00-15693. Extruded Rubber Thread

AGENCY:

International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Institution and scheduling of an investigation under section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252) (the Act).

SUMMARY:

Following receipt of a petition properly filed on June 5, 2000, on behalf of North American Rubber Thread, Fall River, MA, the Commission instituted investigation No. TA-201-72 under section 202 of the Act to determine whether extruded rubber thread is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article.^[1]

For further information concerning the conduct of this investigation, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 206, subparts A and B (19 CFR part 206).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

June 5, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jozlyn Kalchthaler (202-205-3457), Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server (http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Participation in the Investigation and Service List

Persons wishing to participate in the investigation as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the Commission's rules, not later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The Secretary will prepare a service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to this investigation upon the expiration of the period for filing entries of appearance.

Limited Disclosure of Confidential Business Information (CBI) Under an Administrative Protective Order (APO) and CBI Service List

Pursuant to section 206.17 of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make CBI gathered in this investigation available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigation, provided that the application is made not later than 21 days after the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive CBI under the APO.

Hearings on Injury and Remedy

The Commission has scheduled separate hearings in connection with the injury and remedy phases of this investigation. The hearing on injury will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on September 6, 2000, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. In the event that the Commission makes an affirmative injury determination or is equally divided on the question of injury in this investigation, a hearing on the question of remedy will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on October 24, 2000. Requests to appear at the hearings should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before August 28, 2000, and October 16, 2000, respectively. All persons desiring to appear at the hearings and make oral presentations should attend prehearing conferences to be held at 9:30 a.m. on August 31, 2000 and October 19, 2000, respectively, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the hearings are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2) and 201.13(f) of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 days prior to the date of the hearings.

Written Submissions

Each party is encouraged to submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. The deadline for filing prehearing briefs on injury is August 29, 2000; that for filing prehearing briefs on remedy, including any commitments pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2252(a)(6)(B), is October 17, 2000. Parties may also file posthearing briefs. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs on injury is September 13, 2000; that for filing posthearing briefs on remedy is October 31, 2000. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigation may submit a written statement of information pertinent to the consideration of injury on or before September 13, 2000, and pertinent to the consideration of remedy on or before October 31, 2000. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain confidential business information must also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or electronic means. In accordance with section 201.16(c) of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the investigation must be served on all other parties to the investigation (as identified by the service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.

Authority: This investigation is being conducted under the authority of section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974; this notice is published pursuant to section 206.3 of the Commission's rules.

By order of the Commission.

Issued: June 15, 2000.

Donna R. Koehnke,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  For purposes of this investigation, extruded rubber thread is defined as vulcanized rubber thread, obtained by extrusion of stable or concentrated natural rubber latex of any cross sectional shape, measuring from 0.18 mm (which is 0.007 inch or 140 gauge) to 1.42 mm (which is 0.056 inch or 18 gauge) in diameter. Such extruded rubber thread is classified in heading 4007.00.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). Although the HTS category is provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under investigation is dispostive.