This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules. 

# Proposed Rules Federal Register 

### 39632

Vol. 78, No. 127

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Agricultural Marketing Service**

**7 CFR Part 1205**

**[Doc. AMS–CN–13–0052]**

**Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental Assessment**  **on Imports (2013 Amendment)**

**AGENCY :**  Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

**ACTION :**  Proposed rule.

**SUMMARY :**  This proposed rule is a companion to the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) direct final rule (published today in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section of the Federal Register), amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by decreasing the value assigned to imported cotton for calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. An amendment is required to adjust the value assigned to imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products so that it is the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. In addition, AMS is updating two Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) statistical reporting numbers that were
amended since the last assessment adjustment. This proposed rule is a companion document to the direct final rule published elsewhere in this issue of
the Federal Register . AMS is publishing
this amendment as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the agency is contemplated by statute and required by regulation in 7 CFR 1205.510 and anticipates no significant adverse comment. AMS has explained its reasons in the preamble of the direct final rule. If AMS receives no significant adverse comment during the comment period, no further action on this proposed rule will be taken. If, however, AMS receives significant adverse comment, AMS will withdraw the direct
final rule and it will not take effect. In that case, AMS will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. AMS will not institute a second comment period on this rule. Any parties interested in commenting must do so during this comment period.

**DATES :**  Comments must be received on or before August 1, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  Written comments may be submitted to the addresses specified
below. All comments will be made available to the public. Please do not include any personally identifiable information (such as name, address, or other contact information) or
confidential business information that you do not want publically disclosed. All comments may be posted on the Internet and can be retrieved by most Internet search engines. Comments may be submitted anonymously.

Comments, identified by AMS–CN– 12–0065, may be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// www.regulations.gov. Please follow the instructions for submitting comments. In addition, comments may be submitted by mail or hand delivery to Cotton Research and Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22406.
Comments should be submitted in triplicate. All comments received will be made available for public inspection at Cotton and Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22406. A copy of this notice may be found at: www.regulations.gov

.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Shethir M. Riva, Chief, Research and Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 101, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22406, telephone (540) 361– 2726, facsimile (540) 361–1199, or email

at Shethir.Riva@ams.usda.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  As noted above, in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section of today’s Federal Register , the direct final rule being published would amend the value assigned to imported
cotton in the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations (7 CFR 1205.510(b)(2)) that
is used to determine the Cotton
Research and Promotion assessment on imported cotton and cotton products.

The total value of assessment levied on cotton imports is the sum of two parts. The first part of the assessment is based on the weight of cotton imported—levied at a rate of $1 per bale of cotton, which is equivalent to 500 pounds, or $1 per 226.8 kilograms of cotton. The second part of the import assessment (referred to as the supplemental assessment) is based on the value of imported cotton lint or the cotton contained in imported cotton products—levied at a rate of five-tenths of one percent of the value of domestically produced cotton.

Section 1205.510(b)(2) of the Cotton
Research and Promotion Rules and Regulations provides for assigning the calendar year weighted average price received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton to represent the value of imported cotton. This is so that the assessment on domestically produced cotton and the assessment on imported
cotton and the cotton content of imported products is the same. The source for the average price statistic is Agricultural Prices, a publication of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the Department of Agriculture. Use of the weighted average price figure in the calculation of supplemental assessments on imported
cotton and the cotton content of imported products will yield an
assessment that is the same as assessments paid on domestically produced cotton.

The current value of imported cotton as published in 2012 in the Federal Register (77 FR 51867) for the purpose of calculating assessments on imported cotton is $0.014109 per kilogram. Using the Average Weighted Priced received by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton for the calendar year 2012, the direct final
rule would amend the new value of imported cotton to $0.012876 per kilogram to reflect the price paid by U.S. farmers for Upland cotton during 2012.

An example of the complete assessment formula and how the figures
are obtained is as follows:

One bale is equal to 500 pounds. One kilogram equals 2.2046 pounds. One pound equals 0.453597 kilograms.

One Dollar per Bale Assessment Converted to Kilograms

A 500-pound bale equals 226.8 kg. (500 × 0.453597).

$1 per bale assessment equals $0.002000 per pound or $0.2000 cents


### 39633 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 2, 2013 / Proposed Rules

per pound (1/500) or $0.004409 per kg or $0.4409 cents per kg. (1/226.8).

Supplemental Assessment of 5/10 of
One Percent of the Value of the Cotton Converted to Kilograms

The 2012 calendar year weighted average price received by producers for Upland cotton is $0.768 per pound or $1.693 per kg. (0.768 × 2.2046).

Five tenths of one percent of the average price equals $0.008467 per kg. (1.693 × 0.005).

Total Assessment

The total assessment per kilogram of raw cotton is obtained by adding the $1 per bale equivalent assessment of $0.004409 per kg. and the supplemental assessment $0.008467 per kg., which equals $0.012876 per kg.

The current assessment on imported cotton is $0.014109 per kilogram of imported cotton. The revised
assessment in the direct final rule is $0.012876, a decrease of $0.001233 per kilogram. This decrease reflects the decrease in the average weighted price of Upland cotton received by U.S. Farmers during the period January through December 2012.

Import Assessment Table in section 1205.510(b)(3) indicates the total assessment rate ($ per kilogram) due for each HTS number that is subject to
assessment. This table must be revised each year to reflect changes in supplemental assessment rates. In the direct final rule, AMS amends the Import Assessment Table. AMS also compared the current import assessment
table with the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) 2013 HTS and
information from U.S. Customs and
Border Protection and identified two HTS statistical reporting numbers that no longer exist in the HTS and that have been changed by ITC. In the direct final rule, AMS is amending the following HTS statistical reporting numbers for consistency with published ITC
numbers:

2012 HTS codes Revised 2013 HTS codes

5513390015 ...................... 5513390115
5513390091 ...................... 5513390191

AMS believes that these amendments are necessary to assure that assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products are the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. Accordingly, changes reflected in this rule should be adopted and implemented as soon as possible since it is required by regulation.

The amendment proposed by this
notice is the same as the amendment contained in the direct final rule. Please refer to the preamble and regulatory text
of the direct final rule for further
information and the actual text of the amendment. Statutory review and Executive Orders for this proposed rule
can be found in the **SUPPLEMENTARY**

**INFORMATION** section of the direct final
rule.

A 30-day comment period is provided to comment on the changes to the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations proposed herein. This period is deemed appropriate because this rule would decrease the assessments paid by importers under the Cotton Research
and Promotion Order. An amendment is required to adjust the assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products to be the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. Accordingly, the change in this rule, if adopted, should be implemented as soon as possible.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2101–2118.

Dated: June 25, 2013.

Rex A. Barnes,

Associate Administrator.

[FR Doc. 2013–15625 Filed 7–1–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–02–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION**

**Federal Aviation Administration**

**14 CFR Part 39**

**[Docket No. FAA–2013–0541; Directorate Identifier 2011–NM–097–AD]** 

**RIN 2120–AA64**

**Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes** 

**AGENCY :**  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

**ACTION :**  Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

**SUMMARY :**  We propose to supersede three existing airworthiness directives (ADs) that apply to The Boeing Company Model 757–200, –200PF, and –200CB series airplanes. The existing ADs currently require repetitive inspections and audible tap tests of the upper and lower skins of the trailing edge wedges on certain slats, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. Since we issued these ADs, we have received reports of slats disbonding on airplanes on which the terminating actions of the existing ADs were completed and also reports of slats disbonding on airplanes outside of the applicability of the existing ADs. This proposed AD would require a determination of the type of trailing edge wedges of the leading edge slats, repetitive inspections on certain trailing edge wedges for areas of skin-to-core disbonding, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would also provide an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. This AD would revise the applicability of the existing ADs to include additional airplanes. We are proposing this AD to prevent delamination of the trailing edge wedge of the leading edge slats, possible loss of pieces of the trailing edge wedge assembly during flight,
reduction of the reduced maneuver and stall margins, and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.

**DATES :**  We must receive comments on this proposed AD by August 16, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following
methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Fax: 202–493–2251.

• Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail
address above between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

For service information identified in this AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services Management, P.O. Box 3707, MC 2H–65, Seattle, WA 98124–2207; telephone 206–544–5000, extension 1; fax 206–
766–5680; Internet https:// www.myboeingfleet.com. You may review copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 425–227–1221.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket on
the Internet at http:// www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Management Facility between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this proposed AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The
street address for the Docket Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is in the

**ADDRESSES** section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.