Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 11 / Thursday, January 18, 2007 / Notices 2317 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). 4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

that some factors related to 

implementation of DFQF can only be 

determined once certain results are 

obtained in the overall DDA 

negotiations. At this time, however, as 

part of consultative process, the TPSC is 

seeking comments from the public 

addressing the range of issues that may 

affect implementation in order to inform 

the planning process. The TPSC may 

seek further public comments on 

specific issues related to 

implementation of DFQF at a later time. 

The U.S. International Trade 

Commission has provided to the TPSC 

the comments received from the public 

on agricultural and non-agricultural 

products as part of its investigation No. 

332–440, Probable Economic Effects on 

Reduction or Elimination of U.S. Tariffs, 

August 9, 2002 (Confidential Report). 

Hence, these comments need not be 

resubmitted. 

Written Submissions: Comments 

should state clearly the issue identified 

and should contain detailed information 

explaining why it is an issue and, to the 

extent possible, the means to address 

the issue. The provision of 

supplemental technical information is 

optional. This information should be 

provided in an attachment containing a 

spreadsheet or table in Microsoft Word, 

Word Perfect, Excel, Quatro Pro or MS 

Access. 

Persons submitting comments may 

either send one copy by fax to Gloria 

Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy 

Staff Committee, at (202) 395–6143 or 

transmit a copy electronically to 

FR0704@USTR.EOP.GOV, with ‘‘DutyFree, Quota-Free’’ in the subject line. 

For documents sent by fax, USTR 

requests that the submitter provide a 

confirmation copy electronically. The 

public is strongly encouraged to submit 

documents electronically rather than by 

facsimile. USTR encourages the use of 

Adobe PDF format to submit 

attachments to an electronic mail. 

Interested persons who make 

submissions by electronic mail should 

not provide separate cover letters; 

information that might appear in a cover 

letter should be included in the 

submission itself. Similarly, to the 

extent possible, any attachments to the 

submission should be included in the 

same file as the submission itself, and 

not as separate files. 

Comments should be submitted 

electronically no later than March 15, 

2007. 

Business confidential information 

will be subject to the requirements of 15 

CFR 2003.6. Any business confidential 

material must be clearly marked as such 

and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential summary thereof. A 

justification as to why the information 

contained in the submission should be 

treated confidentially should also be 

contained in the submission. In 

addition, any submissions containing 

business confidential information must 

clearly be marked ‘‘Business 

Confidential’’ at the top and bottom of 

the cover page (or letter) and each 

succeeding page of the submission. The 

version that does not contain business 

confidential information should also be 

clearly marked at the top and bottom of 

each page, ‘‘Public Version’’ or ‘‘NonConfidential.’’

Written comments submitted in 

connection with this request, except for 

information granted ‘‘business 

confidential’’ status pursuant to 15 CFR 

2003.6 will be available for public 

inspection in the USTR Reading Room, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative. An appointment to 

review the file can be made by calling 

(202) 395–6186. The Reading Room is 

open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 

noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday 

through Friday. 

Dated: January 10, 2007. 

Susan C. Schwab, 

United States Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. 07–198 Filed 1–12–07; 4:38 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W7–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55081; File No. SR–CBOE–

2007–02] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Rule 

Pertaining to Accommodation 

Liquidations (Cabinet Trades) 

January 10, 2007. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on January 8, 

2007, the Chicago Board Options 

Exchange, Incorporated (‘‘Exchange’’ or 

‘‘CBOE’’) filed with the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) 

the proposed rule change as described 

in Items I and II below, which Items 

have been substantially prepared by the 

Exchange. The Exchange has designated 

this proposal as non-controversial under 

Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 3 and 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder,4 which 

renders the proposed rule change 

effective upon filing with the 

Commission. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

provisions in CBOE Rule 6.54 pertaining 

to accommodation liquidations (also 

referred to as ‘‘cabinet trades’’) to 

provide that a Market-Maker may 

initiate a cabinet trade without the need 

to place an order with an Order Book 

Official (‘‘OBO’’) or a Floor Broker. The 

Exchange is also proposing to make 

clear in the rule that a Floor Broker or 

a Market-Maker can enter into an 

opening or closing cabinet transaction, 

but must yield priority to all orders in 

the cabinet book. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available at 

CBOE, the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, and http:// 

www.cboe.com. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

An ‘‘accommodation’’ or ‘‘cabinet’’

trade refers to trades in listed options on 

the Exchange that are worthless or not 

actively traded. Cabinet trading is 

generally conducted in accordance with 

Exchange Rules; Exchange Rule 6.54, 

Accommodation Liquidations (Cabinet 

Trades), sets forth specific procedures 

for engaging in cabinet trades. Rule 6.54 

currently provides for cabinet 

transactions to occur via open outcry at 

a cabinet price of a $1 per option 

contract whether or not the class trades 

on the Exchange’s Hybrid Trading 

System. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
2318 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 11 / Thursday, January 18, 2007 / Notices 

5A PAR Official may also perform the functions 

of an OBO. See Interpretation and Policy .02 to Rule 

6.54. 

6The Exchange notes that permitting a MarketMaker to initiate a cabinet trade is similar to and 

consistent with a recent amendment to Rule 6.54 

that permitted Floor Brokers to initiate cabinet 

orders and trades. See Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 53808 (May 16, 2006), 71 FR 29371 

(May 22, 2006) (SR–CBOE–2006–33). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

11Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii) requires the Exchange to 

give written notice to the Commission of its intent 

to file the proposed rule change at least five 

business days prior to filing. The Exchange 

complied with this requirement. 

12For purposes only of waiving the operative 

delay of this proposal, the Commission notes that 

it has considered the proposed rule’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 

15U.S.C. 78c(f). 

The first purpose of the rule change 

is to amend Rule 6.54 to authorize 

Market-Makers to initiate cabinet trades. 

Thus, in addition to the existing cabinet 

trading procedures which permit 

Market-Makers to (i) place cabinet 

orders with an OBO 5 or a Floor Broker 

for representation and execution, and 

(ii) respond at a cabinet price in 

response to a request for quote from an 

OBO or a Floor Broker, a Market-Maker 

may now himself or herself initiate a 

cabinet trade in the trading crowd 

without need to first place the cabinet 

order with an OBO or Floor Broker. This 

will save the additional time and 

process involved in a Market-Maker 

needing to first place a cabinet order 

that he or she is initiating with an OBO 

or a Floor Broker, who would then in 

turn represent and execute the order on 

behalf of the Market-Maker. Thus, 

permitting Market-Makers to initiate 

cabinet orders and trades in accordance 

with the procedures described in Rule 

6.54 will provide Market-Makers with 

additional flexibility and assist in the 

fair, orderly and efficient handling of 

cabinet transactions on the Exchange.6

The second purpose of the rule 

change is to amend Rule 6.54 to make 

clear that Floor Brokers or MarketMakers may enter into both opening and 

closing cabinet transactions, so long as 

they first yield priority to all orders in 

the cabinet book. Rule 6.54 currently 

provides that bids and offers for cabinet 

transactions may be placed with an 

OBO, provided that bids and offers for 

opening transactions may only be 

placed with an OBO to the extent that 

the cabinet book maintained by the OBO 

contains unexecuted contra closing 

orders with which the opening orders 

may be immediately matched. In 

addition, Rule 6.54 currently provides 

that Floor Brokers are permitted to 

represent and execute cabinet orders 

and also provides that bids and offers 

may be provided by Floor Brokers and 

Market-Makers in response to a request 

by an OBO or a Floor Broker, provided 

they yield priority to all orders in the 

OBO’s cabinet book. However, the 

existing rule text is silent as to whether 

such orders represented by Floor 

Brokers and such bids and offers 

provided by Floor Brokers and MarketMakers may be for opening and closing 

transactions. In order to resolve any 

ambiguity that may exist, the rule text 

is being amended to make clear that 

both opening and closing transactions 

by Floor Brokers and Market-Makers are 

permitted, so long as they first yield 

priority to all orders in the cabinet book. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b) of the Act 7 in general and furthers 

the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the 

Act 8 in particular in that it is designed 

to promote just and equitable principles 

of trade, to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and to protect investors and the 

public interest. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

CBOE does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

The Exchange neither solicited nor 

received comments on the proposal. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The Exchange has filed the proposed 

rule change pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 9 and 

subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b–4 

thereunder.10 Because the foregoing 

proposed rule change (i) does not 

significantly affect the protection of 

investors or the public interest; (ii) does 

not impose any significant burden on 

competition; and (iii) does not become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, if 

consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest, the 

proposed rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii) 

thereunder.11

A proposed rule change filed under 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) normally does not 

become operative for 30 days after the 

date of filing. However, Rule 19b–

4(f)(6)(iii) permits the Commission to 

waive the operative delay if such action 

is consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest. The 

Exchange has asked the Commission to 

waive the operative delay to permit the 

proposed rule change to become 

effective prior to the 30th day after 

filing. 

The Commission has determined to 

waive the 30-day delay and allow the 

proposed rule change to become 

operative immediately.12 The 

Commission believes that CBOE’s 

proposal to permit Market-Makers to 

initiate cabinet trades without the need 

to go through an OBO or Floor Broker 

should result in more efficient handling 

of cabinet transactions. In addition, 

explicitly permitting Floor Brokers or 

Market-Makers to enter into both 

opening and closing transactions 

(provided that they yield to any existing 

orders in the cabinet book) will 

eliminate ambiguity from the rule text. 

For these reasons, the Commission 

believes that waiving the 30-day 

operative delay is consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission may summarily abrogate 

such rule change if it appears to the 

Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors, 

or otherwise in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

No. SR–CBOE–2007–02 on the subject 

line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 11 / Thursday, January 18, 2007 / Notices 2319 

13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12) 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The amendment added the number of the new 

rule inadvertently omitted in the original filing. 

4The Commission has modified the text of the 

summaries prepared by NSCC. 5 15 U.S.C. 78q–1. 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CBOE–2007–02. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commissions 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for inspection and copying in 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room. Copies of such filing also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of the Exchange. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change; the Commission does 

not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CBOE–2007–02 and should 

be submitted on or before February 8, 

2007. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–615 Filed 1–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55082; File No. SR–NSCC–

2006–18] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

National Securities Clearing 

Corporation; Notice of Filing of 

Proposed Rule Change To Create 

Service To Facilitate the Exchange of 

Account Related Information on an 

Automated Basis Between Members 

January 10, 2007. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on December 

21, 2006, the National Securities 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘NSCC’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) and on 

January 5, 2007, amended 3 the 

proposed rule change described in Items 

I, II, and III below, which items have 

been prepared primarily by NSCC. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested parties. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The proposed rule change seeks to 

modify NSCC’s Rules to provide for a 

service to facilitate the exchange of 

account related information on an 

automated basis during the movement 

of correspondent broker accounts 

between members or during other 

material events that result in the bulk 

movement of accounts between 

members. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

NSCC included statements concerning 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. NSCC has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections (A), (B), 

and (C) below, of the most significant 

aspects of these statements.4

(A) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

Currently, when a correspondent firm 

chooses to move its book of business 

from one NSCC member to another, 

there is no standard method for 

transmitting the detailed customer data 

between the members. This information 

is currently exchanged through tapes, 

CDs, and other means and is dependent 

on the proprietary data format and 

values defined by the clearing firm from 

which the correspondent is moving. The 

process is time-consuming and prone to 

incorrect interpretation of data values. It 

is made more inefficient because 

clearing firms maintain separate code 

for each other clearing firm for which 

they convert data. 

NSCC proposes to modify its rules to 

create the Account Information 

Transmission Service (‘‘AIT’’) to 

facilitate the exchange of account 

related information during the 

movement of correspondent broker 

accounts between members or during 

other material events that result in the 

bulk movement of accounts between 

members. AIT will provide members 

with a standard mechanism to transmit 

customer data that will reduce the 

potential for lost and incorrectly 

interpreted data and will provide 

members with a secure facility for the 

exchange of data. The standard data 

model also will allow for the adoption 

of a single code base that is applicable 

for all conversion events. NSCC believes 

the single standard format could reduce 

costs, increase accuracy, and accelerate 

delivery time. 

NSCC proposes to develop and 

introduce AIT in two phases. The first 

phase will be to create the mechanism 

by which members may transmit data 

between themselves. Subject to final 

approval, NSCC intends to implement 

the first phase on Monday, February 12, 

2007. The second phase will involve the 

development of standardized data 

formats. NSCC will notify the 

Commission of phase two 

enhancements prior to their 

implementation. 

Since AIT is only an information 

transmission service, NSCC is also 

proposing to amend its rules to clarify 

that NSCC will neither be responsible 

for the accuracy or completeness of any 

information transmitted through AIT 

nor for any omissions or delays that may 

occur in the transmission of AIT data. 

Finally, NSCC is proposing a $200 

monthly subscription fee for 

participation in AIT during phase one. 

NSCC will reevaluate AIT service fees as 

subsequent enhancements are 

completed. 

NSCC believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the 

requirements of Section 17A of the Act 5

and the rules and regulations 

thereunder because by reducing costs, 

increasing accuracy, and accelerating 

delivery time of bulk movement of 

accounts between members, it will 

enable NSCC to facilitate the prompt 

and accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions. 

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

NSCC does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will have any 

impact or impose any burden on 

competition. 


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