Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2012 / Notices 75607 

decisions on applications by the PVP 

Office and on requests for emergency 

public-interest compulsory licenses; and 

(3) advise the Secretary on any other 

matters under the Regulations and Rules 

of Practice and on all questions under 

Section 44 of the Act, ‘‘Public Interest 

in Wide Usage’’ (7 U.S.C. 2404). 

Renewing the PVP Board Charter is 

necessary and in the public interest. 

The PVPA provides that ‘‘the Board 

shall consist of individuals who are 

experts in various areas of varietal 

development covered by this Act.’’ The 

Board membership ‘‘shall include 

farmer representation and shall be 

drawn approximately equally from the 

private or seed industry sector and from 

the sector of government or the public.’’ 

The Board consists of 14 members, each 

of whom is appointed for a 2-year 

period, with no member appointed for 

more than three 2-year periods. 

Nominations are made by farmers’ 

associations, trade associations in the 

seed industry, professional associations 

representing expertise in seed 

technology, plant breeding, and variety 

development, public and private 

research and development institutions 

(13 members) and the USDA (one 

member). 

Equal opportunity practices, in 

agreement with USDA 

nondiscrimination policies, will be 

followed in all membership 

appointments to the Board. To ensure 

that the suggestions of the Board have 

taken into account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include, to the extent 

practicable, individuals with 

demonstrated ability to represent 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities. 

The Charter for the PVP Board will be 

available on the Web site at: http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/PVPO or may be 

requested by contacting the individual 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

USDA prohibits discrimination in all 

its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, gender, 

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, and marital or family 

status. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication of program information 

(Braille, large print, or audiotape.) 

should contact USDA’s Target Center at 

202–720–2600 (voice and TTY). 

To file a written complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call 

202–720–5964 (voice and TTY). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Dated: December 17, 2012. 

David Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30745 Filed 12–18–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document No. AMS–ST–12–0056] 

Plant Variety Protection Board; 

Soliciting Nominations 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Plant Variety Protection 

Office (PVPO) is seeking candidates for 

the Plant Variety Protection Board. We 

are asking for the submission of 

nomination packages (an Application 

for Committee Membership (AD–755) 

and resume) by January 7, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Zankowski, USDA, Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS), Plant Variety 

Protection Office; 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 3543; Washington, 

DC 20250 or by phone at (202) 720–5231 

or by email: 

Paul.Zankowski@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plant 

Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 

2321 et seq.) provides legal protection in 

the form of intellectual property rights 

to developers of new varieties of plants, 

which are reproduced sexually by seed 

or are tuber-propagated. A Certificate of 

Plant Variety Protection is awarded to 

an owner of a crop variety after an 

examination shows that it is new, 

distinct from other varieties, and 

genetically uniform and stable through 

successive generations. The term of 

protection is 20 years for most crops and 

25 years for trees, shrubs, and vines. 

The PVPA also provides for a 

statutory Board to be appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture (7 U.S.C. 2327). 

The duties of the Board are to: (1) 

Advise the Secretary concerning the 

adoption of rules and regulations to 

facilitate the proper administration of 

the PVPA; (2) provide advisory counsel 

to the Secretary on all appeals from the 

Examiner; and (3) advise the Secretary 

on any other matters under the 

Regulations and Rules of Practice and 

on all questions under Section 44 of the 

PVPA, ‘‘Public Interest in Wide Usage’’ 

(7 U.S.C. 2404). Reestablishing the PVP 

Board is necessary and in the public 

interest. 

The PVPA provides that ‘‘The Board 

shall consist of individuals who are 

experts in various areas of varietal 

development covered by this Act.’’ (7 

U.S.C. 2327(a)). The Board membership 

‘‘shall include farmer representation 

and shall be drawn approximately 

equally from the private or seed 

industry sector and from the sector of 

government or the public.’’ (7 U.S.C. 

2327(a)). 

The PVP Board consists of 14 

members, each of whom is appointed 

for a 2-year period, with no member 

appointed for more than three 2-year 

periods. The term of the present Board 

will expire in December 2012. The first 

meeting of the new Board will most 

likely be held in the spring/summer of 

2013. In order to provide the Secretary 

of Agriculture with a broad choice from 

a diverse group of applicants, the PVPO 

is asking for nominated members to 

serve on the Board for 2 years from the 

date of appointment. PVP Board 

members will serve without 

compensation, except for standard 

government reimbursable expenses. 

To ensure that the recommendations 

of the Board take into account the needs 

of the diverse groups served by the 

USDA (from research and production to 

trade, use, and consumption). The 

USDA is responsible for vetting every 

candidate who applies for membership 

to a USDA Research and Promotion 

Board and/or Federal Advisory 

Committee. Also, please note that 

federally registered lobbyists are 

prohibited from serving on advisory 

committees governed by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (FACA). 

In order to be appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture to serve on a 

board or committee, each applicant 

must clear all stages of the vetting 

process. Vetting is a comprehensive 

personal and professional background 

investigation that specifically includes, 

but is not limited to, an analysis of each 

candidate’s criminal history, bankruptcy 

filings, liens and judgments, affiliations 

and associations, lobbyist status, and 

prior involvement with USDA. This 

process is used to ensure that the finest 

candidates are selected to represent the 

interests of the United States 

Department of Agriculture. 

Submit full nomination packages with 

completed AD 755 background 

information forms and resumes no later 

than January 7, 2013. Final selection of 

members will be made by the Secretary 

from nominations submitted. All 

nomination materials should be mailed 

in a single, complete package to: Paul 

Zankowski, Commissioner; Plant 

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75608 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2012 / Notices 

Variety Protection Office; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 3543; 

Washington, DC 20250. 

Nomination packages can also be sent 

to Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250 outside of a 

formal call for nominations. 

USDA has special interest in assuring 

that women, minority groups, and the 

physically disabled are adequately 

represented on these advisory 

committees. We encourage and welcome 

nominations for female, minority, or 

disabled candidates. 

Please see http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

PVPO and click on PVPO Board (under 

Resources on the right side) for 

information on the Charter, and AD–755 

form. The AD–755 form can also be 

found on the USDA Advisory 

Committee Web site (www.usda.gov/ 

advisory_committees.xml). The Charter 

for the PVP Board will be available on 

the Web site at: http://www.fido.gov/ 

facadatabase/docs_charters/ 

1309_Charter_(2011-01-04-10-32-08).pdf 

or may be requested by contacting the 

individual identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

USDA prohibits discrimination in all 

its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, gender, 

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, and marital or family 

status. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication of program information 

(Braille, large print, or audiotape.) 

should contact USDA’s Target Center at 

202–720–2600 (voice and TTY). 

To file a written complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call 

202–720–5964 (voice and TTY). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Dated: December 17, 2012. 

David Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30746 Filed 12–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the emergency 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Agency: International Trade 

Administration (ITA). 

Title: Interim Procedures for 

Considering Requests from the Public 

under the Textile and Apparel 

Safeguard Provision of the United 

States-Korea Free Trade Agreement. 

OMB Control Number: None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

collection). 

Burden Hours: 56. 

Number of Respondents: 14. 

Average Hours per Response: 4 hours 

for a Request; and 4 hours for a 

Comment. 

Needs and Uses: Title III, Subtitle C, 

Section 331 through Section 338 of the 

United States-Korea Free Trade 

Agreement Implementation Act (the 

‘‘Act’’) implements the textile and 

apparel safeguard provisions, provided 

for in Article 4.1 of the United StatesKorea Free Trade Agreement (the 

‘‘Agreement’’), which entered into force 

on March 15, 2012. This safeguard 

mechanism applies when, as a result of 

the reduction or elimination of a 

customs duty under the Agreement, a 

Korean textile or apparel article is being 

imported into the U.S. in such increased 

quantities, in absolute terms or relative 

to the domestic market for that article, 

and under such conditions as to cause 

serious damage or actual threat thereof 

to a U.S. industry producing a like or 

directly competitive article. In these 

circumstances, Article 4.1.1(b) permits 

the United States to (a) suspend any 

further reduction in the rate of duty 

provided for under Annex 2–B of the 

Agreement in the duty imposed on the 

article; or (b) increase duties on the 

imported article from Korea to a level 

that does not exceed the lesser of the 

prevailing U.S. normal trade relations 

(‘‘NTR’’)/most-favored-nation (‘‘MFN’’) 

duty rate for the article or the U.S. NTR/ 

MFN duty rate in effect on the day 

before the Agreement enters into force. 

The Statement of Administrative 

Action accompanying the Act provides 

that the Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(CITA) will issue procedures for 

requesting such safeguard measures, for 

making its determinations under 

Section 332(a) of the Act, and for 

providing relief under Section 332(b) of 

the Act. 

CITA must collect information in 

order to determine whether a domestic 

textile or apparel industry is being 

adversely impacted by imports of these 

products from Korean, thereby allowing 

CITA to take corrective action to protect 

the viability of the domestic textile or 

apparel industry, subject to Section 

332(b) of the Act. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

OMB Desk Officer: Wendy Liberante. 

(202) 395–3647. 

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0336, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 or via email at 

JJessup@doc.gov. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to Wendy Liberante, OMB Desk 

Officer, Fax number (202) 395–5167 or 

via the Internet at 

Wendy_L._Liberante@omb.gov. 

Dated: December 17, 2012. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30736 Filed 12–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–FP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the emergency 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Agency: International Trade 

Administration (ITA). 

Title: Interim Procedures for 

Considering Requests under the 

Commercial Availability Provision of 

the United States-Korea Free Trade 

Agreement. 

OMB Control Number: 0625–0270. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

collection). 

Burden Hours: 89. 

Number of Respondents: 16. 

Average Hours per Response: 8 hours 

for Request for Commercial Availability 

Determination; 2 hours for Response to 

a Request; and 1 hour for Rebuttal. 

Needs and Uses: The United States 

and Korea negotiated the U.S.-Korea 

Free Trade Agreement (the 

‘‘Agreement’’), which entered into force 

on March 15, 2012. Subject to the rules 

of origin in Annex 4–A of the 

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