[Federal Register: April 22, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 78)]
[Notices]
[Page 21815-21816]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ap04-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
[Docket No. 040419121-4121-01]
Request for Public Comment on the Receipt by the Department of
Commerce of a Written Petition Requesting the Imposition of Short
Supply Export Controls and Monitoring on Recyclable Metallic Materials
Containing Copper
AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments on a petition requesting the imposition of
short supply export controls.
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SUMMARY: On April 7, 2004, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
received a written petition requesting the imposition of export
monitoring and export controls on copper scrap and copper-alloy scrap;
the petitioner also requested a public hearing on the issue. This
notice describes the Department's intended proceeding on the petition,
and invites public comment on the subject of the petition.
DATES: In order to ensure ample time for the consideration of the views
of interested persons, the Department requests submission of initial
written comments by May 13, 2004. Written comments that respond to the
initial comments should be submitted by May 27, 2004. All written
comments must be received by no later than 5 p.m. e.d.t. June 7, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Written comments (three copies) should be sent to Copper
Short Supply Petition, Regulatory Policy Division, Bureau of Industry
and Security, Department of Commerce, P.O. Box 273, Washington, DC
20044. Alternatively, comments may be e-mailed to
coppershortsupplypetition@bis.doc.gov. All public comments on the
subject of this proceeding, including the petition, will be made a
matter of public record and will be available for review on the BIS Web
site at http://www.bis.doc.gov. If requesters cannot access the BIS Web site,
please call the Regulatory Policy Division at (202) 482-2440 for
assistance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel O. Hill, Director of the Office
of Strategic Industries and Economic Security, Bureau of Industry and
Security, who may be reached at (202) 482-4506.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the provisions of section 7(c) of the
Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (EAA) (50 U.S.C. app.
2406(c)), as implemented by section 754.7 of the Export Administration
Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR 754.7), any entity, including a trade
association, firm, or certified or recognized union or group of workers
that is representative of an industry, or a substantial segment of an
industry, that processes metallic materials capable of being recycled
may file a petition with BIS requesting that the Department of Commerce
impose monitoring on the export of such material, controls on the
export of such material, or both, in order to carry out the policy set
forth in section 3(2)(C) of the EAA.
On April 7, 2004, a petition was received from the member companies
of the Copper & Brass Fabricators Council, Inc., and the Non-Ferrous
Founders' Society requesting that the Department impose monitoring and
controls on exports of recycled metallic materials containing copper
pursuant to the provisions of section 7(c) of the EAA and section 754.7
of the EAR. The petitioner also requested that the Department hold a
hearing on the subject of the petition.
In this notice, BIS is seeking comments on the justification for
and merits of the actions requested in the petition, and the impact of
such actions on affected exporters, the recyclable metallic metals
industry, the recyclable copper industry, the economy, and the public
at large. The commodities to be considered by the Department in this
proceeding, identified by Schedule B number in the Statistical
Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported from the
United States, are listed under subheadings 7404.00.0020, 7404.00.0045,
7404.00.0062, and 7404.00.0080.
Public Comments
To assist the Department in its evaluation of this petition,
interested persons are encouraged to submit written comments and data
regarding the criteria set forth in section 7(c)(3)(A)(i)-(v) of the
EAA; the need for and consequences of export monitoring or controls at
this time on one or more of the commodities under consideration; and
any other matters that interested persons believe to be relevant to the
subject of this proceeding. All written comments should contain an
executive summary of no more than five (5) pages.
In order to take into account the views of all interested persons
in making its determination, the Department encourages parties to
submit their comments at the earliest possible date. Early submission
will ensure that persons are able to address the areas identified by
the Department as well as comment, expand upon, and, if applicable,
rebut the comments submitted by other persons. To fulfill this
objective, the Department will accept initial comments and comments
that respond to previously submitted comments. The Department requests
that initial comments be submitted by May 13, 2004. Written comments
that respond to the initial comments should be submitted by May 27,
2004. The period for submission of written comments on the action under
consideration will end as of 5 p.m. e.d.t. June 7, 2004.
Public Hearing
The Department has received a request for a hearing pursuant to the
provisions of section 7(c)(2) of the EAA. Persons desiring to make
presentations at the public hearing must make a written request to BIS
at the address listed above. Requests must be filed by May 13, 2004.
The request should contain a telephone number where the presenter can
be reached before the hearing. All requests to make an oral
presentation should describe the presenter's interest in the
proceeding, explain why that person is an appropriate representative of
a group or class of persons that has such an interest, and should
enclose a concise summary of the proposed oral presentation. The
Department will notify each person selected to be heard prior to the
hearing. Persons selected to be heard should bring 25 copies of their
statement to the hearing.
The Department will attempt to ensure that all interested parties
have an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. The Department
reserves the right to select the persons to be heard at the hearing, to
schedule their respective presentations, and to establish the
procedures governing the conduct of the hearing. The length of each
presentation will be limited. Only members of the Department's hearing
panel may ask questions of the presenters.
The Department will provide more details on the procedures
governing the conduct of the hearing in a notice to be published in the
Federal Register.
Areas of Interest
Pursuant to the provisions of section 7(c) of the EAA, in making
the determination as to whether to impose
[[Page 21816]]
monitoring or controls on the exports of recyclable metallic materials,
the Department is required to determine whether:
1. There has been a significant increase, in relation to a specific
period of time, in exports of such material in relation to domestic
supply and demand.
2. There has been a significant increase in domestic price of such
material or a domestic shortage of such material relative to demand.
3. Exports of such material are as important as any other cause of
a domestic price increase or shortage relative to demand.
4. A domestic price increase or shortage relative to demand has
significantly adversely affected or may significantly adversely affect
the national economy or any sector thereof, including a domestic
industry.
5. Export monitoring or controls, or both, are necessary in order
to carry out the policy set forth in section 3(2)(C) of the EAA.
Section 3(2)(C) of the EAA states that it is the policy of the United
States to restrict the export of goods where necessary to protect the
domestic economy from the excessive drain of scarce materials and to
reduce the serious inflationary impact of foreign demand.
To assist the Department in making these determinations, the
Department is interested in any information that can be provided on the
following subjects:
1. Information describing the current economic profile of the U.S.
copper industry, including information on the number of producers,
smelters, refiners, users, and exporters of copper scrap, and the
number of employed workers engaged in these activities by industry and
occupation.
2. Quantitative information characterizing the effect of copper
scrap exports on industries that mine copper; smelt and refine copper;
companies that roll, draw, and extrude copper; companies that produce
copper wire; and the secondary smelting, refining, and copper alloying
industry.
3. Data on the materials used in the manufacturing process for
copper products; the percentage, by measure and price, of these
materials, including the energy used, in manufactured copper products.
4. Data on the impact of exports on the domestic price of products
containing copper, including an assessment of the direct economic
impact of exports on user industries, such as construction,
electronics, and transportation.
5. Quantitative information on the global copper industry,
including the current and anticipated world supply, demand, imports,
and exports of copper and copper scrap, and the effect of copper scrap
prices and supply on the U.S. copper industry involving mining.
6. Historical information comparing consumption, demand, prices,
and exports of copper and copper scrap during the expanding economy
from the mid-1990s through 2000, in comparison to the contraction of
the economy in 2001 and 2002, and again in comparison to the current
economic expansion of 2003-2004.
7. Information on any factors, other than exports, that may have
contributed to domestic shortages and increased prices for copper
scrap. For example, this information could include seasonal effects,
reduction in smelting capacity, declines in domestic consumption,
changes in technology, consumer preferences, and disruptions in the
supply, production or distribution chains.
8. The effect that copper scrap shortages, by type or grade of
scrap, have had on any segments of the copper industry that only
utilize scrap as an input to their manufactured goods, and are unable
to convert to other forms of copper.
9. Information on the trade and other practices of other countries
that have had a direct impact on the U.S. copper industry's ability to
compete globally.
10. Comments regarding the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the
requested monitoring and controls, and comments or suggestions as to
actions that would make the requested actions more effective, if
imposed.
11. Economic analyses of the likely effect of export monitoring
and/or export controls on the price and availability of copper scrap in
the domestic market, as well as the likely effect on other domestic
industries and the U.S. economy at large.
The Department will reach a decision on this matter within 45 days
of the close of the comment period. This decision and any regulations
necessary to implement it, together with a detailed statement of the
reasons for the Department's decision, will be published in the Federal
Register.
Dated: April 19, 2004.
Peter Lichtenbaum,
Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-9161 Filed 4-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P