[Federal Register: January 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 2860-2861]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ja07-28]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Textile and Apparel Products from Vietnam: Import Monitoring
Program; Request for Comments
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Request for Public Comment - Import Monitoring of Textile and
Apparel Products from Vietnam.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As a follow-up to its December 4, 2006 request for public
comment, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is providing an
additional opportunity for the public to comment on the development and
implementation of a monitoring program covering imports of textile and
apparel products from Vietnam. This monitoring program will remain in
place for the duration of this Administration. To help the Department
implement the program and, at the same time, be advised of the concerns
of all interested stakeholders, the Department is inviting the public
to provide further input on the monitoring program and identify issues
or considerations that submitters believe are deserving of the
Department's attention as the program proceeds. Responses to comments
already received by the Department as part of its December 4, 2006
request are also welcome.
DATES: To be most useful, the Department requests that comments be
submitted by close of business, January 31, 2007. However, the
Department will continue to welcome and solicit additional views and
input from all parties on an ongoing basis.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing or electronically.
Persons wishing to comment in writing should file, by the date
specified above, a signed original and four copies of each set of
comments. Written comments should be addressed to David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, Room 1870, Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20230.
Electronic comments should be submitted to
vietnam-texapp-monitor-FRcomments@mail.doc.gov. Comments should be limited to 25 pages or
less.
All comments will be available for public inspection at Import
Administration's Central Records Unit, Room B-099, between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days. The Department will not accept
nor consider comments accompanied by a request that a part or all of
the material be treated confidentially because of its business
proprietary nature or for any other reason. In addition, all comments
will be made available to the public in Portable Document Format (PDF)
on the Internet at the Import Administration Web site at the following
address: http://ia.ita.doc.gov. To the extent possible, all comments
will be posted within 48 hours. Any questions concerning file
formatting, document conversion, access on the Internet, or other
electronic filing issues should be addressed to Andrew Lee Beller,
Import Administration Webmaster, at (202) 482-0866, e-mail address:
webmaster-support@ita.doc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Parkhill at (202) 482-3791.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is instituting an import
monitoring program for textile and apparel products from Vietnam. The
Department currently monitors imports of textile and apparel products
from Vietnam and all other textile and apparel producing countries as
part of the regular monitoring and reporting conducted by Import
Administration's Office of Textiles and Apparel. This program, which is
not meant to inhibit legitimate trade, will supplement those monitoring
activities already undertaken by that office and help ensure compliance
with the trade remedy laws.
Implementation of the program began on January 11, 2007 when
Vietnam became a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and will
cease at the end of the current Administration. Five product groups -
trousers, shirts, underwear, swimwear and sweaters - have been
identified as being of special sensitivity for monitoring purposes and
specific products from these broad categories will constitute the
initial focus of Import Administration's monitoring efforts. Outreach
to interested parties, including domestic textile and apparel
producers, workers, retailers, importers and the Government of Vietnam,
will continue throughout the monitoring process and products may be
added or removed from monitoring as appropriate.
OUTREACH PROCESS: As noted, the outreach process will be ongoing and
continue throughout the life of the program. All parties are welcome to
meet with or otherwise provide input to the Department There will be no
restrictions on access to the Department or preconditions for comment
on the monitoring program. In addition, the Department will establish
an electronic hotline - vietnam-texapp-monitor-hotline@mail.doc.gov -
to make it easier for parties to provide input, raise questions or
submit suggestions to the Department about the program. The Department
fully anticipates that input from this outreach process will lead to
improvements in the monitoring program, as the need arises.
The Department intends to hold a public hearing on the program in
Washington, D.C. within the next three months. A separate notice in the
Federal Register announcing the hearing and providing guidance on
participation will be issued no later than 30 days in advance of the
hearing. The Department is also considering the possibility of holding
a series of field hearings. If held, the Department intends to ensure
that the locations of these hearings will be convenient to the broad
array of parties that have expressed interest in the monitoring program
including domestic textile and apparel producers, workers, retailers
and importers. The Department is also examining ways in which access to
the hearing(s) may be extended to those unable to attend in person.
The Department also intends to develop an email notification system
to provide parties notice of upcoming developments. Those interested in
being included in the email notification system should provide the
Department with their email address. Email addresses may be submitted
in writing
[[Page 2861]]
or through the email hotline -
vietnam-texapp-monitor-hotline@mail.doc.gov.
PRODUCT COVERAGE: The Department intends to monitor five product groups
- trousers, shirts, underwear, swimwear and sweaters. However, the
Department recognizes that these five product groups are too broad for
effective monitoring. Within these five groups, the Department intends
to focus on those traditional three-digit textile and apparel
categories of greatest significance based on trade trends, composition
of the U.S. industry and input from parties, as appropriate. In
addition to gathering aggregate value data for each of the monitored
three-digit categories, the Department intends to gather volume, value
and average unit value data for selected products within those
categories that will be collected and examined on a 10-digit Harmonized
Tariff System (HTS) code basis. All data will be updated monthly and
made available to the public on the Import Administration's Office of
Textile and Apparel website - http://www.otexa.ita.doc.gov/.
Product coverage is not intended by the Department necessarily to
be static. Changes in product coverage may occur in response to input
received from interested parties, changes in the trade, or as the
Department broadens its understanding of the composition and structure
of the domestic textile and apparel industry. Further, as the
Department's extends its knowledge of the domestic industry and the
products it produces, as part of its monitoring, biannual evaluation
and like product analysis, it intends to continue its interaction with
stakeholders to allow for full comment and input. As part of this
process, products may be added or removed from monitoring, as
appropriate.
PRODUCTION TEMPLATES: Production templates will be developed on an as-
needed basis, as merited by the Department's analysis of the monitored
imports, and their impact on, and relation to, the domestic industry.
In developing these templates, the Department intends to gather input
from parties knowledgeable about the production process. Proxy
countries, appropriate for the product being examined, will not be
selected until that time.
BIANNUAL EVALUATION: The Department intends to conduct its formal
evaluation of the information gathered under the monitoring program on
a biannual basis. Interim reviews are not expected to be conducted
unless warranted by unforeseen developments.
As explained above, public import data gathered by the Department
as part of its monitoring program will be posted on the Import
Administration website and updated monthly. Data will be reviewed at
the 10-digit HTS level and shifts in product mix and seasonality will
be considered when evaluating price and volume trends, as appropriate.
In addition to analyzing import data as part of this review process,
the Department will consider domestic industry information including
production, employment and other indicators of industry health, to the
extent relevant to the biannual evaluation process.
SELF-INITIATION: Any self-initiation of an antidumping investigation
arising from this program will be fully consistent with U.S. law as set
forth in the statute and the Department's regulations, and with the
applicable WTO rules.
CRITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Any application of critical circumstances in
the context of a self-initiated investigation will be fully consistent
with U.S. law, and with the applicable WTO rules. Should the Department
find critical circumstances, suspension of liquidation would apply to
unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: 1) 90 days before
the date on which suspension of liquidation is first ordered; or 2) the
date on which notice of the initiation of the investigation is
published in the Federal Register (section 733(e)(2) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended).
NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: There are no new paperwork or reporting
requirements as a result of the Department's monitoring program.
Furthermore, all responses to the Department's Federal Register notice
requests for information, including this request, are strictly
voluntary.
Dated: January 17, 2007.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-928 Filed 1-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S