Wheat Gluten; Extension of Action

AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

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

SUMMARY:

Following receipt of a petition on November 30, 2000, requesting extension of the relief action currently in place on imports of wheat gluten, the Commission instituted investigation No. TA-204-4 under section 204(c) of the Act to determine whether the action taken by the President under section 203 of the Act with respect to wheat gluten, provided for in subheadings 1109.00.10 and 1109.00.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and whether the domestic industry is making a positive adjustment to import competition. The petition was filed on behalf of the Wheat Gluten Industry Council, Washington, DC.

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, subparts A-E), and part 206, subparts A and F (19 CFR part 206, subparts A and F).

Background

Following receipt of a report from the Commission in March 1998 under section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252) containing an affirmative determination and remedy recommendation, the President, on May 30, 1998, pursuant to section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2253), issued Proclamation 7103 (as amended by Proclamation 7202 of May 28, 1999), imposing import relief in the form of quantitative limitations on imports of wheat gluten for a period of 3 years and 1 day.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

November 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jim McClure (202-205-3191), 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 21 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.

Limited disclosure of confidential business information (CBI) under an administrative protective order (APO) and CBI service list.—Pursuant to section 206.54(e) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make CBI gathered in this investigation available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigation in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 206.17 of the rules, provided that the application is made not later than 21 days after the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive CBI under the APO.

Hearing.—The Commission has scheduled a hearing in connection with this investigation, to be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on February 27, 2001, 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 February 20, 2001. 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 February 22, 2001, 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 February 20, 2001. Parties may also file posthearing briefs. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is March 6, 2001. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigation may submit a written statement of information on or before March 6, 2001. 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(c) of the Trade Act of 1974; this notice is published pursuant to section 206.3 of the Commission's rules.