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[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64101-64102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24478]

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. NAFTA-103-009]

Certain Sanitary Articles of Tri-Lobal Rayon Staple Fibers: 
Effect of Modification of NAFTA Rules of Origin for Goods of Canada and 
Mexico

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and request for written 
submissions.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 27, 2004.
SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request on October 20, 2004, from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) under authority delegated by 
the President and pursuant to section 103 of the North American Free 
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3313), the 
Commission instituted investigation No. NAFTA-103-009, Certain Sanitary 
Articles of Tri-Lobal Rayon Staple Fibers: Effect of Modification of 
NAFTA Rules of Origin for Goods of Canada and Mexico.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information may be obtained from 
Kimberlie Freund, Office of Industries (202-708-5402, 
[email protected]); for information on legal aspects, contact 
William Gearhart of the Office of the General Counsel (202-205-3091, 
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, 
Office of Public Affairs (202-205-1819, [email protected]).
    Background: Annex 300-B, Chapter 4, and Annex 401 of the NAFTA 
contain the rules of origin for textiles and apparel for application of 
the tariff provisions of the NAFTA. These rules are set forth for the 
United States in general note 12 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
(HTS). According to the USTR request letter, U.S. negotiators have 
recently reached agreement in principle with representatives of the 
Governments of Canada and Mexico to modify the NAFTA rule of origin for 
certain sanitary towels or tampons classified in HTS subheading 5601.10 
and made from tri-lobal rayon staple fibers (38 mm, 3.3 decitex) of HTS 
subheading 5504.10. If implemented, the proposed rule of origin would 
apply to U.S. imports from and exports to the NAFTA parties. Section 
202(q) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 
(the Act) authorizes the President, subject to the consultation and 
layover requirements of section 103 of the Act, to proclaim such 
modifications to the rules of origin as are necessary to implement an 
agreement with one or more of the NAFTA countries pursuant to paragraph 
2 of section 7 of Annex 300-B of the Agreement. One of the requirements 
set out in section 103 of the Act is that the President obtain advice 
from the United States International Trade Commission.
    In his letter, the USTR requested that the Commission provide 
advice on the probable effect of the proposed modification of the NAFTA 
rule of origin for certain sanitary articles (as described above) on 
U.S. trade under the NAFTA, on total U.S. trade, and on domestic 
producers of the affected articles. As requested, the Commission will 
submit its advice to the USTR by December 20, 2004, and soon 
thereafter, issue a public version of the report with any confidential 
business information deleted. Additional information concerning the 
articles and the proposed modifications can be obtained by accessing 
the electronic version of this notice at the Commission Internet site 
(http://www.usitc.gov). The current NAFTA rules of origin applicable to 
U.S. imports can be found in general note 12 of the 2004 HTS (see 
``General Notes'' link at http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/tariff_chapters_current/toc.html).
    Written Submissions: No public hearing is planned. However, 
interested parties are invited to submit written statements concerning 
the matters to be addressed by the Commission in this investigation. 
Submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, United States 
International Trade Commission,

[[Page 64102]]

500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436. To be assured of consideration 
by the Commission, written statements related to the Commission's 
reports should be submitted to the Commission at the earliest practical 
date and should be received no later than the close of business on 
November 15, 2004. All written submissions must conform with the 
provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 of the rules requires that a 
signed original (or copy designated as an original) and fourteen (14) 
copies of each document be filed. In the event that confidential 
treatment of the document is requested, at least four (4) additional 
copies must be filed, in which the confidential business information 
must be deleted (see the following paragraph for further information 
regarding confidential business information). The Commission's rules do 
not authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means, except to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of 
the rules (see Handbook for Electronic Filing Procedures, ftp://ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/electronic_filing --handbook.pdf).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information 
(CBI) must also conform with 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 ``nonconfidential'' version, and that the CBI be 
clearly identified by means of brackets. All written submissions, 
except for CBI, will be made available in the Office of the Secretary 
to the Commission for inspection by interested parties.
    The Commission may include some or all of the CBI it receives in 
the report it sends to the President. However, the Commission will not 
publish CBI in the public version of the report in a manner that would 
reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information. The public 
version will be made available to the public on the Commission's 
Internet site (http://www.usitc.gov).
    The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the 
Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) http://edis.usitc.gov. Hearing 
impaired individuals may obtain information on this matter by 
contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. 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.

List of Subjects

    NAFTA, rules of origin, textiles, fibers.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: October 28, 2004.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 04-24478 Filed 11-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
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