Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments, 42886-42887 [E6-12133]

Download as PDF 42886 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 145 / Friday, July 28, 2006 / Notices Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention: Reproduction and Distribution Services Section; by e-mail to DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov; or by fax to (301) 415–2289. Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not required to reproduce them. comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria Blue, (202) 395– 3475. All other questions should be directed to Terrence J. McCartin, Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for China Enforcement, (202) 395–3900, or Stephen S. Kho, Acting Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, (202) 395–3582. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: (5 U.S.C. 552(a)) 1. Background China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each year, a report to Congress on China’s compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in preparing this year’s report, the TPSC is hereby soliciting public comment. Last year’s report is available on USTR’s Internet Web site (at https://www.ustr.gov/ World_Regions/North_Asia/China/ Section_Index.html). The terms of China’s accession to the WTO are contained in the Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China (including its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. The Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on the Department of Commerce Web page, https://www.mac.doc.gov/China/ WTOAccessionPackage.htm, or on the WTO Web site, https:// docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, WT/ MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/ Add.2). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of July, 2006. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brian W. Sheron, Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. E6–12078 Filed 7–27–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China’s Compliance With WTO Commitments Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning China’s compliance with its WTO commitments. rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China’s compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). DATES: Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written notification of their intention, as well as a copy of their testimony, by noon, Wednesday, September 14, 2006. Written comments are due by noon, Monday, September 18, 2006. A hearing will be held in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, September 28, 2006. ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: fr0622@ustr.eop.gov. Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395–6143. The public is strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. (See requirements for submissions below.) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning written VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:47 Jul 27, 2006 Jkt 208001 2. Public Comment and Hearing USTR invites written comments and/ or oral testimony of interested persons on China’s compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas: (a) Trading rights; (b) import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses); (c) export regulation; (d) internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and charges levied on imports and exports); (e) intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement); (f) services; (g) rule of law issues (e.g., PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 transparency, judicial review, uniform administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform; and (h) other WTO commitments. In addition, given the Administration’s view that China should be held accountable as a full participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system now that most of its WTO commitments should have been implemented (see ‘‘U.S.China Trade Relations: Entering a New Phase of Greater Accountability and Enforcement,’’ issued by USTR in February 2006, https://www.ustr.gov/ World_Regions/North_Asia/China/ 2006_Top-to-Bottom_Review/ Section_Index.html), USTR requests that interested persons also specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR’s newly created China Enforcement Task Force. Written comments must be received no later than noon, Monday, September 18, 2006. A hearing will be held on Thursday, September 28, 2006, in Room 1, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing will continue on the next day. Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide written notification of their intention by noon, Wednesday, September 14, 2006. The notification should include: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a short (one or two paragraph) summary of the presentation, including the commitments at issue and, as applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service sector(s), or other subjects to be discussed. A copy of the testimony must accompany the notification. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the TPSC. All documents should be submitted in accordance with the instructions in section 3 below. 3. Requirements for Submissions In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR strongly urges and prefers electronic (email) submissions in response to this notice. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be made by facsimile. Persons making submissions by email should use the following subject line: ‘‘China WTO’’ followed by (as appropriate) ‘‘Written Comments,’’ ‘‘Notice of Testimony,’’ or ‘‘Testimony.’’ Documents should be submitted as either Adobe PDF, WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 145 / Friday, July 28, 2006 / Notices spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. For any document containing business confidential information submitted electronically, the file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters ‘‘BC-’’, and the file name of the public version should begin with the characters ‘‘P-’’. The ‘‘P-’’ or ‘‘BC-’’ should be followed by the name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by e-mail should not provide separate cover letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself. Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. Written comments, notices of testimony, and testimony will be placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except confidential business information exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Confidential business information submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top of each page, including any cover letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential information. All public documents and nonconfidential summaries shall be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment to review the file may be made by calling (202) 395–6186. Appointments must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance. General information concerning USTR may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site (https://www.ustr.gov). Carmen Suro-Bredie, Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee. [FR Doc. E6–12133 Filed 7–27–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3110–W6–P PEACE CORPS Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities: Career Information Consultants Waiver Form (PC–DP–969.1.2) Peace Corps. ACTION: Notice of Reinstatement of OMB Control Number 0420–0531, with changes, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired. rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES AGENCY: VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:47 Jul 27, 2006 Jkt 208001 SUMMARY: The Peace Corps has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, a request for approval of Reinstatement of OMB Control Number 0420–0531, the Career Information Consultants Waiver Form (PC–DP– 969.1.2). The purpose of this information collection is to gather and update contact information for individuals who volunteer to share information about their career field, their past or current employer(s), and their career and educational paths with current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The purpose of this notice is to allow for public comment on whether the proosed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Peace Corps, including whether the information will have practical use; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and the clarity of the information to be collected; and, ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology. This is a Request for Reinstatement of expired OMB Control Number 0420–0531. Five (5) comments were received in response to the Peace Corps’ Federal Register Notice that was published January 12, 2006, Volume 71, No. 8, 60 days. These comments were evaluated. Comments regarding the number of available options for career field(s) suggested that the original number of options was too high and made the form difficult to read. The form was revised to include a fewer number of options and the font size was increased. Comments regarding the number of entries from a single respondent suggested that respondents were listed too many times. The form was revised to limit the number of entries allowed from each respondent. Comments regarding the title of career field options suggested that there was repetition in the titles and that some titles were confusing. The form was revised to include standard occupational titles. Comments regarding the number of pages in the print publication suggested that the book was too large and difficult to manage. The directory will now only be available in electronic form. A copy of the information collection may be obtained from Ms. Tamara Webb, Peace Corps, Office of Domestic Programs, Returned Volunteer Services, 1111 20th Street, NW., Room 2132, Washington, DC 20526. Ms. Webb can PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 42887 be contacted by telephone at 202–692– 1435 or 800–424–8580 ext 1435. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 28, 2006. Need for and Use of This Information: The Career Information Consultants Waiver Form is used to gather contact information from individuals who have volunteered to serve as career resources for current Peace Corps Volunteers and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The form is distributed and collected by the Peace Corps Office of Domestic Programs, Returned Volunteer Services Division. The Returned Volunteer Services Division provides transition assistance to returning and recentlyreturned Volunteers through the Career Information Consultants project and other career, educational, and readjustment activities. The purpose of this information collection is to gather and update contact information for the Career Information Consultants database and publication. There is no other means of obtaining the required data. The Career Information Consultants project supports the need to assist returned volunteers and enhance the agency’s capability to serve this population as required by Congressional legislation. Respondent’s Obligation to Reply: Voluntary Burden on the Public: a. Annual reporting burden: 167 hours. b. Annual recordkeeping burden: 0 hours. c. Estimated average burden per response: 5 minutes. d. Frequency of response: Once, every three years. e. Estimated number of likely respondents: 2000. f. Estimated cost to respondents: $0. At this time, responses will be returned by mail. This notice is issued in Washington, DC on July 19, 2006. Wilbert Bryant, Associate Director for Management. [FR Doc. 06–6520 Filed 7–27–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6051–01–M RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD Proposed Collection; Comment Request Summary: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 145 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42886-42887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12133]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning 
China's compliance with its WTO commitments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the 
commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade 
Organization (WTO).

DATES: Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written 
notification of their intention, as well as a copy of their testimony, 
by noon, Wednesday, September 14, 2006. Written comments are due by 
noon, Monday, September 18, 2006. A hearing will be held in Washington, 
DC, on Wednesday, September 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES: 
    Submissions by electronic mail: fr0622@ustr.eop.gov.
    Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, (202) 395-6143.
    The public is strongly encouraged to submit documents 
electronically rather than by facsimile. (See requirements for 
submissions below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria 
Blue, (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to 
Terrence J. McCartin, Deputy Assistant United States Trade 
Representative for China Enforcement, (202) 395-3900, or Stephen S. 
Kho, Acting Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, (202) 395-3582.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In 
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each 
year, a report to Congress on China's compliance with commitments made 
in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both 
multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the 
United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in 
preparing this year's report, the TPSC is hereby soliciting public 
comment. Last year's report is available on USTR's Internet Web site 
(at https://www.ustr.gov/World_Regions/North_Asia/China/Section_
Index.html).
    The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including 
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the 
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. The 
Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on the Department of 
Commerce Web page, https://www.mac.doc.gov/China/
WTOAccessionPackage.htm, or on the WTO Web site, https://
docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, WT/
MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

2. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on China's compliance with commitments made in connection with 
its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in 
the following areas: (a) Trading rights; (b) import regulation (e.g., 
tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses); (c) export 
regulation; (d) internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, 
standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary 
measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures, 
taxes and charges levied on imports and exports); (e) intellectual 
property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement); 
(f) services; (g) rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial 
review, uniform administration of laws and regulations) and status of 
legal reform; and (h) other WTO commitments. In addition, given the 
Administration's view that China should be held accountable as a full 
participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system 
now that most of its WTO commitments should have been implemented (see 
``U.S.-China Trade Relations: Entering a New Phase of Greater 
Accountability and Enforcement,'' issued by USTR in February 2006, 
https://www.ustr.gov/World_Regions/North_Asia/China/2006_Top-to-
Bottom_Review/Section_Index.html), USTR requests that interested 
persons also specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that 
warrant review and evaluation by USTR's newly created China Enforcement 
Task Force.
    Written comments must be received no later than noon, Monday, 
September 18, 2006.
    A hearing will be held on Thursday, September 28, 2006, in Room 1, 
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing 
will continue on the next day.
    Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide 
written notification of their intention by noon, Wednesday, September 
14, 2006. The notification should include: (1) The name, address, and 
telephone number of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a 
short (one or two paragraph) summary of the presentation, including the 
commitments at issue and, as applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS 
numbers), service sector(s), or other subjects to be discussed. A copy 
of the testimony must accompany the notification. Remarks at the 
hearing should be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for 
possible questions from the TPSC.
    All documents should be submitted in accordance with the 
instructions in section 3 below.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response 
to this notice. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible, 
submissions should be made by facsimile.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``China WTO'' followed by (as appropriate) ``Written 
Comments,'' ``Notice of Testimony,'' or ``Testimony.'' Documents should 
be submitted as either Adobe PDF, WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) 
files. Supporting documentation submitted as

[[Page 42887]]

spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. For any document 
containing business confidential information submitted electronically, 
the file name of the business confidential version should begin with 
the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of the public version should 
begin with the characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be 
followed by the name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by 
e-mail should not provide separate cover letters; information that 
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission 
itself. Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to the 
submission should be included in the same file as the submission 
itself, and not as separate files.
    Written comments, notices of testimony, and testimony will be 
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, 
except confidential business information exempt from public inspection 
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Confidential business information 
submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of each page, including any cover 
letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential 
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and 
nonconfidential summaries shall be available for public inspection in 
the USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public, by 
appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. An appointment to review the file may be made by 
calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments must be scheduled at least 48 
hours in advance.
    General information concerning USTR may be obtained by accessing 
its Internet Web site (https://www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
 [FR Doc. E6-12133 Filed 7-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-W6-P

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