Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 97 / Thursday, May 18, 2000 / Notices 31517

section of the Decision Memorandum,

which is on file in the CRU and

available on the web at

www.ita.doc.gov/importladmin/

records/frn.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

We have not made any changes to the

subsidy rate calculations from the

preliminary results.

Final Results of Review

In accordance with 19 CFR

351.221(b)(4)(i), we calculated an

individual subsidy rate for each

producer/exporter subject to this

review. We will instruct Customs to

assess countervailing duties as indicated

below on all appropriate entries. For the

period January 1, 1997 through

December 31, 1997, we determine the

net subsidy rates for the reviewed

companies to be as follows:

Producers/exporters

Ad valorem

rates

(percentages)

Bengal Export Corporation ... 8.35

Calcutta Ferrous Ltd ............. 9.28

Calcutta Iron Foundry ........... 0.42

Carnation Industries Ltd ....... 0.72

Commex Corporation ........... 2.71

Crescent Foundry Co. Pvt.

Ltd ..................................... 0.84

Delta Corporation Ltd ........... 27.65

Dinesh Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd .... 1.71

Ganapati Suppliers Pvt. Ltd 5.17

Kajaria Iron Castings Ltd ...... 5.19

Kiswok Industries Pvt. Ltd .... 14.90

Nandikeshwari Iron Foundry

Pvt. Ltd .............................. 13.72

Rangilal & Sons .................... 0.00

R.B. Agarwalla & Company .. 3.56

RSI Limited ........................... 0.90

Seramapore Industries Pvt.

Ltd ..................................... 1.51

SSL Exports .......................... 27.65

Super Iron Foundry .............. 1.08

Thames Engineering ............ 27.65

Trident International .............. 27.65

Uma Iron & Steel Company 2.10

Victory Castings Ltd ............. 1.88

Revocation of CVD Order

As a result of the International Trade

Commission’s determination that

revocation of this countervailing duty

order would not likely lead to

continuation or recurrence of material

injury to an industry in the United

States in the reasonably foreseeable

future, the Department, pursuant to

section 751(d)(2) of the Act, revoked the

countervailing duty order on iron metal

castings from India. See Revocation of

Countervailing Duty Order: Iron Metal

Castings from India, 64 FR 61602

(November 12, 1999). Pursuant to

section 751(c)(6)(A)(iv) of the Act and

19 CFR 351.222(i)(2)(ii), the effective

date of revocation was January 1, 2000.

Accordingly, the Department instructed

Customs to discontinue suspension of

liquidation and collection of cash

deposits on entries of the subject

merchandise entered or withdrawn from

warehouse on or after January 1, 2000.

The Department, however, will conduct

administrative reviews of subject

merchandise entered prior to the

effective date of revocation in response

to appropriately filed requests for

review.

Administrative Protective Order

This notice also serves as a final

reminder to parties subject to

administrative protective order (APO) of

their responsibility concerning the

disposition of proprietary information

disclosed under APO in accordance

with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely written

notification of return/destruction of

APO materials or conversion to judicial

protective order is hereby requested.

Failure to comply with the regulations

and the terms of an APO is a

sanctionable violation.

This administrative review and notice

are in accordance with section 751(a)(1)

of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)(1)).

Dated: May 10, 2000.

Troy H. Cribb,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

Appendix I—Issues Addressed in the

Decision Memorandum

Methodology and Background Information

I. Applicable Statute and Regulations

II. Facts Available

III. Benchmark Rate

Analysis of Programs

I. Programs Conferring Subsidies

A. Pre-Shipment Export Financing

B. Post-Shipment Export Financing

C. Exemption of Export Credit from Interest

Taxes

D. Income Tax Deductions Under Section

80 HHC

E. Import Mechanisms (Sale of Licenses)

F. Passbook Scheme

G. Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme

II. Programs Determined To Be Not

Countervailable

A. Long-Term Financing from ‘‘All-India

Development Banks’’

B. Long-Term Loan from the West Bengal

Industrial Finance Corporation

C. Leasing of Land from the Regional

Government of West Bengal

III. Programs Found To Be Not Used

A. West Bengal Incentive Scheme 1993

1. State Capital Investment Subsidy

B. Market Development Assistance

C. Rediscounting of Export Bills Abroad

D. International Price Reimbursement

Scheme

E. Cash Compensatory Support Program

F. Programs Operated by the Small

Industries Development Bank of India

G. Export Promotion Replenishment

Scheme

H. Export Promotion Capital Goods

Scheme

I. Benefits for Export Oriented Units and

Export Processing Zones

J. Special Imprest Licenses

K. Special Benefits

L. Duty Drawback on Excise Taxes

M. Payment of Premium Against Advance

Licenses

N. Pre-Shipment Export Financing in

Foreign Currency

O. Subsidies Provided by the State of

Orissa

P. Advance Licenses

IV. Other Program Examined

A. Bridge Loan

V. Programs Found Not To Exist

A. State Value-Added Tax ‘‘Set-Off’’

Program

B. Interest Rate Surcharge Exemption

VI. Analysis of Comments

A. Cash Credit Benchmark Interest Rate

B. Leasing of Land

C. Long-Term Financing

D. Benefit Provided Under the Passbook

Scheme

E. Section 80HHC—Tax Savings Relating to

Subject Castings

F. Double-Counting of Subsidies

G. Overdue Penalty Interest Paid

[FR Doc. 00–12580 Filed 5–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

Notice of Recruitment

AGENCY: International Trade

Administration, Department of

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Recruitment.

SUMMARY: U.S. Department of

Commerce Invites Small and Medium

Enterprises to Join U.S. Delegation to

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

(APEC) Small and Medium Enterprise

(SME) Ministerial Meeting and Related

Events.

DATES: Conference: June 19–23, 2000.

Apply for participation in the U.S.

Delegation by: no later than June 2,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Conference location at

International Convention Center in

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Darussalam.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs.

Brenda J. Fisher, APEC Affairs

Coordinator, Room 2316, International

Trade Administration, U.S. Department

of Commerce at phone 202/482–5334;

fax 202/482–3316; or email:

Brenda(underscore)Fisher@ita.doc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

31518 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 97 / Thursday, May 18, 2000 / Notices

Mission Description

Brunei, Chair of APEC 2000, will host

the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)

Ministerial and related events,

including a Business Forum and ECommerce Workshop, from June 20–23,

in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The Department of Commerce is the

lead U.S. Government agency on SME

issues in APEC. It is important that the

DOC maintain the profile of SME issues

within the APEC forum and make

substantial, tangible progress on USG

objectives, including E-Commerce. A

senior Commerce Department official

will lead the U.S. delegation, including

interagency and private sector

participation.

The Ministerial will focus on building

the foundations on which SMEs can

flourish in the digital economy by

holding workshops and discussions that

will produce recommendations on how

to best exploit

• Information and communication

technology

• Human resources and development

• Strategic alliances between SMEs

and SMEs and larger firms

• Financing SMEs.

Participants

• Ministers from APEC Economies

representing small business.

• Private Sector Delegations from all

21 APEC member economies.

Commercial Setting

The APEC SME Ministerial and

related events are being held in Brunei

as it is the Chair of APEC during 2000.

The confluence of senior government

officials and private sector delegations

from the 21 APEC member economies is

expected to generate frank and

constructive discussions on issues of

concern to all APEC member economies

and business communities.

Private sector businesses will have a

unique chance to shape APEC’s action

agenda for SMEs during the June 20–23

SME Ministerial Meeting, SME Business

Forum and associated events.

Continuing the tradition of past

Business Forums, all 21 APEC SME

Ministers have agreed to interact with

delegates from the SME Business

Forum, E-Commerce Workshop, and

Women Leaders’ Network meeting—to

be held concurrently at the International

Convention Center in Bandar Seri

Begawan.

The Business Forum will provide a

platform for frank and constructive

discussions on issues of concern to all

APEC economies and business

communities. The E-Commerce

Workshop participants are to develop a

set of recommendations that will

constitute a collective action plan for

APEC members on improving the

adoption of e-commerce by SMEs. The

Women Leaders’ Network meeting will

bring together women from business,

academia, and government from the

APEC economies in a single forum to

discuss the pressing issues surrounding

womens’ involvement in SME

businesses.

The formal agendas for the meetings

provide opportunities for interaction

between senior Government officials

and business leaders from the

participating 21 APEC member

economies (Australia, Brunei, Canada,

Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan,

Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand,

Papua New Guinea, Peru, the

Philippines, Peoples’ Republic of China,

Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan,

United States, and Vietnam). Of course,

networking can also be conducted on

the margins of the official programs as

well. The intent of these interactions is

to develop tangible, practical and

prioritized recommendations for APEC

Ministers to act upon during the

Ministerial Meeting on June 22–23.

The SME Business Forum

recommendations and action plans from

two associated APEC SME events, the ECommerce Workshop (involving 200

government officials and private sector)

and Women Leaders’ Network (a

meeting of 350 businesswomen), will be

combined to provide a framework for

practical action regarding programs and

policies for SMEs. Participants will have

an opportunity to shape the APEC

dialogue on subjects vital to the growth

and development of SMEs, including

strategic alliances (between SMEs and

between SMEs and larger firms);

creating the best environment for ecommerce, and other information and

communications technologies;

financing; and developing human

resources.

Mission Goals

Our policy objectives are to advance

U.S. interests for SMEs in APEC and

work to implement the USG theme of

building the foundations on which

economies, particularly SMEs, can

flourish in the digital economy. We will

continue to press within APEC to

produce tangible outcomes for the

private sector and enhance publicprivate dialogue. Specifically, we seek

Ministerial endorsement of the U.S.

SME Business Partnership Initiative,

developed in cooperation with the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce. The partnership

works on a bilateral basis with other

APEC economies to develop internetbased matchmaking systems of qualified

SME companies. The Initiative

demonstrates first-hand the value-added

of strategic partnerships, particularly

when the appropriate due diligence is

conducted. This program offers an

excellent example of outcomes-oriented

APEC work. We also will maintain

momentum on the APEC Consumer

Education and Protection Initiative

(CEPI), developed with the Direct

Selling Association.

The U.S. delegation head will deliver

general remarks during the Ministerial

meetings on one theme, strategic

alliances. It is hoped that our private

sector delegation will represent firms

who are engaged in strategic alliances in

Asia, and/or can support the formation

of strategic partnerships via the use of

the Internet and electronic commerce.

There will be several opportunities for

informal interaction with both other

Ministers and the private sector

delegation members.

Mission Scenario

Optional Gold Key Program in

Malaysia—June 19.

Women Leaders’ Network Meeting in

Brunei—June 17–20.

Business Forum and E-Commerce

Workshop—June 20–22.

(Note: Agendas call for plenary

sessions, interaction with Ministers, and

working group breakout sessions to

deliberate on Ministerial themes.)

SME Ministerial—June 22–23.

The Ministerial and related events

will be held at the International

Convention Center in Bandar Seri

Begawan, Brunei Darussalam from June

20 to 23, 2000. Each private sector

participant is responsible for arranging

travel itinerary, hotel accommodations

and paying for his/her stay in Brunei.

The registration fees for the Ministerialrelated events vary: Women Leaders’

Network Meeting registration fee is

$200.00/delegate; Business Forum

registration fee is $150.00/delegate; ECommerce Workshop registration fee for

the first 5 U.S. firms accepted on U.S.

delegation is waived. The registration

fee for subsequent participants for the ECommerce Workshop is $100.00/

delegate.

In addition, U.S. private sector

members of the delegation are being

offered an optional group Gold Key

program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on

June 19. The Commercial Service in

Malaysia is responsible for organizing

the optional one-day program, which

will include an Embassy briefing,

meeting appointments, and reception.

Cost to participate in the Gold Key is

$500/company.

There will be opportunities for

informal interaction with both other

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 97 / Thursday, May 18, 2000 / Notices 31519

Ministers and private sector delegation

members. The head of the U.S.

delegation will also interact with U.S.

private sector participants via

hospitality events and other meetings.

Criteria for Participant Selection

Eligibility

Participating companies must be

incorporated in the United States.

A company is eligible to participate

only if the products and/or services that

it will promote on the U.S. delegation

are either (a) manufactured in the

United States; or (b) if manufactured or

produced outside the United States, are

marketed under the name of a U.S. firm

and have at least 51 percent U.S.

content of the value of the finished

product/service.

Selection Criteria

Five to ten representatives of U.S.

companies will be selected on the basis

of:

• Company representatives’ ability to

participate in discussions of relevant

marketing and investment issues they

face in international trade, and/or

demonstration of knowledge of working

with information or other hightechnology means, including ecommerce, to support strategic alliances

between small and medium-sized firms

(defined as not more than 500

employees) and/or between SMEs and

larger firms. This would reflect

consistency of company’s market

development goals with the scope and

desired outcomes of the mission as

described.

• Whether the company’s overall

business objectives, including those of

any U.S. or overseas affiliates, are fully

consistent with the mission’s foreign

and commercial policy objectives.

• Timely receipt of signed mission

application and registration materials.

For those interested in the optional Gold

Key program in Malaysia, timely receipt

of participation agreement, marketing

form, company brochures, and $500.00

fee for each participating firm.

Mission recruitment will be

conducted in an open and public

manner, including publication in the

Federal Register, posting on the

Internet, direct mail and broadcast fax,

e-mail, notices by industry trade

associations and other multiplier

groups, and press releases.

Any partisan political activities

(including political contributions) of an

applicant are entirely irrelevant to the

selection process.

Time Frame for Applications

Application deadline: The Bruneian

Government has requested that all

participants be identified by no later

than June 10, 2000. ITA staff expect

recruitment outreach to conclude on/

about June 2, 2000, in order to allow for

time for review and approval of

applications from the private sector.

Expressions of interest to obtain

application and registration materials

should be submitted immediately to:

Brenda J. Fisher, APEC Affairs

Coordinator, Room 2316, International

Trade Administration, U.S. Department

of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.

Phone 202 482 5334, Fax 202 482 3316;

E-mail: BrendalFisher@ita.doc.gov

For overall meeting agendas, list of

speakers, registration fees, and other

administrative/logistical details, please

visit the following websites, which are

being regularly updated.

For SME Ministerial: http://

apecsme2000.rba.com.bn

For E-Commerce Workshop: http://

www.apec2000.gov.bn/ecomm

For SME Business Forum: http://

www.bsmenet.org.bn/bizforum/

index.htm

For Women Leaders’ Meeting: http://

www.apec2000.gov.bn/wln

Dated: May 12, 2000.

Philip R. Agress,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia

and the Pacific, ITA/USDOC.

[FR Doc. 00–12466 Filed 5–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–FP–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards

and Technology, Department of

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of partially closed

meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app.

2, notice is hereby given that the

Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology, National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST), will

meet Tuesday, June 6, 2000 from 8:15

a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June

7, 2000 from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The

Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology is composed of fourteen

members appointed by the Director of

NIST; who are eminent in such fields as

business, research, new product

development, engineering, labor,

education, management consulting,

environment, and international

relations. The purpose of this meeting is

to review and make recommendations

regarding general policy for the

Institute, its organization, its budget,

and its programs within the framework

of applicable national policies as set

forth by the President and the Congress.

The agenda will include an update on

NIST programs; a presentation by one of

the Visiting Committee members on

Engineering Materials for Technological

Applications; an indepth review of the

Information Technology Laboratory; an

indepth review of the Baldridge

National Quality Program; an indepth

review of the Electronics and Electrical

Engineering Laboratory; and a

laboratory tour. Discussions scheduled

to begin at 8 a.m. and to end at 12:15

p.m. on June 7, 2000, on staffing of

management positions at NIST, the

NIST budget, including funding levels

of the Advanced Technology Program

and the Manufacturing Extension

Partnership, and feedback sessions will

be closed.

DATES: The meeting will convene June

6, 2000 at 8:15 a.m. and will adjourn at

12:15 p.m. on June 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

the Employees’ Lounge (seating

capacity, 80, includes 38 participants),

Administration Building at NIST,

Gaithersburg, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Brian C. Belanger, Executive Director,

Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology, National Institute of

Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–1004,

telephone number (301) 975–4720.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Assistant Secretary for Administration,

with the concurrence of the General

Counsel, formally determined on July

15, 1999, that portions of the meeting of

the Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology which involve discussion of

proposed funding of the Advanced

Technology Program and the

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Program may be closed in accordance

with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B), because

those portions of the meetings will

divulge matters the premature

disclosure of which would be likely to

significantly frustrate implementation of

proposed agency actions; and that

portions of meetings which involve

discussion of the staffing issues of

management and other positions at

NIST may be closed in accordance with

5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6), because divulging

information discussed in those portions

of the meetings is likely to reveal

information of a personal nature where

disclosure would constitute a clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal

privacy.