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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 75 / Friday, April 17, 2020 / Notices
TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS—Continued
Annual
number of
filings

Hours per
response

Type of filing

Total annual
burden hours

Petitions * .....................................................................................................................................
Notices * .......................................................................................................................................
Interchange commitments ...........................................................................................................

58
19
8

12
103
4

696
1,957
32

Total annual burden hours ...................................................................................................

........................

........................

4,257

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* Under section 10502, petitions for exemption and notices of exemption are permitted in lieu of an application.

Total ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ Cost: None
identified. Filings are submitted
electronically to the Board.
Needs and Uses: As mandated by
Congress, persons seeking to construct,
acquire or operate a line of railroad and
railroads seeking to abandon or to
discontinue operations over a line of
railroad or, in the case of two or more
railroads, to consolidate their interests
through merger or a common-control
arrangement are required to file an
application for prior approval and
authority with the Board. See 49 U.S.C.
10901–03, 11323–26. Under 49 U.S.C.
10502, persons may seek an exemption
from many of the application
requirements of sections 10901–03 and
11323–26 by filing with the Board a
petition for exemption or notice of
exemption in lieu of an application. The
collection by the Board of these
applications, petitions, and notices
(including collection of disclosures of
rail interchange commitments under 49
CFR 1121.3(d), 1150.33(h), 1150.43(h),
and 1180.4(g)(4)) enables the Board to
meet its statutory duty to regulate the
referenced rail transactions. In some
cases, the actions for which authority is
sought may create agreements with
interchange commitments. If the
interchange commitments limit the
future interchange of traffic with third
parties, then certain information must
be disclosed to the Board about those
commitments. 49 CFR 1121.3(d),
1150.33(h), 1150.43(h), 1180.4(g)(4). The
collection of this information facilitates
the case-specific review of interchange
commitments and enables the Board’s
monitoring of their usage generally.
Under the PRA, a federal agency that
conducts or sponsors a collection of
information must display a currently
valid OMB control number. A collection
of information, which is defined in 44
U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c),
includes agency requirements that
persons submit reports, keep records, or
provide information to the agency, third
parties, or the public. Under 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), federal agencies are
required to provide, prior to an agency’s
submitting a collection to OMB for

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approval, a 60-day notice and comment
period through publication in the
Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension of an
existing collection of information.
Dated: April 14, 2020.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020–08162 Filed 4–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek
Extension of Approval: Report of Fuel
Cost, Consumption, and Surcharge
Revenue
Surface Transportation Board.
Notice and request for
comments.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

As required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the
Surface Transportation Board (STB or
Board) gives notice of its intent to seek
approval from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for an extension of
the collection of the Report of Fuel Cost,
Consumption, and Surcharge Revenue,
as described below.
DATES: Comments on this information
collection should be submitted by June
16, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to
Chris Oehrle, Surface Transportation
Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC
20423–0001, or to [email protected]. When
submitting comments, please refer to
‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act Comments,
Rail Service Data.’’ For further
information regarding this collection,
contact Michael Higgins, Deputy
Director, Office of Public Assistance,
Governmental Affairs, and Compliance,
at (202) 245–0284 or at
[email protected]. Assistance for
the hearing impaired is available
through the Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments
are requested concerning: (1) The
accuracy of the Board’s burden
SUMMARY:

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estimates; (2) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; (3) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, when
appropriate; and (4) whether the
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the Board, including
whether the collection has practical
utility. Submitted comments will be
summarized and included in the
Board’s request for OMB approval.
Description of Collection
Title: Report of Fuel Cost,
Consumption, and Surcharge Revenue.
OMB Control Number: 2140–0014.
STB Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Respondents: Class I [large] railroads.
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: One
hour.
Frequency: Quarterly.
Total Burden Hours (annually
including all respondents): 28.
Total ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ Cost: None
identified. Filings are submitted
electronically to the Board.
Needs and Uses: Under 49 U.S.C.
10702, the Board has the authority to
address the reasonableness of a rail
carrier’s practices. This information
collection permits the Board to monitor
the current fuel surcharge practices of
the Class I carriers. Failure to collect
this information would impede the
Board’s ability to fulfill its statutory
responsibilities. The Board has
authority to collect information about
rail costs and revenues under 49 U.S.C.
11144 and 11145.
Under the PRA, a federal agency that
conducts or sponsors a collection of
information must display a currently
valid OMB control number. A collection
of information, which is defined in 44
U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c),
includes agency requirements that
persons submit reports, keep records, or
provide information to the agency, third

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 75 / Friday, April 17, 2020 / Notices
parties, or the public. Under 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), federal agencies are
required to provide, prior to an agency’s
submitting a collection to OMB for
approval, a 60-day notice and comment
period through publication in the
Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension of an
existing collection of information.
Dated: April 14, 2020.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2020–08163 Filed 4–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR–2020–0001]

Determination on the Exclusion of
Bifacial Solar Panels From the
Safeguard Measure on Solar Products
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

On January 23, 2018, the
President imposed a safeguard measure
on imports of certain solar products
pursuant to a Section 201 investigation.
On February 14, 2018, the U.S. Trade
Representative established procedures
for interested persons to request
product-specific exclusions from
application of the safeguard measure
and to comment on the submitted
requests. Based on the requests and
comments received, the U.S. Trade
Representative granted certain requests
on June 13, 2019, including a request to
exclude from the safeguard measure
bifacial solar panels that consist only of
bifacial solar cells. On January 27, 2020,
the U.S. Trade Representative
established procedures to consider
whether to maintain, withdraw, or take
some other action with respect to the
exclusion of bifacial solar panels from
the safeguard measure. Based on an
evaluation of the comments received,
and responses to those comments, and
in consultation with the Secretaries of
Commerce and Energy, the U.S. Trade
Representative has determined that the
bifacial solar panel exclusion is
undermining the objectives of the
safeguard measure. Accordingly, the
U.S. Trade Representative will request
that the U.S. Court of International
Trade lift the order preliminarily
enjoining the withdrawal from entering
into effect.
DATES: Withdrawal of the exclusion for
bifacial solar panels from application of
the safeguard measure will apply to

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SUMMARY:

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imported panels if the Court lifts the
preliminary injunction but in no case
earlier than May 18, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Victor Mroczka, Office of WTO and
Multilateral Affairs, at vmroczka@
ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–9450, or Dax
Terrill, Office of General Counsel, at
[email protected] or (202) 395–
4739.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
On January 23, 2018, the President
issued Proclamation 9693 (83 FR 3541)
to impose a safeguard measure under
section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2251) with respect to certain
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and
other products containing these cells.
The Proclamation directed the U.S.
Trade Representative to establish
procedures for interested persons to
request product-specific exclusions
from the safeguard measure. It also
authorized the U.S. Trade
Representative, after consultation with
the Secretaries of Commerce and
Energy, to exclude products upon
publication of a notice in the Federal
Register modifying the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS).
On February 14, 2018, the U.S. Trade
Representative established procedures
to request a product exclusion and
opened a public docket. See 83 FR 6670
(February 2018 notice). Under the
February 2018 notice, requests for
exclusion were to identify the particular
product in terms of its physical
characteristics (such as dimensions,
wattage, material composition, or other
distinguishing characteristics) that
differentiate it from other products
subject to the safeguard measure. The
February 2018 notice provided that the
U.S. Trade Representative would not
consider requests identifying the
product at issue in terms of the identity
of the producer, importer, or ultimate
consumer; the country of origin; or
trademarks or tradenames. The notice
also confirmed that the U.S. Trade
Representative only would grant
exclusions that did not undermine the
objectives of the safeguard measure. The
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) received 48 product exclusion
requests and 213 comments responding
to the various requests. The exclusion
requests generally fell into seven
categories, one of which concerned
bifacial solar panels.
On September 19, 2018, and June 13,
2019, the U.S. Trade Representative
granted certain product exclusion
requests and modified the HTSUS

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21497

accordingly. See 83 FR 47393 and 84 FR
27684. The notice published on June 13,
2019 (June 2019 notice) excluded from
application of the safeguard measure
‘‘bifacial solar panels that absorb light
and generate electricity on each side of
the panel and that consist of only
bifacial solar cells that absorb light and
generate electricity on each side of the
cells.’’
On October 9, 2019, the U.S. Trade
Representative concluded, based on an
evaluation of newly available
information and after consultation with
the Secretaries of Commerce and
Energy, that maintaining the exclusion
would undermine the objectives of the
safeguard measure. Accordingly, the
U.S. Trade Representative published a
notice withdrawing the exclusion of
bifacial solar panels, effective as of
October 28, 2019. See 84 FR 54244.
On October 21, 2019, Invenergy
Renewables LLC (Invenergy) filed a
complaint with the U.S. Court of
International Trade alleging that USTR
failed to provide notice and comment
required under the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 551 et
seq., before withdrawing the exclusion
of bifacial solar panels. Invenergy filed
a motion for a preliminary injunction to
prevent the withdrawal from entering
into effect. The Court issued a
preliminary injunction on December 5,
2019, enjoining the U.S. Trade
Representative from withdrawing the
exclusion on bifacial solar panels from
the safeguard measure.
On January 27, 2020 (85 FR 4756), the
U.S. Trade Representative issued a
notice (January 2020 notice) noting
concerns that:
1. The bifacial solar panel exclusion
will result in significant increases in
imports of bifacial solar panels and
therefore will undermine the objectives
of the safeguard measure.
2. The precise definition of bifacial
solar panels excluded from the
safeguard measure may require
clarification.
3. The exclusion in the June 2019
notice is broader than the category of
products described in the exclusion
requests submitted as of March 16,
2018.
The U.S. Trade Representative
established procedures and opened a
public docket to seek comment on
whether to maintain the exclusion of
bifacial solar panels from the safeguard
measure, withdraw the exclusion, or
take some other action with respect to
this exclusion. The January 2020 notice
confirmed that the U.S. Trade
Representative would request the Court
to lift the injunction if he determined
that it would be appropriate to

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