2844 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

W. Ralph Basham, 

Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection. 

Approved: January 12, 2009. 

Timothy E. Skud, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. 

[FR Doc. E9–848 Filed 1–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Bureau of Customs and Border 

Protection 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

19 CFR Parts 12 and 163 

[CBP Dec. 09–01; USCBP–2008–0111] 

RIN 1505–AC06 

Prohibitions and Conditions for 

Importation of Burmese and NonBurmese Covered Articles of Jadeite, 

Rubies, and Articles of Jewelry 

Containing Jadeite or Rubies 

AGENCIES: Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security; Department of the Treasury. 

ACTION: Interim final rule; solicitation of 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This document amends the 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) regulations in title 19 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (19 CFR) in order 

to implement the provisions of the Tom 

Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s 

Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 

(Pub. L. 110–286) (the ‘‘JADE Act’’) and 

Presidential Proclamation 8294 of 

September 26, 2008, which includes 

new Additional U.S. Note 4 to Chapter 

71 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’). These 

amendments are made to implement 

certain provisions of the JADE Act and 

the Presidential Proclamation by 

prohibiting the importation of ‘‘Burmese 

covered articles’’ (jadeite, rubies, and 

articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 

rubies, mined or extracted from Burma), 

and by setting forth conditions for the 

importation of ‘‘non-Burmese covered 

articles’’ (jadeite, rubies, and articles of 

jewelry containing jadeite or rubies, 

mined or extracted from a country other 

than Burma). 

DATES: This interim final rule is 

effective January 16, 2009. Comments 

must be received on or before March 17, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number, by one of 

the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

via docket number USCBP–2008–0111 . 

• Mail: Trade and Commercial 

Regulations Branch, Regulations and 

Rulings, Office of International Trade, 

U. S. Customs and Border Protection, 

799 9th Street, NW., (Mint Annex), 

Washington, DC 20229. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this rulemaking. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. For 

detailed instructions on submitting 

comments and additional information 

on the rulemaking process, see the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Submitted 

comments may be inspected during 

regular business days between the hours 

of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Trade and 

Commercial Regulations Branch, 

Regulations and Rulings, Office of 

International Trade, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 

5th Floor, Washington, DC. 

Arrangements to inspect submitted 

comments should be made in advance 

by calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 325– 

0118. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cathy Sauceda, Director, Import Safety 

and Interagency Requirements Division, 

Office of International Trade (202) 863– 

6556, or Brenda Brockman Smith, 

Executive Director, Trade Policy and 

Programs, Office of International Trade 

(202) 863–6406. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written data, views, or 

arguments on all aspects of the interim 

final rule. CBP also invites comments 

that relate to the economic, 

environmental, or federalism effects that 

might result from this interim final rule. 

Comments that will provide the most 

assistance to CBP will reference a 

specific portion of the interim final rule, 

explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include data, 

information, or authority that support 

such recommended change. See 

ADDRESSES above for information on 

how to submit comments. 

Background 

On July 29, 2008, the President signed 

into law the Tom Lantos Block Burmese 

JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) 

Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–286) (the 

‘‘JADE Act’’). Section 6 of the JADE Act 

amends the Burmese Freedom and 

Democracy Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108–61) 

(as so amended, the ‘‘BFDA’’) by adding 

a new section 3A that prohibits the 

importation of jadeite and rubies mined 

or extracted from Burma, and articles of 

jewelry containing jadeite or rubies 

mined or extracted from Burma, and by 

regulating the importation of jadeite and 

rubies mined or extracted from a 

country other than Burma, and articles 

of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies 

mined or extracted from a country other 

than Burma. Presidential Proclamation 

8294 of September 26, 2008 implements 

the prohibitions and conditions of the 

JADE Act. (See Annex of Presidential 

Proclamation 8294 for Additional U.S. 

Note 4 to Chapter 71, Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States 

(‘‘HTSUS’’)). 

Burmese Covered Articles 

Section 3A(b)(1) of the BFDA, as 

implemented by Presidential 

Proclamation 8294, provides that 

‘‘Burmese covered articles’’ are 

prohibited from importation into the 

United States. Burmese covered articles 

are defined in section 3A(a)(2) of the 

BFDA as jadeite or rubies mined or 

extracted from Burma, or articles of 

jewelry containing jadeite or rubies 

mined or extracted from Burma. Section 

3A(a)(4) of the BFDA defines ‘‘jadeite’’ 

as any jadeite classifiable under heading 

7103 of the HTSUS; ‘‘rubies’’ as rubies 

classifiable under heading 7103 of the 

HTSUS; and ‘‘articles of jewelry 

containing jadeite or rubies’’ as any 

article of jewelry classifiable under 

heading 7113 of the HTSUS that 

contains jadeite or rubies, or any article 

of jadeite or rubies classifiable under 

heading 7116 of the HTSUS. The 

prohibition on the importation of the 

Burmese covered articles will also be set 

forth in the regulations of the Office of 

Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at 31 

CFR Part 537. 

Non-Burmese Covered Articles 

Sections 3A(c)(1) and (2) of the BFDA 

set forth the conditions for importation 

into the United States of ‘‘non-Burmese 

covered articles,’’ which are defined in 

section 3A(a)(3) of the BFDA as jadeite 

or rubies mined or extracted from a 

country other than Burma, or articles of 

jewelry containing jadeite or rubies 

mined or extracted from a country other 

than Burma. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 2845 

Presidential Proclamation 8294 

requires that as a condition for the 

importation into the United States of 

any non-Burmese covered article, the 

importer and exporter of such article 

must meet the conditions set forth in 

section 3A(c)(1) of the BFDA. The 

Proclamation also modified the HTSUS 

by including Additional U.S. Note 4 to 

Chapter 71, HTSUS. 

Certifications 

Additional U.S. Note 4(a), Chapter 71, 

HTSUS, provides that if an importer 

chooses to enter any good (or withdraws 

such good from warehouse for 

consumption) under heading 7103, 

7113, or 7116, HTSUS, the presentation 

of this entry at the time of importation 

shall be deemed to be a certification by 

the importer that any jadeite or rubies 

contained in such good were not mined 

or extracted from Burma. As such, the 

entry of any such article under one of 

the three specified headings is 

considered to be the ‘‘importer’s 

certification.’’ 

Under section 3A(c)(1) of the BFDA, 

another condition for importation is that 

the exporter of the non-Burmese 

covered article has implemented 

measures that have substantially the 

same effect and achieve the same goals 

as the measures described in section 

3A(c)(2)(B)(i) through (iv) or their 

functional equivalent to prevent the 

trade in Burmese covered articles. To 

achieve this requirement, CBP is 

amending the regulations to require 

that, at the time of importation into the 

United States, the importer have in his 

possession a written certification from 

the exporter (‘‘exporter’s certification’’) 

certifying that the jadeite or rubies were 

not mined or extracted from Burma, 

with verifiable evidence from the 

exporter that tracks the jadeite or rubies 

as follows: With respect to exportation 

from the country of jadeite or rubies in 

rough form, from mine to exportation; 

with respect to exportation from the 

country of finished jadeite or polished 

rubies, from mine to the place of final 

finishing; and with respect to 

exportation from the country of articles 

of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies, 

from mine to the place of final finishing 

of the article of jewelry. 

Exceptions 

Sections 3A(d)(1) and (2) of the BFDA 

set forth the two instances in which the 

prohibitions and conditions of the JADE 

Act do not apply. These exceptions are 

as follows: (1) Jadeite, rubies, and 

articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 

rubies that are reimported into the 

United States after having been 

previously exported from the United 

States, including those that 

accompanied an individual outside the 

United States for personal use, if they 

are reimported into the United States by 

the same person who exported them, 

without having been advanced in value 

or improved in condition by any process 

or other means while outside the United 

States, and (2) jadeite or rubies mined 

or extracted from a country other than 

Burma, and articles of jewelry 

containing jadeite or rubies mined or 

extracted from a country other than 

Burma, that are imported by or on 

behalf of an individual for personal use 

and accompanying an individual upon 

entry into the United States. 

Recordkeeping Requirements 

Under section 3A(c)(1) of the BFDA, 

a specific condition for importation of 

non-Burmese covered articles is that the 

importer of non-Burmese covered 

articles maintain for a period of not less 

than 5 years from the date of entry of the 

non-Burmese covered article a full 

record of, in the form of reports or 

otherwise, complete information 

relating to any act or transaction related 

to the purchase, manufacture, or 

shipment of the non-Burmese covered 

article. The importer is further required 

to produce such information to the 

relevant United States authorities upon 

request. CBP, to comply with the 

statute, is requiring the importer to keep 

in its possession a certification from the 

exporter certifying that the jadeite or 

rubies were not mined or extracted from 

Burma, with verifiable evidence from 

the exporter that tracks the sourcing 

from mine to either exportation or place 

of final finishing. Because the importer 

of record must have in his possession at 

the time of entry a certification from the 

exporter (‘‘exporter’s certification’’) and 

any underlying records supporting its 

certified entry of articles under heading 

7103, 7113 or 7116, HTSUS, that any 

such articles were not mined or 

extracted from Burma, CBP is amending 

its (a)(1)(A) list (found in the Appendix 

to 19 CFR part 163). In this rulemaking, 

CBP is adding this new recordkeeping 

requirement in Section IV of the 

(a)(1)(A) list in the Appendix to 19 CFR 

part 163. 

Explanation of Amendments 

These amendments implement certain 

provisions of the JADE Act and the 

Presidential Proclamation with regard to 

the prohibition on importations of 

Burmese covered articles, and 

incorporate into the regulations the 

conditions for importation of nonBurmese covered articles. CBP is adding 

a new § 12.151 to part 12 of title 19 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (19 

CFR) to reflect the new conditions as 

described above. CBP is also amending 

the Interim (a)(1)(A) list in the 

Appendix to part 163 of title 19 CFR to 

add to the list of documents that 

importers must retain for a period of 5 

years the ‘‘exporter’s certification’’ as 

well as other supporting documentation 

in Section IV of the Appendix. 

Inapplicability of Prior Public Notice 

and Delayed Effective Date 

This document incorporates into the 

regulations a provision setting forth the 

conditions necessary for importation of 

non-Burmese covered articles. This 

document further amends the Appendix 

to part 163 for the list of records 

required for the entry of merchandise to 

implement the statutory mandate 

contained in the JADE Act and 

Presidential Proclamation 8294 of 

September 26, 2008 and inform the 

public of the conditions necessary to 

comply with the statutory requirements. 

Because this regulation merely 

implements statutory requirements, CBP 

has determined, pursuant to the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), that 

prior public notice and comment 

procedures on this regulation are 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest and that there is good cause for 

this rule to become effective 

immediately upon publication as the 

JADE Act is already in effect. For these 

reasons, pursuant to the provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), CBP finds that there is 

good cause for dispensing with a 

delayed effective date. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This document does not meet the 

criteria for a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as specified in Executive Order 

12866 of September 30, 1993 (58 FR 

51735, October 1993). In addition, 

because a notice of proposed 

rulemaking is not required under 5 

U.S.C. 553(b) for the reasons described 

above, CBP notes that the provisions of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), do not 

apply to this rulemaking. Accordingly, 

CBP also notes that this rule is not 

subject to the regulatory analysis 

requirements or other requirements of 

5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The collections of information in this 

document are contained in § 12.151(d) 

(19 CFR 12.151(d)). This information is 

used by CBP to fulfill its information 

collection obligations under section 

3A(c)(1) of the BFDA, as amended, and 

Additional U.S. Note 4, Chapter 71, 

HTSUS, which requires that when an 


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2846 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

importer of non-Burmese covered 

articles certifies on the entry summary 

form, CBP Form 7501, that the articles 

entered under heading 7103, 7113 or 

7116, HTSUS were not mined or 

extracted from Burma, the importer 

must have in his possession a written 

certification from the exporter that such 

articles were not mined or extracted 

from Burma and other documentation to 

support such certification at the time of 

entry under § 12.151(d). The likely 

respondents are business organizations 

including importers and brokers. An 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and 

a person is not required to respond to, 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a valid control number 

assigned by OMB. This collection of 

information falls under the approved 

collection OMB Control No. 1651–0133. 

Estimated annual reporting and/or 

recordkeeping burden: 74,005 hours. 

Number of responses per respondent 

and/or recordkeeper: 20. 

Estimated number of respondents 

and/or recordkeepers: 22,197. 

Estimated annual total responses: 

443,940. 

Estimated time per response: 10 

minutes (.1667 hours). 

Comments on the collection of 

information should be sent to the Office 

of Management and Budget, Attention: 

Desk Officer for the Department of the 

Treasury, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 

20503. A copy should also be sent to the 

Trade and Commercial Regulations 

Branch, Regulations and Rulings, Office 

of International Trade, Customs and 

Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 

(Mint Annex), Washington, DC 20229. 

Signing Authority 

This document is being issued in 

accordance with section 0.1(a)(1) of the 

CBP regulations (19 CFR 0.1(a)(1)) 

pertaining to the authority of the 

Secretary of the Treasury (or his/her 

delegate) to approve regulations related 

to certain customs revenue functions. 

List of Subjects 

19 CFR Part 12 

Customs duties and inspection, 

Economic sanctions, Entry of 

merchandise, Foreign assets control, 

Imports, Licensing, Prohibited 

Merchandise, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Restricted 

merchandise, Sanctions. 

19 CFR Part 163 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Customs duties and 

inspection, Exports, Imports, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Amendments to the Regulations 

■ For the reasons set forth above, parts 

12 and 163 of title 19 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (19 CFR parts 12 

and 163) are amended as set forth 

below: 

PART 12—SPECIAL CLASSES OF 

MERCHANDISE 

■ 1. The general authority citation for 

part 12, CBP regulations, continues to 

read, and a new specific authority 

citation for § 12.151 is added to read, as 

follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 

(General Note 3(i), Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)), 

1624; 

* * * * * 

Section 12.151 also issued under The 

Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 

2003 (Pub. L. 108–61) (the ‘‘BFDA’’), as 

amended by the Tom Lantos Block Burmese 

JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 

2008 (Pub. L. 110–286) (the ‘‘JADE Act’’); 

Presidential Proclamation 8294, signed on 

September 26, 2008; Additional U.S. Note 4 

to Chapter 71, HTSUS. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. In part 12, a new § 12.151 is added 

to read as follows: 

§ 12.151 Prohibitions and conditions on 

importations of jadeite, rubies, and articles 

of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies. 

(a) General. The importation into the 

United States of jadeite, rubies, and 

articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 

rubies is prohibited or conditioned as 

described in this section pursuant to the 

Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 

2008 (Pub. L. 110–286). For purposes of 

this section, the following definitions 

apply: 

(1) Jadeite. ‘‘Jadeite’’ means any 

jadeite classifiable under heading 7103 

of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

the United States (HTSUS); 

(2) Rubies. ‘‘Rubies’’ means any rubies 

classifiable under heading 7103 of the 

HTSUS; 

(3) Articles of jewelry containing 

jadeite or rubies. ‘‘Articles of jewelry 

containing jadeite or rubies’’ means any 

article of jewelry classifiable under 

heading 7113 of the HTSUS that 

contains jadeite or rubies, or any article 

of jadeite or rubies classifiable under 

heading 7116 of the HTSUS; and 

(4) United States. ‘‘United States’’ 

means the 50 states, the District of 

Columbia, and any commonwealth, 

territory, or possession of the United 

States. 

(b) Prohibited Articles. The following 

articles are prohibited from importation 

into the United States (see 31 CFR Part 

537): 

(1) Jadeite mined or extracted from 

Burma; 

(2) Rubies mined or extracted from 

Burma; and 

(3) Articles of jewelry containing 

jadeite or rubies mined or extracted 

from Burma. 

(c) Regulated Articles. Jadeite, rubies, 

or articles of jewelry containing jadeite 

or rubies may not be imported into the 

United States unless the importer 

certifies (see paragraph (d) of this 

section) that those jadeite or rubies were 

mined or extracted from a country other 

than Burma and possesses the 

documents described in paragraph (e) of 

this section. 

(d) Certification of importer. Pursuant 

to Additional U.S. Note 4(a), Chapter 71, 

HTSUS, if an importer enters any good 

(or withdraws any good from warehouse 

for consumption) under heading 7103, 

7113, or 7116 of the HTSUS, the 

presentation of the entry serves as a 

certification by the importer that any 

jadeite or rubies contained in such good 

were not mined or extracted from 

Burma. 

(e) Certification of exporter. If an 

importer enters (or withdraws from 

warehouse for consumption) jadeite, 

rubies, or jewelry containing jadeite or 

rubies: 

(1) The importer must have in his 

possession a certification from the 

exporter (exporter certification) 

certifying that the jadeite or rubies were 

not mined or extracted from Burma, 

with verifiable evidence from the 

exporter that tracks the jadeite or rubies: 

In rough form, from mine to exportation; 

and for finished jadeite, polished rubies, 

and articles of jewelry containing jadeite 

or rubies, to the place of final finishing; 

and 

(2) The importer must maintain, for a 

period of not less than 5 years from the 

date of entry of the good, a full record 

of, in the form of reports or otherwise, 

complete information relating to any act 

or transaction related to the purchase, 

manufacture, or shipment of the good. 

(f) Requirement to provide 

information. An importer who enters 

any good (or withdraws any good from 

warehouse for consumption) under 

heading 7103, 7113, or 7116 of the 

HTSUS must provide all documentation 

to support the certifications described in 

paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section to 

CBP upon request or be subject to 

recordkeeping penalties under part 163 

of the chapter. 

(g) Inapplicability. This section does 

not apply to the following articles: 

(1) Jadeite, rubies, and articles of 

jewelry containing jadeite or rubies that 

are reimported into the United States 

after having been previously exported 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 2847 

from the United States, including those 

that accompanied an individual outside 

the United States for personal use, if 

they are reimported into the United 

States by the same person who exported 

them, without having been advanced in 

value or improved in condition by any 

process or other means while outside 

the United States; and 

(2) Jadeite or rubies mined or 

extracted from a country other than 

Burma, and articles of jewelry 

containing jadeite or rubies mined or 

extracted from a country other than 

Burma that are imported by or on behalf 

of an individual for personal use and 

accompanying an individual upon entry 

into the United States. 

PART 163—RECORDKEEPING 

■ 3. The general authority citation for 

Part 163, CBP regulations, continues to 

read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 

1484, 1508, 1509, 1510, 1624. 

■ 4. The Appendix to Part 163 is 

amended by adding a new listing under 

section IV in numerical order to read as 

follows: 

Appendix to Part 163—Interim (a)(1)(A) 

List. 

* * * * * 

IV. * * * 

§ 12.151 Documentation supporting 

importer’s certification on jadeite, rubies, or 

articles of jewelry containing jadeite or 

rubies, including an exporter’s certification. 

* * * * * 

Jayson P. Ahern, 

Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection. 

Approved: January 12, 2009 

Timothy E. Skud, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. 

[FR Doc. E9–786 Filed 1–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

19 CFR Part 207 

Revised Procedures and Requests for 

Information During Adequacy Phase of 

Five-Year Reviews 

AGENCY: United States International 

Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Final rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The United States 

International Trade Commission (‘‘the 

Commission’’) amends its Rules of 

Practice and Procedure to require that 

responses to notices of institution of 

five-year reviews be filed within 30 days 

of publication of the notice, as opposed 

to the 50-day response period specified 

in its current rules. It also provides 

notice of its decision, which does not 

require a change in its rules, to seek 

additional information from interested 

parties at the institution of five-year 

reviews, and to seek information from 

purchasers during the adequacy phase 

of five-year reviews in certain 

circumstances. 

DATES: Effective Date: This regulation is 

effective February 17, 2009. 

Applicability Date: This regulation 

and the other changes to Commission 

procedures described in this notice will 

be applicable to five-year reviews 

instituted on or after March 1, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marc A. Bernstein, Office of General 

Counsel, U.S. International Trade 

Commission, telephone 202–205–3087, 

or John Ascienzo, Office of 

Investigations, U.S. International Trade 

Commission, telephone 202–205–3175. 

Hearing-impaired individuals can 

obtain information on this matter by 

contacting the Commission’s TDD 

terminal at 202–205–1810. General 

information concerning the Commission 

may also be obtained by visiting its Web 

site at http://www.usitc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

17, 2008, the Commission published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) 

in the Federal Register. 73 FR 40992 

(July 17, 2008). In that notice the 

Commission proposed two sets of 

changes to the procedures it uses during 

the adequacy phase of five-year reviews 

that it conducts pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 

1675(c). First, the Commission proposed 

modifying the information it requests 

interested parties furnish in their 

responses to the notice of institution it 

publishes pursuant to section 207.60(d) 

of the Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedure, 19 CFR 207.60(d), and 

proposed issuing short questionnaires to 

purchasers in some circumstances. This 

set of proposals did not require any 

amendment to the Commission’s 

regulations. The second proposal sought 

to amend section 207.61(a) of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure to require that responses to 

the notice of institution be filed within 

30 days after its publication. 

Although the Commission considers 

these rules to be procedural rules that 

are excepted from the notice and 

comment requirements of 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(A), the Commission invited 

the public to comment on the proposed 

rule amendment and the other proposed 

changes to its procedures within 60 

days of publication of the NOPR in the 

Federal Register. The Commission 

received substantive comments from the 

following: (1) The law firm of Wiley 

Rein on behalf of the Steel 

Manufacturers Ass’n (SMA); (2) the law 

firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & 

Flom (Skadden); (3) the law firm of 

Kelley Drye & Warren (Kelley); and (4) 

the law firm of Stewart and Stewart 

(Stewart). 

In adopting these changes to its rules 

and procedures, the Commission has 

fully considered the concerns expressed 

in the comments with respect to the 

potential burden on parties to reviews 

and the usefulness of the additional 

information sought by the Commission. 

These comments, and the Commission’s 

responses thereto, are discussed 

comprehensively below. In light of the 

comments, the Commission intends to 

review its new information requests and 

changes to its procedures once it has 

had sufficient experience with them. In 

particular, the Commission intends to 

examine the changes’ utility and 

relevance in attaining the desired 

objectives, as well as the rate of 

response by purchasers to the adequacy 

phase questionnaires. 

As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, the Commission certifies 

that the amendment to its regulation 

will not have a significant impact on 

small business entities. 

Changes in Commission Data Collection 

The Commission has decided to adopt 

the changes in data collection proposed 

in the NOPR. Accordingly, each notice 

of institution the Commission issues 

will contain the additional information 

requests indicated in Appendix A to the 

NOPR, and in those reviews in which 

the Commission does not receive 

responses to the notice of institution 

from both domestic interested parties 

and respondent interested parties, the 

Commission will transmit brief 

questionnaires to purchasers, in the 

format indicated in Appendix B to the 

NOPR, shortly after it receives responses 

to the notice of institution. These 

changes will become effective for 

reviews instituted on or after March 1, 

2009. 

The commenters opposed both of the 

Commission’s data collection proposals. 

With respect to the proposal to seek 

additional information in the notice of 

institution, commenters questioned the 

appropriateness of the Commission’s 

stated objective of obtaining a more 

complete record to better enable it to 

decide whether to expedite a review. 

Skadden contended that the 

Commission should expedite reviews 

whenever responses from an interested 

party group are inadequate and that 


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