3540 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices

Department’s determination.

Publication of this notice fulfills that

obligation. The CAFC also held that the

Department must suspend liquidation of

the subject merchandise until there is a

‘‘conclusive’’ decision in the case.

Therefore, pursuant to Timken,

Commerce must suspend liquidation

pending the expiration of the period to

appeal the CIT’s December 18, 1997

ruling or, if that ruling is appealed,

pending a final decision by the CAFC.

However, because entries of the subject

merchandise already are being

suspended pursuant to the

countervailing duty order in effect, the

Department need not order the Customs

Service to suspend liquidation. Further,

consistent with Timken, the Department

will order the Customs Service to

change the relevant cash deposit rates in

the event that the CIT’s ruling is not

appealed or the CAFC issues a final

decision affirming the CIT’s ruling.

Dated: January 13, 1998.

Robert S. LaRussa,

Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–1571 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 971202287–7287–01]

Special American Business Internship

Training Program (SABIT)

AGENCY: International Trade

Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces

availability of funds for the Special

American Business Internship Training

Program (SABIT), for training business

executives (also referred to as ‘‘interns’’)

from Russia. The Department of

Commerce, International Trade

Administration (ITA) established the

SABIT program in September 1990 to

assist the former Soviet Union’s

transition to a market economy. Since

that time, SABIT has been matching

business executives and scientists from

the New Independent States of the

former Soviet Union (NIS) with U.S.

firms which provide them with three to

six months of hands-on training in a

U.S. market economy.

Under the SABIT program, qualified

U.S. firms will receive funds through a

cooperative agreement with ITA to help

defray the cost of hosting interns. ITA

will interview and recommend eligible

interns to participating companies.

Interns must come from Russia and be

citizens of the Russian Federation. The

U.S. firms will be expected to provide

the interns with a hands-on, nonacademic, executive training program

designed to maximize their exposure to

management or commercially-oriented

scientific operations. At the end of the

training program, interns must return to

Russia. All interns will be selected from

a pre-screened group of qualified midlevel managers; nominations from

outside of this group will not be

accepted.

DATES: The closing date for applications

is March 31, 1998. An original and two

copies of the application (Standard

Form 424 (Rev. 4–92) and supplemental

material) are to be sent to the address

designated in the Application Kit and

postmarked by the closing date.

Applications will be considered on a

‘‘rolling’’ basis as they are received,

subject to the availability of funds. If

available funds are depleted prior to the

closing date, a notice to that effect will

be published in the Federal Register.

Processing of complete applications

takes approximately two to three

months. Competitive Application kits

will be available from ITA starting on

January 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the

Application Kit please E-mail:

sabitapply@usita.gov (please state

which format, e.g. WordPerfect 6.1),

telephone (202) 482–0073, facsimile

(202) 482–2443 (these are not toll free

numbers), or send a written request with

two self-addressed mailing labels to

‘‘Application Request’’ The SABIT

Program, HCHB Room 3319, U.S.

Department of Commerce, 14th Street

and Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC, 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Liesel Duhon, Director, SABIT Program,

U.S. Department of Commerce, phone—

(202) 482–0073, facsimile—(202) 482–

2443. These are not toll free numbers.

Only one copy of the Application Kit

will be provided to each organization

requesting it, but it may be reproduced

by the requester.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT

exposes Russian business managers and

scientific managers to a completely new

way of thinking in which demand,

consumer satisfaction, and profits drive

production. Senior-level interns visiting

the U.S. for internship programs with

public or private sector companies will

be exposed to an environment which

will provide them with practical

knowledge for transforming their

countries’ enterprises and economies to

the free market. The program provides

first-hand, eye-opening experience to

managers and scientists which cannot

be duplicated by American managers

traveling to their territories.

Business Executives

SABIT assists economic restructuring

in Russia by providing top-level

business managers with practical

training in American methods of

innovation and management in such

areas as strategic planning, financing,

production, distribution, marketing,

accounting, wholesaling, and labor

relations. This first-hand experience in

the U.S. economy enables interns to

become leaders in establishing and

operating a market economy in Russia,

and creates a unique opportunity for

U.S. firms to familiarize key executives

from Russia with their products and

services.

Scientist Managers

SABIT provides opportunities for

gifted scientists to apply their skills to

peaceful research and development in

the civilian sector, in areas such as

defense conversion, medical research,

and the environment, and exposes them

to the role of scientific research in a

market economy where applicability of

research relates to business success.

Sponsoring firms in the U.S. scientific

community also benefit from

exchanging information and ideas, and

different approaches to new

technologies.

Funding Availability

Pursuant to section 632(a) of the

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as

amended (the ‘‘Act’’) funding for the

program will be provided by the United

States Agency for International

Development (A.I.D). ITA will award

financial assistance and administer the

program pursuant to the authority

contained in section 635(b) of the Act

and other applicable grant rules. The

estimated amount of financial assistance

available for the program is $175,000.

Additional funding is anticipated at a

future date in 1998. Funding Instrument

and Project Duration: Federal assistance

will be awarded pursuant to a

cooperative agreement between ITA and

the recipient firm. All internships are

three months; however, ITA reserves the

right to allow an intern to stay for a

shorter period of time (no less than one

month) if the U.S. company agrees and

the intern demonstrates a need for a

shorter internship based on his or her

management responsibilities. ITA will

reimburse companies for the round trip

international travel of each intern from

the intern’s home city in Russia to the

U.S. internship site, upon submission to

ITA of the paid travel invoice, payment

receipt, or other evidence of payment
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices 3541

and the form SF–270, ‘‘Request for

Advance or Reimbursement.’’ Travel

under the program is subject to the Fly

America Act. ITA will reimburse

companies for up to $500 per month

housing subsidy. Recipient firms

provide $30 per day directly to interns.

ITA will reimburse recipient firms for

this stipend of $30 per day per intern for

up to three months as well as the actual

price of the monthly housing, up to

$500 per month, upon submission by

company of an end-of-internship report

and form SF–270. If the Russian

Government pays for the international

airline travel, recipients will not be

eligible for reimbursement for airtravel.

In general, each award will have a cap

of $5,000 per intern for total cost of

airline travel, housing subsidy and

stipend. ITA reserves the right to allow

an award to exceed this amount in cases

of unusually high costs, such as airfare

from remote regions of Russia. However,

the total payment cannot exceed the

award amount. There are no specific

matching requirements for the awards.

Host firms, however, are expected to

bear the costs beyond those covered by

the award, including: visa fees,

additional housing costs beyond the

$500 housing subsidy per month,

insurance, any food and incidentals

costs beyond $30 per day, any trainingrelated travel within the U.S., and

provision of the hands-on training for

the interns.

U.S. firms wishing to utilize SABIT in

order to be matched with an intern

without applying for financial

assistance may do so. Such firms will be

responsible for all costs, including

travel expenses, related to sponsoring

the intern. However, prior to acceptance

as a SABIT intern, work plans and

candidates must be approved by the

SABIT Program. Furthermore, program

training will be monitored by SABIT

staff and evaluated upon completion of

training.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants for the SABIT

program will include any for profit or

non-profit U.S. corporation, association,

organization or other public or private

entity. Agencies or divisions of the

federal government are not eligible.

Evaluation Criteria

Consideration for financial assistance

will be given to those SABIT proposals

which:

(1). Demonstrate a commitment to the

intent and goals of the program to

provide practical, on-the-job, nonacademic, non-classroom, training: in

the case of manager interns, an

appropriate management training

experience, or, in the case of scientific

managers, a practical, commerciallyoriented scientific training experience.

(2). Respond to the priority needs of

senior business managers and scientists

in Russia, as determined by ITA.

(3). Host firms must be solidly

committed to interns’ return to Russia

upon completion of the internships.

(4). Present a realistic work plan

describing in detail the training program

to be provided to the SABIT intern(s).

Work plans must include the following:

(a). Whether Applicant is applying to

host managers or scientific managers, or

both (and the number of each); (b). the

duration of the internship. As noted

above, ITA reserves the right to allow an

intern with very senior management

responsibilities to stay for a shorter

period (minimum of one month) if the

U.S. company agrees and the intern

demonstrates a compelling need for a

shorter internship based on his or her

management responsibilities; (c). the

location(s) of the internship; (d). the

name, address, and telephone number of

the designated internship coordinator;

(e). name(s) of division(s) in which the

intern(s) will be placed; (f). the

individual(s) in the U.S. company under

whose supervision the intern will train;

(g). the proposed internship training

activities. The components of the

training activities must be described in

as much detail as possible, preferably on

a week-by-week basis. The description

of the training activities should include

an accounting of what the intern’s(s’)

duties and responsibilities will be

during the training; (h). the anticipated

housing arrangements to be provided for

the intern(s). Note that housing

arrangements should be suitable for

mid- and senior-level professionals, and

that each intern must be provided with

a private room.

(5). Include a brief objectives section

indicating why the Applicant wishes to

provide an internship to a manager(s) or

scientist(s) from Russia, and how the

proposed internship would further the

purpose of the SABIT program as

described above.

(6). Provide a general description of

the profile of the intern(s) the Applicant

would like to host, including:

educational background; occupational/

professional background (including

number of years and areas of

experience); size and nature of

organization at which the intern(s) is/

are presently employed; preference for

the region of Russia where the intern(s)

is/are employed; and whether Applicant

is open to sponsoring interns from a

variety of Russian regions.

(7). Indicate whether Applicant

organization operates in one or more of

the following business sectors: (a).

Agribusiness (including food processing

and distribution, and agricultural

equipment), (b). Defense conversion, (c).

Energy, (d). Environment (including

environmental clean-up), (e). Financial

services (including banking and

accounting), (f). Housing, construction

and infrastructure, (g). Medical

equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals,

and health care management, (h).

Product standards and quality control,

(i). Telecommunications, and (j).

Transportation. Applicant proposal

must provide an explanation including

description and extent of involvement

in the sector(s). While Applicants

involved in any industry sector may

apply to the program, priority

consideration is given to those operating

in the above sectors.

Evaluation criteria 1–6 will be weighted

equally. ITA does not guarantee that it

will match Applicant with the profile

provided to SABIT.

Selection Procedures

Each application will receive an

independent, objective review by one or

more three or four-member ITA review

panels qualified to evaluate applications

submitted under the program.

Applications will be evaluated on a

competitive, ‘‘rolling’’ basis as they are

received in accordance with the

selection evaluation set forth above.

Awards will be made to those

applications which successfully meet

the selection criteria. If funds are not

available for all those applications

which successfully meet the criteria,

awards will be made to the first

applications received which

successfully do so. ITA review panel(s)

reserve(s) the right to reject any

application; to limit the number of

interns per applicant; to waive

informalities and minor irregularities in

applications received; and to consider

other than competitive procedures to

distribute assistance under this program

and in accordance with the law. ITA

review panel(s) reserve(s) the right to

make awards based on diversity of U.S.

geographic and organization size.

Recipients may be eligible, pursuant to

approval of an amendment of an active

award, to host additional interns under

the program. ITA reserves the right to

evaluate applicants based on past

performance. The Director of the SABIT

Program is the final selecting official for

each award.

Additional Information

Applicants must submit: (1) Evidence

of adequate financial resources of

Applicant organization to cover the

costs involved in providing an
3542 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices

internship(s). As evidence of such

resources, Applicant should submit

financial statements audited by an

outside organization or an annual report

including such statements. If these are

not available, a letter should be

provided from the Applicant’s bank or

outside accountant attesting to the

financial capability of the firm to

undertake the scope of work involved in

training an intern under the SABIT

program. (2) Evidence of a satisfactory

record of performance in grants,

contracts and/or cooperative agreements

with the Federal Government, if

applicable. (Applicants who are or have

been deficient in current or recent

performance in their grants, contracts,

and/or cooperative agreements with the

Federal Government shall be presumed

to be unable to meet this requirement).

(3) A statement that the Applicant will

provide medical insurance coverage for

interns during their internships.

Recipients will be required to submit

proof of the interns’ medical insurance

coverage to the Federal Program Officer,

before the interns’ arrivals. The

insurance coverage must include an

accident and comprehensive medical

insurance program as well as coverage

for accidental death, emergency medical

evacuation, and repatriation.

Other Requirements

All applicants are advised of the

following:

1. No award of Federal funds shall be

made to an Applicant who has an

outstanding delinquent Federal debt

until either the delinquent account is

paid in full, a negotiated repayment

schedule is established and at least one

payment is received, or other

arrangements satisfactory to the

Department of Commerce (DOC) are

made.

2. A false statement on the application

is grounds for denial or termination of

funds and grounds for possible

punishment by a fine or imprisonment

as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

3. Recipients and subrecipients are

subject to all Federal laws and Federal

and Departmental regulations, policies

and procedures applicable to financial

assistance awards.

4. Participating companies will be

required to comply with all relevant

U.S. tax and export regulations. Export

controls may relate not only to licensing

of products for export, but also to

technical data transfer.

5. Applications under this program

are not subject to Executive Order

12372, ‘‘Intergovernmental Review of

Federal Programs.’’

6. If applicants incur any costs prior

to an award being made, they do solely

at their own risk of not being

reimbursed by the Government.

Notwithstanding any verbal or written

assurance that may have been received,

there is no obligation on the part of DOC

to cover pre-award costs.

7. Past performance: Unsatisfactory

performance by an applicant under

prior Federal awards may result in an

application not being considered for

funding.

8. No obligation for future funding: If

an application is selected for funding,

DOC has no obligation to provide any

additional future funding in connection

with that award. Renewal of an award

to increase funding or extend the period

of performance is at the total discretion

of DOC.

9. Primary Applicant Certifications:

All primary applicants must submit a

completed Form CD–511,

‘‘Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters; Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements and Lobbying,’’ and the

following explanations are hereby

provided:

(a) Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension: Prospective participants (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, Section 105)

are subject to 15 CFR part 26,

‘‘Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension’’ and the related section of

the certification form prescribed above

applies.

(b) Drug Free Workplace: Grantees (as

defined at 15 CFR part 26, Section 605)

are subject to 15 CFR part 26, Subpart

F, ‘‘Government wide Requirements for

Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)’’ and the

related section of the certification form

prescribed above applies.

(c) Anti-Lobbying: Funds provided

under the SABIT program may not be

used for lobbying activities. Persons (as

defined at 15 CFR part 28, Section 105)

are subject to the lobbying provisions of

31 U.S.C. 1352, ‘‘Limitation on use of

appropriated funds to influence certain

Federal contracting and financial

transactions,’’ and the lobbying section

of the certification form prescribed

above applies to applications/bids for

grants, cooperative agreements, and

contracts for more than $100,000, and

loans and loan guarantees for more than

$150,000, or the single family maximum

mortgage limit for affected programs,

whichever is greater.

(d) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures: Any

applicant that has paid or will pay for

lobbying in connection with this award

using any funds must submit an SF–

LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities,’’ as required under 15 CFR

part 28, Appendix B.

10. Lower Tier Certifications:

Recipients shall require applicants/

bidders for subgrants, contracts,

subcontracts, or other lower tier covered

transactions at any tier under the award

to submit, if applicable, a completed

Form CD–512, ‘‘Certifications Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility

and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier

Covered Transactions and Lobbying’’

and disclosure form, SF–LLL,

‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.’’

Form CD–512 is intended for the use of

recipients and should not be transmitted

to DOC. SF–LLL submitted by any tier

recipient or subrecipient should be

submitted to DOC in accordance with

the instructions contained in the award

document.

11. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are

not allowed under the SABIT program.

12. Applicants are hereby notified

that any equipment or products

authorized to be purchased with

funding provided under this program

must be American-made to the

maximum extent feasible.

13. The following statutes apply to

this program: Chapter 11 of Part I of the

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as

amended, including section 498A (b),

regarding ineligibility for assistance;

provisions in annual Foreign

Operations, Export Financing, and

Related Programs Appropriations Act,

including the following provisions

contained in Public Law 103–87: Use of

American Resources (Section 559 of the

Foreign Operation, Export Financing,

and Related Programs Appropriations

Act, 1995, Pub. L. 103–87); Impact on

Jobs in the United States (Section 545 of

the Foreign Operation, Export

Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Act, 1995, Pub. L. 103–

87); Bumpers Amendment (Section

513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export

Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103–

87); Lautenberg Amendment (Section

513(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export

Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Act, 1994, Pub. L. 103–

87); and Section 660(a) of the Foreign

Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

14. Audit Requirements: The DOC

Office of Inspector General has authority

under the Inspector General Act of 1978,

as amended, to conduct an audit of any

DOC award at any time.

15. Payments. As required by the Debt

Collections Improvement Act of 1996,

all Federal payments to award

recipients pursuant to this

announcement will be made by

electronic funds transfer.

16. The collection of information is

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget, OMB Control Number

0625–0225. Public reporting for this

collection of information is estimated to
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices 3543

be three hours per response, including

the time for reviewing instructions, and

completing and reviewing the collection

of information. All responses to this

collection of information are voluntary,

and will be provided confidentially to

the extent allowed under the Freedom

of Information Act. Notwithstanding

any other provision of law, no person is

required to respond to nor shall a

person be subject to a penalty for failure

to comply with a collection of

information subject to the requirements

of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless

that collection of information displays a

current valid OMB Control Number.

Send comments regarding the burden

estimate or any other aspect of this

collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden, to

the Reports Clearance Officer,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce, Room 4001,

14th and Constitution Ave., N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20230.

Dated: January 20, 1998.

Liesel C. Duhon,

Director, SABIT Program.

[FR Doc. 98–1618 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–HE–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 010898A]

Notice of Workshop

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

NMFS will sponsor a workshop for the

members of its Individual Fishing Quota

(IFQ) Advisory Panels and of the

National Research Council (NRC)

Committee to Study IFQs. The

workshop will be held in New Orleans,

Louisiana and will be open for public

observation.

DATES: The workshop will begin at 9:30

a.m. on January 24, 1998 and will end

at 5 p.m. on January 25, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held

at Le Pavillon Hotel, 833 Poydras Street,

New Orleans, Louisiana; telephone:

800–535–9095.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Amy Gautam, NMFS, Office of Science

and Technology; telephone: (301)713–

2328.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the

reauthorization of the MagnusonStevens Act (Act), Congress required the

NRC to provide a report with

recommendations on a national policy

for implementing IFQs by October 1,

1998. The Act also required the

formation of NMFS Advisory Panels to

provide support to the NRC committee

and to NMFS in their respective roles of

preparing and evaluating the IFQ study.

The workshop is intended to initiate a

dialogue between IFQ Advisory Panel

and NRC committee members related to

key questions the NRC has developed.

Issues discussed will include initial

allocation criteria, restrictions on

transferability of quota shares,

enforcement and monitoring

requirements, and long-term

implications of implementing IFQs

relative to other management regimes.

Members of the public are invited to

observe the proceedings, but will not be

allowed to participate.

Dated: January 16, 1998.

Lamar Trott

Acting Director, Office of Science and

Technology, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 98–1544 Filed 1–16–98; 4:56 pm]

BILLING CODE: 3510–22–F

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

Applications of the Minneapolis Grain

Exchange for Designation as a

Contract Market in On-Peak MidContinent Area Power Pool (MAPP)

Electricity Futures and Options and in

Off-Peak MAPP Electricity Futures and

Options

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed contract

Market Rule Change.

SUMMARY: The Minneapolis Grain

Exchange (MGE or Exchange) has

applied for designation as a contract

market in on-peak mid-continent area

power pool (MAPP) electricity futures

and option contracts and off-peak MAPP

electricity futures and option contracts.

The Acting Director of the Division of

Economic Analysis (Division) of the

Commission, acting pursuant to the

authority delegated by Commission

Regulation 140.96, has determined that

publication of the proposals for

comment is in the public interest, will

assist the Commission in considering

the views of interested persons, and is

consistent with the purpose of the

Commodity Exchange Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before February 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should

submit their views and comments to

Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW

Washington, DC 20581. In addition,

comments may be sent by facsimile

transmission to facsimile number (202)

418–5521, or by electronic mail to

secretary@cftc.gov. Reference should be

made to the MGE mid-continent area

power pool (MAPP) electricity futures

and options.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Please contact Joseph Storer of the

Division of Economic Analysis,

Commodity Futures Trading

Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,

1155 21st Street NW, Washington,

20581, telephone (202) 418–5282.

Facsimile number: (202) 418–5527.

Electronic mail: jstorer@cftc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of

the terms and conditions will be

available for inspection at the Office of

the Secretariat, Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, Three Lafayette

Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581. Copies of the

terms and conditions can be obtained

through the Office of the Secretariat by

mail at the above address or by phone

at (202) 418–5100.

Other materials submitted by the MGE

in support of the applications for

contract market designation may be

available upon request pursuant to the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552) and the Commission’s regulations

thereunder (17 CFR part 145 (1987)),

except to the extent they are entitled to

confidential treatment as set forth in 17

CFR 145.5 and 145.9. Requests for

copies of such materials should be made

to the FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Act

Compliance Staff of the Office of

Secretariat at the Commission’s

headquarters in accordance with 17 CFR

145.7 and 145.8.

Any person interested in submitting

written data, views, or arguments on the

proposed terms and conditions, or with

respect to other materials submitted by

the MGE, should send such comments

to Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581 by the specified

date.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 15,

1998.

John R. Mielke,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 98–1620 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P