8114 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Department determines a weightedaverage margin of dumping or 

antidumping duty assessment rate 

include foreign exporters and 

manufacturers, some of whom are 

affiliated with U.S. companies and U.S. 

importers. Some of these entities 

affected by the rule may be considered 

small entities under the SBA standard. 

The Department has determined that 

this action will not have a substantial 

economic impact on a significant 

number of small entities because the 

costs associated with antidumping duty 

liability generally will not increase as a 

result of the proposed rule. No 

comments were received regarding the 

economic impact of this rule. As a 

result, a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and one was not 

prepared. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not contain a 

collection of information for purposes of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 

as amended (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 351 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Antidumping, Business and 

industry, Cheese, Confidential business 

information, Countervailing duties, 

Freedom of information, Investigations, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: February 7, 2012. 

Paul Piquado, 

Assistant Secretary for Import 

Administration. 

For the reasons stated, 19 CFR part 

351 is amended as follows: 

PART 351—ANTIDUMPING AND 

COUNTERVAILING DUTIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 351 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 1202 

note; 19 U.S.C. 1303 note; 19 U.S.C. 1671 et 

seq.; and 19 U.S.C. 3538. 

Subpart B—Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Procedures 

■ 2. Section 351.414 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 351.414 Comparison of normal value 

with export price (constructed export price). 

(a) Introduction. This section explains 

when and how the Secretary will 

average prices in making comparisons of 

export price or constructed export price 

with normal value. (See section 777A(d) 

of the Act.) 

(b) Description of methods of 

comparison—(1) Average-to-average 

method. The ‘‘average-to-average’’ 

method involves a comparison of the 

weighted average of the normal values 

with the weighted average of the export 

prices (and constructed export prices) 

for comparable merchandise. 

(2) Transaction-to-transaction 

method. The ‘‘transaction-totransaction’’ method involves a 

comparison of the normal values of 

individual transactions with the export 

prices (or constructed export prices) of 

individual transactions for comparable 

merchandise. 

(3) Average-to-transaction method. 

The ‘‘average-to-transaction’’ method 

involves a comparison of the weighted 

average of the normal values to the 

export prices (or constructed export 

prices) of individual transactions for 

comparable merchandise. 

(c) Choice of method. (1) In an 

investigation or review, the Secretary 

will use the average-to-average method 

unless the Secretary determines another 

method is appropriate in a particular 

case. 

(2) The Secretary will use the 

transaction-to-transaction method only 

in unusual situations, such as when 

there are very few sales of subject 

merchandise and the merchandise sold 

in each market is identical or very 

similar or is custom-made. 

(d) Application of the average-toaverage method—(1) In general. In 

applying the average-to-average method, 

the Secretary will identify those sales of 

the subject merchandise to the United 

States that are comparable, and will 

include such sales in an ‘‘averaging 

group.’’ The Secretary will calculate a 

weighted average of the export prices 

and the constructed export prices of the 

sales included in the averaging group, 

and will compare this weighted average 

to the weighted average of the normal 

values of such sales. 

(2) Identification of the averaging 

group. An averaging group will consist 

of subject merchandise that is identical 

or virtually identical in all physical 

characteristics and that is sold to the 

United States at the same level of trade. 

In identifying sales to be included in an 

averaging group, the Secretary also will 

take into account, where appropriate, 

the region of the United States in which 

the merchandise is sold, and such other 

factors as the Secretary considers 

relevant. 

(3) Time period over which weighted 

average is calculated. When applying 

the average-to-average method in an 

investigation, the Secretary normally 

will calculate weighted averages for the 

entire period of investigation. However, 

when normal values, export prices, or 

constructed export prices differ 

significantly over the course of the 

period of investigation, the Secretary 

may calculate weighted averages for 

such shorter period as the Secretary 

deems appropriate. When applying the 

average-to-average method in a review, 

the Secretary normally will calculate 

weighted averages on a monthly basis 

and compare the weighted-average 

monthly export price or constructed 

export price to the weighted-average 

normal value for the contemporaneous 

month. 

(e) Application of the average-totransaction method—In applying the 

average-to-transaction method in a 

review, when normal value is based on 

the weighted average of sales of the 

foreign like product, the Secretary will 

limit the averaging of such prices to 

sales incurred during the 

contemporaneous month. 

(f) Contemporaneous Month. 

Normally, the Secretary will select as 

the contemporaneous month the first of 

the following months which applies: 

(1) The month during which the 

particular U.S. sales under 

consideration were made; 

(2) If there are no sales of the foreign 

like product during this month, the 

most recent of the three months prior to 

the month of the U.S. sales in which 

there was a sale of the foreign like 

product. 

(3) If there are no sales of the foreign 

like product during any of these 

months, the earlier of the two months 

following the month of the U.S. sales in 

which there was a sale of the foreign 

like product. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3290 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

19 CFR Chapter II 

Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Rules 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Commission. 

ACTION: Policy statement. 

SUMMARY: The United States 

International Trade Commission 

(Commission) gives notice of the 

adoption of a plan for the retrospective 

analysis of its existing regulations. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter L. Sultan, Office of the General 

Counsel, United States International 

Trade Commission, telephone 202–205– 

3094. Hearing-impaired individuals are 

advised that information on this matter 

can be obtained by contacting the 

Commission’s TDD terminal at 202– 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 8115 

205–1810. General information 

concerning the Commission may also be 

obtained by accessing its Internet server 

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive 

Order 13579 of July 11, 2011, calls on 

each independent regulatory agency to 

develop and release to the public, 

within 120 days of the date of the 

Executive Order, a plan under which 

the agency will periodically review its 

significant regulations to determine 

whether any such regulations should be 

modified, streamlined, expanded, or 

repealed so as to make the agency’s 

regulatory program more effective or 

less burdensome in achieving regulatory 

objectives. 

The Commission sought public 

comments on its Preliminary Plan for 

Retrospective Analysis of Existing 

Rules. 76 FR 66004 (Oct. 25, 2011). It 

received one comment on the 

preliminary plan from the law firm of 

Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Hughes 

Hubbard & Reed endorsed the 

preliminary plan and urged the 

Commission in particular to review 19 

CFR Part 201. It stated its belief that 

certain modifications should be made to 

this regulation to render the 

Commission’s investigations more 

effective. For example, Hughes Hubbard 

& Reed advocated broadening the 

language of 19 CFR 201.12 to clarify that 

the Commission will accept requests 

from parties to take action between an 

investigation’s enumerated briefing 

periods. The Commission will take 

these comments into account when 

conducting its retrospective review of 

its rules. 

The Commission has decided to adopt 

the Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Rules without significant 

changes from the version that was 

preliminarily proposed. Accordingly, 

the Commission adopts the following 

Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Rules. 

United States International Trade 

Commission 

Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Rules 

February 2012 

I. Executive Summary of Plan 

Executive Orders 13579 and 13563 

recognize the importance of maintaining 

a consistent culture of retrospective 

review and analysis throughout the 

federal government. Executive Order 

13579 calls on each independent 

regulatory agency to develop and release 

to the public a plan, consistent with law 

and reflecting the agency’s resources 

and regulatory priorities and processes, 

under which the agency will 

periodically review its significant 

regulations to determine whether any 

such regulations should be modified, 

streamlined, expanded, or repealed so 

as to make the agency’s regulatory 

program more effective or less 

burdensome in achieving the regulatory 

objectives. 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13579, 

the U.S. International Trade 

Commission developed this plan for 

retrospective analysis of its regulations. 

The plan is designed to create a defined 

method and schedule for identifying 

and reconsidering certain significant 

rules that are obsolete, unnecessary, 

unjustified, excessively burdensome, or 

counterproductive. Its review processes 

are intended to facilitate the 

identification of rules that warrant 

repeal or modification, or the 

strengthening, complementing, or 

modernizing of rules where necessary or 

appropriate. 

II. Background 

The Commission is an independent, 

quasi-judicial federal agency with broad 

investigative responsibilities on matters 

of trade. It investigates the effects of 

dumped and subsidized imports on 

domestic industries, conducts global 

safeguard investigations, and 

adjudicates cases involving imports that 

allegedly infringe intellectual property 

rights. The Commission also serves as a 

federal resource where trade data and 

other trade policy-related information 

are gathered and analyzed. The 

information and analysis are provided 

to the President, the Office of the United 

States Trade Representative (USTR), and 

Congress to facilitate the development 

of sound and informed U.S. trade 

policy. The Commission makes most of 

its information and analysis available to 

the public to promote understanding of 

international trade issues. The 

Commission also maintains the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States (HTS). 

Thus, the Commission is not 

primarily a regulatory agency, and its 

regulations generally serve to govern the 

process of its statutory investigative 

responsibilities. In carrying out its 

mission, the Commission issues rules of 

practice and procedure relating to the 

conduct of its investigations. The 

Commission’s rules are codified in Title 

19 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

• Part 201 of the Commission’s rules 

are rules of general application relating 

to the functions and activities of the 

Commission. 

• Part 202 sets out rules pertaining to 

investigations of costs of production 

under section 336 of the Tariff Act of 

1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1336). 

• Part 204 contains rules pertaining to 

investigations of effects of imports on 

agricultural programs under section 22 

of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as 

amended (7 U.S.C. 624). 

• Part 205 covers rules pertaining to 

investigations to determine the probable 

economic effect on the economy of the 

United States of proposed modifications 

of duties or any other barrier to (or other 

distortion of) international trade or of 

taking retaliatory actions to obtain the 

elimination of unjustifiable or 

unreasonable foreign acts or policies 

which restrict U.S. commerce. 

• Part 206 pertains to investigations 

relating to global and bilateral safeguard 

actions, market disruption, trade 

diversion, and review of relief actions. 

• Part 207 sets out rules for the 

conduct of antidumping and 

countervailing duty investigations 

conducted under title VII of the Tariff 

Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1671 

et seq.). 

• Part 208 contains rules pertaining to 

investigations with respect to the 

commercial availability of textile fabric 

and yarn in Sub-Saharan African 

countries. 

• Part 210 sets out rules for the 

conduct of investigations of unfair 

practices in import trade under section 

337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 337). 

• Part 212 establishes rules for the 

implementation of the Equal Access to 

Justice Act (5 U.S.C. 504). 

In the course of its investigations, the 

Commission generally issues 

questionnaires seeking business and 

financial information from domestic and 

foreign firms. These questionnaires are 

frequently revised and adapted, with the 

input of affected parties wherever 

possible. 

The Commission also maintains 

several documents that provide 

guidance to parties involved in its 

investigations, including its 

‘‘Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Handbook,’’ ‘‘An Introduction to 

Administrative Protective Order 

Practice in Import Injury 

Investigations,’’ and the ‘‘Handbook on 

Electronic Filing Procedures.’’ These 

documents are maintained in electronic 

form on the Commission’s Web site and 

are reviewed and updated periodically. 

III. Scope of Plan 

This plan covers existing regulations, 

existing information collections, and 

significant guidance documents. 


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8116 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

IV. Elements of the Plan 

Fostering a Culture of Retrospective 

Analysis. The Commission intends to 

strengthen its culture of retrospective 

analysis by informing all of its 

employees of the plan and periodically 

seeking input from them. 

Prioritization. The Commission has 

identified selection criteria for the rules 

it will review retrospectively. It will 

endeavor to review rules that: 

• Have been affected by subsequent 

legal developments; 

• Overlap, duplicate, or conflict with 

other federal rules; 

• Are the subject of public comments, 

from individuals and entities that 

appear before the Commission, and from 

Congressional and Executive Branch 

sources; 

• Require outdated reporting 

practices; or 

• Have been in place for a long time, 

so that updating may be appropriate. 

Structure and Staffing. The following 

Commission official will be responsible 

for overseeing the retrospective review 

of existing rules: James R. Holbein, 

Secretary, email: secretary@usitc.gov. 

Process for Retrospective Review. 

Every two years, the Commission’s 

General Counsel will send a 

memorandum to the Commission’s 

Secretary, office directors, and 

administrative law judges asking them 

for input on rules suitable for 

modification or elimination. The 

Commission will also seek input from 

the public at that time. Based on 

responses to this memorandum and 

comments from the public, and in 

consultation with Commissioners, the 

General Counsel’s office will make 

recommendations to the Commission 

regarding the possible modification or 

elimination of existing regulations. 

Once an appropriate rule change has 

been identified, the Commission will 

publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 

and solicit public comment on the 

proposed change. 

IV. Public Access and Participation 

On October 25, 2011, the Commission 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register and posted it on the homepage 

of its Web site seeking public comment 

on the design of this plan and the 

identification of specific rules to be 

included in the plan. 76 FR 66004 (Oct. 

25, 2011) and http://www.usitc.gov/

secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/

eRuling_notice10182011sgl.pdf. 

The Commission received one 

comment on the preliminary plan from 

a law firm. This firm endorsed the 

preliminary plan and urged the 

Commission to review 19 CFR part 201, 

and in particular 19 CFR 201.12, to 

clarify that the Commission will accept 

requests from parties to take action 

between an investigation’s enumerated 

briefing periods. The Commission will 

take these comments into account when 

conducting its retrospective review of 

its rules. 

VI. Current Agency Efforts Already 

Underway Independent of Executive 

Order 13579 

Even before the issuance of Executive 

Order 13579, Commission staff 

periodically reviewed existing 

regulations with a view to updating and 

improving them, and eliminating 

redundant or unnecessary regulations. 

For example, in October 2011, after 

notice and comment, the Commission 

amended its rules to provide that most 

documents filed with the agency will be 

filed by electronic means. See 76 FR 

61937 (Oct. 6, 2011). The Commission 

also amended its rules to gather more 

information on public interest issues 

arising out of section 337 complaints. 

See 76 FR 64803 (Oct. 19, 2011). The 

Commission’s 337 practice has an active 

and independent bar association that 

promotes an ongoing exchange of ideas 

on rules updates and improvements. In 

addition, the Commission staff 

constantly adapts the questionnaires 

that it issues in Title VII investigations 

to reflect the specific circumstances of 

each investigation. Wherever possible, 

the staff seek preliminary input from 

firms that will be asked to complete 

these questionnaires. In light of these 

efforts, the Commission is wellpositioned to implement a more 

systematic plan for retrospective review 

of its regulations. 

VII. Examples of Rules for 

Retrospective Review 

The Commission has preliminarily 

identified the following aspects of its 

existing rules for review over the next 

two years: 

1. General review of existing 

regulations in 19 CFR parts 201, 207, 

and 210. The Commission will seek to 

determine whether any such regulations 

shall be modified, streamlined, 

expanded or repealed so as to make the 

agency’s regulations more effective or 

less burdensome. 

2. Employee Responsibilities and 

Conduct, 19 CFR part 200. The 

Commission intends to review its 

regulations addressing employee 

responsibilities and conduct, to assess 

whether these regulations can be 

modified or repealed, in light of the 

issuance of similar regulations by the 

Office of Government Ethics. 

3. National Security Information, 19 

CFR part 201, Subpart F. The 

Commission intends to review its 

regulations addressing national security 

information, to assess whether these 

regulations should be modified, in light 

of Executive Order 13526 (Dec. 29, 

2009). 

4. Investigations With Respect to 

Commercial Availability of Textile 

Fabric and Yarn in Sub-Saharan African 

Countries, 19 CFR part 208. The 

Commission intends to review its 

regulations addressing investigations 

with respect to the commercial 

availability of textile fabric and yarn in 

Sub-Saharan African countries, to assess 

whether these regulations can be 

repealed, in light of the repeal of section 

112(c)(2) of the African Growth and 

Opportunity Act (AGOA), which 

required the Commission to make 

determinations with respect to the 

commercial availability and use of 

regional textile fabric or yarn in lesser 

developed beneficiary sub-Saharan 

African countries in the production of 

apparel articles receiving U.S. 

preferential treatment under AGOA (see 

section 3(a)(2)(B) of Pub. L. 110–436, 

October 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4980). 

This list is non-exhaustive and the 

Commission will consider whether 

other parts of its regulations should also 

be subject to review within the next two 

years. 

VIII. Publishing the Plan Online 

The Commission will publish this 

plan in the Federal Register and on the 

agency’s Web site, at www.usitc.gov. 

The Web site includes a page on the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure, at http://www.usitc.gov/

secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/. This 

Rules page will include a link to the 

plan. Members of the public will be able 

to post comments about the plan via a 

link on the page. Commenters may also 

choose to file comments in paper form 

to the Secretary to the Commission, 

Room 112, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20436. 

By Order of the Commission. 

Issued: February 8, 2012. 

James Holbein, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3267 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P 


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