12582 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 7, 1995 / Notices

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

OMB intends to rescind Circular No. A–

73, Audit of Federal Operations and

Programs. The current circular codifies

what are now common audit practices

throughout the Federal Government and

extends the application of certain

principles in the Inspector General Act

of 1978 (IG Act) to those agencies not

covered by the IG Act. Circular No. A–

73 is unnecessary because: (1) Its audit

policy direction is largely hortatory and

(2) the IG Act has been expanded in

1988 amendments to cover almost all

Federal entities of significant size.

DATES: Persons who wish to comment

on the proposed rescission of Circular

No. A–73 should submit their comments

no later than April 7, 1995. The

rescission will take place May 22, 1995,

unless the comments raise significant

concerns regarding the proposed

rescission.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to: Suzanne Murrin, Office of

Federal Financial Management, Office

of Management and Budget, New

Executive Office Building, 725 17th

Street, NW, Room 6025, Washington,

DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information on the proposed

rescission of Circular No. A–73, contact

Suzanne Murrin on (202) 395–6911. For

further information on OMB’s overall

review of its circulars, contact Frank J.

Seidl, III, Staff Assistant, on (202) 395–

5146; or Rosalyn J. Rettman, Associate

General Counsel for Budget on (202)

395–5600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Director of the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) has initiated a

systematic review of all OMB circulars,

as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary

Government directives. As part of this

initiative, each OMB circular is being

reviewed to see whether it should be

rescinded or whether its requirements

can be simplified.

[FR Doc. 95–5489 Filed 3–6–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3110–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. 301–92]

Termination of Section 301

Investigation and Action Regarding the

People’s Republic of China’s

Protection of Intellectual Property and

Provision and Market Access to

Persons Who Rely on Intellectual

Property Protection

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Termination of investigation of

certain acts, policies and practices of the

Peoples’ Republic of China (China)

initiated under section 302 of the Trade

Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act);

termination of action pursuant to

section 301 of the Trade Act; monitoring

of trade agreement under section 306 of

the Trade Act; revocation of priority

foreign country identification under

section 182(c)(1)(B) of the Trade Act;

and requests for public comment.

SUMMARY: On February 4, 1995, the

United States Trade Representative

(USTR) determined pursuant to section

304(a)(1)(A) of the Trade Act that

certain acts, policies and practices of

China with respect to the enforcement

of intellectual property rights and the

provision of market access to persons

who rely on intellectual property

protection are unreasonable and

constitute a burden or restriction on

U.S. commerce. The USTR also

determined pursuant to section

304(a)(1)(B) and 301(b) that action in the

form of increasing duties on certain

products of China to 100 percent ad

valorem was appropriate. 60 FR 7230

(February 7, 1995). Having reached a

satisfactory resolution of the issues

under investigation, the USTR has

determined to: (1) Terminate this

section 301 investigation; (2) monitor

implementation of the agreement under

section 306 of the Trade Act; (3)

terminate the action ordered pursuant to

section 301 with respect to raising tariffs

on certain products originating in

China; and (4) revoke China’s

identification as a priority foreign

country under section 182 of the Trade

Act. Public comments will be accepted

on the decision to terminate the action

ordered pursuant to section 301.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The modification of the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTS) described below is

effective with respect to imports

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse

for consumption, on or after February

26, 1995. The determinations to

terminate the action taken under section

301 and revoke China’s status as a

priority foreign country were made by

the USTR on February 26, 1995. Written

comments from interested persons are

due by noon on Friday, March 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Section 301 Committee,

Office of the United States Trade

Representative, Room 223, 600 17th

Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20506.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah Lehr, Director for China and

Mongolian Affairs (202) 395–5050, or

Thomas Robertson, Assistant General

Counsel (202) 395–6800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June

30, 1994, China was identified as a

priority foreign country under the

‘‘special 301’’ provisions of the Trade

Act for its failure to enforce intellectual

property rights or to provide fair and

equitable market access to persons who

rely on intellectual property protection.

On the same day, the USTR initiated an

investigation of those acts, policies and

practices of China that were the basis for

its identification as a priority foreign

country (PFC) under section 182(c)(1)(B)

of the Trade Act. 59 FR 35558 (July 12,

1994).

On December 31, 1994, the USTR

extended the investigation until

February 4, 1995, and sought public

comment on proposed determinations

under section 304(a)(1). 60 FR 1829

(January 5, 1995). On February 4, 1995,

the USTR determined that the acts,

policies and practices of the Chinese

government at issue in the investigation

are unreasonable and constitute a

burden or restriction on U.S. commerce.

The USTR also determined that the

appropriate action in response was to

impose duties of 100 percent ad valorem

on certain Chinese-origin products that

were entered, or withdrawn from

warehouse for consumption, on or after

February 26, 1995. 60 FR 7230

(February 7, 1995).

After extensive negotiations, the

United States and China entered into an

exchange of letters (including an Action

Plan for the Effective Protection and

Enforcement of Intellectual Property

Rights) by which China will address the

issues raised by the United States in the

negotiations. Under the agreement,

China will, among other things,

establish a system at the central,

provincial and local levels to provide

strong, transparent and responsive

enforcement of intellectual property

rights; initiate a special enforcement

period during which enhanced

resources will be allocated to the

enforcement of intellectual property

rights; establish an effective border

enforcement regime; ensure the

transparency of its legal regime,
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 7, 1995 / Notices 12583

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) (1988).

2The subscriber fees imposed for receipt of this

information will be set forth in a separate rule filing

submitted pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Act. The

NASD does not believe that Commission

consideration of the instant proposal should be

contingent upon approval of the fees for this

service, as Nasdaq will make the service available

at no charge until an appropriate fee structure for

the service is approved by the Commission.

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33938

(Apr. 20, 1994), 59 FR 22033 (Apr. 28, 1994).

4The original notice of the NASD’s proposal set

forth in greater detail the basis for this feature.

Specifically, the original notice states that:

Because of the additional non-member

constituencies that will be able to view all

broadcast orders, the NASD is also proposing to

Continued

including the publication of all laws

and regulations concerning intellectual

property protection; and provide U.S.

right holders with enhanced access to

the Chinese market. The United States

and China will consult regularly on

China’s implementation of the

agreement.

On the basis of the measures that

China has agreed to undertake in the

agreement, the USTR has decided that

the action taken pursuant to section

301(b) (the increase in tariffs on certain

products from China) is no longer

appropriate and should be terminated.

The United States Custom Service has

been notified of this determination.

Pursuant to section 182(c)(1)(A) of the

Trade Act, the USTR has also decided

to revoke China’s designation as a

priority foreign country.

Section 307(a)(1)(C) of the Trade Act

authorizes the USTR to terminate any

action, subject to the specific direction,

if any, of the President, if, inter alia, the

USTR determines that the action being

taken under section 301(b) of the Trade

Act is no longer appropriate. Prior to

terminating this 301 action, the USTR

consulted with the domestic industries

concerned regarding the modification

and termination of the existing action.

An opportunity for public comment

prior to this action was not possible in

view of the need for expeditious action.

Immediate termination of the 301 action

was required so that U.S. intellectual

property right holders could

immediately start to receive the benefits

of the agreement entered into with

China. However, interested members of

the public are now invited to submit

comments to USTR regarding this action

in accordance with the directions

provided below. USTR will review these

comments upon receipt.

Pursuant to section 306 of the Trade

Act, the USTR will monitor China’s

implementation of the agreement. If, on

the basis of this monitoring, the USTR

considers that China is not satisfactorily

implementing the terms of the

agreement, the USTR will decide what

further action to take under section

301(a) of the Trade Act.

Public Comments

Comments must be filed in

accordance with the requirements set

forth in 15 CFR 2006.8(b) and are due

no later than noon, Friday, March 10,

1995. Comments must be in English and

be provided in twenty copies to:

Chairman, section 301 Committee,

Room 223, USTR, 600 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20506.

Comments will be placed in a file

[Docket 301–92] open to public

inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13,

except confidential business

information exempt from public

inspection in accordance with 15 CFR

2006.15. Confidential business

information submitted in accordance

with 15 CFR 2006.15 must be clearly

marked ‘‘Business Confidential’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page (on each of the 20 copies), and

must be accompanied by a

nonconfidential summary of the

confidential information. The

nonconfidential summary shall be

placed in the docket open to public

inspection.

Modification of the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States (HTS)

Accordingly, the HTS is hereby

modified by deleting subheadings

9903.50.01 through 9903.50.33,

inclusive, and the superior text

immediately preceding such

subheadings, effective February 26,

1995.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

[FR Doc. 95–5664 Filed 3–6–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–35428; File No. SR–NASD–

94–9, Amendment No. 2]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Amendment No. 2 To Proposed Rule

Change by National Association of

Securities Dealers, Inc. Relating to

Non-member Viewing Access to

SelectNet

February 28, 1994.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’),1 notice is hereby given that on

January 30, 1995, the National

Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

(‘‘NASD’’ or ‘‘Association’’) filed with

the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘SEC’’)

the proposed rule change as described

in Items I, II, and III below, which Items

have been prepared by the NASD. The

Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the proposed rule

change from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The NASD proposes to amend its

proposal to enhance the transparency of,

and nonmember viewing access to,

‘‘broadcast’’ orders transmitted through

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.’s

(‘‘Nasdaq’’) SelectNet service.

Specifically, the NASD proposes to

disseminate a separate feed of

‘‘broadcast’’ orders entered into

SelectNet that will be available to

vendors.2

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

NASD included statements concerning

the purpose of and basis for the

proposed rule change and discussed any

comments it received on the proposed

rule change. The text of these statements

may be examined at the places specified

in Item IV below. The NASD has

prepared summaries, set forth in

Sections (A), (B), and (C) below, of the

most significant aspects of such

statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In March 1994, the NASD proposed

modifications to the operation of

Nasdaq’s SelectNet service that would

permit viewing access by non-members

who are subscribers to the Nasdaq

Workstation Level 2 service to view

‘‘broadcast’’ orders immediately as they

are entered into the service.3 In

addition, because of the additional nonmember constituencies that will be able

to view all broadcast orders entered into

SelectNet, the NASD also proposed to

modify its order-entry procedure for

SelectNet to ensure that broadcast

orders are entered into and displayed

through SelectNet anonymously. This

feature was proposed for two reasons:

(a) To preserve incentives for dealers to

continue to make markets that add

liquidity to the market; and (b) to avoid

conditioning the market in one direction

or another by orders identified with

particular market makers or order entry

firms.4 With this filing, the NASD