Lamb Meat: Monitoring Developments in the Domestic Industry

AGENCY:

International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Institution and scheduling of an investigation under section 204(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)) (the Act).

SUMMARY:

The Commission instituted the investigation for the purpose of preparing the report to the President and the Congress required by section 204(a)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 on the results of its monitoring of developments with respect to the domestic lamb meat industry since the President imposed a tariff-rate quota on imports of fresh, chilled, or frozen lamb meat effective July 22, 1999.

For further information concerning the conduct of this investigation, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 206, subparts A and F (19 CFR part 206).

Background

Following receipt of a report from the Commission in April 1999 under section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252) containing an affirmative determination and remedy recommendation, the President, on July 7, 1999, pursuant to section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253), issued Proclamation 7208 (as amended by Proclamation 7214 of July 30, 1999), imposing import relief in the form of a tariff-rate quota on imports of fresh, chilled, or frozen lamb meat for a period of 3 years and 1 day, effective July 22, 1999. Section 204(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)(1)) requires that the Commission, so long as any action under section 203 of the Trade Act remains in effect, monitor developments with respect to the domestic industry, including the progress and specific efforts made by workers and firms in the domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition. Section 204(a)(2) requires that whenever the initial period of an action under section 203 of the Trade Act exceeds 3 years, the Commission shall submit a report on the results of the monitoring under section 204(a)(1) to the President and the Congress not later than the mid-point of the initial period of the relief, or by January 22, 2001, in this case. Section 204(a)(3) requires that the Commission hold a hearing in the course of preparing each such report.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 17, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sioban Maguire (202-708-4721), Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server (http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Participation in the investigation and service list.—Persons wishing to participate in the investigation as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the Commission's rules, not later than 14 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The Secretary will prepare a service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to this investigation upon the expiration of the period for filing entries of appearance.

Public hearing.—As required by statute, the Commission has scheduled a hearing in connection with this investigation. The hearing will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on November 16, 2000 at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before November 7, 2000. All persons desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference to be held at 9:30 a.m. on November 13, 2000, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2) and 201.13(f) of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 days prior to the date of the hearing.

Written submissions.—Each party is encouraged to submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. The deadline for filing prehearing briefs is November 8, 2000. Parties may also file posthearing briefs. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is November 27, 2000. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigation may submit, on or before November 27, 2000, a written statement concerning the matters to be addressed in the Commission's report to the President. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain confidential business information must also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or electronic means.

In accordance with section 201.16(c) of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the investigation must be served on all other parties to the investigation (as identified by the service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.

Authority: This investigation is being conducted under the authority of section 204(a) of the Trade Act of 1974; this notice is published pursuant to section 206.3 of the Commission's rules.