North American Free-Trade Agreement, Article 1904 Binational Panel Reviews; Request for Panel Review

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

North American Free-Trade Agreement, Article 1904 Binational

Panel Reviews; Request for Panel Review

AGENCY: NAFTA Secretariat, United States Section, International Trade

Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of first request for panel review.

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SUMMARY: On September 1, 1994, U.S. Steel, a Division of USX Corp.;

Inland Steel Company; I/N Kote; Bethlehem Steel Export Corporation; and

LTV Steel Company filed a First Request for Panel Review with the

Canadian Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of

the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of

the final affirmative injury determination made by the Canadian

International Trade Tribunal respecting Certain Corrosion-Resistant

Steel Sheet Products from The United States of America. This

determination was published in the Canada Gazette on August 6, 1994.

The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number CDA-94-1904-04 to this

request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James R. Holbein, United States Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat, Suite

2061, 14th and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20230, (202) 482-

5438.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chapter 19 of the North American Free-Trade

Agreement (``Agreement'') establishes a mechanism to replace domestic

judicial review of final determinations in antidumping and

countervailing duty cases involving imports from a NAFTA country with

review by independent binational panels. When a Request for Panel

Review is filed, a panel is established to act in place of national

courts to review expeditiously the final determination to determine

whether it conforms with the antidumping or countervailing duty law of

the country that made the determination.

Under Article 1904 of the Agreement, which came into force on

January 1, 1994, the Government of the United States, the Government of

Canada and the Government of Mexico established Rules of Procedure for

Article 1904 Binational Panel Reviews (``Rules''). These Rules were

published in the Federal Register on February 23, 1994 (59 FR 8686).

A first Request for Panel Review was filed with the Canadian

Section of the NAFTA Secretariat, pursuant to Article 1904 of the

Agreement, on September 1, 1994, requesting panel review of the final

injury determination described above.

The Rules provide that:

(a) A Party or interested person may challenge the final

determination in whole or in part by filing a Complaint in accordance

with Rule 39 within 30 days after the filing of the first Request for

Panel Review (the deadline for filing a Complaint is October 3, 1994);

(b) A Party, investigating authority or interested person that does

not file a Complaint but that intends to appear in support of any

reviewable portion of the final determination may participate in the

panel review by filing a Notice of Appearance in accordance with Rule

40 within 45 days after the filing of the first Request for Panel

Review (the deadline for filing a Notice of Appearance is October 17,

1994); and

(c) The panel review shall be limited to the allegations of error

of fact or law, including the jurisdiction of the investigating

authority, that are set out in the Complaints filed in the panel review

and the procedural and substantive defenses raised in the panel review.

Dated: September 9, 1994.

James R. Holbein,

United States Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat.

[FR Doc. 94-22754 Filed 9-13-94; 8:45 am]

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