[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 19, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29926-29927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10715]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security


Notice of Request for Public Comments on Section 232 National 
Security Investigation of Imports of Laminations for Stacked Cores for 
Incorporation into Transformers, Stacked Cores for Incorporation Into 
Transformers, Wound Cores for Incorporation Into Transformers, 
Electrical Transformers, and Transformer Regulators

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology 
Evaluation, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: On May 11, 2020, based on inquiries and requests from 
interested parties in the United States, including multiple Members of 
Congress, a Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) manufacturer, and 
producers of Power and Distribution Transformers, the Secretary of 
Commerce (the ``Secretary'') initiated an investigation to determine 
the effect of imports of Laminations for Stacked Cores for 
Incorporation into Transformers, Stacked Cores for Incorporation into 
Transformers, Wound Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, 
Electrical Transformers, and Transformer Regulators on the national 
security. 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's (the ``Department'') Bureau of Industry and 
Security by June 9, 2020. Rebuttal comments will be due by June 19, 
2020. While the Department is interested in any information related to 
this investigation that the public can provide, this notice identifies 
particular issues of significance.

DATES: The due date for filing comments is June 9, 2020. The due date 
for rebuttal comments is June 19, 2020. Rebuttal comments may only 
address issues raised in comments filed on or before June 9, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submissions: All written comments on the notice must be 
addressed to Section 232 Electrical Steel Investigation and filed 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
BIS-2020-0015 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 http://www.regulations.gov, please consult the resources provided on the 
website by clicking on ``How to Use This Site.'')

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Industrial Studies Division, Bureau of 
Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce (202) 482-4952, 
[email protected]. For more information about the section 232 
program, including the regulations and the text of previous 
investigations, please see www.bis.doc.gov/232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On May 11, 2020, based on inquiries and requests from interested 
parties in the United States, including multiple Members of Congress, a 
domestic GOES manufacturer, and producers of Power and Distribution 
Transformers, the Secretary initiated an investigation under section 
232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). 
The investigation has been undertaken to determine the effect on the 
national security of imports of Laminations for Stacked Cores for 
Incorporation into Transformers, Stacked Cores for Incorporation into 
Transformers, Wound Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, 
Electrical Transformers, and Transformer Regulators (hereinafter 
``Products''). If the Secretary finds that Products 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 so 
advise the President in his report on the findings of the 
investigation.

[[Page 29927]]

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 Department's Office of Technology Evaluation no 
later than June 9, 2020. The due date for rebuttal comments is June 19, 
2020. Rebuttal comments may only address issues raised in comments 
filed on or before June 9, 2020.
    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:
    (i) Quantity of, or other circumstances related to, the importation 
of the Products;
    (ii) Domestic production and productive capacity needed for the 
Products to meet projected national defense requirements;
    (iii) Existing and anticipated availability of human resources, 
products, raw materials, production equipment, and facilities to 
produce the Products;
    (iv) Growth requirements of Products' industries to meet national 
defense requirements and/or requirements for supplies and services 
necessary to assure such growth including investment, exploration, and 
development;
    (v) The impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare of 
the Products' industries;
    (vi) The displacement of any domestic production of the Products 
causing substantial unemployment, decrease in the revenues of 
government, loss of investment or specialized skills and productive 
capacity, or other serious effects;
    (vii) National defense supporting uses of the Products including 
data on applicable contracts or sub-contracts, both past and current;
    (viii) Country of manufacture for the Products;
    (ix) Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a weakening of 
our national economy; and
    (x) Any other relevant factors, including the use and importance of 
the Products in critical infrastructure sectors identified in 
Presidential Policy Directive 21 (Feb. 12, 2013) (for a listing of 
those sectors see https://www.dhs.gov/cisa/critical-infrastructure-sectors).

Requirements for Written Comments

    The http://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 format 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 
information determined to be confidential as outlined in Sec.  
[thinsp]705.6 of the NSIBR. Comments may be viewed on http://www.regulations.gov by entering docket number BIS-2020-0015 in the 
search field on the home page.
    Material submitted by members of the public that is properly marked 
business confidential information and accepted as such by the 
Department will be exempted from public disclosure as provided for by 
Sec.  [thinsp]705.6 of the NSIBR. Anyone submitting business 
confidential information should clearly identify the business 
confidential portion at the time of submission, file a statement 
justifying nondisclosure and referring to the specific legal authority 
claimed, and provide a non-confidential submission which can be placed 
in the public file on http://www.regulations.gov. Communications from 
agencies of the United States Government will not be made available for 
public inspection. 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 non-confidential 
version must be clearly marked ``PUBLIC''. 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. All filers should name 
their files using the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments. If a public hearing is held in support of this investigation, 
a separate Federal Register notice will be published providing the date 
and information about the hearing.
    The Bureau of Industry and Security does not maintain a separate 
public inspection facility. Requesters should first view the Bureau's 
web page, which can be found at https://efoia.bis.doc.gov/ (see 
``Electronic FOIA'' heading). If requesters cannot access the website, 
they may call 202-482-0795 for assistance. The records related to this 
assessment are made accessible in accordance with the regulations 
published in part 4 of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations (15 
CFR 4.1 et seq.).

Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-10715 Filed 5-18-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-33-P