The emergency
clearance request is granted in order to fulfill President Obamas
Proclamation 8783 of March 6, 2012, To Implement the United
States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which is effective immediately;
while also giving the public an opportunity to comment on the
Department of Commerces (DOC) interim procedures for considering
requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United
States-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
09/30/2012
6 Months From Approved
16
0
0
89
0
0
0
0
0
The President signed Proclamation No.
8783 on March 6, 2012 to honor its international obligations under
the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act ('the Act').
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA)
of the International Trade Administration (ITA) must collect
information in order to determine whether a domestic textile or
apparel industry is being adversely impacted by imports of these
products from Korea, thereby allowing CITA to take corrective
action to protect the viability of the domestic textile and apparel
industry, subject to section 332(b) of the Act.
The United States and
Korea negotiated the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement ("the
Agreement"), which was implemented into U.S. law pursuant to the
United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act ("the
Act"). The Agreement entered into force on March 15, 2012. Under
the provisions of the Act, textile and apparel goods must contain
fibers, yarns, and fabrics produced in Korea or the United States
to receive duty-free tariff treatment. The Agreement also provides
for the establishment of a list of specific fibers, yarns, and
fabrics that are not available in commercial quantities in a timely
manner from producers in the United States. Articles containing
these commercially unavailable fibers, yarns, and fabrics are also
entitled to duty-free or preferential duty treatment despite not
being produced in the United States. Thus, as mandated by the
US-KOREA FTA, and the reason for this emergency review request,
these procedures need to be published as soon as possible after
March 15, 2012. The publication of the procedures will allow the
U.S. to honor its international obligations and address the
litigation risk it may face by not publishing these procedures as
soon as possible. The list of commercially unavailable fabrics,
yarns, and fibers may be changed pursuant to the commercial
availability provision of the Agreement and the Act. Under Section
202(o) of the Act ("the commercial availability provision"),
interested entities from Korea or the United States have the right
to request that a specific fiber, yarn, or fabric be added to, or
removed from, the list of commercially unavailable fibers, yarns,
and fabrics. This right becomes effective when the Agreement enters
into force on March 15, 2012. Section 202(o)(3)(F) of the Act
requires that the President establish procedures for parties to
follow when exercising the right to make these requests. The
President delegated the responsibility for publishing the
procedures and administering commercial availability requests to
the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
("CITA"), which issues procedures and acts on requests through the
Office of Textiles and Apparel ("OTEXA"). See Proclamation No.
8783, 77 Fed. Reg. 14265 (March 9, 2012) (delegating to CITA
responsibilities related to the textile provisions of the Act).
Thus, as mandated by the US-KOREA FTA, these procedures need to be
published by OTEXA promptly after March 15, 2012. In accordance
with the commercial availability provision, CITA will implement
procedures to collect certain information about the technical
specifications of certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics and the
production capabilities of U.S. textile suppliers to determine
whether certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics are available in
commercial quantities in a timely manner in the United States.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
KORUS FTA - Interim Procedures for CA Proceedings March 2012.doc
Ltr to OMB.KORUS FTA.CommAvail.EmergRevReq.031312.pdf
Rebuttal Comments to Response with Offier to Supply