Request for Public Comments Concerning Regulatory Cooperation Activities That Would Help Eliminate or Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory Divergences in North America That Disrupt U.S. Exports, 11760-11762 [2011-4862]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / Notices
for consumption on or after March 13,
2010 (i.e., 90 days prior to the date of
publication of the Preliminary
Determination), but before the date of
publication of the ITC’s final
determination in the Federal Register.
This notice constitutes the
countervailing duty order with respect
to drill pipe from the PRC, pursuant to
section 706(a) of the Act. Interested
parties may contact the Department’s
Central Records Unit, Room 7046 of the
main Commerce Building, for copies of
an updated list of countervailing duty
orders currently in effect.
This order is issued and published in
accordance with section 706(a) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
Dated: February 25, 2011.
Paul Piquado,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011–4796 Filed 3–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Comments
Concerning Regulatory Cooperation
Activities That Would Help Eliminate or
Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory
Divergences in North America That
Disrupt U.S. Exports
International Trade
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Government
recognizes that economic recovery and
job creation will depend significantly on
its ability to work collaboratively with
key trading partners to promote free and
open trade and investment. In our trade
and investment relationships with
Mexico and Canada, and within North
America as a whole, the main
impediments to greater trade and
investment—and more open foreign
markets for U.S. exporters and
investors—are not tariffs or quotas, but
rather unnecessary differences in
product regulations that increase costs
for producers and consumers in the
United States, Canada, and Mexico.
With this Notice, the Commerce
Department, on behalf of the
Administration, is seeking public input
to help identify such divergences in
North America, so that the U.S.
Government can work cooperatively
with Mexico and Canada to address
them.
President Obama explicitly linked
trade to job creation when he
announced the National Export
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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18:26 Mar 02, 2011
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Initiative in his 2010 State of the Union
address, and set the ambitious goal of
doubling U.S. exports in the next five
years to support millions of jobs here at
home. The President has focused
particularly on efforts to remove
unnecessary divergences in regulations
with Canada and Mexico, our first and
second largest export markets,
respectively, and officials from the three
countries have discussed strengthening
regulatory cooperation to promote better
regulation and facilitate trade, both
bilaterally and trilaterally. President
Obama met with President Felipe
´
Calderon of Mexico and Prime Minister
Stephen Harper of Canada at the the
North American Leaders’ Summit on
August 10, 2009, in Guadalajara,
Mexico. In the joint statement they
issued at the end of that meeting they
noted the progress that each of their
governments had made in reducing
unnecessary regulatory differences and
they instructed their respective
governments, ‘‘* * * to continue this
work by building on the previous
efforts, developing focused priorities
and a specific timeline.’’ The United
States Government is working with both
Mexico and Canada to reduce
unnecessary regulatory differences and
to explore further regulatory
cooperation activities aimed at reducing
or eliminating such differences where
they hinder trade and reduce
competitiveness. In order to do so, the
United States has established a HighLevel Regulatory Cooperation Council
with Mexico and a Regulatory
Cooperation Council with Canada.
While these councils are bilateral,
regulatory divergences exist that have
consequences for firms in all three
countries. Therefore, with this Notice,
the Department of Commerce’s
International Trade Administration
(ITA), in support of the National Export
Initiative (NEI) and pursuant to the
Secretary of Commerce’s role as the
chair of Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee, is requesting stakeholders to
assist the Administration to identify
opportunities for cooperation between
or among the United States, Canada, and
Mexico to reduce or eliminate
regulatory divergences that disrupt trade
in goods in the region, as well as any
existing or emerging sectors that may
benefit from regulatory coordination
between these countries. Canada has
already solicited similar input from its
stakeholders, and Mexico has
committed to do the same.
DATES: The agency must receive
comments on or before April 4, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be
made via the Internet at https://
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
www.regulations.gov under docket ITA–
2011–0003–0001. Please direct written
submissions to Diana Hynek,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, Department of Commerce, Room
6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20230. The public
is strongly encouraged to file
submissions electronically rather than
by mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions regarding this notice should
be directed to regcoop@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In his
January 2010 State of the Union address,
President Obama announced the NEI to
double U.S. exports over five years and
support the creation of new jobs. As the
President’s Export Promotion Cabinet
has undertaken to implement the NEI,
regional and sectoral plans are being
developed to tailor the U.S.
Government’s NEI efforts based on the
realities of trade in certain regions. For
example, the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created the
world’s largest free trade area, linking
444 million people and producing $17
trillion in goods and services. Trilateral
trade among Canada, Mexico, and the
United States was $944.6 billion in
2010. Despite this extensive trade
among NAFTA partners, U.S. exporters
indicate that they continue to encounter
unnecessary divergences in regulatory
measures in North America that disrupt
trade.
ITA has developed a Mature Markets
Initiative (MMI) to evaluate how best to
grow exports, create jobs, and support
U.S. business growth in areas where
trade is robust. Regulatory cooperation
is a key component of the MMI.
Accordingly, ITA has identified Canada
and Mexico as mature markets and will
seek ways to ease or eliminate
regulatory differences that hinder
competitiveness and negatively impact
trade for U.S. firms, including new-tomarket and new-to-export businesses,
particularly small- and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs).
Trade may be impeded, for example,
because countries apply different
standards or technical requirements to
address common environmental, health,
safety, or other concerns with respect to
certain products or product categories.
In some instances, such divergences
may be arbitrary and can lead to delays,
additional costs, and burdens on U.S.
suppliers, particularly SMEs, and, in
some cases, can make it difficult or
impossible for U.S. suppliers to
penetrate foreign markets. These
divergences can also increase regulatory
burdens for governments and costs for
consumers. In other cases, regulatory
E:\FR\FM\03MRN1.SGM
03MRN1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / Notices
measures, despite the burdens they
impose, may be necessary in order to
achieve legitimate objectives such as the
protection of the environment, health,
or safety.
Regulatory cooperation with respect
to regulatory measures can help reduce
unjustified divergences and lower costs
and burdens for businesses, especially
SMEs, as well as for governments and
consumers. For example, when
regulators in different countries share
data, studies, and other information on
specific regulatory issues, they are more
likely to reach similar conclusions, such
as on the risks associated with a
particular product, appropriate
measures to mitigate those risks, and the
costs and benefits associated with
alternative regulatory approaches. This
can lead regulators in these countries to
adopt regulatory measures that are more
aligned with each other, allow
producers to develop economies of
scale, reduce costs associated with
complying with divergent regulatory
measures, and pass on costs savings to
consumers. It is critical for any
alignment in regulatory approaches that
results from cross-border cooperation
between regulators in the United States
and other countries, however, to be
transparent and non-discriminatory,
reduce unnecessary costs and burdens
on producers and consumers, and
continue to fulfill each country’s health,
safety, environmental, and other
legitimate policy objectives.
Although cooperation on regulatory
measures can lead to regulatory
alignment, it can also result in other
outcomes that help facilitate trade. For
example, governments may elect to
conclude mutual recognition
agreements under which regulators in
each country agree to allow products
from the other country to be placed on
the market based on tests or
certifications carried out in that country,
or equivalency agreements under which
a regulator in one country agrees to
recognize another country’s standards as
equivalent to its own, allowing products
to be placed on its market that meet the
other country’s standards. The outcome
of any such regulatory cooperation must
ensure that each country can continue
to meet its legitimate policy objectives.
In addition, when regulators
cooperate with regard to regulatory
measures, their cooperation may serve
not only to facilitate trade, but may also
help to realize common public policy
objectives. For example, when
regulators in different countries
coordinate their efforts in carrying out
product recalls, it can help ensure that
defective or unsafe products are
promptly removed from the market,
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16:47 Mar 02, 2011
Jkt 223001
thereby increasing consumers’
confidence in the products they buy and
in the global trading system.
Request for information. ITA invites
public comment on the following
possible types of cooperative regulatory
activities between or among the United
States, Mexico, and Canada:
information-sharing agreements;
technical assistance; memoranda of
understanding, mutual recognition
agreements; collaboration between
regulators before initiating rulemaking
proceedings; agreements to align
particular regulatory measures;
equivalency arrangements; and
accreditation of testing laboratories or
other conformity assessment bodies.
ITA acknowledges that these types of
cooperative agreements and activities
are not appropriate in all cases, so
interested parties are asked to provide a
rationale for the proposed use of a
particular cooperative approach or
specific activity. ITA is also seeking
recommendations for existing or
emerging industry or product sectors
that may benefit from regulatory
coordination across North America.
Submitters should be as specific as
possible in describing the relevant
product or product sector, and the
country or countries in which they
believe there is an opportunity to
facilitate trade. In addition, each
proposal should include, where
appropriate: (a) A description of the
specific measure or measures that the
proposal would address (e.g., laws or
regulations setting out safety or testing
requirements for the relevant product or
product sector); (b) an Internet link to or
a copy of the measure in English and
documentation that may assist ITA in
understanding the measure; (c)
identification of the key markets in
North America for the product or
product sector; (d) a description of how
and to what degree the regulatory
measures are affecting trade and its
related costs; (e) information that may
affect the proposal’s feasibility (e.g.,
U.S. legal, regulatory, or policy
constraints, or any response from
stakeholders or U.S. trading partners the
proposal may elicit); (f) estimates of the
potential benefits that would result from
more closely aligning the regulatory
measure, as well as a description of the
method by which the submitter has
calculated the benefits; (g) contact
information, if known, for key
government and non-government
stakeholders in the country or countries
to which the proposal applies; and (h)
any other information that may assist
ITA in considering the proposal.
ITA is interested in receiving
proposals concerning any product sector
PO 00000
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11761
that, due to the volume of trade in North
America, is a justifiable focus of
enhanced regulatory cooperation.
Submitters are encouraged to work with
counterparts and other interested
stakeholders in Canada and/or Mexico
to submit comments jointly. ITA will
give positive consideration to proposals
that demonstrate strong support from
stakeholders across North America.
Requirements for Submissions: In
order to ensure the timely receipt and
consideration of comments, ITA
strongly encourages commenters to
make on-line submissions, using the
https://www.regulations.gov Web site.
Comments should be submitted under
docket number ITA–2011–0003–0001.
To find this docket, enter the docket
number in the ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’
window at the https://
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 ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document
Type’’ on the search-results page, and
click on the link entitled ‘‘Submit a
Comment.’’ The www.regulations.gov
Web site provides the option of making
submissions by filling in a comments
field, or by attaching a document. ITA
prefers submissions to be provided in an
attached document. (For further
information on using the
www.regulations.gov Web site, please
consult the resources provided on the
website by clicking on the ‘‘Help’’ tab.)
All comments and recommendations
submitted in response to this notice will
be made available to the public. 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
E:\FR\FM\03MRN1.SGM
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11762
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / Notices
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.
Dated: February 28, 2011.
Michelle O’Neill,
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for
International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2011–4862 Filed 3–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DA–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XA160
Marine Mammals; File No. 15330;
Correction
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application;
correction.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
Robin Baird, PhD, Cascadia Research,
2181⁄2 W. 4th Avenue, Olympia, WA
98501, has applied in due form for a
permit to take marine mammals in the
Pacific Ocean for the purposes of
scientific research.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail
comments must be received on or before
March 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The application and related
documents are available for review by
selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public
Comment’’ from the Features box on the
Applications and Permits for Protected
Species (APPS) home page, https://
apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting
File No. 15530 from the list of available
applications.
These documents are also available
upon written request or by appointment
in the following office(s): See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Written comments on this application
should be submitted to the Chief,
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, at the address listed below.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile to (301) 713–0376, or by email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov.
Please include the File No. in the
subject line of the email comment.
Comments may also be submitted by email. The mailbox address for providing
e-mail comments is
NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier: File No. 15330.
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SUMMARY:
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Morse or Carrie Hubard, (301)
713–2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
February 25, 2011, notice was published
in the Federal Register (76 FR 10560)
that a request for a scientific research
permit had been submitted by the
above-named applicant. The file number
for the application in the title and email comment address is corrected in
this document. All other information to
the notice has been unchanged. Please
refer to the February 25, 2011 notice for
a summary of the application.
Documents may be reviewed in the
following locations:
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521;
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand
Point Way, NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1,
Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone
(206)526–6150; fax (206)526–6426;
Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone
(907)586–7221; fax (907)586–7249;
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,
CA 90802–4213; phone (562)980–4001;
fax (562)980–4018; and
Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601
Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, Honolulu, HI
96814–4700; phone (808)973–2935; fax
(808)973–2941.
Dated: February 25, 2011.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and
Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–4811 Filed 3–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XA213
Schedules for Atlantic Shark
Identification Workshops and
Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public workshops.
AGENCY:
Free Atlantic Shark
Identification Workshops and Protected
Species Safe Handling, Release, and
Identification Workshops will be held in
April, May, and June of 2011. Certain
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
fishermen and shark dealers are
required to attend a workshop to meet
regulatory requirements and maintain
valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic
Shark Identification Workshop is
mandatory for all federally permitted
Atlantic shark dealers. The Protected
Species Safe Handling, Release, and
Identification Workshop is mandatory
for vessel owners and operators who use
bottom longline, pelagic longline, or
gillnet gear, and who have also been
issued shark or swordfish limited access
permits. Additional free workshops will
be conducted during 2011.
DATES: The Atlantic Shark Identification
Workshops will be held April 7, April
14, May 5, June 2, and June 16, 2011.
The Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
will be held on April 20, April 27, May
18, May 25, June 15, and June 29, 2011.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
further details.
ADDRESSES: The Atlantic Shark
Identification Workshops will be held in
Kenner, LA; Port Orange, FL (2);
Foxborough, MA: and Manahawkin, NJ.
The Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
will be held in Kitty Hawk, NC; Kenner,
LA; Charleston, SC; Boston, MA; Corpus
Christi, TX; and Port St. Lucie, FL.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
further details on workshop locations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard A. Pearson by phone: (727)
824–5399, or by fax: (727) 824–5398.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
workshop schedules, registration
information, and a list of frequently
asked questions regarding these
workshops are posted on the Internet at:
https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/
workshops/.
Atlantic Shark Identification
Workshops
Since January 1, 2008, Atlantic shark
dealers have been prohibited from
receiving, purchasing, trading, or
bartering for Atlantic sharks unless a
valid Atlantic Shark Identification
Workshop certificate is on the premises
of each business listed under the shark
dealer permit which first receives
Atlantic sharks (71 FR 58057; October 2,
2006). Dealers who attend and
successfully complete a workshop are
issued a certificate for each place of
business that is permitted to receive
sharks. These certificate(s) are valid for
3 years. Approximately 55 free Atlantic
Shark Identification Workshops have
been conducted since January 2007.
Currently permitted dealers may send
a proxy to an Atlantic Shark
Identification Workshop. However, if a
E:\FR\FM\03MRN1.SGM
03MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11760-11762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4862]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Comments Concerning Regulatory Cooperation
Activities That Would Help Eliminate or Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory
Divergences in North America That Disrupt U.S. Exports
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Government recognizes that economic recovery and job
creation will depend significantly on its ability to work
collaboratively with key trading partners to promote free and open
trade and investment. In our trade and investment relationships with
Mexico and Canada, and within North America as a whole, the main
impediments to greater trade and investment--and more open foreign
markets for U.S. exporters and investors--are not tariffs or quotas,
but rather unnecessary differences in product regulations that increase
costs for producers and consumers in the United States, Canada, and
Mexico. With this Notice, the Commerce Department, on behalf of the
Administration, is seeking public input to help identify such
divergences in North America, so that the U.S. Government can work
cooperatively with Mexico and Canada to address them.
President Obama explicitly linked trade to job creation when he
announced the National Export Initiative in his 2010 State of the Union
address, and set the ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports in the
next five years to support millions of jobs here at home. The President
has focused particularly on efforts to remove unnecessary divergences
in regulations with Canada and Mexico, our first and second largest
export markets, respectively, and officials from the three countries
have discussed strengthening regulatory cooperation to promote better
regulation and facilitate trade, both bilaterally and trilaterally.
President Obama met with President Felipe Calder[oacute]n of Mexico and
Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada at the the North American
Leaders' Summit on August 10, 2009, in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the
joint statement they issued at the end of that meeting they noted the
progress that each of their governments had made in reducing
unnecessary regulatory differences and they instructed their respective
governments, ``* * * to continue this work by building on the previous
efforts, developing focused priorities and a specific timeline.'' The
United States Government is working with both Mexico and Canada to
reduce unnecessary regulatory differences and to explore further
regulatory cooperation activities aimed at reducing or eliminating such
differences where they hinder trade and reduce competitiveness. In
order to do so, the United States has established a High-Level
Regulatory Cooperation Council with Mexico and a Regulatory Cooperation
Council with Canada. While these councils are bilateral, regulatory
divergences exist that have consequences for firms in all three
countries. Therefore, with this Notice, the Department of Commerce's
International Trade Administration (ITA), in support of the National
Export Initiative (NEI) and pursuant to the Secretary of Commerce's
role as the chair of Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, is
requesting stakeholders to assist the Administration to identify
opportunities for cooperation between or among the United States,
Canada, and Mexico to reduce or eliminate regulatory divergences that
disrupt trade in goods in the region, as well as any existing or
emerging sectors that may benefit from regulatory coordination between
these countries. Canada has already solicited similar input from its
stakeholders, and Mexico has committed to do the same.
DATES: The agency must receive comments on or before April 4, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov under docket ITA-2011-0003-0001. Please direct
written submissions to Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. The public is strongly encouraged to
file submissions electronically rather than by mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this notice should
be directed to regcoop@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In his January 2010 State of the Union
address, President Obama announced the NEI to double U.S. exports over
five years and support the creation of new jobs. As the President's
Export Promotion Cabinet has undertaken to implement the NEI, regional
and sectoral plans are being developed to tailor the U.S. Government's
NEI efforts based on the realities of trade in certain regions. For
example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created the
world's largest free trade area, linking 444 million people and
producing $17 trillion in goods and services. Trilateral trade among
Canada, Mexico, and the United States was $944.6 billion in 2010.
Despite this extensive trade among NAFTA partners, U.S. exporters
indicate that they continue to encounter unnecessary divergences in
regulatory measures in North America that disrupt trade.
ITA has developed a Mature Markets Initiative (MMI) to evaluate how
best to grow exports, create jobs, and support U.S. business growth in
areas where trade is robust. Regulatory cooperation is a key component
of the MMI. Accordingly, ITA has identified Canada and Mexico as mature
markets and will seek ways to ease or eliminate regulatory differences
that hinder competitiveness and negatively impact trade for U.S. firms,
including new-to-market and new-to-export businesses, particularly
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Trade may be impeded, for example, because countries apply
different standards or technical requirements to address common
environmental, health, safety, or other concerns with respect to
certain products or product categories. In some instances, such
divergences may be arbitrary and can lead to delays, additional costs,
and burdens on U.S. suppliers, particularly SMEs, and, in some cases,
can make it difficult or impossible for U.S. suppliers to penetrate
foreign markets. These divergences can also increase regulatory burdens
for governments and costs for consumers. In other cases, regulatory
[[Page 11761]]
measures, despite the burdens they impose, may be necessary in order to
achieve legitimate objectives such as the protection of the
environment, health, or safety.
Regulatory cooperation with respect to regulatory measures can help
reduce unjustified divergences and lower costs and burdens for
businesses, especially SMEs, as well as for governments and consumers.
For example, when regulators in different countries share data,
studies, and other information on specific regulatory issues, they are
more likely to reach similar conclusions, such as on the risks
associated with a particular product, appropriate measures to mitigate
those risks, and the costs and benefits associated with alternative
regulatory approaches. This can lead regulators in these countries to
adopt regulatory measures that are more aligned with each other, allow
producers to develop economies of scale, reduce costs associated with
complying with divergent regulatory measures, and pass on costs savings
to consumers. It is critical for any alignment in regulatory approaches
that results from cross-border cooperation between regulators in the
United States and other countries, however, to be transparent and non-
discriminatory, reduce unnecessary costs and burdens on producers and
consumers, and continue to fulfill each country's health, safety,
environmental, and other legitimate policy objectives.
Although cooperation on regulatory measures can lead to regulatory
alignment, it can also result in other outcomes that help facilitate
trade. For example, governments may elect to conclude mutual
recognition agreements under which regulators in each country agree to
allow products from the other country to be placed on the market based
on tests or certifications carried out in that country, or equivalency
agreements under which a regulator in one country agrees to recognize
another country's standards as equivalent to its own, allowing products
to be placed on its market that meet the other country's standards. The
outcome of any such regulatory cooperation must ensure that each
country can continue to meet its legitimate policy objectives.
In addition, when regulators cooperate with regard to regulatory
measures, their cooperation may serve not only to facilitate trade, but
may also help to realize common public policy objectives. For example,
when regulators in different countries coordinate their efforts in
carrying out product recalls, it can help ensure that defective or
unsafe products are promptly removed from the market, thereby
increasing consumers' confidence in the products they buy and in the
global trading system.
Request for information. ITA invites public comment on the
following possible types of cooperative regulatory activities between
or among the United States, Mexico, and Canada: information-sharing
agreements; technical assistance; memoranda of understanding, mutual
recognition agreements; collaboration between regulators before
initiating rulemaking proceedings; agreements to align particular
regulatory measures; equivalency arrangements; and accreditation of
testing laboratories or other conformity assessment bodies. ITA
acknowledges that these types of cooperative agreements and activities
are not appropriate in all cases, so interested parties are asked to
provide a rationale for the proposed use of a particular cooperative
approach or specific activity. ITA is also seeking recommendations for
existing or emerging industry or product sectors that may benefit from
regulatory coordination across North America.
Submitters should be as specific as possible in describing the
relevant product or product sector, and the country or countries in
which they believe there is an opportunity to facilitate trade. In
addition, each proposal should include, where appropriate: (a) A
description of the specific measure or measures that the proposal would
address (e.g., laws or regulations setting out safety or testing
requirements for the relevant product or product sector); (b) an
Internet link to or a copy of the measure in English and documentation
that may assist ITA in understanding the measure; (c) identification of
the key markets in North America for the product or product sector; (d)
a description of how and to what degree the regulatory measures are
affecting trade and its related costs; (e) information that may affect
the proposal's feasibility (e.g., U.S. legal, regulatory, or policy
constraints, or any response from stakeholders or U.S. trading partners
the proposal may elicit); (f) estimates of the potential benefits that
would result from more closely aligning the regulatory measure, as well
as a description of the method by which the submitter has calculated
the benefits; (g) contact information, if known, for key government and
non-government stakeholders in the country or countries to which the
proposal applies; and (h) any other information that may assist ITA in
considering the proposal.
ITA is interested in receiving proposals concerning any product
sector that, due to the volume of trade in North America, is a
justifiable focus of enhanced regulatory cooperation. Submitters are
encouraged to work with counterparts and other interested stakeholders
in Canada and/or Mexico to submit comments jointly. ITA will give
positive consideration to proposals that demonstrate strong support
from stakeholders across North America.
Requirements for Submissions: In order to ensure the timely receipt
and consideration of comments, ITA strongly encourages commenters to
make on-line submissions, using the https://www.regulations.gov Web
site. Comments should be submitted under docket number ITA-2011-0003-
0001. To find this docket, enter the docket number in the ``Enter
Keyword or ID'' window at the https://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 ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a
Comment.'' The www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of
making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by attaching a
document. ITA prefers submissions to be provided in an attached
document. (For further information on using the www.regulations.gov Web
site, please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking
on the ``Help'' tab.)
All comments and recommendations submitted in response to this
notice will be made available to the public. 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
[[Page 11762]]
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.
Dated: February 28, 2011.
Michelle O'Neill,
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2011-4862 Filed 3-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DA-P
