Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 61363 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

15 CFR Parts 335 and 340 

[Docket No. 050406093–5259–02] 

RIN 0625–AA67 

Imports of Certain Worsted Wool 

Fabric: Implementation of Tariff Rate 

Quota Established Under Title V of the 

Trade and Development Act of 2000 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

publishes this final rule to adopt, 

without change, an interim final rule 

that implemented tariff rate quotas 

(TRQ) for a limited quantity of worsted 

wool fabrics pursuant to Title V of the 

Trade and Development Act of 2000 

(‘‘the Act’’) as amended by the Trade 

Act of 2002 and the Miscellaneous 

Trade Act of 2004, (Pub. L. 108–429). 

Section 501(e) of the Act requires the 

President to fairly allocate TRQs on the 

import of certain worsted wool fabric. 

Section 504(b) of the Act authorizes the 

President to modify the limitations on 

worsted wool fabric imports under 

TRQs. The President has delegated to 

the Secretary of Commerce the authority 

to allocate the quantity of imports under 

the TRQs (specifically for wool products 

under HTS headings, 9902.51.11 and 

9902.51.12) and to determine whether 

the limitations on the quantity of 

imports under the TRQs should be 

modified. This rule is necessary to 

implement the amendment to the Act 

included in the Miscellaneous Trade 

Act of 2004, (Pub. L. 108–429), which 

specifies which HTS categories may be 

allocated as TRQs and which eliminates 

Commerce’s authority to modify these 

quotas. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

October 24, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sergio Botero, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482–4058. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Act created Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTS) 

heading 9902.51.11 and HTS heading 

9902.51.12, which establish two TRQs, 

providing for temporary reductions for 

three years in the import duties on two 

categories of worsted wool fabrics 

suitable for use in making suits, suittype jackets, or trousers: (1) For worsted 

wool fabric with average fiber diameters 

greater than 18.5 microns, the reduction 

in duty is limited to 2,500,000 square 

meter equivalents or such other quantity 

proclaimed by the President; and (2) for 

worsted wool fabric with average fiber 

diameters of 18.5 microns or less, the 

reduction is limited to 1,500,000 square 

meter equivalents or such other quantity 

proclaimed by the President, 

respectively. The Act required that the 

TRQs be allocated. More specifically, 

the President must ensure that the TRQs 

are fairly allocated to persons (including 

firms, corporations, or other legal 

entities) who cut and sew men’s and 

boys’ worsted wool suits, suit-type 

jackets and trousers in the United States 

and who apply for an allocation based 

on the amount of such suits cut and 

sewn during the prior calendar year. 

The Act required that the President 

annually consider requests by U.S. 

manufacturers of certain worsted wool 

apparel to modify the limitation on the 

quantity of fabric that may be imported 

under the TRQs, and granted the 

President the authority to proclaim 

modifications to the limitations. In 

determining whether to modify the 

limitations, the President must consider 

specified U.S. market conditions with 

respect to worsted wool fabric and 

worsted wool apparel. 

In Presidential Proclamation 7383, of 

December 1, 2000, the President 

authorized the Secretary of Commerce: 

(1) To allocate the imports of worsted 

wool fabrics under the TRQs; (2) to 

annually consider requests from 

domestic manufacturers of worsted 

wool apparel to modify the limitation 

on the quantity of worsted wool fabrics 

that may be imported under the TRQs; 

(3) to determine whether the limitations 

on the quantity of imports of worsted 

wool fabrics under the TRQs should be 

modified and to recommend to the 

President that appropriate modifications 

be made; and (4) to issue regulations to 

implement relevant provisions of the 

Act. 

On December 3, 2004, the Act was 

amended pursuant to the Miscellaneous 

Trade Act of 2004, Public Law 108–429. 

The amendment altered the HTS 

categories of worsted wool eligible for 

the TRQs under the Act. Specifically, 

the amendment renumbered HTS 

heading 9902.51.12 to HTS heading 

9902.51.15. The Miscellaneous Trade 

Act of 2004 also increased to 5 million 

square meters from 3.5 million square 

meters the TRQ for worsted wool fabrics 

with average fiber diameters of 18.5 

microns or less (HTS 9902.51.15, 

previously numbered HTS 9902.51.12); 

and increased to 5.5 million square 

meters from 4.5 million square meters 

the TRQ for the worsted wool fabrics 

with average fiber diameters greater 

than 18.5 microns (9902.51.11). 

The amendment also authorized 

Commerce to allocate a new HTS 

category, HTS 9902.51.16. This HTS 

refers to worsted wool fabric with 

average fiber diameters of 18.5 microns 

or less. The amendment further 

specified that HTS 9902.51.16 is for 

worsted wool for the benefit of persons 

(including firms, corporations, or other 

legal entities) who weave worsted wool 

fabric in the United States. 

Finally, the Miscellaneous Trade Act 

of 2004, Public Law 108–429, repealed 

Commerce’s authorization to determine 

whether the limitations on the quantity 

of imports of worsted wool fabrics 

under the TRQs should be modified and 

to recommend to the President that 

appropriate modifications be made. 

On May 16, 2005, the International 

Trade Administration published an 

Interim Final Rule that implemented the 

new HTS categories and allocation 

system and that removed Commerce’s 

authorization to modify the limitation 

on the quantity of imports of worsted 

wool fabrics. The interim regulations 

were effective upon publication to allow 

TRQ recipients to import their products 

under the new HTS categories and 

allocation system. 

Public Comments 

While the interim regulations became 

effective on May 16, 2005, the 

Department of Commerce solicited 

comments on the interim regulations 

and expressed particular interest in 

comments concerning any impact the 

regulations might have on small or 

medium sized businesses. The public 

comment period closed on July 15, 

2005. The Department did not receive 

any comments on the interim 

regulations. 

Action Being Taken by the Department 

of Commerce 

The Department of Commerce is 

adopting without change the interim 

final rule that became effective May 16, 

2005. Title 15, Part 335 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations sets forth 

regulations regarding the issuance and 

effect of licenses for the allocation of 

worsted wool fabric under the tariff rate 

quotas established by Section 501 of the 

Act. Part 340 of the same title is 

removed. 

Classification 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant under Executive Order 

12866 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

61364 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA), which has received approval by 

OMB under control number 0625–0240. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of 

the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

Dated: October 18, 2005. 

James C. Leonard III, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles and 

Apparel. 

PART 335—IMPORTS OF WORSTED 

WOOL FABRICS AND PART 340—

MODIFICATION OF THE TARIFF RATE 

QUOTA LIMITATION ON WORSTED 

WOOL FABRIC IMPORTS 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule that 

amends 15 CFR part 335 and removes 

15 CFR part 340, which was published 

at 70 FR 25774 on May 16, 2005, is 

adopted as final rule without change. 

[FR Doc. 05–21215 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 

[Regulations Nos. 4 and 16] 

RIN 0960–AG23 

Deemed Duration of Marriage for 

Widows/Widowers and Removal of 

Restriction on Benefits to Children of 

Military Parents Overseas 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rules. 

SUMMARY: We are issuing these final 

rules to reflect in our regulations 

changes to the Social Security Act (the 

Act) made by two provisions in the 

Social Security Protection Act of 2004 

(SSPA), enacted on March 2, 2004. One 

provision added a new situation in 

which the 9-month duration-of-marriage 

requirement for surviving spouses under 

title II of the Act is deemed to have been 

met. The other provision removed a 

restriction against payment of 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 

benefits, under title XVI of the Act, to 

certain blind or disabled children who 

were not eligible for SSI benefits the 

month before their military parents 

reported for duty outside the United 

States. 

DATES: These regulations are effective 

October 24, 2005. 

Electronic Version 

The electronic file of this document is 

available on the date of publication in 

the Federal Register at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. It is 

also available on the Internet site for 

SSA (i.e., Social Security Online) at 

http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/ 

LawsRegs. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Bresnick, Social Insurance 

Specialist, Office of Regulations, Social 

Security Administration, 100 Altmeyer 

Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, 

Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, (410) 965–

1758 or TTY (410) 966–5609. For 

information on eligibility or filing for 

benefits, call our national toll-free 

number, 1–800–772–1213 or TTY 1–

800–325–0778, or visit our Internet site, 

Social Security Online, at http:// 

www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Prior to enactment of section 414 of 

the SSPA, Public Law 108–203, if an 

applicant for surviving spouse’s benefits 

did not meet the 9-month duration-ofmarriage requirement or alternative 

requirements, the 9-month requirement 

would be deemed to be met if: 

• The insured’s death was accidental; 

• The insured’s death occurred in the 

line of duty while he or she was a 

member of a uniformed service on 

active duty; or 

• The surviving spouse was 

previously married to the insured for at 

least 9 months, the previous marriage 

ended in divorce, and the surviving 

spouse had remarried the insured prior 

to the insured’s death. 

Section 414 of the SSPA amended 

sections 216(c) and (g) of the Act to add 

a new situation in which the 9-month 

duration-of-marriage requirement is 

deemed met. The requirement will be 

deemed met if: 

• The insured had been married prior 

to the marriage to the surviving spouse; 

• The prior spouse was 

institutionalized during the marriage to 

the insured, due to mental 

incompetence or similar incapacity; 

• We determine, based on satisfactory 

evidence, that during this 

institutionalization the insured would 

have divorced the prior spouse and 

married the surviving spouse but the 

divorce would have been unlawful in 

the State of the insured’s domicile 

because of the institutionalization; 

• The prior spouse remained 

institutionalized up until the time of his 

or her death; and 

• The insured married the surviving 

spouse within 60 days after the prior 

spouse’s death. 

Prior to enactment of section 434 of 

the SSPA, section 1614(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the 

Act included within the definition of a 

blind or disabled individual, for 

purposes of SSI eligibility and payment 

under title XVI, a blind or disabled 

child who lived outside the United 

States if the child: 

• Was a citizen of the United States; 

• Was living with a parent and that 

parent was a member of the Armed 

Forces of the United States assigned to 

permanent duty ashore outside the 

United States; and 

• Was eligible for an SSI benefit for 

the month before the parent reported for 

such assignment. 

Section 434 of the SSPA amended 

section 1614(a)(1)(B)(ii) by eliminating 

the requirement that the child must 

have been eligible for an SSI benefit for 

the month before the parent reported for 

the military assignment. 

Explanation of Changes 

We are revising § 404.335 to extend 

title II benefits to a surviving spouse 

who would have met the duration-ofmarriage requirement to the insured, 

except that as determined based on 

evidence satisfactory to the Agency, it 

was unlawful under State law for the 

insured to divorce the prior spouse by 

reason of the prior spouse’s 

institutionalization because of mental 

incompetence or similar incapacity. The 

prior spouse must have been 

institutionalized during the marriage to 

the insured and remained 

institutionalized until the time of his or 

her death, and the insured must have 

married the surviving spouse within 60 

days after the prior spouse’s death. We 

also are revising the last sentence of 

§ 404.357 to update the reference to the 

revised paragraphs in § 404.335 and 

clarify that this new situation where the 

duration-of-marriage requirement is 

deemed to have been met does not 

apply to stepchildren. 

We are revising § 416.216 by 

amending paragraph (a) to include a 

definition of the regulatory term 

‘‘overseas.’’ The amended paragraph (a) 

clarifies that by overseas we mean 

‘‘outside the United States.’’ We are 

revising paragraph (a)(3) to substitute 

the newly defined term ‘‘overseas’’ for 

‘‘outside the United States.’’ The 

relevant statutory section uses the term 

‘‘outside the United States.’’ The 

regulation already uses ‘‘overseas’’

several times but text we are removing 

from the section includes the term 

‘‘outside the United States.’’ We are 

removing paragraph (a)(4), which