SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (“the Secretary”) to conduct comprehensive investigations to determine the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the United States.

On March 8, 2018, President Trump issued Proclamations 9704 and 9705, imposing duties on imports of aluminum and steel, and authorizing the Secretary to grant exclusions from the duties “if the Secretary determines the steel or aluminum article for which the exclusion is requested is not produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality or should be excluded based upon specific national security considerations.” The President further directed that the Secretary issue procedures for requesting such exclusions within ten days of the issuance of these Proclamations.

The purpose of this information collection is to allow for submission of exclusions requests from the remedies instituted in presidential proclamations adjusting imports of steel into the United States and adjusting imports of aluminum into the United States. The information submitted is evaluated and used by BIS's Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security (OSIES) to make a recommendation to the Secretary or their designee(s) regarding the favorability of each Exclusion Request, taking into account any national security considerations as well as any received Objections, Rebuttals, and/or Surrebuttals. The Secretary or their designee(s) will also consider information provided by other agencies or senior executive branch officials including recommendations from the Department's International Trade Administration (ITA) based on their review of Exclusion Requests receiving Objections.

II. Method of Collection

Electronic.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0694-0139.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission, extension of a current information collection.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 78,762.

Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 315,048 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: 0.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Presidential Proclamations 9704 and 9705.

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

90 FR 8695