(a) A group of producers in the United States or its authorized representative may file a petition for trade adjustment assistance.

(b) Filings may be written or electronic, as provided for by the Administrator (FAS), and submitted to FAS no later than the last day of the filing period announced in the Federal Register. Petitions received after this date will be returned to the sender.

(c) Petitions shall include the following information.

(1) Name, business address, phone number, and e-mail address (if available) of each producer in the group, or its authorized representative. The petition shall identify a contact person for the group.

(2) The agricultural commodity and its Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) number.

(3) The production area represented by the group or its authorized representative. The petition shall indicate if the group is filing on behalf of all producers in the United States, or if it is filing solely on behalf of all producers in a specifically identified impacted area. In the latter case, at least one member of the group must reside in each State within the impacted area.

(4) The beginning and ending dates for the marketing year upon which the petition is based. A petition may be filed for only the most recent full marketing year for which data are available for national average prices, or quantity of production, or value of production, or cash receipts.

(5) A justification statement explaining why the petitioners should be considered eligible for adjustment assistance.

(6) Supporting information justifying the basis of the petition, including required data for the petitioned marketing year and the previous 3 marketing years.

(i) Whenever possible, the petitioners shall use national average data compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to determine national average prices, or quantity of production, or value of production, or cash receipts. If NASS or NMFS has not compiled such data for the commodity, the petitioners shall provide alternative data for the marketing year under review and for the previous 3 marketing years, and identify the source of the data. In such cases the Administrator (FAS) shall determine if the alternative data is acceptable.

(ii) If the petition is filed on behalf of producers in a specifically identified impacted area, the petitioners shall provide the national average prices or county prices if applicable, or quantity of production or value of production, or cash receipts for the petitioned commodity in the impacted area for the marketing year under review and for the previous 3 marketing years, and identification of the data source.

(iii) The Administrator (FAS) may request petitioners to provide records to support their data.

(d) Once the petition is received, the Administrator (FAS) shall determine if it meets the requirements of §1580.201(c) of this part, and if so, publish notice in the Federal Register that a petition has been filed and that an investigation is being initiated. The notice shall identify the agricultural commodity, including any like or directly competitive commodities, the marketing year being investigated, the data being used, and the production area covered by the petition. The notice may also announce the scheduling of a public hearing, if requested by the petitioner. If the petition does not meet the requirements of §1580.201(c) of this part, the Administrator (FAS) shall notify as soon as practicable the contact person or the authorized representative for the group of the deficiencies.