69630 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 219 / Monday, November 15, 2010 / Notices 

Dated: November 8, 2010. 

Susan H. Kuhbach, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28674 Filed 11–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

[Docket No. 101103543–0543–02] 

Impact of Implementation of the 

Chemical Weapons Convention on 

Commercial Activities Involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ Chemicals, Including 

Production of Schedule 1 Chemicals 

as Intermediates, Through Calendar 

Year 2010 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of inquiry. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and 

Security (BIS) is seeking public 

comments on the impact that 

implementation of the Chemical 

Weapons Convention (CWC), through 

the Chemical Weapons Convention 

Implementation Act (CWCIA) and the 

Chemical Weapons Convention 

Regulations (CWCR), has had on 

commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals during calendar 

year 2010. BIS reminds the public that 

the CWC, CWCIA, or CWCR have 

potential impacts on commercial 

activities whenever Schedule 1 

chemicals (e.g., nitrogen mustards) are 

intermediates in the synthesis of other 

chemicals, not just when the Schedule 

1 chemicals are end products. The 

purpose of this notice of inquiry is to 

collect information to assist BIS in its 

preparation of the annual certification to 

the Congress, which is required under 

Condition 9 of Senate Resolution 75, 

April 24, 1997, in which the Senate gave 

its advice and consent to the ratification 

of the CWC. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 15, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: wfisher@bis.doc.gov. 

Include the phrase ‘‘Schedule 1 Notice 

of Inquiry’’ in the subject line; 

• Fax: (202) 482–3355 (Attn: Willard 

Fisher); 

• Mail or Hand Delivery/Courier: 

Willard Fisher, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Regulatory Policy Division, 

14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Room 2705, Washington, DC 

20230. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions on the Chemical Weapons 

Convention requirements for ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ chemicals, contact James Truske, 

Treaty Compliance Division, Office of 

Nonproliferation and Treaty 

Compliance, Bureau of Industry and 

Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Phone: (202) 482–1001. For questions 

on the submission of comments, contact 

Willard Fisher, Regulatory Policy 

Division, Office of Exporter Services, 

Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Phone: (202) 

482–2440. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In providing its advice and consent to 

the ratification of the Convention on the 

Prohibition of the Development, 

Production, Stockpiling, and Use of 

Chemical Weapons and Their 

Destruction, commonly called the 

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC or 

‘‘the Convention’’), the Senate included, 

in Senate Resolution 75 (S. Res. 75, 

April 24, 1997), several conditions to its 

ratification. Condition 9, titled 

‘‘Protection of Advanced 

Biotechnology,’’ calls for the President 

to certify to Congress on an annual basis 

that ‘‘the legitimate commercial 

activities and interests of chemical, 

biotechnology, and pharmaceutical 

firms in the United States are not being 

significantly harmed by the limitations 

of the Convention on access to, and 

production of, those chemicals and 

toxins listed in Schedule 1.’’ On July 8, 

2004, President Bush, by Executive 

Order 13346, delegated his authority to 

make the annual certification to the 

Secretary of Commerce. 

The CWC is an international arms 

control treaty that contains certain 

verification provisions. In order to 

implement these verification provisions, 

the CWC established the Organization 

for the Prohibition of Chemical 

Weapons (OPCW). The CWC imposes 

certain obligations on countries that 

have ratified the Convention (i.e., States 

Parties), among which are the enactment 

of legislation to prohibit the production, 

storage, and use of chemical weapons, 

and the establishment of a National 

Authority to serve as the national focal 

point for effective liaison with the 

OPCW and other States Parties for the 

purpose of achieving the object and 

purpose of the Convention and the 

implementation of its provisions. The 

CWC also requires each State Party to 

implement a comprehensive data 

declaration and inspection regime to 

provide transparency and to verify that 

both the public and private sectors of 

the State Party are not engaged in 

activities prohibited under the CWC. 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals consist of 

those toxic chemicals and precursors set 

forth in the CWC ‘‘Annex on Chemicals’’ 

and in Supplement No. 1 to part 712 of 

the Chemical Weapons Convention 

Regulations (CWCR) (15 CFR parts 710– 

722). The CWC identified these toxic 

chemicals and precursors as posing a 

high risk to the object and purpose of 

the Convention. 

The CWC restricts the production of 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals for protective 

purposes to two facilities per State 

Party. The CWC Article-by-Article 

Analysis submitted to the Senate in 

Treaty Doc. 103–21 defined the term 

‘‘protective purposes’’ to mean ‘‘used for 

determining the adequacy of defense 

equipment and measures.’’ Consistent 

with this definition, and as authorized 

via Presidential Decision Directive 

(PDD) 70, December 17, 1999, the 

Department of Defense (DOD) was 

assigned the responsibility to operate 

these two facilities, thereby precluding 

commercial production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals for protective purposes in the 

United States. The assignment of 

responsibility to DOD did not establish 

any limitations on ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemical activities that are not 

prohibited by the CWC. However, the 

Department of Defense maintains strict 

controls on ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

produced at its facilities in order to 

ensure the accountability and proper 

use of such chemicals, consistent with 

the object and purpose of the 

Convention. 

The provisions of the CWC that affect 

commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals are 

implemented in the CWCR (see 15 CFR 

712) and in the Export Administration 

Regulations (EAR) (see 15 CFR 742.18 

and 15 CFR 745), both of which are 

administered by the Bureau of Industry 

and Security (BIS). Pursuant to CWC 

requirements, the CWCR restrict 

commercial production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals to research, medical, or 

pharmaceutical purposes. The CWCR 

also contain other requirements and 

prohibitions that apply to ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals and/or ‘‘Schedule 1’’ facilities. 

Specifically, the CWCR: 

(1) Prohibit the import of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals from States not Party to the 

Convention (15 CFR 712.2(b)); 

(2) Require annual declarations by 

certain facilities engaged in the 

production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals in 

excess of 100 grams aggregate per 

calendar year (i.e., declared ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ facilities) for purposes not prohibited 

by the Convention (15 CFR 712.5(a)(1) 

and (a)(2)); 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 219 / Monday, November 15, 2010 / Notices 69631 

(3) Require government approval of 

‘‘declared Schedule 1’’ facilities (15 CFR 

712.5(f)); 

(4) Provide that ‘‘declared Schedule 1’’ 

facilities are subject to initial and 

routine inspection by the Organization 

for the Prohibition of Chemical 

Weapons (15 CFR 712.5(e) and 

716.1(b)(1)); 

(5) Require 200 days’ advance 

notification of establishment of new 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ production facilities 

producing greater than 100 grams 

aggregate of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals per 

calendar year (15 CFR 712.4); 

(6) Require advance notification and 

annual reporting of all imports and 

exports of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals to, or 

from, other States Parties to the 

Convention (15 CFR 712.6, 742.18(a)(1) 

and 745.1); and 

(7) Prohibit the export of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals to States not Party to the 

Convention (15 CFR 742.18(a)(1) and 

(b)(1)(ii)). 

For purposes of the CWCR (see 15 

CFR 710.1), ‘‘production of Schedule 1 

chemicals’’ means the formation of 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals through 

chemical synthesis, as well as 

processing to extract and isolate 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals. Such 

production is understood, for CWCR 

declaration purposes, to include 

intermediates, byproducts, or waste 

products that are produced and 

consumed within a defined chemical 

manufacturing sequence, where such 

intermediates, byproducts, or waste 

products are chemically stable and 

therefore exist for a sufficient time to 

make isolation from the manufacturing 

stream possible, but where, under 

normal or design operating conditions, 

isolation does not occur. 

Request for Comments 

In order to assist in determining 

whether the legitimate commercial 

activities and interests of chemical, 

biotechnology, and pharmaceutical 

firms in the United States are 

significantly harmed by the limitations 

of the Convention on access to, and 

production of, ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

as described in this notice, BIS is 

seeking public comments on any effects 

that implementation of the Chemical 

Weapons Convention, through the 

Chemical Weapons Convention 

Implementation Act and the Chemical 

Weapons Convention Regulations, has 

had on commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals during calendar 

year 2010. To allow BIS to properly 

evaluate the significance of any harm to 

commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals, public 

comments submitted in response to this 

notice of inquiry should include both a 

quantitative and qualitative assessment 

of the impact of the CWC on such 

activities. 

Furthermore, it was recently brought 

to the attention of the Executive Council 

of the OPCW that a private 

pharmaceutical company located 

outside the United States utilized a 

production technology during which a 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemical (a nitrogen 

mustard) was produced, as an 

intermediate, and then consumed to 

produce another chemical. This 

situation is currently being reviewed by 

the OPCW. In light of this development, 

BIS is seeking comments that address 

whether similar situations may exist in 

the United States. 

Submission of Comments 

All comments must be submitted to 

one of the addresses indicated in this 

notice. The Department requires that all 

comments be submitted in written form. 

The Department encourages interested 

persons who wish to comment to do so 

at the earliest possible time. The period 

for submission of comments will close 

on December 15, 2010. The Department 

will consider all comments received 

before the close of the comment period. 

Comments received after the end of the 

comment period will be considered if 

possible, but their consideration cannot 

be assured. The Department will not 

accept comments accompanied by a 

request that a part or all of the material 

be treated confidentially because of its 

business proprietary nature or for any 

other reason. The Department will 

return such comments and materials to 

the persons submitting the comments 

and will not consider them. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

notice will be a matter of public record 

and will be available for public 

inspection and copying. 

The Office of Administration, Bureau 

of Industry and Security, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, displays 

public comments on the BIS Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) Web site at 

http://www.bis.doc.gov/foia. This office 

does not maintain a separate public 

inspection facility. If you have technical 

difficulties accessing this Web site, 

please call BIS’s Office of 

Administration, at (202) 482–1093, for 

assistance. 

Dated: November 8, 2010. 

Matthew S. Borman, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28689 Filed 11–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No. PTO–C–2010–0082] 

National Medal of Technology and 

Innovation Nomination Evaluation 

Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of closed meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Medal of 

Technology and Innovation (NMTI) 

Nomination Evaluation Committee will 

meet in closed session on Tuesday, 

November 30, 2010. The primary 

purpose of the meeting is the discussion 

of relative merits of persons and 

companies nominated for the NMTI 

award. 

DATES: The meeting will convene 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010, at 9 a.m., 

and adjourn at 2 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the United States Patent and Trademark 

Office, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, 

VA 22314. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Maulsby, Program Manager, 

National Medal of Technology and 

Innovation Program, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office, 600 

Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; 

telephone (571) 272–8333, or by 

electronic mail: nmti@uspto.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 

5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given 

that the NMTI Nomination Evaluation 

Committee, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, will meet at the 

United States Patent and Trademark 

Office campus in Alexandria, Virginia. 

The NMTI Nomination Evaluation 

Committee was established in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

NMTI Nomination Evaluation 

Committee’s charter and the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act. The NMTI 

Nomination Evaluation Committee 

meeting will be closed to the public in 

accordance with Sections 552b(c)(6) and 

(9)(B) of Title 5, United States Code, 

because it will involve discussion of 

relative merits of persons and 

companies nominated for the NMTI. 

Public disclosure of this information 

would likely frustrate implementation 

of the NMTI program because premature 

publicity about candidates under 

consideration for the NMTI medal, who 

may or may not ultimately receive the 

award, would be likely to discourage 

nominations for the medal. 

The Secretary of Commerce is 

responsible for recommending to the 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES