Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 1.djvu/296

 114 STAT. 260 PUBLIC LAW 106-200—MAY 18, 2000 Deadline. Federal Register, publication. in one or more lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used to make such articles. (ii) LESSER DEVELOPED BENEFICIARY SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRY. — For purposes of this subparagraph the term "lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African country" means a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country that had a per capita gross national product of less than $1,500 a year in 1998, as measured by the World Bank. (C) SURGE MECHANISM.— (i) IMPORT MONITORING.—The Secretary of Commerce shall monitor imports of articles described in this paragraph on a monthly basis to determine if there has been a surge in imports of such articles. In order to permit public access to preliminary international trade data and to facilitate the early identification of potentially disruptive import surges, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may grant an exception to the publication dates established for the release of data on United States international trade in covered articles, if the Director notifies Congress of the early release of the data. (ii) DETERMINATION OF DAMAGE OR THREAT THEREOF. —Whenever the Secretary of Commerce determines, based on the data described in clause (i), or pursuant to a written request made by an interested party, that there has been a surge in imports of an article described in this paragraph from a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, the Secretary shall determine whether such article from such country is being imported in such increased quantities as to cause serious damage, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive article. If the Secretary's determination is affirmative, the President shall suspend the duty-free treatment provided for such article under this paragraph. If the inquiry is initiated at the request of an interested party, the Secretary shall make the determination within 60 days after the date of the request. (iii) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In determining whether a domestic industry has been seriously damaged, or is threatened with serious damage, the Secretary shall examine the effect of the imports on relevant economic indicators such as domestic production, sales, market share, capacity utilization, inventories, employment, profits, exports, prices, and investment. (iv) PROCEDURE.— (I) INITIATION. —The Secretary of Commerce shall initiate an inquiry within 10 days after receiving a written request and supporting information for an inquiry from an interested party. Notice of initiation of an inquiry shall be published in the Federal Register.

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