Interim Procecures for Considering Requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
KORUS FTA - Interim Procedures for CA Proceedings March 2012.doc Supplementary Document	2012-03-14
Ltr to OMB.KORUS FTA.CommAvail.EmergRevReq.031312.pdf Supplementary Document	2012-03-14
SuppStmt.US Korea.FTA.CommercialAvailability.031412.doc Supporting Statement A	2012-03-14

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
201235	Rebuttal Comments to Response with Offier to Supply Other-Reporting Requirements	New
201233	Response with Offier to Supply Other-Reporting Requirements	New
201215	Request for Commercial Availability Determination Other-Reporting Requirements	New

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 0625-0270	ICR Reference No: 201202-0625-004
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: DOC/ITA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Interim Procecures for Considering Requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 03/16/2012
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 03/14/2012
	Date Received in OIRA: 03/14/2012
Terms of Clearance: The emergency clearance request is granted in order to fulfill President Obama’s Proclamation 8783 of March 6, 2012, “To Implement the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement”, which is effective immediately; while also giving the public an opportunity to comment on the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) interim procedures for considering requests under the Commercial Availability Provision of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	09/30/2012	6 Months From Approved
Responses	16	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	89	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: The President signed Proclamation No. 8783 on March 6, 2012 to honor its international obligations under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act ('the Act'). The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) of the International Trade Administration (ITA) must collect information in order to determine whether a domestic textile or apparel industry is being adversely impacted by imports of these products from Korea, thereby allowing CITA to take corrective action to protect the viability of the domestic textile and apparel industry, subject to section 332(b) of the Act.

Emergency Justfication: The United States and Korea negotiated the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement ("the Agreement"), which was implemented into U.S. law pursuant to the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act ("the Act"). The Agreement entered into force on March 15, 2012. Under the provisions of the Act, textile and apparel goods must contain fibers, yarns, and fabrics produced in Korea or the United States to receive duty-free tariff treatment. The Agreement also provides for the establishment of a list of specific fibers, yarns, and fabrics that are not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner from producers in the United States. Articles containing these commercially unavailable fibers, yarns, and fabrics are also entitled to duty-free or preferential duty treatment despite not being produced in the United States. Thus, as mandated by the US-KOREA FTA, and the reason for this emergency review request, these procedures need to be published as soon as possible after March 15, 2012. The publication of the procedures will allow the U.S. to honor its international obligations and address the litigation risk it may face by not publishing these procedures as soon as possible. The list of commercially unavailable fabrics, yarns, and fibers may be changed pursuant to the commercial availability provision of the Agreement and the Act. Under Section 202(o) of the Act ("the commercial availability provision"), interested entities from Korea or the United States have the right to request that a specific fiber, yarn, or fabric be added to, or removed from, the list of commercially unavailable fibers, yarns, and fabrics. This right becomes effective when the Agreement enters into force on March 15, 2012. Section 202(o)(3)(F) of the Act requires that the President establish procedures for parties to follow when exercising the right to make these requests. The President delegated the responsibility for publishing the procedures and administering commercial availability requests to the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements ("CITA"), which issues procedures and acts on requests through the Office of Textiles and Apparel ("OTEXA"). See Proclamation No. 8783, 77 Fed. Reg. 14265 (March 9, 2012) (delegating to CITA responsibilities related to the textile provisions of the Act). Thus, as mandated by the US-KOREA FTA, these procedures need to be published by OTEXA promptly after March 15, 2012. In accordance with the commercial availability provision, CITA will implement procedures to collect certain information about the technical specifications of certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics and the production capabilities of U.S. textile suppliers to determine whether certain fibers, yarns, or fabrics are available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the United States.

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Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 112 - 41 Section 202(o) Name of Law: U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 3

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Request for Commercial Availability Determination
Rebuttal Comments to Response with Offier to Supply
Response with Offier to Supply

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	16	0	0	16	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	89	0	0	89	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new collection related to the implementation of the US-KOREA FTA, thus a program change.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $3,440

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 03/14/2012

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