Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-802]

Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium

From the Russian Federation

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce

ACTION: Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is hereby providing interested

parties an opportunity to comment on proposed procedures to administer

and enforce the uranium transfer provisions of Section 3112 of the USEC

Privatization Act. All comments are due to the Department of Commerce

within 30 days of publication of this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 7, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Doyle or Karla Whalen, AD/CVD

Enforcement Group III, Import Administration, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-

0159 or (202) 482-0408, respectively.

Background: On April 26, 1996, the USEC Privatization Act was

signed into law (Pub. L. 104-134, 42 USC 2297(h) et seq.). In part, the

USEC Privatization Act provides for the measured delivery into the

United States market of the natural uranium component of highly

enriched uranium (HEU) imported pursuant to the Agreement Between the

Government of the United States of America and the Government of the

Russian Federation Concerning the Disposition of Highly Enriched

Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons, dated February 18, 1993.

Pursuant to Section 3112(b)(9) of the USEC Privatization Act, the

Department of Commerce (the Department) is responsible for the

administration and enforcement of the limitations set forth in Section

3112 of the USEC Privatization Act.

Opportunity to Submit Comments: The Department is preparing

procedures to administer and enforce the limitations on the delivery of

the natural uranium associated with imports of low enriched uranium

(LEU) derived from HEU according to the restrictions in the USEC

Privatization Act and the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping

Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (Suspension

Agreement). The specific elements of the proposal are included in the

attached Annex.

Prior to reaching a final decision on this issue, the Department is

providing an opportunity for full participation on the record to

parties wishing to comment. Accordingly, not later than 30 days from

the date of publication of this notice, parties may submit comments

with respect to the attached procedures which will govern the

administration and enforcement of the limitations set worth in Section

3112 of the USEC Privatization Act. Six copies of the comments should

be submitted to: Secretary of Commerce, Import Administration, Central

Records Unit, Room 1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. All comments provided

to the Department in response to this notice will be subject to release

under Administrative Protective Order (APO) in accordance with 19 CFR

353.32. Therefore, all comments must properly identify information the

submitter would like treated as business proprietary, and be

accompanied by a properly bracketed public version. The Department will

meet with interested parties upon request to explain the proposed

procedures contained in the Annex to this notice. Any party uncertain

of the proper procedures for filing under APO may contact the

Department for further information and assistance.

Dated: October 1, 1997.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Group III.

Annex

Proposed Procedures For The Sale And Delivery Of The Natural

Uranium Feed Component Of Highly Enriched Uranium Entries

These following proposed procedures have been developed pursuant

to the Department's authority to administer and enforce the

limitations set forth in Section 3112(b)(9) of the USEC

Privatization Act. To avoid confusion, the Department intends to

follow procedures established under the Suspension Agreement, as

closely as possible.

Submission of Contracts

Matched sales utilizing natural uranium associated with

LEU imports derived from HEU (the natural uranium component),

pursuant to Section 3112(b)(6) of the Act, will be reviewed and

approved according to current existing matched sales procedures. The

matched sales procedures and appropriate definitions are contained

in the Amendment to the Suspension Agreement (59 FR 15373 (April 1,

1994)) and related Statements of Administrative Intent which are

available by contacting the Department personnel listed above.

All contracts for the sale of the natural uranium

component between any parties must be submitted to the Department.

Allocation of Natural Uranium Component According to Available

Direct Delivery Quota

The Department believes that allocating the delivery quota

available under section 3112(b) of the USEC Privatization Act will

contribute to the efficient and equitable administration of the

delivery schedule set forth in subsection 3112(b)(5) of the USEC

Privatization Act. The Department intends to use the following

approach to allocate the delivery quotas.

The Department will allocate a portion of the quota to

a party only upon receipt of submitted contracts and confirmation by

the Department on a first-come first-served basis.

The Department will determine the amount of quota used

by a given contract by applying the maximum annual deliveries

(including allowed flexibilities) under the contract to the

remaining quota available for each of the appropriate delivery

years.

Consistent with Section 3112(b)(5) of the USEC

Privatization Act, all requests submitted to the Department for

confirmation must contain, in addition to the contract, a statement

from the end-user certifying that the material will be delivered

solely for consumption in the United States.

Monitoring and Enforcement

The Department will strictly monitor and verify the

movement of the natural uranium component between accounts.

The Department will require that account balances be

documented to the Department on a quarterly basis.

The Department reserves the right to conduct on-site

verifications of documentation reflecting natural uranium component

transactions.

Procedures customarily applied to imports of CIS-origin

uranium will also apply to all physical imports into the United

States of the natural uranium component.

Please also comment on the following:

Should the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian

Federation license the material authorizing delivery for its

intended use, in accordance with section 3112(b)(5) of the USEC

Privatization Act?

Should the Department directly monitor or approve every

transfer of natural uranium component-related material between

companies' accounts?

[FR Doc. 97-26549 Filed 10-6-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P