[Federal Register: December 28, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 248)] [Notices] [Page 71450] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr28de98-39] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: On November 20, 1998, Cello Products, Inc. and Bow Metallics Inc. filed a First Request for Panel Review with the Canadian Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of the Rescission of Finding Made on October 18, 1993 in Inquiry No. NQ-93-001 determination made by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, respecting Certain Solder Joint Pressure Pipe Fittings and Solder Joint Drainage, Waste and Vent Pipe Fittings, Made of Cast Copper Alloy, Wrought Copper Alloy or Wrought Copper, Originating in or Exported from the United States of America and Produced by or on Behalf of Elkhart Products Corporation, Elkhart, Indiana, NIBCO Inc., Elkhart, Indiana, and Mueller Industries, Inc., Wichita, Kansas, Their Successors and Assigns. This determination was published in the Canada Gazette Part I, Volume 132, No. 43, page 2932, dated October 24, 1998. The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number CDA-USA-98-1904-03 to this request. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James R. Holbein, 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 Canadian Section of the NAFTA Secretariat, pursuant to Article 1904 of the Agreement, on November 20, 1998, requesting panel review of the final rescission of finding 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 December 21, 1998); (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 January 4, 1999); 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: December 9, 1998. James R. Holbein, United States Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat. [FR Doc. 98-34194 Filed 12-24-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-GT-P