Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 64541

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this proposed AD. See the ADDRESSES

section for a location to examine the 

regulatory evaluation.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment 

Accordingly, under the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 

39 as follows:

PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS 

DIRECTIVES 

1. The authority citation for part 39 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

§ 39.13 [Amended] 

2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by 

removing 39–12316 (66 FR 36445, July 

12, 2001) and adding the following new 

airworthiness directive (AD):

Boeing: Docket No. FAA–2004–19531; 

Directorate Identifier 2004–NM–45–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) The Federal Aviation Administration 

must receive comments on this airworthiness 

directive (AD) action by December 20, 2004. 

Affected ADs 

(b) This AD supersedes AD 2001–14–06, 

amendment 39–12316. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to all Boeing Model 

737–300, –400, and –500 series airplanes, 

certificated in any category. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD was prompted by the 

development of a modification intended to 

address the unsafe condition. We are issuing 

this AD to detect and correct discrepancies 

of certain connectors located in the main 

wheel well. Those discrepancies could result 

in electrical arcing of the connectors, 

uncommanded closure of the engine fuel 

shut-off valves, and consequent in-flight loss 

of thrust or engine shutdown from lack of 

fuel. 

Compliance 

(e) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Modification 

(f) At the applicable time specified in 

paragraph (f)(1) or (f)(2) of this AD: Modify 

the electrical connectors located in the main 

wheel well by doing all the actions in 

accordance with the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Boeing Special Attention 

Service Bulletin 737–28–1196, Revision 3, 

dated April 1, 2004. Any corrective action 

must be done before further flight in 

accordance with the service bulletin. 

(1) For airplanes on which no inspection 

required by AD 2001–14–06 has been done 

as of the effective date of this AD: 

Accomplish the modification within 12 

months after the effective date of this AD. 

(2) For airplanes on which any inspection 

required by AD 2001–14–06 has been done 

as of the effective date of this AD: 

Accomplish the modification at the later of 

the times specified in paragraph (f)(2)(i) or 

(f)(2)(ii) of this AD. 

(i) Within 18 months after accomplishing 

the last inspection. 

(ii) Within 6 months after the effective date 

of this AD. 

Modifications Done Using Previous Issues of 

the Service Bulletin 

(g) Modifications done before the effective 

date of this AD in accordance with Boeing 

Special Attention Service Bulletin 737–28–

1196, dated December 5, 2002; Revision 1, 

dated March 13, 2003; or Revision 2, dated 

August 21, 2003; are considered acceptable 

for compliance with paragraph (f) of this AD. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(h)(1) The Manager, Seattle Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested in accordance with the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

(2) Alternative methods of compliance, 

approved previously in accordance with AD 

2001–14–06, amendment 39–12316, are 

approved as AMOCs for this AD.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 

26, 2004. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 04–24719 Filed 11–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

19 CFR Parts 206 and 207

Investigations Relating to Global and 

Bilateral Safeguard Actions, Market 

Disruption, Trade Diversion and 

Review of Relief Actions; and 

Investigations of Whether Injury to 

Domestic Industries Results From 

Imports Sold at Less Than Fair Value 

or From Subsidized Exports to the 

United States

AGENCY: International Trade 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: On December 4, 2002, the 

United States International Trade 

Commission invited the public to 

provide input on specific ways in which 

it could improve its conduct of 

antidumping duty (AD) and 

countervailing duty (CVD) 

investigations (67 FR 72221, December 

4, 2002). After consideration of the 

comments that were received, the 

Commission has decided to propose 

certain amendments to its Rules of 

Practice and Procedure.

DATES: Comment Date: To be assured of 

consideration, written comments must 

be received by 5:15 p.m. on January 4, 

2005.

ADDRESSES: A signed original and 14 

copies of each set of comments on these 

proposed amendments, along with a 

cover letter, should be submitted by 

mail or hand delivery to Marilyn R. 

Abbott, Secretary, United States 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street, SW., Room 112, Washington, DC 

20436. Comments may be submitted 

electronically to the extent provided by 

section 201.8 of the Commission’s rules, 

as amended at 67 FR 68063 (November 

8, 2002) and 68 FR 32971 (June 3, 2003).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marilyn R. Abbott, Secretary, United 

States International Trade Commission, 

telephone 202–205–2000. Hearingimpaired individuals are advised that 

information on this matter can be 

obtained by contacting the 

Commission’s TDD terminal at 202–

205–1810. General information 

concerning the Commission may also be 

obtained by accessing its Internet server 

(http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

preamble below is designed to assist 

readers in understanding these 

proposed amendments to the 

Commission’s Rules. The preamble 

begins with a discussion of the 

background leading up to these 

proposed amendments, a regulatory 

analysis addressing government-wide 

statutes and issuances on rulemaking, 

and a description of the proposed 

amendments to the rules. The 

Commission encourages members of the 

public to comment—in addition to any 

other comments they wish to make on 

the proposed amendments—on whether 

the proposed language is sufficiently 

clear for users of the rules to 

understand. In addition to these 

proposed amendments, the Commission 

has made some changes to its internal 

procedures not requiring amendment to 

its rules, which are contained in a 

Notice that has been published 

elsewhere in today’s Federal Register.

Background 

On December 4, 2002, the United 

States International Trade Commission 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (67 FR 72221) inviting the 

public to provide input on specific ways 

in which it could improve its conduct 

of AD and CVD investigations under 19 

64542 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

1 19 U.S.C. 1671a(b)(2); 1673a(b)(2).

2 19 CFR 201.3 (c), as amended, 68 FR 32971, 

32973 (June 3, 2003).

3 19 CFR 351.103.

U.S.C. 1671 et seq. The notice requested 

that such comments be filed within 90 

days of publication of that notice in the 

Federal Register. Nine sets of comments 

were received, which suggested a 

number of changes to Commission rules, 

questionnaires, opinions, hearings and 

other practices. 

The Commission appreciates the time 

and effort those who provided 

comments took to present their views, 

and believes that the comments have 

contributed to improving Commission 

procedures. The comments stimulated 

an internal review of the Commission’s 

rules and practices in AD and CVD 

proceedings. That internal review has in 

turn resulted in a decision to propose 

certain changes to the Commission’s 

rules. Some of the changes were not 

specifically suggested by any comment. 

A few are parallel amendments to 

comparable rules in Part 206 of the 

Commission’s rules dealing with certain 

safeguard and market disruption 

proceedings. As is its normal practice, 

the Commission will continue to 

evaluate its procedures on an ongoing 

basis and will consider modifying them 

as is appropriate. Although the 

December 4, 2002 Notice noted that a 

hearing on these proposals might be 

held, after reviewing the comments, the 

Commission decided that such a hearing 

would not be necessary. 

Regulatory Analysis of Proposed 

Amendments to the Commission’s Rules 

The Commission has determined that 

the proposed rules do not meet the 

criteria described in Section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

Oct. 4, 1993) and thus do 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(b) or any 

other statute. Although the Commission 

has chosen to publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking, these proposed 

regulations are ‘‘agency rules of 

procedure and practice,’’ and thus are 

exempt from the notice requirement 

imposed by 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

These proposed rules do not contain 

federalism implications warranting the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement pursuant to Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, Aug. 4, 

1999). 

No actions are necessary under the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

(2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) because the 

proposed rules 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, and will not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. 

The proposed rules are not major 

rules as defined by section 804 of the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801 et 

seq.). Moreover, they are exempt from 

the reporting requirements of the 

Contract With America Advancement 

Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121) because 

they concern rules of agency 

organization, procedure, or practice that 

do not substantially affect the rights or 

obligations of non-agency parties. 

The amendments are not subject to 

section 3504(h) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 

since they do not contain any new 

information collection requirements. 

Explanation of the Proposed 

Amendments to 19 CFR Parts 206 and 

207

Section 207.3(b) provides that certain 

documents must be served by hand, or 

by overnight mail or its equivalent, 

upon other parties on the Commission’s 

service lists. However, currently, 

requests to have a portion of the public 

hearing in final investigations held in 

camera are not explicitly mentioned as 

being subject to this requirement. In 

light of the proposed revision of rule 

207.24 to allow responses to requests to 

have a portion of the public hearing in 

final investigations held in camera, and 

the short time provided for such 

comments, clarifying that hand or nextday service of those requests (and any 

comments on those requests) is required 

seems appropriate. 

Section 207.7(b) describes the terms 

of an Administrative Protective Order 

(APO) that will be issued in each 

investigation, including provisions 

pertaining to clerical or other staff who 

are employed or supervised by an 

applicant for the APO. Two of the 

comments suggested that such clerical 

or other staff no longer be required to 

file an APO application with the 

Commission, and the Commission 

proposes that the rule be amended 

accordingly. Such clerical or other staff 

would still need to sign a form approved 

by the Secretary whereby they would 

agree to be bound by the terms of the 

APO, but that form would not be filed 

with the Commission unless specifically 

requested by the Secretary. The 

authorized applicant would be 

responsible for retention and accuracy 

of such forms and would be deemed 

responsible for such clerical persons’

compliance with the APO. 

A similar change is proposed for 

APOs issued under the comparable 

provisions of section 206.17 of the 

Commission’s rules, which pertains to 

investigations relating to global and 

bilateral safeguard actions, market 

disruption, trade diversion, and review 

of relief actions, and to APOs issued in 

NAFTA panel and committee 

proceedings governed by section 207.93 

of the Commission’s rules. 

Section 207.10(a) provides that a 

petition shall be deemed to be properly 

filed on the date on which the requisite 

number of copies is received by the 

Secretary. Frequently, petitions are filed 

late in the day, very close to the close 

of business for the Commission. By the 

time the petition is processed by the 

Secretary and distributed to the 

Commission and all pertinent staff, it is 

usually the next business day, often 

after an intervening weekend. This 

hinders the Commission’s ability to 

proceed expeditiously with its 

investigation, a matter of concern in 

light of the fact that the statute normally 

gives the Commission only 45 days to 

conduct its preliminary phase 

investigation and issue its preliminary 

determination. Accordingly, the 

Commission proposes to amend the rule 

to provide that if the proper number of 

copies of the petition is not filed until 

after 12 noon, the filing date will be 

deemed to be the next business day. The 

Commission has already recently 

clarified rule 201.3 to provide that 

documents filed after close of business 

are deemed filed the next business day. 

68 FR 32971 (June 3, 2003).

While the statute requires that a copy 

of the petition must be filed with the 

Commission ‘‘on the same day as it is 

filed with the administering 

authority,’’ 1 and while Commerce does 

not have an ‘‘after noon’’ filing rule, we 

do not believe the proposed rule will 

adversely affect the filing of petitions or 

the conduct of investigations. The 

existing rules of the Commission clearly 

point out that a document that is not 

filed until after 5:15 p.m., when the 

Commission closes for business, will be 

deemed to have been filed the next 

business day.2 Further, the two agencies 

have slightly different hours of business 

(Commerce is open for filing ‘‘between 

8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business 

days,’’ 3 while the Commission is open 

for filing between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 

p.m.). There has already been at least 

one occasion when the date of filing of 

the petition at Commerce was on the 

business day before proper filing at the 

Commission. In that instance, the 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 64543

4See Initiation of Antidumping Duty 

Investigation; Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico, 61 FR 

18377 (April 25, 1996) (‘‘In this instance, the ITC 

does not consider the petition covering fresh 

tomatoes from Mexico to have been filed until April 

1, 1996. As such, the Department considers the 

petition as having been filed in proper form on 

April 1, 1996, not March 29, 1996.’’).

5 19 CFR 351.204(b).

6 19 CFR 351.204(b).

petition was filed at Commerce before 

its docket closed, in that case on Friday, 

March 29, 1996, but was not filed at the 

Commission until after close of business 

at the Commission on that date. In that 

case, Commerce, noting the requirement 

that petitions must be filed on the same 

day with both Commerce and the 

Commission, deemed the petition to be 

filed on the day the Commission 

deemed it filed, the next business day, 

Monday, April 1, 1996.4 We would 

anticipate that under the proposed rule, 

which would deem an after noon filing 

at the Commission to occur on the next 

business day, the result would be 

similar. We note that a similar problem 

could arise even under the existing rule 

if a petitioner did not file the correct 

number of copies of a petition, or 

otherwise did not comply with the filing 

rules of the Commission, the same day 

it properly filed the petition at 

Commerce. As a final point, we note 

that it is the petitioner who controls the 

time in which the petition is filed, and 

thus a petitioner can plan accordingly 

for the proposed filing deadline.

In theory, deeming a ‘‘late’’ petition to 

be filed on the next business day could 

have implications for the period of 

investigation for Commerce under its 

rules, if, as in Tomatoes, there is an 

attempt to file a petition on the last 

business day of a calendar quarter. 

Commerce’s rules for antidumping 

investigations, for example, provide that 

it will normally consider the ‘‘four most 

recently completed fiscal quarters * * * 

as of the month preceding the month in 

which the petition was filed * * *.’’ 5

However, Commerce’s rules also 

specifies ‘‘the Secretary may examine 

merchandise sold during any additional 

or alternate period that the Secretary 

concludes is appropriate.’’ 6 Therefore, 

as in Tomatoes, we would not anticipate 

that the proposed rule would effectively 

force Commerce to change its period of 

investigation.

We invite comment on the effects of 

the proposed rule, particularly if there 

is any concern that it would, 

notwithstanding the discussion above, 

create problems in light of the 

‘‘simultaneous filing’’ requirement of 

the statute. 

For similar reasons, an amendment is 

also proposed for rule 206.45, which 

would provide that the date on which 

a petition is filed would be deemed to 

be the next business day when a 

petition is filed after 12:00 noon. 

Section 207.23 currently requires 

interested parties that are parties to the 

investigation to submit a prehearing 

brief no later than four (4) business days 

prior to the hearing. As noted above, it 

is proposed to make this deadline one 

business day earlier, so that prehearing 

briefs will be due five business days 

prior to the hearing, giving the 

Commission and staff some additional 

time to consider arguments and 

information presented in those 

prehearing briefs. 

Rule 207.24(d) provides that a party to 

the investigation may request that a 

portion of the public hearing be held in 

camera, but requires that the request be 

made no later than seven (7) calendar 

days prior to the hearing. However, 

parties frequently wait until that last 

day before making such requests. It 

normally takes several business days to 

process and consider such requests. 

Frequently other parties to the 

investigation respond to the request a 

day or two after the request is made, 

either to object or to note their 

concurrence with the request. Thus, 

generally it is not possible to reach a 

decision as to whether to grant or deny 

the request until shortly before the 

hearing, both making hearing 

preparation more difficult for parties 

(because they do not know whether or 

not the hearing will be public in its 

entirety) and taking time to prepare for 

the hearing away from the Commission 

and staff. Accordingly, it is proposed to 

amend rule 207.24 to require that 

requests to close a portion of the hearing 

be made no later than seven (7) business 

(instead of calendar) days prior to the 

hearing and that any comments on that 

request be made within two (2) business 

days after the filing of the request. As 

always, the Commission would seek to 

act on such requests as expeditiously as 

possible, but a somewhat earlier 

deadline for submitting the request may 

result in an earlier decision than is 

currently possible. 

The rules currently provide that the 

Commission Secretary is responsible for 

the APO in a NAFTA appeal, pursuant 

to Commission rule 207.93(a), 19 U.S.C. 

1677f(f)(1), and NAFTA Rules 47(3) and 

48. Parties to a NAFTA appeal that were 

covered by a Commission APO during 

the underlying investigation are bound 

to the terms of the NAFTA APO (Form 

C) 15 days after the first request for a 

panel, if they have not notified the 

Commission of return or destruction of 

documents. These parties to the NAFTA 

appeal are not required to file a new 

APO application in the NAFTA appeal, 

but are required, pursuant to 

Commission rule 207.93(c)(5), to file 4 

copies with the NAFTA Secretariat and 

3 copies with the Commission Secretary 

of the APO applications and other 

various updates in the underlying 

proceeding. The parties also must 

inform the Commission Secretary of any 

changes to both the Commission and 

NAFTA APOs. Individuals not covered 

in the original Commission APOs must 

file a NAFTA APO form C. Parties 

frequently have filed both copies of the 

original Commission APOs and the 

NAFTA APO form C when not required 

by the Commission or NAFTA rules. 

To streamline and clarify this process, 

the Commission proposes to change its 

rule so that all parties would file 

NAFTA APO applications. Parties 

covered under the Commission APO 

would still be bound on day 15, but 

would be required to file new NAFTA 

APO applications rather than file the 

numerous copies of original 

Commission applications and updates. 

This would streamline the process for 

the Commission Secretary and parties as 

well as reduce the papers filed. The 

proposed change to Commission rule 

207.93(e) would also set forth a 

requirement that the Commission 

Secretary compile a NAFTA APO list. 

A minor amendment is also proposed 

to change the references to the Mexican 

Secretary of Commerce and Industrial 

Development to the Mexican Secretary 

of Economia which we are informed by 

the NAFTA Secretariat is the more 

accurate term.

List of Subjects in CFR Parts 206 and 

207

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Investigations.

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Commission proposes to 

amend 19 CFR parts 206 and 207 as set 

forth below:

PART 206—INVESTIGATIONS 

RELATING TO GLOBAL AND 

BILATERAL SAFEGUARD ACTIONS, 

MARKET DISRUPTION, TRADE 

DIVERSION, AND REVIEW OF RELIEF 

ACTIONS 

1. The authority citation for part 206 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335, 2251–2254, 

2451–2451a, 3351–3382, sections 103, 301–

302, Pub. L. 103–465, 108 Stat. 4809.

2. Amend § 206.17 by revising 

paragraphs (b) introductory text, (b)(1) 

introductory text, and (b)(1)(iv) to read 

as follows:

64544 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

§ 206.17 Limited disclosure of certain 

confidential business information under 

administrative protective order.

* * * * *

(b) Administrative protective order. 

The administrative protective order 

under which information is made 

available to the authorized applicant 

shall require the applicant to submit to 

the Secretary a personal sworn 

statement that, in addition to such other 

conditions as the Secretary may require, 

the applicant shall: 

(1) Not divulge any of the business 

proprietary information obtained under 

the administrative protective order and 

not otherwise available to the applicant, 

to any person other than:

* * * * *

(iv) Other persons, such as paralegals 

and clerical staff, who are employed or 

supervised by an authorized applicant; 

who have a need thereof in connection 

with the investigation; who are not 

involved in competitive decisionmaking 

on behalf of an interested party which 

is a party to the investigation; and who 

have signed a statement in a form 

approved by the Secretary that they 

agree to be bound by the administrative 

protective order (the authorized 

applicant shall be responsible for 

retention and accuracy of such forms 

and shall be deemed responsible for 

such persons’ compliance with the 

administrative protective order);

* * * * *

3. Amend § 206.45 by adding 

paragraph (e) as follows:

§ 206.45 Time for reporting.

* * * * *

(e) Date of filing. Any petition 

described in this rule that is filed after 

12:00 noon shall be deemed to be filed 

on the next business day.

PART 207—INVESTIGATIONS OF 

WHETHER INJURY TO DOMESTIC 

INDUSTRIES RESULTS FROM 

IMPORTS SOLD AT LESS THAN FAIR 

VALUE OR FROM SUBSIDIZED 

EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES 

4. The authority citation for part 207 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1336, 1671–1677n, 

2482, 3513.

5. Amend § 207.3 by revising 

paragraph (b) as follows:

§ 207.3 Service, filing, and certification of 

documents.

* * * * *

(b) Service. Any party submitting a 

document for inclusion in the record of 

the investigation shall, in addition to 

complying with § 201.8 of this chapter, 

serve a copy of each such document on 

all other parties to the investigation in 

the manner prescribed in § 201.16 of 

this chapter. If a document is filed 

before the Secretary’s issuance of the 

service list provided for in § 201.11 of 

this chapter or the administrative 

protective order list provided for in 

§ 207.7, the document need not be 

accompanied by a certificate of service, 

but the document shall be served on all 

appropriate parties within two (2) days 

of the issuance of the service list or the 

administrative protective order list and 

a certificate of service shall then be 

filed. Notwithstanding § 201.16 of this 

chapter, petitions, briefs, requests to 

close a portion of the hearing, comments 

on requests to close a portion of the 

hearing, and testimony filed by parties 

pursuant to §§ 207.10, 207.15, 207.23, 

207.24, 207.25, 207.65, 207.66, and 

207.67, shall be served by hand or, if 

served by mail, by overnight mail or its 

equivalent. Failure to comply with the 

requirements of this rule may result in 

removal from status as a party to the 

investigation. The Commission shall 

make available to all parties to the 

investigation a copy of each document, 

except transcripts of conferences and 

hearings, business proprietary 

information, privileged information, and 

information required to be served under 

this section, placed in the record of the 

investigation by the Commission.

* * * * *

6. Amend § 207.7(b) by revising 

paragraphs (b) introductory text, (b)(1) 

introductory text, and (b)(1)(iv) to read 

as follows:

§ 207.7 Limited disclosure of certain 

business proprietary information under 

administrative protective order.

* * * * *

(b) Administrative protective order. 

The administrative protective order 

under which information is made 

available to the authorized applicant 

shall require the applicant to submit to 

the Secretary a personal sworn 

statement that, in addition to such other 

conditions as the Secretary may require, 

the applicant shall: 

(1) Not divulge any of the business 

proprietary information obtained under 

the administrative protective order and 

not otherwise available to the applicant, 

to any person other than:

* * * * *

(iv) Other persons, such as paralegals 

and clerical staff, who are employed or 

supervised by the authorized applicant; 

who have a need thereof in connection 

with the investigation; who are not 

involved in competitive decision 

making for an interested party which is 

a party to the investigation; and who 

have signed a statement in a form 

approved by the Secretary that they 

agree to be bound by the administrative 

protective order (the authorized 

applicant shall be responsible for 

retention and accuracy of such forms 

and shall be deemed responsible for 

such persons’ compliance with the 

administrative protective order);

* * * * *

7. Amend § 207.10 by revising 

paragraph (a) as follows:

§ 207.10 Filing of petition with the 

Commission. 

(a) Filing of the petition. Any 

interested party who files a petition 

with the administering authority 

pursuant to section 702(b) or section 

732(b) of the Act in a case in which a 

Commission determination under title 

VII of the Act is required, shall file 

copies of the petition, including all 

exhibits, appendices, and attachments 

thereto, pursuant to § 201.8 of this 

chapter, with the Secretary on the same 

day the petition is filed with the 

administering authority. If the petition 

complies with the provisions of 

§ 207.11, it shall be deemed to be 

properly filed on the date on which the 

requisite number of copies of the 

petition is received by the Secretary, 

provided that, if the petition is filed 

with the Secretary after 12:00 noon, the 

petition shall be deemed filed on the 

next business day. The Secretary shall 

notify the administering authority of 

that date. Notwithstanding § 201.11 of 

this chapter, a petitioner need not file 

an entry of appearance in the 

investigation instituted upon the filing 

of its petition, which shall be deemed 

an entry of appearance.

* * * * *

8. Revise § 207.23 as follows:

§ 207.23 Prehearing brief. 

Each party who is an interested party 

shall submit to the Commission, no later 

than five (5) business days prior to the 

date of the hearing specified in the 

notice of scheduling, a prehearing brief. 

Prehearing briefs shall be signed and 

shall include a table of contents. The 

prehearing brief should present a party’s 

case concisely and shall, to the extent 

possible, refer to the record and include 

information and arguments which the 

party believes relevant to the subject 

matter of the Commission’s 

determination under section 705(b) or 

section 735(b) of the Act. Any person 

not an interested party may submit a 

brief written statement of information 

pertinent to the investigation within the 

time specified for filing of prehearing 

briefs. 

9. Amend § 207.24 by revising 

paragraph (d) as follows:

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 64545

§ 207.24 Hearing.

* * * * *

(d) Closed sessions. Upon a request 

filed by a party to the investigation no 

later than seven (7) business days prior 

to the date of the hearing that identifies 

the subjects to be discussed, specifies 

the amount of time requested, and 

justifies the need for a closed session 

with respect to each subject to be 

discussed, the Commission may close a 

portion of a hearing to persons not 

authorized under § 207.7 to have access 

to business proprietary information in 

order to allow such party to address 

business proprietary information during 

the course of its presentation. If any 

party wishes to comment on the request 

to close a portion of the hearing, such 

comments must be filed within two (2) 

business days after the filing of the 

request. In addition, during each 

hearing held in an investigation 

conducted under section 705(b) or 

section 735(b) of the Act, following the 

public presentation of the petitioner(s) 

and that of each panel of respondents, 

the Commission will, if it deems it 

appropriate, close the hearing to persons 

not authorized under § 207.7 to have 

access to business proprietary 

information in order to allow 

Commissioners to question parties and/ 

or their representatives concerning 

matters involving business proprietary 

information. 

10. Amend § 207.93 by revising 

paragraphs (b)(6), (c)(1), (c)(2)(ii), (c)(3), 

(c)(4)(ii)(A), (c)(5)(i), (c)(5)(ii), (c)(5)(iii), 

and (e); and by adding paragraph (b)(7) 

as follows:

§ 207.93 Protection of proprietary 

information during panel and committee 

proceedings.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(6) Any officer or employee of the 

Government of Canada or the 

Government of Mexico who the 

Canadian Minister of Trade or the 

Mexican Secretary of Economia, as the 

case may be, informs the Commission 

Secretary needs access to proprietary 

information to make recommendations 

regarding the convening of 

extraordinary challenge committees; 

and

(7) Counsel representing, and other 

staff providing support to, the 

investigating authority, the Commission. 

(c) Procedures for obtaining access to 

proprietary information under 

protective order—(1) Persons who must 

file an application for release under 

protective order. To be permitted access 

to proprietary information in the 

administrative record of a determination 

under panel review, all persons 

described in paragraphs (b) (1), (2), (4), 

(5), (6), or (c)(5)(i) of this section shall 

file an application for a protective order. 

(2) * * *

(ii) Such forms shall require the 

applicant to submit a personal sworn 

statement that, in addition to such other 

conditions as the Commission Secretary 

may require, the applicant will: 

(A) Not disclose any proprietary 

information obtained under protective 

order and not otherwise available to any 

person other than: 

(1) Personnel of the Commission 

involved in the particular panel review 

in which the proprietary information is 

part of the administrative record, 

(2) The person from whom the 

information was obtained, 

(3) A person who is authorized to 

have access to the same proprietary 

information pursuant to a Commission 

protective order, and 

(4) A clerical person retained or 

employed by and under the direction 

and control of a person described in 

paragraph (b)(1), (2), (5), or (6) of this 

section who has been issued a 

protective order, if such clerical person 

has signed and dated an agreement, 

provided to the Commission Secretary 

upon request, to be bound by the terms 

set forth in the application for a 

protective order of the person who 

retains or employs him or her (the 

authorized applicant shall be 

responsible for retention and accuracy 

of such forms and shall be deemed 

responsible for such persons’

compliance with the administrative 

protective order); 

(B) Not use any of the proprietary 

information released under protective 

order and not otherwise available for 

purposes other than the particular 

proceedings under Article 1904 of the 

Agreement; 

(C) Upon completion of panel review, 

or at such other date as may be 

determined by the Commission 

Secretary, return to the Commission, or 

certify to the Commission Secretary the 

destruction of, all documents released 

under the protective order and all other 

material (such as briefs, notes, or 

charts), containing the proprietary 

information released under the 

protective order, except that those 

described in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section may return such documents and 

other materials to the United States 

Secretary. The United States Secretary 

may retain a single file copy of each 

document for the official file. 

(D) Update information in the 

application for protective order as 

required by the protective order; and 

(E) Acknowledge that the person 

becomes subject to the provisions of 19 

U.S.C. 1677f(f) and to this subpart, as 

well as corresponding provisions of 

Canadian and Mexican law on 

disclosure undertakings concerning 

proprietary information. 

(3) Timing of applications. An 

application for any person described in 

paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section 

may be filed after a notice of request for 

panel review has been filed with the 

Secretariat. A person described in 

paragraph (b)(4) of this section shall file 

an application immediately upon 

assuming official responsibilities in the 

United States, Canadian or Mexican 

Secretariat. An application for any 

person described in paragraph (b)(5) or 

(b)(6) of this section may be filed at any 

time after the United States Trade 

Representative, the Canadian Minister 

of Trade, or the Mexican Secretary of 

Economia, as the case may be, has 

notified the Commission Secretary that 

such person requires access. 

(4) * * *

(ii) Applications of persons described 

in paragraph (b)(2) of this section—-

(A) Filing. A person described in 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section, 

concurrent with the filing of a 

complaint or notice of appearance in the 

panel review on behalf of the 

participant represented by such person, 

shall file the completed original of the 

form (NAFTA APO Form C) and three 

(3) copies with the Commission 

Secretary, and four (4) copies with the 

United States Secretary.

* * * * *

(5) Persons who retain access to 

proprietary information under a 

protective order issued during the 

administrative proceedings.

(i) If counsel or a professional has 

been granted access in an administrative 

proceeding to proprietary information 

under a protective order that contains a 

provision governing continued access to 

that information during panel review, 

and that counsel or professional retains 

the proprietary information more than 

fifteen (15) days after a First Request for 

Panel Review is filed with the 

Secretariat, that counsel or professional, 

and such clerical persons with access on 

or after that date, become immediately 

subject to the terms and conditions of 

NAFTA APO Form C maintained by the 

Commission Secretary on that date 

including provisions regarding 

sanctions for violations thereof. 

(ii) Any person described in 

paragraph (c)(5)(i) of this section, 

concurrent with the filing of a 

complaint or notice of appearance in the 

panel review on behalf of the 

participant represented by such person, 

shall: 

64546 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

(A) File the completed original of the 

form (NAFTA APO Form C) and three 

(3) copies with the Commission 

Secretary; and 

(B) File four (4) copies of the 

completed NAFTA APO Form C with 

the United States Secretary. 

(iii) Any person described in 

paragraph (c)(5)(i) of this section must 

submit a new application for a 

protective order at the commencement 

of a panel review.

* * * * *

(e) Retention of protective orders; 

service list. The Commission Secretary 

shall retain, in a public file, copies of 

applications granted, including any 

updates thereto, and protective orders 

issued under this section, including 

protective orders filed in accordance 

with paragraph (b)(6)(ii) of this section. 

The Secretary shall establish a list of 

persons authorized to receive 

proprietary information in a review, 

including parties whose applications 

have been granted.

* * * * *

By Order of the Commission.

Issued: November 1, 2004. 

Marilyn R. Abbott, 

Secretary to the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–24704 Filed 11–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1

[REG–124405–03] 

RIN 1545–BC13

Optional 10-Year Writeoff of Certain 

Tax Preferences; Hearing

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing on 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This document contains a 

notice of public hearing on proposed 

regulations relating to the optional 10-

year writeoff of certain tax preference 

items under section 59(e).

DATES: The public hearing is being held 

on December 7, 2004, at 10 a.m. The IRS 

must receive outlines of the topics to be 

discussed at the hearing by November 

30, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing is being 

held in the Room 4415, Internal 

Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. 

Mail outlines to: CC:PA:LPD:PR 

(REG–124405–03), room 5203, Internal 

Revenue Service POB 7604, Ben 

Franklin Station, Washington, DC 

20044. Submissions may be handdelivered Monday through Friday 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–124405–03), 

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue 

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC or sent 

electronically, via the IRS Internet site 

at http://www.irs.gov/regs or via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov (IRS–REG–

124405–03).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Concerning submissions of comments, 

the hearing, and/or to be placed on the 

building access list to attend the hearing 

LaNita Van Dyke, (202) 622–7180 (not a 

toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The subject of the public hearing is 

the notice of proposed regulations 

(REG–124405–03) that was published in 

the Federal Register on Tuesday, July 

20, 2004 (69 FR 43367). 

The rules of 26 CFR 601.601(a)(3) 

apply to the hearing. Persons who have 

submitted written comments and wish 

to present oral comments at the hearing 

must submit an outline of the topics to 

be discussed and the amount of time to 

be devoted to each topic (signed original 

and eight copies) by November 30, 2004. 

A period of 10 minutes is allotted to 

each person for presenting oral 

comments. After the deadline for 

receiving outlines has passed, the IRS 

will prepare an agenda containing the 

schedule of speakers. Copies of agenda 

will be made available, free of charge, at 

the hearing. Because of access 

restrictions, the IRS will not admit 

visitors beyond the immediate entrance 

area more than 30 minutes before the 

hearing. For information about having 

your name placed on the building 

access list to attend the hearing, see the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this document.

Cynthia E. Grigsby, 

Acting Chief, Publications and Regulations 

Branch, Associate Chief Counsel, Legal 

Processing Division (Procedures and 

Administration).

[FR Doc. 04–24755 Filed 11–2–04; 1:53 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 110

[CGD11–04–005] 

RIN 1625–AA01

Special Anchorage Regulations; Long 

Beach, CA

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes the 

establishment of three special anchorage 

areas in Long Beach, California where 

vessels less than 20 meters 

(approximately 65 feet) in length, and 

barges, canal boats, scows, or other 

nondescript craft, would not be required 

to sound signals required by Rule 35 of 

the Inland Navigation Rules. The 

intended effect of these special 

anchorages is to reduce the risk of vessel 

collisions within the harbors of Los 

Angeles and Long Beach by grouping 

unmanned barges, which typically do 

not sound signals in reduced visibility, 

within specified areas and indicating 

these designated areas on charts. Vessels 

moored in these areas would not have 

to sound signals in restricted visibility.

DATES: Comments and related material 

must reach the Coast Guard on or before 

January 4, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments 

and related material to Commanding 

Officer, Coast Guard Marine Safety 

Office/Group Los Angeles-Long Beach, 

1001 South Seaside Avenue, Building 

20, San Pedro, California, 90731. The 

Port Operations Department maintains 

the public docket for this rulemaking. 

Comments and material received from 

the public, as well as documents 

indicated in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, will become part 

of this docket and will be available for 

inspection or copying at Marine Safety 

Office/Group Los Angeles-Long Beach, 

1001 South Seaside Avenue, Building 

20, San Pedro, California, 90731, 

between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lieutenant Ryan Manning, USCG, Chief 

of Waterways Management Division, at 

(310) 732–2020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Comments 

We encourage you to participate in 

this rulemaking by submitting 

comments and related material. If you 

do so, please include your name and 

address, identify the docket number for