Notice of Request for Public Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Titanium Sponge
| Citation | 84 FR 8503 |
| Record Number | 2019-04209 |
| Published date | 08 March 2019 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Commerce Department,Industry And Security Bureau |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 46 (Friday, March 8, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 46 (Friday, March 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8503-8504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04209]
[[Page 8503]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
Notice of Request for Public Comments on Section 232 National
Security Investigation of Imports of Titanium Sponge
AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology
Evaluation, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: On March 4, 2019, in response to a petition, the Secretary of
Commerce (the ``Secretary'') initiated an investigation to determine
the effects on the national security from imports of titanium sponge.
This investigation has been initiated under section 232 of the Trade
Expansion Act of 1962, as amended.
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data,
analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to the
Department of Commerce's (the ``Department'') Bureau of Industry and
Security by April 22, 2019. Rebuttal comments will be due by May 22,
2019. This notice identifies issues on which the Department is
especially interested in obtaining the public's views.
DATES: The due date for filing comments is April 22, 2019. The due date
for rebuttal comments is May 22, 2019. Rebuttal comments may only
address issues raised in comments filed on or before April 22, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submissions: All written comments on the notice must be
submitted in English and must be addressed to Section 232 Titanium
Sponge Investigation and filed through the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number BIS-2018-0027 on the home page
and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search results page
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to
this notice and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For
further information on using http://www.regulations.gov, please consult
the resources provided on the website by clicking on ``How to Use This
Site.'')
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Botwin, Director, Industrial
Studies, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce
(202) 482-3110, [email protected]. For more information about the
section 232 program, including the regulations and the text of previous
investigations, please see www.bis.doc.gov/232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 4, 2019, in response to a petition, the Secretary
initiated an investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act
of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), to determine the effects on the
national security from imports of titanium sponge. If the Secretary
finds that titanium sponge is being imported into the United States in
such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair
the national security, the Secretary shall so advise the President in
his report on the findings of the investigation.
Written Comments
This investigation is being undertaken in accordance with part 705
of the National Security Industrial Base Regulations (15 CFR parts 700
to 709) (``NSIBR''). Interested parties are invited to submit written
comments, data, analyses, or information pertinent to this
investigation to the Department's Office of Technology Evaluation no
later than April 22, 2019. Rebuttal comments submitted in response to
issues raised in comments received on or before April 22, 2019 may be
filed no later than May 22, 2019.
The Department is particularly interested in comments and
information directed to the criteria listed in Sec. 705.4 of the NSIBR
as they affect national security, including the following:
(i) Quantity of or other circumstances related to the importation
of titanium sponge;
(ii) Domestic production and productive capacity needed for
titanium sponge to meet projected national defense requirements;
(iii) Existing and anticipated availability of human resources,
products, raw materials, production equipment, and facilities to
produce titanium sponge;
(iv) Growth requirements of the titanium sponge industry to meet
national defense requirements and/or requirements for supplies and
services necessary to assure such growth including investment,
exploration, and development;
(v) The impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare of
the titanium sponge industry;
(vi) The displacement of any domestic titanium sponge production
causing substantial unemployment, decrease in the revenues of
government, loss of investment or specialized skills and productive
capacity, or other serious effects;
(vii) Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a weakening
of our national economy; and
(viii) Any other relevant factors, including the use and importance
of titanium sponge in critical infrastructure sectors identified in
Presidential Policy Directive 21 (Feb. 12, 2013) (for a listing of
those sectors see https://www.dhs.gov/cisa/critical-infrastructure-sectors).
Requirements for Written Comments
The http://www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide
comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a
document using an ``Upload File'' field. The Department prefers that
comments be provided in an attached document. The Department prefers
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the
submission is in an application format other than those two, please
indicate the name of the application in the ``Type Comment'' field.
Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic submissions;
rather, include any information that might appear in a cover letter in
the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent possible please
include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in the same file as
part of the submission itself rather than in separate files. Comments
will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection, except
information determined to be confidential as outlined in Sec. 705.6 of
the NSIBR. Comments may be viewed on http://www.regulations.gov by
entering docket number BIS-2018-0027 in the search field on the home
page.
Material submitted by members of the public that is properly marked
business confidential information and accepted as such by the
Department will be exempted from public disclosure as provided for by
Sec. 705.6 of the NSIBR. Anyone submitting business confidential
information should clearly identify the business confidential portion
at the time of submission, file a statement justifying nondisclosure
and referring to the specific legal authority claimed, and provide a
non-confidential submission which can be placed in the public file on
http://www.regulations.gov. Communications from agencies of the United
States Government will not be made available for public inspection. For
comments submitted electronically containing business confidential
information, the file name of the business confidential version should
begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL''
[[Page 8504]]
on the top of that page. The non-confidential version must be clearly
marked ``PUBLIC''. The file name of the non-confidential version should
begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed
by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or rebuttal
comments. All filers should name their files using the name of the
person or entity submitting the comments. If a public hearing is held
in support of this investigation, a separate Federal Register notice
will be published providing the date and information about the hearing.
The Bureau of Industry and Security does not maintain a separate
public inspection facility. Requesters should first view the Bureau's
web page, which can be found at https://efoia.bis.doc.gov/ (see
``Electronic FOIA'' heading). If requesters cannot access the website,
they may call 202-482-0795 for assistance. The records related to this
assessment are made accessible in accordance with the regulations
published in part 4 of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations (15
CFR 4.1 et seq.).
Dated: March 4, 2019.
Wilbur Ross,
Secretary of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2019-04209 Filed 3-7-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P
