Federal Register Notice

44258

Notices

Federal Register
Vol. 81, No. 130
Thursday, July 7, 2016

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Foreign Agricultural Service
Notice of a Request for Extension of a
Currently Approved Information
Collection
Foreign Agricultural Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, this notice
announces the Foreign Agricultural
Service’s intention to request an
extension for a currently approved
information collection in support of the
regulation providing for the issuance of
certificates of quota eligibility (CQEs)
required to enter sugar and sugarcontaining products under the tariff-rate
quotas (TRQs) into the United States.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received by no later than September 6,
2016 to be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit
comments as requested in this
document. In your comment, include
the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)
and volume, date, and page number of
this issue of the Federal Register. You
may submit comments by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail, hand delivery, or courier:
William Janis, International Economist,
Import Policies and Export Reporting
Division, Office of Trade Programs,
Foreign Agricultural Service, 1400
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–1021, STOP
1021; or by email at William.Janis@
fas.usda.gov; or by telephone at (202)
720–2194; or fax to (202) 720–0876.
Comments will be available for
inspection online at http://
www.regulations.gov and at the mail
address listed above between 8:00 a.m.

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and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
Persons with disabilities who require
an alternative means for communication
of information (Braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s
Target Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice
and TDD).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Janis, International Economist,
Import Policies and Export Reporting
Division, AgStop 1021, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250–
1021 or telephone (202) 720–2194, fax
to (202) 720–0876, or email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Certificates for Quota Eligibility.
OMB Number: 0551–0014.
Expiration Date of Approval: March
31, 2017.
Type of Request: Extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Additional U.S. note 5 to
Chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTS),
established by Presidential
Proclamation 6763 of December 1994,
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture
to establish for each fiscal year the
quantity of sugars and syrups that may
be entered at the lower tariff rates of
TRQs. This authority was proclaimed by
the President to implement the results
of the Uruguay Round of multilateral
trade negotiations as reflected in the
provisions of Schedule XX (United
States), annexed to the Agreement
Establishing the World Trade
Organization (WTO). Under various free
trade agreements (FTAs), the United
States has agreed to require CQEs for the
entry into U.S. customs territory of
sugar and sugar-containing products.
The authority for requiring these
certificates is the Implementation Acts
for the U.S.-Colombia and U.S.-Panama
Trade Promotion Agreements set forth
under 19 U.S.C. 3805.
The terms under which Certificates
for Quota Eligibility (CQEs) will be
issued to foreign countries that have
been allocated a share of the WTO or
have an allocation under a FTA TRQ are
set forth in 15 CFR part 2011, Allocation
of Tariff-Rate Quota on Imported Sugars,
Syrups, and Molasses, Subpart A—
Certificates of Quota. This regulation
provides for the issuance of CQEs by the
Secretary of Agriculture and in general

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prohibits sugar subject to the abovementioned TRQs from being imported
into the United States or withdrawn
from a warehouse for consumption at
the in-quota duty rates unless such
sugar is accompanied by a valid CQE.
CQEs are distributed to foreign
countries by the Director of the Import
Policies and Export Reporting Division,
Foreign Agriculture Service, or his or
her designee. The distribution of CQEs
is in such amounts and at such times as
the Director determines are appropriate
to enable the foreign country to fill its
quota allocation for such quota period
in a reasonable manner, taking into
account harvesting periods, U.S. import
requirements, and other relevant factors.
The information required to be collected
on the CQE is used to monitor and
control the imports of products subject
to the WTO and FTA sugar TRQs. A
valid CQE, duly executed and issued by
the Certifying Authority of the foreign
country, is required for eligibility to
enter the products into U.S. customs
territory under the TRQs.
Estimate of burden: The public
reporting burden for the collection
directly varies with the number of CQEs
issued.
Respondents: Foreign governments.
Estimated number of WTO
respondents: 40.
Estimated number of FTA
respondents: 2.
Estimated number of responses per
respondent: 30 per fiscal year.
Estimated total annual reporting
burden: 210 hours.
Requests for comments: Send
comments regarding (a) Whether the
information collection is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the collection of
information including validity of the
methodology and assumption used; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, including
through the use of automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Copies of this information collection
may be obtained from Connie Ehrhart,
the Agency Information Collection
Coordinator, at (202) 690–1578.

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2016 / Notices
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for OMB approval. All comments also
will become a matter of public record.
FAS is committed to complying with
the Government Paperwork Elimination
Act which requires Government
agencies, to the maximum extent
feasible, to provide the public the
option of electronically submitting
information collection. CQEs permit
exporters to ship raw cane sugar to the
United States at the U.S. sugar price,
which is ordinarily higher than the
world sugar price. Therefore, in contrast
to most information collection
documents, CQEs have a monetary
value equivalent to the substantial
benefits to exporters. CQEs have always
been carefully handled as secure
documents and distributed only to
foreign government-approved Certifying
Authorities.
Signed at Washington, DC, on June 21,
2016.
Philip C. Karsting,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–16047 Filed 7–6–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–10–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Foreign Agricultural Service
Notice of a Request for Extension of a
Currently Approved Information
Collection
Foreign Agricultural Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, this notice
announces the Department’s intention
to request an extension for a currently
approved information collection in
support of the Export Sales Reporting
program.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
no later than September 6, 2016 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit
comments as requested in this
document. In your comment, include
the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)
and volume, date, and page number of
this issue of the Federal Register. You
may submit comments by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail, hand delivery, or courier:
Peter W. Burr, Branch Chief, Export
Sales Reporting Branch, Import Policies

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and Export Reporting Division, Office of
Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural
Service, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250–1021,
STOP 1021; or by email at Pete.Burr@
fas.usda.gov; or by telephone at (202)
720–3274; or fax to (202) 720–0876.
Comments will be available for
inspection online at http://
www.regulations.gov and at the mail
address listed above between 8:00 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
Persons with disabilities who require
an alternative means for communication
of information (Braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s
Target Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice
and TDD).
Confidentiality: All submitted
comments and attachments are part of
the public record and subject to
disclosure. Do not enclose any material
in your comments that you consider to
be confidential or that is inappropriate
for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peter W. Burr, Branch Chief, Export
Sales Reporting, STOP 1025, Foreign
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250–1025; or by
telephone (202) 720–9209; or by email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Export Sales (Reporting
Program) of U.S. Agricultural
Commodities.
OMB Number: 0551–0007.
Expiration Date of Approval: June 20,
2017.
Type of Request: Extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Section 602 of the
Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as
amended, (7 U.S.C. 5712) requires the
reporting of information pertaining to
contracts for export sale of certain
specified agricultural commodities and
other commodities that may be
designated by the Secretary. In
accordance with Sec. 602, individual
weekly reports submitted shall remain
confidential and shall be compiled and
published in compilation form each
week following the week of reporting.
Any person who knowingly fails to
report shall be fined not more than
$25,000 or imprisoned for not more than
1 year, or both. Regulations at 7 CFR
part 20 implement the reporting
requirements, and prescribe a system for
reporting information pertaining to
contracts for export sales.
USDA’s Export Sales Reporting
System was created after the large
unexpected purchase of U.S. wheat and

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44259

corn by the Soviet Union in 1972. To
make sure that all parties involved in
the production and export of U.S. grain
have access to up-to-date export
information, the U.S. Congress
mandated an export sales reporting
requirement in 1973. Prior to the
establishment of the Export Sales
Reporting System, it was difficult for the
public to obtain information on export
sales activity until the actual shipments
had taken place. This frequently
resulted in considerable delay in the
availability of information.
Under the Export Sales Reporting
System, U.S. exporters are required to
report all large sales of certain
designated commodities by 3:00 p.m.
(Eastern Time) on the next business day
after the sale is made. The designated
commodities for these daily reports are
wheat (by class), barley, corn, grain
sorghum, oats, soybeans, soybean cake
and meal, and soybean oil. Large sales
for all reportable commodities except
soybean oil are defined as 100,000
metric tons or more of one commodity
in 1 day to a single destination or
200,000 tons or more of one commodity
during the weekly reporting period.
Large sales for soybean oil are 20,000
tons and 40,000 tons, respectively.
Weekly reports are also required,
regardless of the size of the sales
transaction, for all of these
commodities, as well as wheat products,
rye, flaxseed, linseed oil, sunflowerseed
oil, cotton (by staple length), cottonseed,
cottonseed cake and meal, cottonseed
oil, rice (by class), cattle hides and skins
(cattle, calf, and kip), beef and pork. The
reporting week for the export sales
reporting system is Friday–Thursday.
The Secretary of Agriculture has the
authority to add other commodities to
this list.
U.S. exporters provide information on
the quantity of their sales transactions,
the type and class of commodity, the
marketing year of shipment, and the
destination. They also report any
changes in previously reported
information, such as cancellations and
changes in destinations.
The estimated total annual burden of
47,907 hours in the OMB inventory for
the currently approved information
collection remains unchanged.
Estimate of Burden: The average
burden, including the time for
reviewing instructions, gathering data
needed, completing forms, and record
keeping is estimated to be 30 minutes.
Respondents: All exporters of wheat
and wheat flour, feed grains, oilseeds,
cotton, rice, cattle hides and skins, beef,
pork, and any products thereof, and
other commodities that the Secretary

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