Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules. Proposed Rules Federal Register 71973 Vol. 79, No. 233 Thursday, December 4, 2014 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 7 CFR Parts 318 and 319 [Docket No. APHIS–2010–0082] RIN 0579–AD71 Establishing a Performance Standard for Authorizing the Importation and Interstate Movement of Fruits and Vegetables AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period. SUMMARY: We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend our regulations governing the importation and interstate movement of fruits and vegetables by broadening our existing performance standard to provide for approval of all new fruits and vegetables for importation or interstate movement into or within the United States using a notice-based process. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments. DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on September 9, 2014 (79 FR 53346–53352) is reopened. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before January 9, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket Detail;D=APHIS-2010-0082. • Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0082, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www. regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D= APHIS-2010-0082 or in our reading room, which is located in Room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799–7039 before coming. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nicole L. Russo, Assistant Director, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 1231; (301) 851–2159. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 9, 2014, we published in the Federal Register (79 FR 53346–53352) a proposal to amend our regulations governing the importations of fruits and vegetables by broadening our existing performance standard to provide for approval of all new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States using a notice-based process. We also proposed to remove the region- or commodity-specific phytosanitary requirements currently found in these regulations. Likewise, we proposed an equivalent revision of the performance standard in our regulations governing the interstate movement of fruits and vegetables from Hawaii and the U.S. territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the removal of commodity￾specific phytosanitary requirements from those regulations. This proposal would allow for the approval of requests to authorize the importation or interstate movement of new fruits and vegetables in a manner that enables a more flexible and responsive regulatory approach to evolving pest situations in both the United States and exporting countries. It would not however, alter the science-based process in which the risk associated with importation or interstate movement of a given fruit or vegetable is evaluated or the manner in which risks associated with the importation or interstate movement of a fruit or vegetable are mitigated. Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or before November 10, 2014. We are reopening the comment period on Docket No. APHIS–2010–0082 for an additional 60 days. We will also accept all comments received between November 11, 2014 (the day after the close of the original comment period) and the date of this notice. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments. Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of December 2014. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2014–28488 Filed 12–3–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–34–P COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 17 CFR Parts 1, 15, 17, 19, 32, 37, 38, 140, and 150 RIN 3038–AD99; 3038–AD82 Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening of comment periods. SUMMARY: On December 12, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (‘‘Commission’’) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the ‘‘Position Limits Proposal’’) to establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. On November 15, 2013, the Commission published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (the ‘‘Aggregation Proposal’’) to amend existing regulations setting out the Commission’s policy for aggregation under its position limits regime. The Commission’s Agricultural Advisory Committee has scheduled a public meeting to be held on December 9, 2014, which will consider, among other matters, deliverable supply and exemptions for bona fide hedging positions. To provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting, the Commission is reopening the comment periods for an additional 45 days. Comments should be limited to the mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Dec 03, 2014 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04DEP1.SGM 04DEP1

71974 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 2014 / Proposed Rules 1 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq. 2See 17 CFR part 150. Part 150 of the Commission’s regulations establishes federal position limits on futures and option contracts in nine enumerated agricultural commodities. 3See 17 CFR 150.2. 4See 17 CFR 150.3. 5See 17 CFR 150.4. 6See Position Limits for Derivatives, 78 FR 75680 (Dec. 12, 2013). 7See Aggregation of Positions, 78 FR 68946 (Nov. 15, 2013). 8See Aggregation Proposal, 78 FR at 68947. 9See 79 FR 2394 (Jan. 14, 2014). following issues as they pertain to agricultural commodities: Hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise; and the process for estimating deliverable supplies used in the setting of spot month limits. DATES: The comment periods for the Aggregation Proposal published November 15, 2013, at 78 FR 68946, and for the Position Limits Proposal published December 12, 2013, at 78 FR 75680, will reopen on December 9, 2014, and close on January 22, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 3038–AD99 for the Position Limits Proposal or RIN 3038– AD82 for the Aggregation Proposal, by any of the following methods: • Agency Web site: http:// comments.cftc.gov; • Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581; • Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail, above; or • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www.regulations.gov. Follow instructions for submitting comments. Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted as received to http://www.cftc.gov. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be submitted under § 145.9 of the Commission’s regulations (17 CFR 145.9). The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on the merits of the rulemaking will be retained in the public comment file and will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Sherrod, Senior Economist, Division of Market Oversight, (202) 418– 5452, ssherrod@cftc.gov; or Riva Spear Adriance, Senior Special Counsel, Division of Market Oversight, (202) 418– 5494, radriance@cftc.gov; Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Commission has long established and enforced speculative position limits for futures and options contracts on various agricultural commodities as authorized by the Commodity Exchange Act (‘‘CEA’’).1 The part 150 position limits regime 2 generally includes three components: (1) The level of the limits, which set a threshold that restricts the number of speculative positions that a person may hold in the spot-month, individual month, and all months combined,3 (2) exemptions for positions that constitute bona fide hedging transactions and certain other types of transactions,4 and (3) rules to determine which accounts and positions a person must aggregate for the purpose of determining compliance with the position limit levels.5 The Position Limits Proposal generally sets out proposed changes to the first and second components of the position limits regime and would establish speculative position limits for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and option contracts, and physical commodity swaps that are ‘‘economically equivalent’’ to such contracts (as such term is used in CEA section 4a(a)(5)).6 The Aggregation Proposal generally sets out proposed changes to the third component of the position limits regime.7 The Commission published the Position Limits Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal separately because it believes that the proposed amendments regarding aggregation of positions could be appropriate regardless of whether the Position Limits Proposal is finalized.8 If the Aggregation Proposal is finalized first, the modifications would apply to the current position limits regime for futures and option contracts on nine enumerated agricultural commodities. If the Position Limits Proposal is subsequently finalized, the modifications in the Aggregation Proposal would apply to the position limits regime for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. In order to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the Aggregation Proposal during the comment period on the Position Limits Proposal, the Commission extended the comment period for the Aggregation Proposal to February 10, 2014, the same end date as the comment period for the Position Limits Proposal.9 Subsequent to publication of the Position Limits Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal, the Commission directed staff to schedule a June 19, 2014, public roundtable to consider certain issues regarding position limits for physical commodity derivatives. The roundtable focused on hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise, including gross hedging, cross-commodity hedging, anticipatory hedging, and the process for obtaining a non-enumerated exemption. Discussion included the setting of spot month limits in physical-delivery and cash￾settled contracts and a conditional spot￾month limit exemption. Further, the roundtable included discussion of: The aggregation exemption for certain ownership interests of greater than 50 percent in an owned entity; and aggregation based on substantially identical trading strategies. As well, the Commission invited comment on whether to provide parity for wheat contracts in non-spot month limits. In conjunction with the roundtable, staff questions regarding these topics were posted on the Commission’s Web site. To provide commenters with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the roundtable, the Commission published a notice in the Federal Register on May 29, 2014, reopening the comment periods for the Position Limit Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal for three weeks, from June 12, 2014 to July 3, 2014. The Commission published notice in the Federal Register on July 3, 2014, further extending the comment periods to August 4, 2014. Comment letters received on the Position Limits Proposal are available at http://comments.cftc.gov/ PublicComments/ CommentList.aspx?id=1436. Comment letters received on the Aggregation Proposal are available at http:// comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ CommentList.aspx?id=1427. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Dec 03, 2014 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04DEP1.SGM 04DEP1

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71975 II. Reopening of Comment Period The Commission’s Agricultural Advisory Committee has scheduled a meeting to be held on December 9, 2014, and adopted an agenda that includes consideration, among other matters, of two issues associated with the Position Limits rulemaking: Deliverable supply and exemptions for bona fide hedging positions. To provide interested persons with a sufficient period of time to respond to questions raised and points made at the Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting, the Commission is reopening both the Position Limit Proposal and the Aggregation Proposal for an additional 45-day comment period. Comments should be limited to the following issues as they pertain to agricultural commodities: Hedges of a physical commodity by a commercial enterprise; and the process for estimating deliverable supplies used in the setting of spot month limits, as each pertains to agricultural commodities. Both comment periods will reopen on December 9, 2014, and close on January 22, 2015. Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2014, by the Commission. Christopher J. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission. Note: The following appendices will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. Appendices to Position Limits for Derivatives and Aggregation of Positions Reopening of Comment Periods—Commission Voting Summary and Commissioner’s Statement Appendix 1—Commission Voting Summary On this matter, Chairman Massad and Commissioners Wetjen, Bowen, and Giancarlo voted in the affirmative. No Commissioner voted in the negative. Appendix 2—Statement of Commissioner Sharon Y. Bowen I support this reopening of the comment period for our position limits rule. As I’ve previously said, this is a key rule and we are well-served by giving stakeholders another chance to comment. However, we cannot allow this rule to linger indefinitely on our docket. It has been over a year since we re-proposed this rule and nearly four years since it was first proposed. We need to finish this rule next year, and I believe we can release a final rule by spring 2015. As we continue to finalize and fine-tune our Dodd-Frank rulemakings, we have to avoid the temptation to simply ratchet back or weaken prior versions of those rules. In fact, I think the best way of viewing changes to our rules is not that we are tweaking them, but rather that we are enhancing them. Sometimes that may mean making the rules more cost-effective and leaner, but at other times that will mean making them stronger than before. Enhancing a rule can mean reducing burdens to business while strengthening protections for the public. I believe our position limits proposal is exactly the sort of rule that needs to be enhanced, and I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners to finish and release this rule in a timely fashion. [FR Doc. 2014–28482 Filed 12–3–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6351–01–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 48 CFR Parts 1, 4, 9, 22, and 52 [FAR Case: 2013–020; Docket No. 2013– 0020; Sequence No. 1] RIN 9000–AM74 Federal Acquisition Regulation: Information on Corporate Contractor Performance and Integrity AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 to include in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), to the extent practicable, identification of any immediate owner or subsidiary, and all predecessors of an offeror that held a Federal contract or grant within the last three years. The objective is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the performance and integrity of the corporation before awarding a Federal contract. DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments to the Regulatory Secretariat at one of the addresses shown below on or before February 2, 2015 to be considered in the formation of the final rule. ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to FAR Case 2013–020 by any of the following methods: • Regulations.gov: http:// www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for ‘‘FAR Case 2013–020’’. Select the link ‘‘Comment Now’’ that corresponds with ‘‘FAR Case 2013– 020.’’ Follow the instructions provided at the ‘‘Comment Now’’ screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and ‘‘FAR Case 2013–020’’ on your attached document. • Fax: 202–501–4067. • Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), ATTN: Ms. Hada Flowers, 1800 F Street NW., 2nd floor, Washington, DC 20405. Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite ‘‘FAR Case 2013–020’’ in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received will be posted without change to http:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business confidential information provided. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Cecelia L. Davis, Procurement Analyst, at 202–219–0202 for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat Division at 202–501–4755. Please cite FAR Case 2013–020. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to revise the FAR to implement section 852 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Pub. L. 112–239) with regard to Federal contracts. Section 852 requires that the FAPIIS include, to the extent practicable, information on any parent, subsidiary, or successor entities to a corporation in a manner designed to give the acquisition officials using the database a comprehensive understanding of the performance and integrity of the corporation in carrying out Federal contracts and grants. This proposed rule addresses the collection of information with regard to offerors that are responding to a solicitation for a Federal contract. The data on immediate owner and direct subsidiaries of an entity will be available through FAPIIS, based on the data obtained from offerors in response to the FAR provision 52.204–17, Ownership or Control of Offeror, which was published in the Federal Register at 79 FR 31187, on May 30, 2014, as a final rule under FAR Case 2012–024. II. Discussion and Analysis A. Information Required

1. Owner/Subsidiary (Proposed FAR 9.104–6(a)(2)(i)) After reviewing section 852, the Defense Acquisition Regulation Council and the Civilian Agency Acquisition mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Dec 03, 2014 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\04DEP1.SGM 04DEP1