Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Notices 97583 

Agencies and the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB). 

Panelists and households selected for 

the HTOPS were recruited from the 

Census Bureau’s gold standard Master 

Address File. This ensures that HTOPS 

is rooted in this rigorously developed 

and maintained frame and available for 

linkage to administrative records 

securely maintained and curated by the 

Census Bureau. Invitations to complete 

the monthly surveys will be sent via 

email and SMS messages. 

Questionnaires will be mainly internet 

self-response. The HTOPS will maintain 

representativeness by allowing 

respondents who do not use the internet 

to respond via computer-assisted 

telephone interviewing (CATI). All 

panelists will receive an incentive for 

each complete questionnaire. Periodic 

replenishment samples will maintain 

representativeness and panelists will be 

replaced after a period of three years. 

Affected Public: Households. 

Frequency: Monthly. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: 13 U.S.C. 141, 182 

and 193. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0607–1025. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28849 Filed 12–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

[Docket No. 241127–0304] 

RIN 0694–XC110 

Impact of the Implementation of the 

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 

on Legitimate Commercial Chemical, 

Biotechnology, and Pharmaceutical 

Activities Involving ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

Chemicals (Including ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

Chemicals Produced as Intermediates) 

During Calendar Year 2024 

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and 

Security, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of inquiry. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and 

Security (BIS) is seeking public 

comments on the impact that 

implementation of the Chemical 

Weapons Convention (CWC or ‘‘the 

Convention’’), through the Chemical 

Weapons Convention Implementation 

Act of 1998 and the Chemical Weapons 

Convention Regulations (CWCR), has 

had on commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals during calendar 

year 2024. The purpose of this notice of 

inquiry is to collect information to assist 

BIS in its preparation of the annual 

certification to the Congress on whether 

the legitimate commercial activities and 

interests of chemical, biotechnology, 

and pharmaceutical firms are harmed by 

such implementation. This certification 

is required under Condition 9 of Senate 

Resolution 75 (April 24, 1997), in which 

the Senate gave its advice and consent 

to the ratification of the CWC. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

January 8, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on this rule may 

be submitted to the Federal rulemaking 

portal at: www.regulations.gov. The 

regulations.gov ID for this rule is: BIS– 

2024–0054. Please refer to RIN 0694– 

XC110 in all comments. 

All filers using the portal should use 

the name of the person or entity 

submitting the comments as the name of 

their files, in accordance with the 

instructions below. Anyone submitting 

business confidential information 

should clearly identify the business 

confidential portion at the time of 

submission, file a statement justifying 

nondisclosure and referring to the 

specific legal authority claimed, and 

provide a non-confidential version of 

the submission. 

For comments submitted 

electronically containing business 

confidential information, the file name 

of the business confidential version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘BC.’’ 

Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page. The 

corresponding non-confidential version 

of those comments must be clearly 

marked ‘‘PUBLIC.’’ The file name of the 

non-confidential version should begin 

with the character ‘‘P.’’ Any 

submissions with file names that do not 

begin with either a ‘‘BC’’ or a ‘‘P’’ will 

be assumed to be public and will be 

made publicly available at: https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters submitting business 

confidential information are encouraged 

to scan a hard copy of the nonconfidential version to create an image 

of the file, rather than submitting a 

digital copy with redactions applied, to 

avoid inadvertent redaction errors 

which could enable the public to read 

business confidential information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For questions on the Chemical 

Weapons Convention requirements for 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals, contact David 

Johnston, Treaty Compliance Division, 

(202) 482–2450, Email: David Johnston@

bis.doc.gov. 

For questions on the submission of 

comments, contact Logan Norton, 

Regulatory Policy Division, (202) 482– 

2440; Email: RPD2@bis.doc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In providing its advice and consent to 

the ratification of the Convention on the 

Prohibition of the Development, 

Production, Stockpiling, and Use of 

Chemical Weapons and Their 

Destruction (CWC or ‘‘the Convention’’), 

the Senate included, in Senate 

Resolution 75 (S. Res. 75, April 24, 

1997), several conditions to its 

ratification. Condition 9, titled 

‘‘Protection of Advanced 

Biotechnology,’’ calls for the President 

to certify to Congress on an annual basis 

that ‘‘the legitimate commercial 

activities and interests of chemical, 

biotechnology, and pharmaceutical 

firms in the United States are not being 

significantly harmed by the limitations 

of the Convention on access to, and 

production of, those chemicals and 

toxins listed in Schedule 1.’’ On July 8, 

2004, President George W. Bush, by 

Executive Order 13346, delegated his 

authority to make the annual 

certification to the Secretary of 

Commerce. 

The CWC is an international arms 

control treaty that contains certain 

verification provisions. In order to 

implement these verification provisions, 

the CWC established the Organization 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
97584 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 236 / Monday, December 9, 2024 / Notices 

for the Prohibition of Chemical 

Weapons (OPCW). In order to achieve 

the object and purpose of the 

Convention and the implementation of 

its provisions, the CWC imposes certain 

obligations on countries that have 

ratified the Convention (i.e., States 

Parties), among which are the enactment 

of legislation to prohibit the production, 

storage, and use of chemical weapons 

and the establishment of a National 

Authority to serve as the national focal 

point for effective liaison with the 

OPCW and other States Parties. The 

CWC also requires each State Party to 

implement a comprehensive data 

declaration and inspection regime to 

provide transparency and to verify that 

both the public and private sectors of 

the State Party are not engaged in 

activities prohibited under the CWC. In 

the United States, the Chemical 

Weapons Convention Implementation 

Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6701 et seq.) 

implements the provisions of the CWC. 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals consist of 

those toxic chemicals and precursors set 

forth in the CWC ‘‘Annex on 

Chemicals’’ and in ‘‘Supplement No. 1 

to part 712—SCHEDULE 1 

CHEMICALS’’ of the CWCR (15 CFR 

parts 710–722). The CWC identified 

these toxic chemicals and precursors as 

posing a high risk to the object and 

purpose of the Convention. 

The CWC (Part VI of the ‘‘Verification 

Annex’’) restricts the production of 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals for protective 

purposes to two facilities per State 

Party: a single small-scale facility and a 

facility for production in quantities not 

exceeding 10 kilograms (kg) per year. 

The CWC Article-by-Article Analysis 

submitted to the Senate in Treaty Doc. 

103–21 defined the term ‘‘protective 

purposes’’ to mean ‘‘used for 

determining the adequacy of defense 

equipment and measures.’’ Consistent 

with this definition and as authorized 

by Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 

70 (December 17, 1999), which specifies 

agency and departmental 

responsibilities as part of the U.S. 

implementation of the CWC, the 

Department of Defense (DoD) was 

assigned the responsibility to operate 

these two facilities. DoD maintains strict 

controls on ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

produced at its facilities in order to 

ensure accountability for such 

chemicals, as well as their proper use, 

consistent with the object and purpose 

of the Convention. Although this 

assignment of responsibility to DoD 

under PDD–70 effectively precluded 

commercial production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals for ‘‘protective purposes’’ in 

the United States, it did not establish 

any limitations on ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemical activities that are not 

prohibited by the CWC. 

The provisions of the CWC that affect 

commercial activities involving 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals are 

implemented in the CWCR (see 15 CFR 

part 712) and in the Export 

Administration Regulations (EAR) (see 

15 CFR 742.18 and 15 CFR part 745), 

both of which are administered by BIS. 

Pursuant to CWC requirements, the 

CWCR restrict commercial production 

of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals to research, 

medical, or pharmaceutical purposes. 

The CWCR prohibit commercial 

production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

for ‘‘protective purposes’’ because such 

production is effectively precluded per 

PDD–70, as described above (see 15 CFR 

712.2(a)). 

The CWCR also contain other 

requirements and prohibitions that 

apply to ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals and/or 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ facilities. Specifically, the 

CWCR: 

(1) Prohibit the import of ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ chemicals from States not Party to 

the Convention (15 CFR 712.2(b)); 

(2) Require annual declarations by 

certain facilities engaged in the 

production of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

in excess of 100 grams aggregate per 

calendar year (i.e., declared ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ facilities) for purposes not prohibited 

by the Convention (15 CFR 712.5(a)(1) 

and (a)(2)); 

(3) Provide for government approval 

of ‘‘declared Schedule 1’’ facilities (15 

CFR 712.5(f)); 

(4) Require 200 days advance 

notification of the establishment of new 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ production facilities 

producing greater than 100 grams 

aggregate of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals per 

calendar year (15 CFR 712.4); 

(5) Provide that ‘‘declared Schedule 

1’’ facilities are subject to initial and 

routine inspection by the OPCW (15 

CFR 712.5(e) and 716.1(b)(1)); 

(6) Require advance notification and 

annual reporting of all imports and 

exports of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals to, or 

from, other States Parties to the 

Convention (15 CFR 712.6, 742.18(a)(1) 

and 745.1); and 

(7) Prohibit the export of ‘‘Schedule 

1’’ chemicals to States not Party to the 

Convention (15 CFR 742.18(a)(1) and 

(b)(1)(ii)). 

For purposes of the CWCR (see the 

definition of ‘‘production’’ in 15 CFR 

710.1), the phrase ‘‘production of a 

Schedule 1 chemical’’ means the 

formation of ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

through chemical synthesis, as well as 

processing to extract and isolate 

‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals. The phrase 

also encompasses the formation of a 

chemical through chemical reaction, 

including by a biochemical or 

biologically mediated reaction. 

‘‘Production of a Schedule 1 chemical’’ 

is understood, for CWCR declaration 

purposes, to include intermediates, byproducts, or waste products that are 

produced and consumed within a 

defined chemical manufacturing 

sequence, where such intermediates, byproducts, or waste products are 

chemically stable and therefore exist for 

a sufficient time to make isolation from 

the manufacturing stream possible, but 

where, under normal or design 

operating conditions, isolation does not 

occur. 

Request for Comments 

In order to assist in determining 

whether the legitimate commercial 

activities and interests of chemical, 

biotechnology, and pharmaceutical 

firms in the United States are 

significantly harmed by the limitations 

of the Convention on access to, and 

production of, ‘‘Schedule 1’’ chemicals 

as described in this notice, BIS is 

seeking public comments on any effects 

that implementation of the CWC, 

through the Chemical Weapons 

Convention Implementation Act of 1998 

and the CWCR, has had on commercial 

activities involving ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals during calendar year 2024. To 

allow BIS to properly evaluate the 

significance of any harm to commercial 

activities involving ‘‘Schedule 1’’ 

chemicals, public comments submitted 

in response to this notice of inquiry 

should include both a quantitative and 

qualitative assessment of the impact of 

the CWC on such activities. 

Submission of Comments 

All comments must be submitted to 

one of the addresses indicated in this 

notice and in accordance with the 

instructions provided herein. BIS will 

consider all comments received on or 

before January 8, 2025. 

Matthew S. Borman, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Strategic Trade and Technology Security. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28755 Filed 12–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–428–852] 

Melamine From Germany: Final 

Affirmative Determination of Sales at 

Less Than Fair Value 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1