[Federal Register: July 11, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 133)]
[Notices]
[Page 41313]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jy03-33]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
North American Free-Trade Agreement, Article 1904 NAFTA Panel
Reviews; Request for Panel Review
AGENCY: NAFTA Secretariat, United States Section, International Trade
Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of first request for panel review.
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SUMMARY: On July 2, 2003, Camara Nacional de la Industria de Aceites,
Grasas, Jabones y Detergentes (CANAJAD) filed a First Request for Panel
Review with the Mexican Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to
Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review
was requested of the final countervailing duty determination made by
the Secretaria de Economia, respecting Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda)
in Aqueous Solution, Originating in the United States of America
independently of the country of origin. This determination was
published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion del, on June 6,2003.
The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number MEX-USA-2003-1904-01 to
this request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caratina L. Alston, United States
Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat, Suite 2061, 14th and Constitution Avenue,
Washington, DC 20230, (202) 482-5438.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chapter 19 of the North American Free-Trade
Agreement (``Agreement'') establishes a mechanism to replace domestic
judicial review of final determinations in antidumping and
countervailing duty cases involving imports from a NAFTA country with
review by independent binational panels. When a Request for Panel
Review is filed, a panel is established to act in place of national
courts to review expeditiously the final determination to determine
whether it conforms with the antidumping or countervailing duty law of
the country that made the determination.
Under Article 1904 of the Agreement, which came into force on
January 1, 1994, the Government of the United States, the Government of
Canada and the Government of Mexico established Rules of Procedure for
Article 1904 Binational Panel Reviews (``Rules''). These Rules were
published in the Federal Register on February 23, 1994 (59 FR 8686).
A first Request for Panel Review was filed with the Mexican Section
of the NAFTA Secretariat, pursuant to Article 1904 of the Agreement, on
July 2, 2003, requesting panel review of the final determination
described above.
The Rules provide that:
(a) A Party or interested person may challenge the final
determination in whole or in part by filing a Complaint in accordance
with Rule 39 within 30 days after the filing of the first Request for
Panel Review (the deadline for filing a Complaint is August 1, 2003);
(b) A Party, investigating authority or interested person that does
not file a Complaint but that intends to appear in support of any
reviewable portion of the final determination may participate in the
panel review by filing a Notice of Appearance in accordance with Rule
40 within 45 days after the filing of the first Request for Panel
Review (the deadline for filing a Notice of Appearance is August 18,
2003); and
(c) The panel review shall be limited to the allegations of error
of fact or law, including the jurisdiction of the investigating
authority, that are set out in the Complaints filed in the panel review
and the procedural and substantive defenses raised in the panel review.
Dated: July 7, 2003.
Caratina L. Alston,
United States Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 03-17547 Filed 7-10-03; 8:45 am]