315.134

Allocation of securities.

315.135 Liquidation and administration of loans, guarantees and evidences of indebtedness.

315.136 Community Adjustment Assistance Fund.

315.317 Environmental requirements. 315.138 Other requirements.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 701, Pub. L. 89-136, 79 Stat. 570 (42 U.S.C. 3211 et seq.); and Dept. of Commerce Organization Order 10-4 (Apr. 1, 1970) as amended (40 FR 56702 as amended at 40 FR 58878); sec. 251-274, Pub. L. 93-618, 88 Stat. 2030-2040, 19 U.S.C. 2341-2374.

SOURCE: 41 FR 52648, Dec. 1, 1976, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Provisions §315.1 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to set forth regulations implementing the responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce under chapters 3 and 4 of title II, Trade Act of 1974, as delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development (Assistant Secretary). The Assistant Secretary has the duties of certifying firms and communities as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance, providing technical and financial adjustment assistance to eligible recipients, and studying domestic industries that are being investigated by the International Trade Commission, pursuant to title II, to determine the number of firms in each domestic industry and the extent the existing programs may facilitate the adjustment of firms in the industry.

§315.2 Definitions.

(a) General Definitions. (1) Commission means the Tariff Commission of the United States of America or after January 3, 1975, the U.S. International Trade Commission, as the context requires.

(2) Confidential business information consists of any information that concerns or relates to trade secrets, operations and commercial or financial information, including, but not limited to, the nature, amount or source of income, profits, losses or expenditures which are obtained from any firm and which are exempted from public disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b) and 15 CFR subtitle A, part 4.

(3) Director means the Director of the Office of Planning and Program Support of the Economic Development Administration.

(4) Firm as it applies to subparts B, C, and D includes

(i) Any individual proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation (including a development corporation), business trust, cooperative, trustee in bankruptcy, or receiver under decree of any court.

(ii) When determined necessary by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Planning to prevent unjustifiable benefits, a firm, together with any predecessor or successor firm, or any affiliated firm controlled or substantially beneficially owned by the same person or persons may be considered a single firm:

(A) For purposes of the determinations regarding workers, sales and production required for certification under §315.28, related firms may be considered a single firm only if engaged in the production or sale of the product against which the impact of imports is to be measured.

(B) For purposes of the determinations regarding access to financing through the private capital market and availability of funds from the firm's own resources required under §315.56, related firms may be considered a single firm, except in circumstances in which it would be economically unwarranted for a related firm to provide the assistance needed because of the cost of providing such assistance in relation to

any return that could reasonably be anticipated to such related firm.

(5) Person means an individual, firm, trust or estate.

(6) State includes the States of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (7) TACD means the Trade Act of Certification Division of the Economic Development Administration.

(8) Trade Act means the Trade Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-618, 88 Stat. 1978, 19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.

(9) Trade Expansion Act means the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 76 Stat. 872, 19 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

(b) Definitions Relating to Chapter 4 (1) Community means an Indian tribe or political subdivision of a State, including, but not limited to, any municipality, county, parish, local government agency or general purpose subdivision of such State.

(2) Council means a Trade Impacted Area Council for adjustment assist

ance.

(3) Employee stock ownership plan means a plan described in section 407(d)(6) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, section 4975(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and in section 102(5) of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, which meets the requirements of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and of part I of subchapter D of chapter 1 of such code. (4) Equity Capital means with respect to the recipient corporation, the sum of its money and other property (in an amount equal to the adjusted basis of such property but disregarding adjustments made on account of depreciation or amortization made during the period described in §315.133(d)), less the amount of its indebtedness.

(5) Qualified employer securities means common stock issued by the recipient corporation or by a parent or subsidiary of such corporation with voting power and dividend rights no less favorable than the voting power and dividend rights on other common stock issued by issuing corporation and with voting power being exercised by the participants in the employee stock ownership plan after it is allocated to their plan accounts.

(6) Qualified trust means a trust established under an employee stock ownership plan and meeting the requirements of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and of part I of subchapter D of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

(7) Trade impacted area means any area within U.S. Customs territory, the size and geographical limits of which have been determined by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Planning of the Economic Development Administration section 271(e) of the Trade Act.

under

[41 FR 52648, Dec. 1, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 59836, Nov. 22, 1977]

$315.3 General requirements.

Before any assistance can be extended under this part, the Assistant Secretary must determine that:

(a) The project for which assistance is sought complies with the conditions set forth in the 13 CFR 309.9, 309.11, 309.14, 309.15, and part 310 of these regulations.

(b) The recipients of such assistance and any other parties as defined in 15 CFR subtitle A, part 8 have executed assurances of compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

(c) Each recipient of assistance shall agree to comply with all environmental requirements, to the maximum extent possible, as determined by the Assistant Secretary, including, but not limited to:

(1) The National Environment Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

(2) The Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1857-1858a);

(3) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 12511376);

(4) The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); (5) The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1271-1287);

(6) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

(7) The Historical and Archeological Data Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 469 et seq.).

$315.4 Project modifications.

Projects receiving financial assistance under subparts C and F of this part and public works projects receiving assistance under subpart F of this part may be modified according to the procedures described at 13 CFR 309.26.

(Sec. 701, Pub. L. 89-136, 79 Stat. 570 (42 U.S.C. 3211); Dept. of Commerce Organization Order 104, as amended (40 FR 56702, as amended))

[43 FR 3350, Jan. 25, 1978]

Subpart B-Certification of Eligibility of Firms To Apply for Adjustment Assistance

$315.20 Scope.

This subpart sets forth regulations regarding the certification of eligibility of firms to apply for adjustment assistance under Chapter 3 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974.

§ 315.21 Categories of firms requesting

certification.

Firms requesting certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance under subpart C shall be classified in one of two categories:

(a) Category I includes all firms:

(1) Which have been certified eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance under the Trade Expansion Act, but which have neither applied for nor received adjustment assistance;

(2) For which the Commission has recommended a finding of eligibility to the President but with regard to which the President has not taken action under the Trade Expansion Act; and

(3) For which the Commission has reported a tie vote to the President, with an equal number of voting commissioners favoring and opposing qualification, but with regard to which the President has not taken action.

(b) Category II includes all firms which require a determination under the Trade Act, including firms which have filed a petition with the Commission under the Trade Expansion Act but for which no determinations have been made, and firms which file an original petition under the Trade Act.

§ 315.22 Content of petitions.

(a) Category I firms requesting certification do not need to file a new petition to be eligible for assistance under subpart C.

(b) Any Category II firm seeking original certification under this subpart shall be required to complete a detailed petition form and provide such information as identification and description of the firm (including its legal form of organization; its economic history; major ownership interests in the firm; its officers, directors and management; any parent company, subsidiary or affiliate; and its production and sales facilities); a description of goods and services produced and sold by the firm and the imported articles which are like or directly competitive with those produced by the firm; supporting data relative to the firm's sales, production and employment; the firm's financial reports; and such other information as EDA may consider material to make a determination.

§315.23 Acceptance of petitions.

(a) Place of filing. Petitions for certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance may be submitted for filing by personal delivery during normal U.S. Department of Commerce business hours or by registered mail to the Trade Act Certification Division, Room 6026, Office of Planning and Program Support, Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230.

(b) Conformity with regulations. No document purporting to be a petition for certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance shall be accepted for filing unless such document is in substantial compliance with these regulations. Firms intending to submit petitions are encouraged to consult with the TACD prior to presenting such petitions for filing in order to avail themselves of guidance and assistance in the preparation and documentation of their petitions.

(c) Confidential business information. Business data which the petitioner or any other party desires to submit in confidence shall be submitted on separate sheets bearing at the top of each sheet the clear legend "Confidential Business Information." By submitting

data identified as "Confidential Business Information," the petitioner or other party represents that such information is exempted from public disclosure, either by the Freedom of Information Act or by a specific statutory exemption. However, the TACD may refuse to accept as confidential any information which clearly is not intended to be protected under the law. Any information which the TACD refuses to accept as confidential may be submitted as nonconfidential, or may be withdrawn and will not be considered in the determination of the petition.

(d) Review and acceptance. EDA shall have five working days from the date on which it receives the petition to determine whether the petition has been properly prepared and can be accepted for filing. Immediately thereafter, the TACD shall notify the petitioner that the petition has been accepted or advise the petitioner that the petition has not been accepted for filing, and that the petition may be resubmitted when the specified deficiencies have been corrected. All petitions accepted for filing shall be stamped with the date on which accepted.

(e) Publication in Federal Register. A notice of acceptance of a petition for filing shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Such notice shall include the date of acceptance, the identity of the petitioner, the nature of its business and other pertinent information.

(f) Withdrawal of petitions. A petition may be withdrawn by a petitioner if a request is received by TACD before a decision under $315.30 of this part is made on the petition. A petitioner who withdraws a petition may submit a new petition at any time thereafter in accordance with the requirements of this section.

[41 FR 52648, Dec. 1, 1976, as amended at 45 FR 74902, Nov. 15, 1980]

§315.24 Initiation of investigation.

(a) Upon the acceptance for filing of a petition, an investigation shall be initiated to determine, from the data and other information furnished by the petitioner and information available to EDA, whether the petitioner meets the criteria established in section 251(c) of

the Trade Act and under this subpart for eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance. A report of this investigation shall become part of the record upon which a determination of the petitioner's eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance shall be made.

(b) The Deputy Assistant Secretary :for Economic Development Planning may terminate an investigation at any time if he determines that the petition : involved does not substantially comply with these regulations. He shall immediately notify the petitioner that the investigation has been terminated and shall specify the deficiencies in the petition causing the termination. The corrected petition may be resubmitted at any time and will be treated as a new petition.

#$315.25 Request for public hearing.

(a) A public hearing will be held on any Category II petition accepted for filing, if such hearing is requested in writing by the petitioner. A request for a public hearing shall be filed with the Director and must be received within 10 working days after the publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER of the notice of filing of the petition under §315.23(e).

(b) Request by other party. A public hearing will also be held on any petition, if requested in a timely manner by any person, organization or group demonstrating a substantial interest in the proceedings. A request for a public hearing by a party other than the petitioner shall be filed with the Director, and must be received within ten (10) working days after the publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER of the notice of filing of the petition under §315.23(e). Such request must be in writing, delivered by hand or by registered mail, and must contain:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of the person, organization or group requesting the hearing;

(2) A complete statement of the relationship of the person, organization or group requesting the hearing to the petitioner or the subject matter of the petition and a statement of the nature 1 of its interests in the proceeding, including how such interest may be affected by certification noncertification of the petitioner's eli

or

gibility to apply for adjustment assistance; and

(3) A summary of the nature of the evidence or other information that it desires to submit at the public hearing. For purposes of this section, a person, organization or group will be deemed to have a substantial interest in the proceedings if it has included sufficient information in its request to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that it has a direct, material economic interest which will be, or may be, affected by certification or denial of certification of petitioner's eligibility to apply for adjustment assist

ance.

(c) Denial of request by other party. In the event of a denial of a request for a public hearing, a written notice thereof by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Planning shall be sent to the requesting party. Such notice shall specify the reasons upon which the denial is based. In view of the sixty day period under section 251(d) of the Trade Act for processing petitions for certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance, there shall be no appeal from such a denial.

$315.26 Notice of hearing.

The Director shall publish notice of the public hearing in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The notice shall include the subject matter of the application, and the date, time and place at which the opportunity to be heard shall be afforded, and other pertinent information.

§315.27 Conduct of hearing.

(a) Attendance at hearing. Each person who wishes to be heard shall notify the Director within five (5) days after the date of the notice described in §315.26 of his intention to attend and shall submit the numbers and names of the witnesses he wishes to present.

(b) Presiding officer. The presiding officer of the hearing shall be appointed by the Assistant Secretary.

(c) Hearing rules-(1) Order of presentation (i) Opening statements. The petitioner and each other approved participant may make opening statements of a length within the discretion of the presiding officer. Such opening statements should concisely state what the