Request for Public Comments Concerning Regulatory Cooperation Between the United States and the European Union That Would Help Eliminate or Reduce Unnecessary Divergences in Regulation and in Standards Used in Regulation That Impede U.S. Exports, 24860-24862 [2011-10713]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2011 / Notices
Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a preliminary
reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR
351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of
antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this
review period. Failure to comply with
this requirement could result in the
Secretary’s presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties
occurred and the subsequent assessment
of double antidumping duties.
We are issuing and publishing these
preliminary results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(2)(B) and 777(i) of the
Act, and 19 CFR 351.214(h) and
351.221(b)(4).
Dated: April 26, 2011.
Paul Piquado,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011–10766 Filed 5–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Comments
Concerning Regulatory Cooperation
Between the United States and the
European Union That Would Help
Eliminate or Reduce Unnecessary
Divergences in Regulation and in
Standards Used in Regulation That
Impede 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 while also
protecting public health and safety, the
environment, intellectual property, and
consumers’ rights. In our trade and
investment relationship with the
European Union, 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 differences in
regulatory measures. These regulatory
measures—which include standards
developed by a government and used in
regulation, standards developed by
other bodies at the request or direction
of a regulator for use in regulation, or
proposals to provide a presumption of
compliance to technical requirements
developed by a government—may be
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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20:39 May 02, 2011
Jkt 223001
unnecessary and may increase costs for
producers and consumers.
With this Notice, the Department of
Commerce’s International Trade
Administration (ITA), in support of the
National Export Initiative (NEI) and the
U.S.-EU High Level Regulatory
Cooperation Forum (HLRCF), and
pursuant to the Secretary of Commerce’s
role as the chair of Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee, is requesting
stakeholders assist the Administration
identify opportunities for cooperation
between the United States and the
European Union to reduce or eliminate
divergences in regulatory measures that
impede trade in goods in the
transatlantic marketplace, in ways that
may be unnecessary, as well as any
existing or emerging sectors that may
benefit from transatlantic regulatory
cooperation.
For more information on U.S.-EU
regulatory cooperation, see the Web site:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/oira_
irc_europe.
DATES: The agency must receive
comments on or before June 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be
made via the internet at https://
www.regulations.gov under docket ITA–
2011–0006. Please direct written
submissions to Lori Cooper, Office of
the European Union, Department of
Commerce, Room 3513, 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 TransatlanticRegulatory
Cooperation@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this
notice, the Commerce Department, on
behalf of the Administration, is seeking
public input to help identify
divergences in regulatory measures in
the transatlantic marketplace, so that the
U.S. Government can work
cooperatively with the European Union
to address them.
President Obama linked trade to job
creation when he announced the
National Export Initiative (NEI) 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. To help
achieve this goal, the U.S. Government
is working to remove unnecessary
divergences in regulations and in
standards used in regulation between
the United States and the European
Union. The European Union, with its 27
member countries, is our largest trading
partner, accounting for 19 percent of
U.S. merchandise exports in 2010.
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Since 2005, the U.S. Government has
worked with officials from the European
Commission, within the framework of
the U.S.-EU High Level Regulatory
Cooperation Forum (HLRCF), to
strengthen regulatory cooperation, to
promote better regulation, and to reduce
or eliminate unnecessary regulatory
differences that hinder trade and reduce
competitiveness, when doing so does
not compromise those protections
Americans expect from their
government. In addition, at the
conclusion of its December 2010
meeting, the Transatlantic Economic
Council, comprised of Cabinet-level
officials from the United States and the
European Union, endorsed several
initiatives aimed at further promoting
U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation,
including directing the HLRCF to
develop a process for identifying, with
stakeholder input, sectors in which the
United States and the European Union
could pursue upstream regulatory
cooperation.
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 with key
trading partners. For example, bilateral
trade between the United States and the
European Union was $559.4 billion in
2010. Despite this extensive trade
between the United States and the
European Union, U.S. exporters indicate
that they continue to encounter
unnecessary transatlantic divergences in
regulatory measures that impede 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 the
European Union as a mature market and
will seek ways to ease or eliminate
unnecessary differences in regulation
and in standards used in regulation that
hinder competitiveness and negatively
impact trade for U.S. firms, including
new-to-market and new-to-export
businesses, and particularly for smalland 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,
E:\FR\FM\03MYN1.SGM
03MYN1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2011 / Notices
additional costs, and burdens on U.S.
suppliers, particularly SMEs, and, in
some cases, can make it difficult for U.S.
suppliers to penetrate foreign markets.
These divergences can also increase
regulatory burdens for governments and
costs for consumers. In other cases,
divergences in regulation and in
standards used in regulation, despite the
burdens they impose, may be necessary
to achieve legitimate objectives such as
the protection of the environment and
public health and safety.
Cooperation with respect to regulation
and standards used in regulation 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 are allowed legally to share
full 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 compliance
costs associated with divergent
regulatory measures, and pass on cost
savings to consumers. It is important for
regulatory cooperation to be transparent
and non-discriminatory, reduce
unnecessary costs and burdens on
producers and consumers, and continue
to fulfill each government’s public
health, safety, environmental, and other
legitimate policy objectives.
Regulatory cooperation may include,
e.g., 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, or
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. The outcome of any
such regulatory cooperation must
ensure that each government can
continue to meet its legitimate policy
objectives and advance consumer
interests.
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
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20:39 May 02, 2011
Jkt 223001
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 the United States and
the European Union: Informationsharing 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, and that
many already exist between certain
regulatory agencies of the U.S.
government and their counterparts in
the European Union, 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
cooperation between the United States
and the European Union.
Submitters should be as specific as
possible in describing the relevant
product or product sector in which they
believe there is an opportunity to
facilitate trade without undermining
U.S. public health, safety,
environmental, and other legitimate
policy objectives. In addition, each
comment should include, where
appropriate: (a) A description of the
specific measure or measures that the
recommendation 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 the European Union for the
product or product sector; (d) a
description of how and to what degree
the regulatory measures are affecting
trade and their related costs, including
for SMEs; (e) information that may affect
the recommendation’s feasibility (e.g.,
U.S. legal, regulatory, confidentiality, or
policy constraints, or any response from
stakeholders or U.S. trading partners the
recommendation may elicit); (f)
estimates of the potential benefits,
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24861
including for SMEs, 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 the
relevant government and nongovernment stakeholders in the United
States or the European Union; and (h)
any other information that may assist
ITA in considering the
recommendation.
ITA is interested in receiving
recommendations concerning any
product sector that, due to the volume
of trade between the United States and
the European Union, is a justifiable
focus of enhanced regulatory
cooperation. Submitters are encouraged
to work with counterparts and other
interested stakeholders in the United
States and the European Union to
submit comments jointly. ITA will give
positive consideration to
recommendations that demonstrate
strong support from stakeholders in
both the United States and the European
Union.
Requirements for Submissions: In
order to ensure the timely receipt and
consideration of comments, ITA
strongly encourages commenters to
make online submissions, using the
https://www.regulations.gov Web site.
Comments should be submitted under
ITA–2011–0006. 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 https://
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 https://
www.regulations.gov Web site, please
consult the resources provided on the
Web site 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
E:\FR\FM\03MYN1.SGM
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24862
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2011 / Notices
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.
Dated: April 27, 2011.
˜
Michael C. Camunez,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market
Access and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2011–10713 Filed 5–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DA–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Protocol for
Access to Tissue Specimen Samples
From the National Marine Mammal
Tissue Bank
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before July 5, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Diana Hynek, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6625,
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at dHynek@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
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SUMMARY:
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20:39 May 02, 2011
Jkt 223001
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Patricia Lawson, 301–713–
2289 or at Patricia.Lawson@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
In 1989, the National Marine Mammal
Tissue Bank (NMMTB) was established
by the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) Office of Protected
Resources in collaboration with the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), Minerals
Management Service (MMS), and the US
Geological Survey/Biological Resources
Division (USGS/BRD). The NMMTB
provides protocols, techniques, and
physical facilities for the long-term
storage of tissues from marine
mammals. Scientists can request tissues
from this repository for retrospective
analyses to determine environmental
trends of contaminants and other
substances of interest. The NMMTB
collects, processes, and stores tissues
from specific indicator species (e.g.,
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic
white sided dolphins, pilot whales,
harbor porpoises), animals from mass
strandings, animals that have been
obtained incidental to commercial
fisheries, animals taken for subsistence
purposes, biopsies, and animals from
unusual mortality events through two
projects, the Marine Mammal Health
and Stranding Response Program
(MMHSRP) and the Alaska Marine
Mammal Tissue Archival Project
(AMMTAP).
The purposes of this collection of
information are: (1) To enable NOAA to
allow the scientific community the
opportunity to request tissue specimen
samples from the NMMTB and, (2) to
enable the MMHSRP of NOAA to
assemble information on all specimens
submitted to the Marine Environmental
Specimen Bank (Marine ESB), which
includes the NMMTB.
II. Method of Collection
Respondents must complete a
specimen banking information sheet for
every sample submitted to the Bank.
Methods of submitting reports include
the Internet, mail and facsimile
transmission of paper forms. Those
requesting samples send the
information, and their research findings,
mainly via email.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0468.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit
institutions; individuals or households;
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business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
50.
Estimated Time per Response:
Request for tissue sample, 2 hours;
specimen submission form, 45 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 155.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $152.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology. Comments submitted in
response to this notice will be
summarized and/or included in the
request for OMB approval of this
information collection; they also will
become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 27, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–10658 Filed 5–2–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Meeting of a Federal Advisory
Committee
Defense Acquisition
University, DoD.
ACTION: Meeting Notice.
AGENCY:
Under the provisions of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act of
1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended),
the Government in the Sunshine Act of
1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and
41 CFR 102–3.150, the Department of
Defense announces that the following
Federal advisory committee meeting of
the Defense Acquisition University
Board of Visitors will take place:
DATES: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, from 9
a.m.–2 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Packard Conference Center,
Defense Acquisition University, 9820
Belvoir Rd, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\03MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24860-24862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10713]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Comments Concerning Regulatory Cooperation
Between the United States and the European Union That Would Help
Eliminate or Reduce Unnecessary Divergences in Regulation and in
Standards Used in Regulation That Impede 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 while also protecting public health and safety,
the environment, intellectual property, and consumers' rights. In our
trade and investment relationship with the European Union, 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 differences in regulatory measures. These regulatory
measures--which include standards developed by a government and used in
regulation, standards developed by other bodies at the request or
direction of a regulator for use in regulation, or proposals to provide
a presumption of compliance to technical requirements developed by a
government--may be unnecessary and may increase costs for producers and
consumers.
With this Notice, the Department of Commerce's International Trade
Administration (ITA), in support of the National Export Initiative
(NEI) and the U.S.-EU High Level Regulatory Cooperation Forum (HLRCF),
and pursuant to the Secretary of Commerce's role as the chair of Trade
Promotion Coordinating Committee, is requesting stakeholders assist the
Administration identify opportunities for cooperation between the
United States and the European Union to reduce or eliminate divergences
in regulatory measures that impede trade in goods in the transatlantic
marketplace, in ways that may be unnecessary, as well as any existing
or emerging sectors that may benefit from transatlantic regulatory
cooperation.
For more information on U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation, see the Web
site: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/oira_irc_europe.
DATES: The agency must receive comments on or before June 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the internet at https://www.regulations.gov under docket ITA-2011-0006. Please direct written
submissions to Lori Cooper, Office of the European Union, Department of
Commerce, Room 3513, 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 TransatlanticRegulatoryCooperation@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this notice, the Commerce Department,
on behalf of the Administration, is seeking public input to help
identify divergences in regulatory measures in the transatlantic
marketplace, so that the U.S. Government can work cooperatively with
the European Union to address them.
President Obama linked trade to job creation when he announced the
National Export Initiative (NEI) 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. To help achieve this
goal, the U.S. Government is working to remove unnecessary divergences
in regulations and in standards used in regulation between the United
States and the European Union. The European Union, with its 27 member
countries, is our largest trading partner, accounting for 19 percent of
U.S. merchandise exports in 2010.
Since 2005, the U.S. Government has worked with officials from the
European Commission, within the framework of the U.S.-EU High Level
Regulatory Cooperation Forum (HLRCF), to strengthen regulatory
cooperation, to promote better regulation, and to reduce or eliminate
unnecessary regulatory differences that hinder trade and reduce
competitiveness, when doing so does not compromise those protections
Americans expect from their government. In addition, at the conclusion
of its December 2010 meeting, the Transatlantic Economic Council,
comprised of Cabinet-level officials from the United States and the
European Union, endorsed several initiatives aimed at further promoting
U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation, including directing the HLRCF to
develop a process for identifying, with stakeholder input, sectors in
which the United States and the European Union could pursue upstream
regulatory cooperation.
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 with key trading partners. For example,
bilateral trade between the United States and the European Union was
$559.4 billion in 2010. Despite this extensive trade between the United
States and the European Union, U.S. exporters indicate that they
continue to encounter unnecessary transatlantic divergences in
regulatory measures that impede 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 the European Union as a
mature market and will seek ways to ease or eliminate unnecessary
differences in regulation and in standards used in regulation that
hinder competitiveness and negatively impact trade for U.S. firms,
including new-to-market and new-to-export businesses, and particularly
for 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,
[[Page 24861]]
additional costs, and burdens on U.S. suppliers, particularly SMEs,
and, in some cases, can make it difficult for U.S. suppliers to
penetrate foreign markets. These divergences can also increase
regulatory burdens for governments and costs for consumers. In other
cases, divergences in regulation and in standards used in regulation,
despite the burdens they impose, may be necessary to achieve legitimate
objectives such as the protection of the environment and public health
and safety.
Cooperation with respect to regulation and standards used in
regulation 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 are
allowed legally to share full 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 compliance costs associated with divergent regulatory
measures, and pass on cost savings to consumers. It is important for
regulatory cooperation to be transparent and non-discriminatory, reduce
unnecessary costs and burdens on producers and consumers, and continue
to fulfill each government's public health, safety, environmental, and
other legitimate policy objectives.
Regulatory cooperation may include, e.g., 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, or 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. The outcome of
any such regulatory cooperation must ensure that each government can
continue to meet its legitimate policy objectives and advance consumer
interests.
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
the United States and the European Union: 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, and that many already exist between
certain regulatory agencies of the U.S. government and their
counterparts in the European Union, 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 cooperation between the United States and the European
Union.
Submitters should be as specific as possible in describing the
relevant product or product sector in which they believe there is an
opportunity to facilitate trade without undermining U.S. public health,
safety, environmental, and other legitimate policy objectives. In
addition, each comment should include, where appropriate: (a) A
description of the specific measure or measures that the recommendation
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 the European Union for the product or product
sector; (d) a description of how and to what degree the regulatory
measures are affecting trade and their related costs, including for
SMEs; (e) information that may affect the recommendation's feasibility
(e.g., U.S. legal, regulatory, confidentiality, or policy constraints,
or any response from stakeholders or U.S. trading partners the
recommendation may elicit); (f) estimates of the potential benefits,
including for SMEs, 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 the relevant government and non-government stakeholders in
the United States or the European Union; and (h) any other information
that may assist ITA in considering the recommendation.
ITA is interested in receiving recommendations concerning any
product sector that, due to the volume of trade between the United
States and the European Union, is a justifiable focus of enhanced
regulatory cooperation. Submitters are encouraged to work with
counterparts and other interested stakeholders in the United States and
the European Union to submit comments jointly. ITA will give positive
consideration to recommendations that demonstrate strong support from
stakeholders in both the United States and the European Union.
Requirements for Submissions: In order to ensure the timely receipt
and consideration of comments, ITA strongly encourages commenters to
make online submissions, using the https://www.regulations.gov Web site.
Comments should be submitted under ITA-2011-0006. 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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov Web site, please
consult the resources provided on the Web site 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
[[Page 24862]]
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.
Dated: April 27, 2011.
Michael C. Camu[ntilde]ez,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2011-10713 Filed 5-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DA-P
