01-24282. Wheat Gluten: 1

AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Institution of an investigation and scheduling of a hearing under section 204(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2254(d)) (the Act).

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to section 204(a) of the Act, the Commission has instituted investigation No. TA-204-7, Wheat Gluten: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Import Relief, for the purpose evaluating the effectiveness of the relief action imposed by the President on imports of wheat gluten under section 203 of the Act, which terminated on June 1, 2001.

The President imposed the relief action on May 30, 1998, in the form of a quantitative restriction following receipt of an affirmative injury determination and relief recommendation from the Commission on March 18, 1998. The relief was imposed for a period of 3 years and 1 day. See Proclamation 7103 of May 30, 1998 (63 FR 30359), as modified by Proclamation 7202 of May 28, 1999 (64 FR 29773), and Proclamation 7314 of May 26, 2000 (65 FR 34899). Section 204(a) of the Act requires the Commission, following termination of a relief action, to evaluate the effectiveness of the action in facilitating positive adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition, consistent with the reasons set out by the President in the report submitted to the Congress under section 203(b) of the Act. The Commission is required to submit a report on the evaluation made to the President and the Congress no later than 180 days after the day on which the relief action terminated 203(b) of the Act.

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, subparts A through and E), and part 206, subparts A and F (19 CFR part 206, subparts A and F).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

September 21, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jim McClure (202-205-3191), 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). The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS-ON-LINE) at http://dockets.usitc.gov/​eol/​public.

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 14 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.

Public Hearing

As required by statute, the Commission has scheduled a hearing in connection with this investigation. The hearing will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. on October 25, 2001, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before October 16, 2001. All persons desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference to be held at 9:30 a.m. on October 18, 2001, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the hearing 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 hearing.

Written Submissions

Each party is encouraged to submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. The deadline for filing prehearing briefs is October 18, 2001. Parties may also file posthearing briefs. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is November 1, 2001. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigation may submit a written statement concerning the matters to be addressed in the report on or before November 1, 2001. 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 204(d) of the Trade Act of 1974; this notice is published pursuant to section 206.3 of the Commission's rules.

Issued: September 24, 2001.

By order of the Commission.

Donna R. Koehnke,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Wheat gluten is provided for in subheadings 1109.00.10 and 1109.00.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).