2021-25595. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Procedures for Submitting Rebuttals and Surrebuttals Requests for Exclusions From and Objections ...

AGENCY:

Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before January 24, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments by email to Mark Crace, IC Liaison, Bureau of Industry and Security, at [e-mail] or to [e-mail] ). Please reference OMB Control Number 0694-0141 in the subject line of your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Mark Crace, IC Liaison, Bureau of Industry and Security, phone [phone] or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

On March 8, 2018, the President issued Proclamations 9704 and 9705 concurring with the findings of the two reports and determining that adjusting imports through the imposition of duties on steel and aluminum is necessary so that imports of steel and aluminum will no longer threaten to impair the national security. The Proclamations also authorized the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, the United States Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and other senior executive branch officials as appropriate, to grant exclusions from the duties for domestic parties affected by the duties. This could take place if the Secretary determines the steel or aluminum for which the exclusion is requested is not produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality or should be excluded based upon specific national security considerations. The President directed the Secretary to promulgate regulations as may be necessary to implement an exclusion process. The purpose of this information collection is to allow for submission of exclusions requests from the remedies instituted in presidential proclamations adjusting imports of steel into the United States and adjusting imports of aluminum into the United States.

This collection of information gives U.S. Companies the opportunity to submit rebuttals to objections received on posted exclusion requests and also allows U.S. companies the opportunity to submit surrebuttals for objections they submitted that receive rebuttals under the Section 232 exclusion process. Adding a rebuttal and surrebuttal process is an important step in further improving the exclusion request and objection process for requesting exclusions from the remedies instituted by the President. These voluntary rebuttals and surrebuttals will allow the U.S. Government to better evaluate whether an exclusion request should be granted based on the information provided in an exclusion request and taking into account any objections to a submitted exclusion request, rebuttals, and surrebuttals. Many commenters on the March 19 rule, referenced above, requested the Department make this type of a change to ensure that the process was fair and the Department had all of the relevant information when an objection to an exclusion request received a rebuttal or a surrebuttal was received.

II. Method of Collection

Electronic.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0694-0141.

Form Number(s): 0694-0141.

Type of Review: Regular submission, extension of a current information collection.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 41,128.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 41,128.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: 0.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Presidential Proclamations 9704 and 9705.

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.