Request for Public Comments To Compile the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers and Reports on Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Standards-Related Foreign Trade Barriers, 48811-48813 [E9-23012]
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[FR Doc. E9–23000 Filed 9–23–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W9–C
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments To
Compile the National Trade Estimate
Report on Foreign Trade Barriers and
Reports on Sanitary and Phytosanitary
and Standards-Related Foreign Trade
Barriers
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19
U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) is
required to publish annually the
National Trade Estimate Report on
Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). With this
notice, the Trade Policy Staff Committee
(TPSC) is requesting interested persons
to submit comments to assist it in
identifying significant barriers to U.S.
exports of goods, services, and U.S.
foreign direct investment for inclusion
in the NTE.
For the first time this year, the TPSC
is requesting that comments on
standards-related measures and sanitary
and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that
create barriers to U.S. exports be
submitted separately from other NTE
comments. This will assist USTR in
preparing two new annual reports
starting in 2010 highlighting SPS and
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:27 Sep 23, 2009
Jkt 217001
standards-related measures that may be
inconsistent with international trade
agreements to which the United States
is a party or that otherwise act as
significant barriers to U.S. exports.
The TPSC invites written comments
from the public on issues that USTR
should examine in preparing the NTE
and the new reports on SPS and
standards-related measures. Please note
that requirements for submitting
comments, as set forth below, are
different from those in the previous
years.
DATES: Public comments are due not
later than:
November 4, 2009 for comments
concerning SPS or standards-related
measures; and
November 18, 2009 for comments
concerning all other measures.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be
made via the Internet at
www.regulations.gov under the
following dockets (based on the subject
matter of the submission):
SPS Measures: USTR–2009–0031.
Standards-Related Measures: USTR–
2009–0032.
All Other Measures: USTR–2009–
0033.
For alternatives to on-line
submissions please contact Gloria Blue,
Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, USTR (202–395–3475). The
public is strongly encouraged to file
submissions electronically rather than
by facsimile or mail.
PO 00000
Frm 00103
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Sfmt 4703
48811
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions regarding the NTE or on
submitting comments in response to this
notice should be directed to Gloria Blue
at (202) 395–3475. Questions regarding
the SPS report or substantive questions
concerning comments on SPS measures
should be directed to Jane Doherty,
Director of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Affairs, USTR (202–395–6127).
Questions regarding the report on
standards-related measures or
substantive questions concerning
comments on those measures should be
directed to Jeff Weiss, Senior Director,
Technical Barriers to Trade, USTR (202–
395–4498).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NTE
sets out an inventory of the most
important foreign barriers affecting U.S.
exports of goods and services, U.S.
foreign direct investment, and
protection of intellectual property
rights. The inventory facilitates U.S.
negotiations aimed at reducing or
eliminating these barriers. The report
also provides a valuable tool in
enforcing U.S. trade laws and
strengthening the rules-based trading
system. The 2009 NTE may be found on
USTR’s Internet Home Page (https://
www.ustr.gov) under the tab ‘‘Reports.’’
The Administration has recently
announced new initiatives to direct
Executive Branch trade priorities to
barriers of greatest significance for U.S.
exports, investment, and intellectual
property rights. To ensure compliance
with the NTE’s statutory mandate and
the Obama Administration’s
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 / Notices
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
48812
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 / Notices
commitment to focus on the most
significant foreign trade barriers, USTR
will be guided by the existence of active
private sector interest in deciding which
restrictions to include in the NTE. The
two new reports that USTR will initiate
in 2010 will draw attention to
significant trade barriers in the form of
SPS and standards-related measures.
Topics on which the TPSC Seeks
Information: To assist USTR in
preparing the NTE and the reports on
SPS and standards-related measures,
commenters should submit information
related to one or more of the following
categories of foreign trade barriers:
(1) Import policies (e.g., tariffs and
other import charges, quantitative
restrictions, import licensing, and
customs barriers);
(2) SPS measures;
(3) Standards-related measures
(including standards, technical
regulations, and conformity assessment
procedures);
(4) Government procurement
restrictions (e.g., ‘‘buy national’’ policies
and closed bidding);
(5) Export subsidies (e.g., export
financing on preferential terms and
agricultural export subsidies that
displace U.S. exports in third country
markets);
(6) Lack of intellectual property
protection (e.g., inadequate patent,
copyright, and trademark regimes);
(7) Services barriers (e.g., limits on the
range of financial services offered by
foreign financial institutions, regulation
of international data flows, restrictions
on the use of data processing, quotas on
imports of foreign films, and barriers to
the provision of services by
professionals);
(8) Investment barriers (e.g.,
limitations on foreign equity
participation and on access to foreign
government-funded R&D consortia, local
content, technology transfer and export
performance requirements, and
restrictions on repatriation of earnings,
capital, fees, and royalties);
(9) Government-tolerated
anticompetitive conduct of state-owned
or private firms that restricts the sale or
purchase of U.S. goods or services in the
foreign country’s markets;
(10) Trade restrictions affecting
electronic commerce (e.g., tariff and
non-tariff measures, burdensome and
discriminatory regulations and
standards, and discriminatory taxation);
and
(11) Other barriers (e.g., barriers that
encompass more than one category,
such as bribery and corruption, or that
affect a single sector).
Reports on SPS and StandardsRelated Measures: On July 16, 2009,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:27 Sep 23, 2009
Jkt 217001
USTR announced plans to begin
publishing two new reports on foreign
trade barriers—one on SPS measures
and the other on standards-related
measures. These reports—to be issued
annually starting in 2010—will serve as
tools to bring greater attention and focus
to resolving SPS and standards-related
measures that may be inconsistent with
international trade agreements to which
the United States is a party or that
otherwise act as significant foreign
barriers to U.S. exports. See https://
www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/factsheets/2009/july/trade-policy-breakingdown-barriers-trade. USTR plans to use
comments on SPS and standards-related
measures (items 2 and 3 in the list
above) submitted pursuant to this notice
in developing these two new reports. To
help USTR identify SPS and standardsrelated measures to include in the new
reports, comments concerning those
measures should be submitted
separately from those addressing other
foreign trade barriers. (See below).
The following information describing
SPS and standards-related measures
may help commenters to file
submissions on particular foreign trade
barriers under the appropriate docket.
SPS Measures: Generally, SPS
measures are measures applied to
protect the life or health of humans,
animals, and plants from risks arising
from additives, contaminants, pests,
toxins, diseases, or disease-carrying and
causing organisms. SPS measures can
take such forms as specific product or
processing standards, requirements for
products to be produced in disease-free
areas, quarantine regulations,
certification or inspection procedures,
sampling and testing requirements,
health-related labeling measures,
maximum permissible pesticide residue
levels, and prohibitions on certain food
additives.
Standards-Related Measures:
Standards-related measures comprise
standards, technical regulations, and
conformity assessment procedures, such
as mandatory process or design
standards, labeling or registration
requirements, and testing or
certification procedures. Standardsrelated measures can be applied not
only to industrial products but to
agricultural products as well, such as
food nutrition labeling schemes and
food quality or identity requirements.
For further information on SPS and
standards-related measures and
additional detail on the types of
comments that would assist USTR in
identifying and addressing significant
trade-restrictive SPS and standardsrelated measures, please see
‘‘Supporting & Related Materials’’ under
PO 00000
Frm 00104
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
dockets USTR–2009–0031 and USTR–
2009–0032 at www.regulations.gov.
In responding to this notice with
respect to any of the three reports,
commenters should place particular
emphasis on any practices that may
violate U.S. trade agreements. The TPSC
is also interested in receiving new or
updated information pertinent to the
barriers covered in the 2009 NTE as well
as reports of new barriers. If USTR does
not include in the NTE or the reports on
SPS and standards-related measures
information that it receives pursuant to
this notice, it will maintain the
information for potential use in future
discussions or negotiations with trading
partners.
Estimate of Increase in Exports: Each
comment should include an estimate of
the potential increase in U.S. exports
that would result from removing any
foreign trade barrier the comment
identifies, as well as a description of the
methodology the commenter used to
derive the estimate. Estimates should be
expressed within the following value
ranges: Less than $5 million; $5 to $25
million; $25 million to $50 million; $50
million to $100 million; $100 million to
$500 million; or over $500 million.
These estimates will help USTR
conduct comparative analyses of a
barrier’s effect over a range of
industries.
Requirements for Submissions:
Commenters providing information on
foreign trade barriers in more than one
country should, whenever possible,
provide a separate submission for each
country. Comments addressing SPS or
standards-related measures should be
submitted separately from comments on
other trade barriers.
In order to ensure the timely receipt
and consideration of comments, USTR
strongly encourages commenters to
make on-line submissions, using the
www.regulations.gov Web site.
Comments should be submitted under
one of the following dockets (depending
on the subject of the comment):
SPS Measures: USTR–2009–0031.
Standards-Related Measures: USTR–
2009–0032.
All Other Measures: USTR–2009–
0033.
To find these dockets, enter the
pertinent docket number in the ‘‘Enter
Keyword or ID’’ window at the
www.regulations.gov home page and
click ‘‘Search.’’ The site will provide a
search-results page listing all documents
associated with that docket number.
Find a reference to this notice by
selecting ‘‘Notices’’ under ‘‘Document
Type’’ on the search-results page, and
click on the link entitled ‘‘Submit a
Comment.’’ (For further information on
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
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srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 / Notices
using the www.regulations.gov Web site,
please consult the resources provided
on the website by clicking on the
‘‘Help’’ tab.)
The www.regulations.gov Web site
provides the option of making
submissions by filling in a comments
field, or by attaching a document. USTR
prefers submissions to be provided in an
attached document. If a document is
attached, please identify the name of the
country to which the submission
pertains in the ‘‘Comments’’ field. For
example: ‘‘See attached comment for
(name of country)’’. If the comment is
related to SPS or standards-related
measures, type ‘‘See attached comment
on SPS measures for (name of country)’’
or ‘‘See attached comment on standardsrelated measures for (name of country)’’.
USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft
Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If
the submission is in an application
other than those two, please indicate the
name of the application in the
‘‘Comments’’ field.
For any comments submitted
electronically containing business
confidential information, the file name
of the business confidential version
should begin with the characters ‘‘BC’’.
The top of any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly
marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’.
Any person filing comments that
contain business confidential
information must also file in a separate
submission a public version of the
comments. The file name of the public
version of the comments should begin
with the character ‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and
‘‘P’’ should be followed by the name of
the person or entity submitting the
comments. If a comment contains no
business confidential information, the
file name should begin with the
character ‘‘P’’, followed by the name of
the person or entity submitting the
comments.
Please do not attach separate cover
letters to electronic submissions; rather,
include any information that might
appear in a cover letter in the comments
themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits,
annexes, or other attachments in the
same file as the submission itself, not as
separate files.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9–23012 Filed 9–23–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W9–P
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Jkt 217001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement
for the Empire Corridor High Speed
Rail Program From New York City to
Niagara Falls, NY
AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to
advise the public that FRA with the
New York State Department of
Transportation (NYSDOT) will jointly
prepare a Tier 1 Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Empire Corridor
High Speed Rail (HSR) Program in
compliance with relevant State and
Federal laws, in particular the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
the State Environmental Quality Review
Act (SEQR). FRA is also issuing this
notice to solicit public and agency input
into the development of the scope of the
Empire Corridor HSR Program EIS and
to advise the public that outreach
activities conducted by the NYSDOT
and its representatives will be
considered in the preparation of the EIS.
The objective of the tiered EIS is to
evaluate alternatives and make corridor
level decisions regarding the level of
intercity passenger rail service provided
in the corridor, including variations in
train frequency, trip time, and on-time
performance.
DATES: Letters describing the proposed
project and soliciting comments were
sent to appropriate Federal, State, and
local agencies, and appropriate
railroads. Written comments on the
scope of the Empire Corridor HSR
Program EIS should be provided to
NYSDOT by October 30, 2009. A public
scoping meeting is scheduled for
September 24, 2009, from 1:30 to 2:30
p.m., at 50 Wolf Road, Conference
Rooms A, B and C on the first floor,
Albany, NY 12232 for the purpose of
introducing the proposed project to
regulatory agencies and other interested
parties. No formal NEPA scoping
meeting is planned. A series of public
information meetings will be held in
Eastern and Western New York in
November and December 2009. Public
notices will be given of the time and
place of the meetings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the
scope of this EIS should be addressed
to: Ann R. Purdue, High Speed Rail
Program Manager, New York State
Department of Transportation, 50 Wolf
Road POD 6–4, Albany, NY 12232, or
PO 00000
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48813
via e-mail with the subject line, ‘‘Empire
Corridor HSR’’ to:
apurdue@dot.state.ny.us. Comments
may also be provided orally or in
writing at the scoping meeting on
September 24, 2009, at 50 Wolf Road,
Conference Rooms A, B and C, Albany,
New York 12232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Melissa Elefante DuMond,
Environmental Protection Specialist,
Office of Railroad Development, Federal
Railroad Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE. (Mail Stop 20),
Washington, DC 20590; Telephone (202)
493–6366, or Ann R. Purdue, High
Speed Rail Program Manager, New York
State Department of Transportation, 50
Wolf Road POD 6–4, Albany, NY,
Telephone (518) 457–0607.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRA,
in cooperation with the New York State
Department of Transportation
(NYSDOT), will prepare a tiered
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
that will study and document proposed
improvements to intercity passenger rail
services along the 463-mile Empire
Corridor, beginning at Penn Station in
New York City, New York County and
proceeding north to Poughkeepsie
(Dutchess County) and Albany (Albany
County) then turning west to
Schenectady (Schenectady County),
Utica (Oneida County), Syracuse
(Onondaga County), Rochester (Monroe
County), Buffalo (Erie County) and
terminating at Niagara Falls (Niagara
County).
Purpose and Need: In 2008, Amtrak
carried 315.79 million passenger miles
along the Empire Corridor. However,
overall on-time performance (OTP) for
Amtrak in 2008 was poor, with 68%
OTP for trains operating between Penn
Station and Albany-Rensselaer, and
OTP of 41% for trains operating
between Penn Station and Niagara Falls.
Trip times are competitive with
automobile and air travel between Penn
Station and Albany-Rensselaer, but are
considerably slower in the Penn Station
to Niagara Falls market. Mobility
choices were limited, primarily west of
Albany, due to limited train frequency.
Poor on-time performance, noncompetitive trip times, and infrequent
service are all factors known to
adversely affect passenger rail ridership.
The 2009 New York State Rail Plan
identified a need for improvements to
passenger rail services as a means to
reduce highway congestion, reduce
airport congestion, reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, and limit the
consumption of fossil fuels, and to
support economic growth and smart
land use development. The New York
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48811-48813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23012]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments To Compile the National Trade
Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers and Reports on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary and Standards-Related Foreign Trade Barriers
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(19 U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) is required to publish annually the National Trade Estimate
Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). With this notice, the Trade
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to
submit comments to assist it in identifying significant barriers to
U.S. exports of goods, services, and U.S. foreign direct investment for
inclusion in the NTE.
For the first time this year, the TPSC is requesting that comments
on standards-related measures and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)
measures that create barriers to U.S. exports be submitted separately
from other NTE comments. This will assist USTR in preparing two new
annual reports starting in 2010 highlighting SPS and standards-related
measures that may be inconsistent with international trade agreements
to which the United States is a party or that otherwise act as
significant barriers to U.S. exports.
The TPSC invites written comments from the public on issues that
USTR should examine in preparing the NTE and the new reports on SPS and
standards-related measures. Please note that requirements for
submitting comments, as set forth below, are different from those in
the previous years.
DATES: Public comments are due not later than:
November 4, 2009 for comments concerning SPS or standards-related
measures; and
November 18, 2009 for comments concerning all other measures.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at
www.regulations.gov under the following dockets (based on the subject
matter of the submission):
SPS Measures: USTR-2009-0031.
Standards-Related Measures: USTR-2009-0032.
All Other Measures: USTR-2009-0033.
For alternatives to on-line submissions please contact Gloria Blue,
Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, USTR (202-395-3475).
The public is strongly encouraged to file submissions electronically
rather than by facsimile or mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the NTE or on
submitting comments in response to this notice should be directed to
Gloria Blue at (202) 395-3475. Questions regarding the SPS report or
substantive questions concerning comments on SPS measures should be
directed to Jane Doherty, Director of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Affairs, USTR (202-395-6127). Questions regarding the report on
standards-related measures or substantive questions concerning comments
on those measures should be directed to Jeff Weiss, Senior Director,
Technical Barriers to Trade, USTR (202-395-4498).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NTE sets out an inventory of the most
important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and protection of
intellectual property rights. The inventory facilitates U.S.
negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers. The
report also provides a valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and
strengthening the rules-based trading system. The 2009 NTE may be found
on USTR's Internet Home Page (https://www.ustr.gov) under the tab
``Reports.''
The Administration has recently announced new initiatives to direct
Executive Branch trade priorities to barriers of greatest significance
for U.S. exports, investment, and intellectual property rights. To
ensure compliance with the NTE's statutory mandate and the Obama
Administration's
[[Page 48812]]
commitment to focus on the most significant foreign trade barriers,
USTR will be guided by the existence of active private sector interest
in deciding which restrictions to include in the NTE. The two new
reports that USTR will initiate in 2010 will draw attention to
significant trade barriers in the form of SPS and standards-related
measures.
Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in
preparing the NTE and the reports on SPS and standards-related
measures, commenters should submit information related to one or more
of the following categories of foreign trade barriers:
(1) Import policies (e.g., tariffs and other import charges,
quantitative restrictions, import licensing, and customs barriers);
(2) SPS measures;
(3) Standards-related measures (including standards, technical
regulations, and conformity assessment procedures);
(4) Government procurement restrictions (e.g., ``buy national''
policies and closed bidding);
(5) Export subsidies (e.g., export financing on preferential terms
and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S. exports in third
country markets);
(6) Lack of intellectual property protection (e.g., inadequate
patent, copyright, and trademark regimes);
(7) Services barriers (e.g., limits on the range of financial
services offered by foreign financial institutions, regulation of
international data flows, restrictions on the use of data processing,
quotas on imports of foreign films, and barriers to the provision of
services by professionals);
(8) Investment barriers (e.g., limitations on foreign equity
participation and on access to foreign government-funded R&D consortia,
local content, technology transfer and export performance requirements,
and restrictions on repatriation of earnings, capital, fees, and
royalties);
(9) Government-tolerated anticompetitive conduct of state-owned or
private firms that restricts the sale or purchase of U.S. goods or
services in the foreign country's markets;
(10) Trade restrictions affecting electronic commerce (e.g., tariff
and non-tariff measures, burdensome and discriminatory regulations and
standards, and discriminatory taxation); and
(11) Other barriers (e.g., barriers that encompass more than one
category, such as bribery and corruption, or that affect a single
sector).
Reports on SPS and Standards-Related Measures: On July 16, 2009,
USTR announced plans to begin publishing two new reports on foreign
trade barriers--one on SPS measures and the other on standards-related
measures. These reports--to be issued annually starting in 2010--will
serve as tools to bring greater attention and focus to resolving SPS
and standards-related measures that may be inconsistent with
international trade agreements to which the United States is a party or
that otherwise act as significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. See
https://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2009/july/trade-policy-breaking-down-barriers-trade. USTR plans to use comments on SPS
and standards-related measures (items 2 and 3 in the list above)
submitted pursuant to this notice in developing these two new reports.
To help USTR identify SPS and standards-related measures to include in
the new reports, comments concerning those measures should be submitted
separately from those addressing other foreign trade barriers. (See
below).
The following information describing SPS and standards-related
measures may help commenters to file submissions on particular foreign
trade barriers under the appropriate docket.
SPS Measures: Generally, SPS measures are measures applied to
protect the life or health of humans, animals, and plants from risks
arising from additives, contaminants, pests, toxins, diseases, or
disease-carrying and causing organisms. SPS measures can take such
forms as specific product or processing standards, requirements for
products to be produced in disease-free areas, quarantine regulations,
certification or inspection procedures, sampling and testing
requirements, health-related labeling measures, maximum permissible
pesticide residue levels, and prohibitions on certain food additives.
Standards-Related Measures: Standards-related measures comprise
standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures,
such as mandatory process or design standards, labeling or registration
requirements, and testing or certification procedures. Standards-
related measures can be applied not only to industrial products but to
agricultural products as well, such as food nutrition labeling schemes
and food quality or identity requirements.
For further information on SPS and standards-related measures and
additional detail on the types of comments that would assist USTR in
identifying and addressing significant trade-restrictive SPS and
standards-related measures, please see ``Supporting & Related
Materials'' under dockets USTR-2009-0031 and USTR-2009-0032 at
www.regulations.gov.
In responding to this notice with respect to any of the three
reports, commenters should place particular emphasis on any practices
that may violate U.S. trade agreements. The TPSC is also interested in
receiving new or updated information pertinent to the barriers covered
in the 2009 NTE as well as reports of new barriers. If USTR does not
include in the NTE or the reports on SPS and standards-related measures
information that it receives pursuant to this notice, it will maintain
the information for potential use in future discussions or negotiations
with trading partners.
Estimate of Increase in Exports: Each comment should include an
estimate of the potential increase in U.S. exports that would result
from removing any foreign trade barrier the comment identifies, as well
as a description of the methodology the commenter used to derive the
estimate. Estimates should be expressed within the following value
ranges: Less than $5 million; $5 to $25 million; $25 million to $50
million; $50 million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; or
over $500 million. These estimates will help USTR conduct comparative
analyses of a barrier's effect over a range of industries.
Requirements for Submissions: Commenters providing information on
foreign trade barriers in more than one country should, whenever
possible, provide a separate submission for each country. Comments
addressing SPS or standards-related measures should be submitted
separately from comments on other trade barriers.
In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line
submissions, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. Comments should be
submitted under one of the following dockets (depending on the subject
of the comment):
SPS Measures: USTR-2009-0031.
Standards-Related Measures: USTR-2009-0032.
All Other Measures: USTR-2009-0033.
To find these dockets, enter the pertinent docket number in the
``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the www.regulations.gov home page and
click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page listing
all documents associated with that docket number. Find a reference to
this notice by selecting ``Notices'' under ``Document Type'' on the
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a
Comment.'' (For further information on
[[Page 48813]]
using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources
provided on the website by clicking on the ``Help'' tab.)
The www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of making
submissions by filling in a comments field, or by attaching a document.
USTR prefers submissions to be provided in an attached document. If a
document is attached, please identify the name of the country to which
the submission pertains in the ``Comments'' field. For example: ``See
attached comment for (name of country)''. If the comment is related to
SPS or standards-related measures, type ``See attached comment on SPS
measures for (name of country)'' or ``See attached comment on
standards-related measures for (name of country)''. USTR prefers
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the
submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate
the name of the application in the ``Comments'' field.
For any comments submitted electronically containing business
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC''. The top of any page
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL''. Any person filing comments that contain
business confidential information must also file in a separate
submission a public version of the comments. The file name of the
public version of the comments should begin with the character ``P''.
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments. If a comment contains no business
confidential information, the file name should begin with the character
``P'', followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the
comments.
Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a
cover letter in the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in
the same file as the submission itself, not as separate files.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9-23012 Filed 9-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P
