[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 235 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78866-78867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26858]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-582]


Monitoring of Fresh or Chilled Bell Peppers

AGENCY: International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Investigation and Scheduling of a Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt on November 4, 2020, of a request from the 
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission instituted 
Investigation No. 332-582, Monitoring of Fresh or Chilled Bell Peppers, 
under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 for the purpose of 
collecting and analyzing information that would expedite an 
investigation under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) 
(the U.S. global safeguard law). For purposes of this investigation, 
the fresh or chilled bell peppers are those provided for in statistical 
reporting numbers 0709.60.4015, 0709.60.4025, 0709.60.4065, and 
0709.60.4085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTS).

DATES: (date of publication in the Federal Register): Commencement of 
monitoring.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the U.S. International Trade Commission Building, 
500 E Street SW, Washington, DC. All written submissions should be 
submitted electronically and addressed to the Secretary, U.S. 
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 https://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Steven LeGrand (202-
205-3094 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 
(https://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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 6, 2020, the Florida Fruit and 
Vegetable Association, and the Florida Farm Bureau requested that U.S. 
imports of bell peppers be monitored under the perishable agricultural 
product provisions of section 202(d)(1) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
2252(d)(1). In response to that request, the USTR determined that 
imports of bell peppers satisfy the requirements of section 
202(d)(1)(A) of the Trade Act.
    Accordingly, in accordance with section 202(d)(1)(B) of the Trade 
Act, the USTR requested, under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, that the Commission monitor and investigate imports of fresh or 
chilled bell peppers, provided for in statistical reporting numbers 
0709.60.4015, 0709.60.4025, 0709.60.4065, and 0709.60.4085 of the HTS. 
He further requested that the monitoring and investigation include the 
collection and analysis of information that would expedite an 
investigation under section 202(b) of the Trade Act. He further stated 
that the product in question consists of all imports that fall within 
the product description under the above HTS statistical reporting 
numbers.
    Section 202(d)(1)(C) of the Trade Act provides procedures under 
which domestic producers of a perishable agricultural product may, in a 
petition filed under section 202(a) of the Trade Act, request 
provisional relief. Under those procedures, if the Commission has 
monitored imports of the article for at least 90 days, the domestic 
industry may, in such a petition, request a preliminary determination 
and provisional relief pending completion of a full Commission 
investigation. Should that occur, the Commission would have 21 days, 
from the day on which the request was received, to make a preliminary 
injury determination, and if in the affirmative, to recommend 
provisional relief to the President.
    Public Hearing: No public hearing is planned at this time in 
connection with this investigation. However, should a public hearing or 
conference be scheduled, the Commission will publish a notice in the 
Federal Register and post information about the hearing on the 
Commission's website at (https://usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/what_we_are_working_on.htm). Once on that web page, scroll down to the 
entry for Investigation No. 332-582, Monitoring of Fresh or Chilled 
Bell Peppers, and

[[Page 78867]]

click on the link to ``hearing instructions.''
    Written Submissions: Interested parties are invited to file written 
submissions concerning this investigation. The Commission is 
particularly interested in receiving information about imports, 
principal source countries, and impact of the imports on the domestic 
industry producing the like or directly competitive product. The 
Commission is also interested in receiving information about the 
condition of the domestic industry, including with respect to 
production, employment, profits and losses, and other factors set out 
in section 202(c) of the Trade Act. To the extent practical, data and 
information should include the period 2016-2020 and any subsequent 
period.
    All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, and 
should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., January 15, 2021. 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), as 
temporarily amended by 85 FR 15798 (March 19, 2020). Under that rule 
waiver, the Office of the Secretary will accept only electronic filings 
at this time. Filings must be made through the Commission's Electronic 
Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov). No in-
person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings 
will be accepted until further notice. Persons with questions regarding 
electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, Docket 
Services Division (202-205-1802), or consult the Commission's Handbook 
on Filing Procedures.
    Confidential Business Information. Any submissions that contain 
confidential business information (CBI) 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.
    Limited Disclosure of CBI. Should a petition be filed under section 
202(a) of the Trade Act and an investigation be instituted under 
section 202(b) of the Trade Act with respect to the products covered by 
this investigation, the Secretary will make some or all of the CBI 
obtained in this monitoring investigation available, pursuant to Sec.  
206.17 of the Commission's rules, to authorized applicants under an 
administrative protective order (APO) issued in that investigation in 
accordance with the procedures set forth in section 206.17 of the 
rules.
    The Commission may also include some or all CBI submitted in this 
investigation in the report it sends to the President and the U.S. 
Trade Representative in an investigation conducted under section 202(b) 
or in a related investigation. The Commission will not otherwise 
disclose information which it considers to be CBI unless the party 
submitting the information had notice, at the time of submission, that 
such information would be released by the Commission, or such party 
subsequently consents to the release of the information. See 19 U.S.C. 
2252(a)(8) and 19 U.S.C. 1332(g).

    Authority: This investigation is being conducted under authority 
of section 202(d)(1)(B) of the Trade Act and section 332(g) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930.

    By order of the Commission.
    Issued: December 2, 2020.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2020-26858 Filed 12-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P