82 FR 19205 - Notice Request for Public Comments and Public Hearing on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Steel

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 79 (April 26, 2017)

The Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of steel. 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 Bureau of Industry and Security. The Department of Commerce will also hold a public hearing on the investigation on May 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. This notice identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in obtaining the public's views. It also sets forth the procedures for public participation in the hearing.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19205-19207]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08499]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security


Notice Request for Public Comments and Public Hearing on Section 
232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Steel

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology 
Evaluation, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to 
determine the effects on the national security of imports of steel. 
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 Bureau of Industry 
and Security. The Department of Commerce will also hold a public 
hearing on the investigation on May 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. This 
notice identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in 
obtaining the public's views. It also sets forth the procedures for 
public participation in the hearing.

DATES: Comments may be submitted at any time but must be received by 
May 31, 2017.
    The hearing will be held on May 24, 2017 at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce auditorium, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230. The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time and conclude at 
1:00 p.m. local time.

ADDRESSES: 
    Written comments: Send written comments to Brad Botwin, Director, 
Industrial Studies, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry 
and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room 1093, Washington, DC 20230 or by email to 
[email protected].
    Public hearing: Send requests to speak and written summaries of the 
oral presentations to Brad Botwin, Director, Industrial Studies, Office 
of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 1093, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230 or by email to [email protected], by May 17, 
2017. Any person, whether presenting or not, may submit a written 
statement through May 31, 2017--7 days after the hearing date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Botwin, Director, Industrial 
Studies, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and 
Security, U.S. Department of Commerce (202) 482-4060, 
[email protected]. For more information about the section 232 
program, including the regulations and the text of previous 
investigations, see www.bis.doc.gov/232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 19, 2017, the Secretary of Commerce (``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 of imports of steel. On April 20, 2017, the President 
signed a memorandum directing the Secretary to proceed expeditiously in 
conducting his investigation and submit a report on his findings to the 
President. The President further directed that if the Secretary finds 
that steel 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 recommend actions and steps that should 
be taken to adjust steel

[[Page 19206]]

imports so that they will not threaten to impair the national security.

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 Office of Technology Evaluation, U.S. Department 
of Commerce (``the Department''), no later than May 31, 2017.
    The Department is particularly interested in comments and 
information directed to the criteria listed in Sec.  [thinsp]705.4 of 
the NSIBR as they affect national security, including the following: 
(a) Quantity of steel or other circumstances related to the importation 
of steel; (b) Domestic production and productive capacity needed for 
steel to meet projected national defense requirements; (c) Existing and 
anticipated availability of human resources, products, raw materials, 
production equipment, and facilities to produce steel; (d) Growth 
requirements of the steel industry to meet national defense 
requirements and/or requirements to assure such growth; (e) The impact 
of foreign competition on the economic welfare of the steel industry; 
(f) The displacement of any domestic steel causing substantial 
unemployment, decrease in the revenues of government, loss of 
investment or specialized skills and productive capacity, or other 
serious effects; (g) The displacement of any domestic steel causing 
substantial unemployment, decrease in the revenues of government, loss 
of investment or specialized skills and productive capacity, or other 
serious effects; (h) Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a 
weakening of our national economy; and (i) Any other relevant factors.
    Material that is business confidential information will be exempted 
from public disclosure as provided for by Sec.  [thinsp]705.6 of the 
regulations. Anyone submitting business confidential information should 
clearly identify the business confidential portion of the submission, 
then 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. Communications from 
agencies of the United States Government will not be made available for 
public inspection. Please note that the submission of comments for 
presentation at the public hearing is separate from the request for 
written comments.
    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 Web site, 
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.).

Public Hearing

    Consistent with the interest of the U.S. Department of Commerce in 
soliciting public comments on issues affecting U.S. industry and 
national security, the Department is holding a public hearing as part 
of the investigation. The hearing will assist the Department in 
determining whether imports of steel threaten to impair the national 
security and in recommending remedies if such a threat is found to 
exist. Public comments at the hearing should address the criteria 
listed in Sec.  [thinsp]705.4 of the NSIBR as they affect national 
security described above.
    The hearing will be held on May 24, 2017 at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce auditorium, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230. The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time and conclude at 
1:00 p.m. local time.

Procedure for Requesting Participation

    The Department encourages interested public participants to present 
their views orally at the hearing. Any person wishing to make an oral 
presentation at the hearing must submit a written request to the 
Department of Commerce at the address indicated in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. The request to participate in the hearing must 
be accompanied by a copy of a summary of the oral presentation. The 
written request and summary must be received by the Department no later 
than Wednesday, May 17, 2017. In addition, the request to speak should 
contain (1) the name and address of the person requesting to make a 
presentation; (2) a daytime phone number where the person who would be 
making the oral presentation may be contacted before the hearing; (3) 
the organization or company they represent; and (4) an email address.
    Please note that the submission of comments for presentation at the 
public hearing is separate from the request for written comments. Since 
it may be necessary to limit the number of persons making 
presentations, the written request to participate in the public hearing 
should describe the individual's interest in the hearing and, where 
appropriate, explain why the individual is a proper representative of a 
group or class of persons that has such an interest. If all interested 
parties cannot be accommodated at the hearing, the summaries of the 
oral presentations will be used to allocate speaking time and to ensure 
that a full range of comments is heard.
    Each person selected to make a presentation will be notified by the 
Department of Commerce no later than 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 
Friday, May 19, 2017. The Department will arrange the presentation 
times for the speakers. Persons selected to be heard are requested to 
bring 20 copies of their oral presentation and of all exhibits to the 
hearing site on the day of the hearing. All such material must be of a 
size consistent with ease of handling, transportation and filing. While 
large exhibits may be used during a hearing, copies of such exhibits in 
reduced size must be provided to the panel. Written submissions by 
persons not selected to make presentations will be made part of the 
public record of the proceeding. Any person, whether presenting or not, 
may submit a written statement through May 31, 2017--7 days after the 
hearing date. Confidential business information may not be submitted at 
a public hearing. In the event confidential business information is 
submitted it will be handled according to the same procedures 
applicable to such information provided in the course of an 
investigation. See 15 CFR 705.6. The hearing will be recorded.
    Copies of the requests to participate in the public hearing, and 
the transcript of the hearing will be maintained on the Bureau of 
Industry and Security's Web page, which can be found at http://www.bis.doc.gov (see Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) heading). If the 
requesters cannot access the Web site, 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.).

Conduct of the Hearing

    The Department reserves the right to select the persons to be heard 
at the hearing, to schedule their respective presentations, and to 
establish the procedures governing the conduct of the hearing. Each 
speaker will be limited to

[[Page 19207]]

10 minutes, and comments must be directly related to the criteria 
listed in 15 CFR 705.4 of the regulations. Attendees will be seated on 
a first-come, first-served basis.
    A Department official will be designated to preside at the hearing. 
The presiding officer shall determine all procedural matters during the 
hearing. Representatives from the Department, and other U.S. Government 
agencies as appropriate, will make up the hearing panel. This will be a 
fact-finding proceeding; it will not be a judicial or evidentiary-type 
hearing. Only members of the hearing panel may ask questions, and there 
will be no cross-examination of persons presenting statements. However, 
questions submitted to the presiding officer in writing may, at the 
discretion of the presiding officer, be posed to the presenter. No 
formal rules of evidence will apply to the hearing.
    Any further procedural rules for the proper conduct of the hearing 
will be announced by the presiding officer.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be received by the Department of Commerce no later than 
Thursday, May 11, 2017 at the address indicated in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.

    Dated: April 21, 2017.
Wilbur L. Ross,
Secretary of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2017-08499 Filed 4-24-17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P