by using the
``Upload File'' field. The file name should include the name of the
person who will be presenting the testimony.
The request to speak should include (1) the name and address of the
person requesting to make a presentation; (2) a daytime phone number
where the person who would be making the oral presentation may be
contacted before the hearing; (3) the organization or company they
represent; and (4) an email address.
Please note that the submission of a summary of expected testimony
at the public hearing is separate from the request for written
comments. Since it may be necessary to limit the number of persons
making presentations, the written request to participate in the public
hearing should describe the individual's interest in the hearing and,
where appropriate, explain why the individual is a proper
representative of a group or class of persons that has such an
interest. If all interested parties cannot be accommodated at the
hearing, the summaries of the oral presentations will be used to
allocate speaking time and to ensure that a full range of comments is
heard.
Each person selected to make a presentation will be notified by the
Department of Commerce no later than 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on
July 12, 2018. The Department will arrange the presentation times for
the speakers. Persons selected to be heard are requested to bring 20
copies of their oral presentation and of all exhibits to the hearing
site on the day of the hearing. All such material must be of a size
consistent with ease of handling, transportation and filing. While
large exhibits may be used during a hearing, copies of such exhibits in
reduced size must be provided to the hearing panel. Written submissions
by persons not selected to make presentations will be made part of the
public record of the proceeding. Confidential business information may
not be submitted at a public hearing. In the event confidential
business information is submitted it will be handled according to the
same procedures applicable to such information provided in the course
of an investigation. See 15 CFR 705.6. The hearing will be recorded.
The transcript of the hearing will be available on
www.regulations.gov in docket number DOC-2018-0002.
Conduct of the Hearing
The Department reserves the right to select the persons to be heard
at the hearing, to schedule their respective presentations, and to
establish the procedures governing the conduct of the hearing. Each
speaker may be limited to 5 minutes, and comments must be directly
related to the criteria listed in 15 CFR 705.4 of the regulations.
Attendees will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.
A Department official will be designated to preside at the hearing.
The presiding officer shall determine all procedural matters during the
hearing. Representatives from the Department, and other U.S. Government
agencies as appropriate, will make up the hearing panel. This will be a
fact-finding proceeding; it will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type
hearing. Only members of the hearing panel may ask questions, and there
will be no cross-examination of persons presenting statements. However,
questions submitted to the presiding officer in writing may, at the
discretion of the presiding officer, be posed to the presenter. No
formal rules of evidence will apply to the hearing.
Any further procedural rules for the proper conduct of the hearing
will be announced by the presiding officer.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be received by the Department of Commerce no later than June 22,
2018 by contacting the Department of Commerce official identified in
this Notice.
Dated: May 24, 2018.
Wilbur L. Ross,
Secretary of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2018-11708 Filed 5-25-18; 4:15 pm]
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