[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66102-66103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27768]



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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

19 CFR Part 220


Rules Relating to the Submission and Consideration of Petitions 
for Duty Suspensions and Reductions

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The United States International Trade Commission (Commission) 
is adopting as a final rule the interim rule published on September 30, 
2016. The rule concerns the submission and consideration of petitions 
for duty suspensions and reductions under the American Manufacturing 
and Competitiveness Act of 2016.

DATES: Effective date: December 26, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa R. Barton, Secretary, telephone 
(202) 205-2000 or William Gearhart, Esquire, Office of the General 
Counsel, United States International Trade Commission, telephone (202) 
205-3091. Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain information on this 
matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. 
Members of the public may obtain general information concerning the 
Commission by accessing its website at https://www.usitc gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The preamble below is designed to assist 
readers in understanding this final rule. This preamble provides 
background information and a regulatory analysis of the rule.
    This rule is being promulgated in accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) (APA), and will be codified 
in 19 CFR part 220.

Background

    Section 335 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1335) authorizes 
the Commission to adopt such reasonable procedures, rules and 
regulations as it deems necessary to carry out its functions and 
duties. In addition, section 3(b)(5) of the American Manufacturing 
Competitiveness Act of 2016 (19 U.S.C. 1332 note) (the Act) directs the 
Commission to prescribe and publish, in the Federal Register and on a 
publicly available internet website of the Commission, procedures to be 
complied with by members of the public in submitting petitions for duty 
suspensions and reductions under section 3(b)(1)(A) of the Act.
    The Commission is adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2016 
(81 FR 67144) governing the submission and consideration of petitions 
for duty suspensions and reductions under the Act. In its notice 
announcing the interim rule, the Commission invited members of the 
public to file written comments on the rule. The Commission asked 
members of the public to file such comments no later than November 29, 
2016; no written comments were filed.
    The principal provisions of the Act relating to the submission and 
consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions are set 
out in section 3 of the Act. Section 3 establishes a process for the 
submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions. It also 
lists the types of information that must be included in a petition, and 
requires that petitioners submit disclosure forms with respect to such 
duty suspensions and reductions. Section 3 requires the Commission to 
publish on its website all the petitions that contain the required 
information and the related disclosure forms. It also requires that the 
Commission provide opportunity for members of the public to submit 
comments to the Commission on the petitions published. Section 3 
requires that the Commission submit preliminary and final reports on 
the petitions that meet the statutory requirements to the House 
Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance (the 
Committees), and it sets out the types of information to be included in 
those reports. Finally, section 3 sets out a timeline, in the form of 
specific dates or numbers of days, under which the Commission must 
complete each step in the process, beginning with the filing of 
petitions and ending with the submission of the Commission's final 
report.
    The American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act provided for two 
periods during which the Commission would receive and consider 
petitions and submit reports to the Committees, with the first 
beginning no later than October 15, 2016, and the second beginning no 
later than October 15, 2019. The Commission submitted its report to the 
Committees on petitions received during this first period in August 
2017. On September 13, 2018, the President signed the Miscellaneous 
Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-239), that approved legislation 
implementing certain temporary duty suspensions and reductions based on 
the Commission's report. The duty suspensions and reductions became 
effective on October 13, 2018, and remain in effect through December 
31, 2020.
    The process under which the Commission received and considered 
petitions for duty suspensions and reductions was new with the American 
Manufacturing Competitiveness Act. Previously, the Commission had 
provided technical assistance to the Committees on duty suspension/
reduction bills introduced by Members of Congress under procedures 
established by the Committees.

Possible Additional Amendments to Part 220

    The Commission gained considerable experience in applying the 
interim rule to petitions submitted and considered with respect to its 
first report. Based on that experience, the Commission may propose 
several amendments to this final rule in the near future, with the 
intent that the amendments be in place before October 15, 2019. Should 
the Commission propose changes to part 220, the Commission expects to 
do so by first issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for 
comments, and after considering those comments, by adopting a final 
rule.

Regulatory Analysis

    The Commission has determined that this final rule does not meet 
the criteria described in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993) and thus does not constitute a ``significant 
regulatory action'' for purposes of the Executive Order.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 
inapplicable to this rulemaking because it is not one for which a 
notice of proposed rulemaking is required under 5 U.S.C. 553 or any 
other statute.
    This final rule does not contain federalism implications warranting 
the preparation of a federalism summary impact statement pursuant to 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999).
    No actions are necessary under title II of the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act of 1995, Public Law 104-4 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538), because the 
final rule will not result in the expenditure by state, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 
$100,000,000 or more in any one year (adjusted annually for inflation), 
and will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments.
    This final rule does not constitute a ``major'' rule as defined by 
section 251 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). Moreover, it is exempt from the 
reporting requirements of that Act because it contains rules of agency 
organization, procedure, or

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practice that do not substantially affect the rights or obligations of 
non-agency parties.
    The rule does not contain any information collection requirements 
subject to the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.).

PART 220--PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS FOR DUTY 
SUSPENSIONS AND REDUCTIONS

0
Accordingly, the interim rule that was published at 81 FR 67144 on 
September 30, 2016, is adopted as a final rule without change.

    By order of the Commission.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-27768 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P