Request for Public Input on Sectoral Dialogues To Inform Work on Standards Cooperation Under the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, 77319-77321 [2015-31430]
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<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 239 / Monday, December 14, 2015 / Notices
is on file electronically via Enforcement
and Compliance’s Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Centralized
Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users
at https://access.trade.gov and in the
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of
the main Department of Commerce
building. In addition, a complete
version of the Issues and Decision
Memorandum can be accessed directly
on the internet at https://www.trade.gov/
enforcement/. The signed Issues and
Decision Memorandum and the
electronic versions of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
Methodology
The Department conducted this
review in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act). For each of the
subsidy programs found
countervailable, we determine that there
is a subsidy (i.e., a financial
contribution from an ‘‘authority’’ that
confers a benefit to the recipient, and
that the subsidy is specific).5 See the
Issues and Decision Memorandum for a
full description of the methodology
underlying our conclusions.
In making our findings, we relied, in
part, on the facts otherwise available.
Further, because the GOC did not act to
the best of its ability to respond to the
Department’s requests for information,
we drew an adverse inference in
selecting from among the facts available,
pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of
the Act. See the Issues and Decision
Memorandum in the section entitled,
‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences,’’ for further
information.
Final Results of the Review
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Assessment Rates
The Department intends to issue
appropriate assessment instructions
directly to U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) 15 days after the date
of publication of these final results, to
liquidate shipments of subject
merchandise by Taihe entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after January 1,
2013, through December 31, 2013.
5 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act
regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E)
of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of
the Act regarding specificity.
17:36 Dec 11, 2015
Jkt 238001
The Department also intends to
instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of
estimated countervailing duties in the
amount shown above on shipments of
subject merchandise by Taihe entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of
publication of the final results of this
review. For all non-reviewed
companies, we will instruct CBP to
continue to collect cash deposits of
estimated countervailing duties at the
most recent company-specific or
country-wide rate applicable to the
company. Accordingly, the cash deposit
rates that will be applied to companies
covered by this order, but not examined
in this review, are those established in
the most recently-completed segment of
the proceeding for each company. These
cash deposit requirements, when
imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice serves as a reminder to
parties subject to administrative
protective order (APO) of their
responsibility concerning the
disposition of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of return or
destruction of APO materials or
conversion to judicial protective order is
hereby requested. Failure to comply
with the regulations and the terms of an
APO is a sanctionable violation.
We are issuing and publishing these
results in accordance with sections
751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: December 7, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
Appendix
In accordance with 19 CFR
351.221(b)(5), we determine a net
countervailable subsidy rate of 30.93
percent ad valorem for Taihe.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Cash Deposit Instructions
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences
V. Subsidies Valuation Information
VI. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Analysis of Comments
1. Whether To Find Input for the LessThan-Adequate-Remuneration (LTAR)
Programs Not Specific
A. Sulfuric Acid
B. Steam Coal
C. Calcium Carbonate
D. Caustic Soda
2. Whether the Department Should Apply
Adverse Facts Available in its Market
Distortion Analysis of the Sulfuric Acid,
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77319
Calcium Carbonate, and Caustic Soda
Industries
3. Whether To Reverse the Department’s
‘‘Authorities’’ Determination for Certain
Input Suppliers
4. Including Ocean Freight and Import
Duties in the International Freight
Benchmark for Input for LTAR Programs
5. The Selection of Ports in the
International Freight Benchmark for
Input for LTAR Programs
6. Whether To Use Freight Rates for Flat
Rack Containers in the International
Freight Benchmark for the Calcium
Carbonate for LTAR Program
7. Whether To Include the Costs for
Hazardous Shipping Charges in the
International Freight Benchmark for the
Sulfuric Acid and Caustic Soda for LTAR
Programs
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2015–31419 Filed 12–11–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Input on Sectoral
Dialogues To Inform Work on
Standards Cooperation Under the U.S.India Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue
ACTION:
Notice.
With this notice, the U.S.
Department of Commerce (USDOC), on
behalf of the Administration, is seeking
public input to identify priority sectors
in which the United States and India
will pursue cooperative dialogues under
the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue (S&CD) to address standardsrelated trade barriers. The aim of the
cooperative dialogues is for the private
sector to produce concrete
recommendations for the U.S. and
Indian governments on breaking down
barriers related to standards, regulatory,
and conformity assessment practices to
increase bilateral trade. Stakeholder
input will be used by the USDOC, in
consultation with its interagency
partners, to identify those sectors where
cooperative work will yield the most
benefits for bilateral trade from a U.S.
perspective. The USDOC will also use
stakeholder input to seek agreement
from its Indian government counterparts
on the sectors in which to begin
cooperative work.
Criteria for selection include: The
nature of the existing standards-related
barriers in the sector (medical devices,
ICT products, oil and gas, etc.),
including whether the standards related
measures that are affecting bilateral
trade are subject to regulatory discretion
or have limited potential for adjustment
due to legislated mandates; the relative
SUMMARY:
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mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
77320
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 239 / Monday, December 14, 2015 / Notices
estimated trade impact of eliminating
the standards-related barriers in the
sector; and whether private sector
representatives from the sector—both
U.S. and Indian—are committed to
leading a cooperative dialogue to
produce concrete recommendations for
the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down barriers in the sector.
Selection will also take into account the
willingness of U.S. and Indian
regulators to become involved in this
targeted work, as well as if another
bilateral forum relevant to the suggested
issue already exists.
In order for a sector to be considered,
stakeholder input must identify privatesector leaders from the United States
and India that have mutually agreed to
coordinate and lead a cooperative
dialogue among stakeholders in the
sector from both the United States and
India to develop recommendations for
the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down standards-related
barriers in their sector. Confirmation of
such agreement is encouraged. See
additional requirements for submissions
in the contents below.
The private sector cooperative
dialogue leaders from the selected
priority sectors are expected to begin
work as early as possible in 2016 and to
report their preliminary
recommendations to the U.S. and Indian
governments at the next meeting of the
U.S.-India S&CD, expected to take place
in India in mid-2016. At the discretion
of the U.S. and Indian private sector
cooperative dialogue leads, U.S. and
Indian government officials will be
available to provide information to
facilitate the development of private
sector recommendations. Selection of
future priority sectors will be evaluated
on the basis of the performance of the
cooperative dialogues in the initially
selected priority sectors.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Boyles, Manager, Emerging
Issues, Office of Standards and
Investment Policy, International Trade
Administration, by telephone at (202)
482–1935 (this is not a toll-free number)
or email at Michael.Boyles@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January
2015, President Obama and Prime
Minister Modi decided to elevate the
bilateral commercial and economic
partnership by establishing the first-ever
U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue (S&CD) which was held in
Washington, DC on September 22, 2015.
The S&CD is the signature, annual
forum for policy discussions between
the United States Government and the
Government of India. The United States
and Indian Governments are using this
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Dec 11, 2015
Jkt 238001
vehicle to advance their shared
priorities of generating economic
growth, creating jobs, and strengthening
the middle class. U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Penny Pritzker co-chaired
the dialogue with their Indian
counterparts, Minister of External
Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of
Commerce and Industry Nirmala
Sitharaman.
Below are highlights of work agreed to
on standards cooperation at the
September 22, 2015 S&CD:
Standards Cooperation: The United
States and India are working together to
participate in the development of
international standards and technical
regulations to boost trade and help
reduce administrative and logistical
burdens, which disproportionately
affect small and medium sized
enterprises. The United States and India
will engage their respective industries to
identify up to two sectors where
standards and conformity assessmentfocused cooperative dialogues could
lead to mutual benefit and increased
trade. To support the removal of barriers
that impact the global supply chain, the
United States and India will exchange
best practices for the operation of
national Enquiry Points under the
World Trade Organization Agreement
on Technical Barriers to Trade and will
explore opportunities for more
cooperation on reference standards
between India’s National Physical
Laboratories (NPL) and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST). The United States and India
announced a private sector-led
collaboration to update a bilateral
standards portal, which facilitates the
sharing of information to improve
industry understanding of market access
requirements in both countries.
Request For Public Input:
Submissions relevant to this request for
public input should be submitted no
later than 60 days after the date of this
notice and can be submitted online or
in writing.
Written submissions should be
directed to Michael Boyles, Office of
Standards and Investment Policy,
Industry and Analysis, U.S. Department
of Commerce, Room 22025, 14th and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20230.
Online submissions should be
submitted using https://
www.regulations.gov.
In order to ensure the timely receipt
and consideration of comments, ITA
strongly encourages commenters to
make online submissions using https://
www.regulations.gov. Comments should
be submitted under ITA–2015–0005. To
PO 00000
Frm 00007
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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 the 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 ‘‘Comment
now!’’ 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 https://
www.regulations.gov, 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 so
should not include any privileged or
confidential business information. The
file name should begin with the
character ‘‘P’’ (signifying that the
comments contain no privileged or
confidential business information and
can be posted publicly), followed by the
name of the person or entity submitting
the comments. Written submissions
should include an original and five (5)
copies.
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.
Required Content for Submissions:
USDOC seeks public input on the
sectors that would benefit most from
focused engagement by U.S. and Indian
private-sector leaders and government
representatives under the S&CD to
address trade barriers related to
standards, regulatory, and conformity
assessment practices to increase
bilateral trade. Criteria for selection
include: The nature of the existing
standards-related barriers in the sector
(medical devices, ICT products, oil and
gas, etc.), including whether the
standards related measures that are
affecting bilateral trade are subject to
regulatory discretion or have limited
potential for adjustment due to
legislated mandates; the relative
estimated trade impact of eliminating
the standards-related barriers in the
sector; and whether private sector
representatives from the sector—both
U.S. and Indian—are committed to
leading a cooperative dialogue to
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
14DEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 239 / Monday, December 14, 2015 / Notices
produce concrete recommendations for
the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down the barriers in the sector.
Selection will also take into account the
willingness of U.S. and Indian
regulators to become involved in this
targeted work.
Submissions should include: A
description of the main standardsrelated barrier(s) affecting U.S.-India
trade in the sector (e.g., lack of
transparency by U.S. and/or Indian
officials in developing standards and/or
regulations affecting the sector; U.S. and
Indian officials applying different
standards or technical regulations to
products or services in the sector;
testing or other requirements that are
difficult to meet; and/or requirements
being applied by U.S. and/or Indian
officials only when products or services
in the sector are imported from the
other’s market), including whether the
areas involved are subject to regulatory
discretion or have limited potential for
adjustment due to legislated mandates;
the relative estimated trade impact of
eliminating the standards-related
barriers in the sector; and data on
bilateral trade in the sector for at least
three years to help evaluate trade trends.
Submissions must identify privatesector leaders from the United States
and India that have mutually agreed to
coordinate and lead a cooperative
dialogue among stakeholders in the
sector from both the United States and
India to develop recommendations for
the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down standards-related
barriers in their sector. Confirmation of
such agreement is encouraged. No U.S.
Government funding will be provided
for these activities.
Additionally, submissions should
provide information on current and
previous efforts to address standardsrelated barriers to bilateral trade in the
sector, including under other
government-to-government initiatives,
to help evaluate the potential for
liberalization of barriers identified.
Submissions should also provide
information, if known, about the U.S.
and Indian government authorities, in
particular regulators, whose actions
impact the sector, and who would need
to be involved in implementing the
recommendations that the private sector
leads will develop under a U.S.-India
cooperative dialogue on the subject
sector. Before finalizing priority sector
selection, U.S. and Indian government
S&CD leads will confirm that their
respective relevant regulators support
targeted work in the sector. Additional
information also is welcome that would
help USDOC and its interagency
partners evaluate prospects for growth
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Dec 11, 2015
Jkt 238001
in bilateral trade in the sector, if this
work is undertaken.
Dated: December 4, 2015.
Chris Rosettie,
Director, Office of Standards and Investment
Policy, International Trade Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015–31430 Filed 12–11–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–570–890]
Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the
People’s Republic of China:
Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review; 2014
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(‘‘the Department’’) is conducting the
tenth administrative review (‘‘AR’’) of
the antidumping duty order on wooden
bedroom furniture (‘‘WBF’’) from the
People’s Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’).
The period of review (‘‘POR’’) is January
1, 2014, through December 31, 2014. We
invite interested parties to comment on
these preliminary results.
DATES: Effective Date: December 14,
2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick O’Connor or Jeffrey Pedersen,
AD/CVD Operations, Office IV,
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–0989,
and (202) 482–2769, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
Scope of the Order
The product covered by the order is
wooden bedroom furniture, subject to
certain exceptions.1 Imports of subject
merchandise are classified under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (‘‘HTSUS’’) subheadings:
9403.50.9042, 9403.50.9045,
9403.50.9080, 9403.50.9042,
9403.50.9045, 9403.60.8081,
7009.92.1000 or 7009.92.5000. Although
the HTSUS subheadings are provided
for convenience and customs purposes,
the written product description in the
Order remains dispositive.2
1 See Notice of Amended Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping
Duty Order: Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the
People’s Republic of China, 70 FR 329 (January 4,
2005) (‘‘Order’’).
2 For a complete description of the Scope of the
Order, please see ‘‘Decision Memorandum for
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77321
Methodology
The Department is conducting this
review in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (‘‘the Act’’) and 19 CFR
351.213. For a full description of the
methodology underlying our
conclusions, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum, which is hereby
adopted with this notice. A list of topics
discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is provided as Appendix
I to this notice. The Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is a public
document and is on file electronically
via Enforcement and Compliance’s
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System
(‘‘ACCESS’’). ACCESS is available to
registered users at https://
access.trade.gov and in the Central
Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main
Department of Commerce building. In
addition, a complete version of the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can
be accessed directly at https://
enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed
Preliminary Decision Memorandum and
the electronic versions of the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are
identical in content.
PRC-Wide Entity
The Department selected Shanghai
Jian Pu Import & Export Co., Ltd. (‘‘Jian
Pu’’) as the sole mandatory respondent.3
The Department preliminarily
determines that Jian Pu did not establish
its eligibility for a separate rate for the
reasons explained in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum. Accordingly,
we are preliminarily treating Jian Pu as
part of the PRC-wide entity.
In addition, six other companies for
which a review was requested failed to
provide separate rate applications or
certifications necessary to establish their
eligibility for a separate rate.4 The
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review: Wooden Bedroom Furniture
from the People’s Republic of China,’’ from Gary
Taverman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations,
to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations
(‘‘Preliminary Decision Memorandum’’), dated
concurrently with this notice.
3 See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
4 Those six companies, other than Shanghai Jian
Pu, not establishing their eligibility for a separate
rate are: (1) Baigou Crafts Factory of Fengkai; (2)
Dongguan Hung Sheng Artware Products Co., Ltd.,
Coronal Enterprise Co., Ltd.; (3) Hualing Furniture
(China) Co., Ltd., Tony House Manufacture (China)
Co., Ltd., Buysell Investments Ltd., Tony House
Industries Co., Ltd.; (4) Orient International Holding
Shanghai Foreign Trade Co., Ltd.; (5) Prime Wood
International Co., Ltd, Prime Best International Co.,
Ltd., Prime Best Factory, Liang Huang (Jiaxing)
Enterprise Co., Ltd.; and (6) Woodworth Wooden
Industries (Dong Guan) Co., Ltd. Although
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
Continued
14DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77319-77321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31430]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Request for Public Input on Sectoral Dialogues To Inform Work on
Standards Cooperation Under the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: With this notice, the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), on
behalf of the Administration, is seeking public input to identify
priority sectors in which the United States and India will pursue
cooperative dialogues under the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue (S&CD) to address standards-related trade barriers. The aim of
the cooperative dialogues is for the private sector to produce concrete
recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on breaking down
barriers related to standards, regulatory, and conformity assessment
practices to increase bilateral trade. Stakeholder input will be used
by the USDOC, in consultation with its interagency partners, to
identify those sectors where cooperative work will yield the most
benefits for bilateral trade from a U.S. perspective. The USDOC will
also use stakeholder input to seek agreement from its Indian government
counterparts on the sectors in which to begin cooperative work.
Criteria for selection include: The nature of the existing
standards-related barriers in the sector (medical devices, ICT
products, oil and gas, etc.), including whether the standards related
measures that are affecting bilateral trade are subject to regulatory
discretion or have limited potential for adjustment due to legislated
mandates; the relative
[[Page 77320]]
estimated trade impact of eliminating the standards-related barriers in
the sector; and whether private sector representatives from the
sector--both U.S. and Indian--are committed to leading a cooperative
dialogue to produce concrete recommendations for the U.S. and Indian
governments on breaking down barriers in the sector. Selection will
also take into account the willingness of U.S. and Indian regulators to
become involved in this targeted work, as well as if another bilateral
forum relevant to the suggested issue already exists.
In order for a sector to be considered, stakeholder input must
identify private-sector leaders from the United States and India that
have mutually agreed to coordinate and lead a cooperative dialogue
among stakeholders in the sector from both the United States and India
to develop recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down standards-related barriers in their sector. Confirmation
of such agreement is encouraged. See additional requirements for
submissions in the contents below.
The private sector cooperative dialogue leaders from the selected
priority sectors are expected to begin work as early as possible in
2016 and to report their preliminary recommendations to the U.S. and
Indian governments at the next meeting of the U.S.-India S&CD, expected
to take place in India in mid-2016. At the discretion of the U.S. and
Indian private sector cooperative dialogue leads, U.S. and Indian
government officials will be available to provide information to
facilitate the development of private sector recommendations. Selection
of future priority sectors will be evaluated on the basis of the
performance of the cooperative dialogues in the initially selected
priority sectors.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Boyles, Manager, Emerging
Issues, Office of Standards and Investment Policy, International Trade
Administration, by telephone at (202) 482-1935 (this is not a toll-free
number) or email at Michael.Boyles@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2015, President Obama and Prime
Minister Modi decided to elevate the bilateral commercial and economic
partnership by establishing the first-ever U.S.-India Strategic and
Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) which was held in Washington, DC on
September 22, 2015. The S&CD is the signature, annual forum for policy
discussions between the United States Government and the Government of
India. The United States and Indian Governments are using this vehicle
to advance their shared priorities of generating economic growth,
creating jobs, and strengthening the middle class. U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker co-
chaired the dialogue with their Indian counterparts, Minister of
External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Commerce and Industry
Nirmala Sitharaman.
Below are highlights of work agreed to on standards cooperation at
the September 22, 2015 S&CD:
Standards Cooperation: The United States and India are working
together to participate in the development of international standards
and technical regulations to boost trade and help reduce administrative
and logistical burdens, which disproportionately affect small and
medium sized enterprises. The United States and India will engage their
respective industries to identify up to two sectors where standards and
conformity assessment-focused cooperative dialogues could lead to
mutual benefit and increased trade. To support the removal of barriers
that impact the global supply chain, the United States and India will
exchange best practices for the operation of national Enquiry Points
under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to
Trade and will explore opportunities for more cooperation on reference
standards between India's National Physical Laboratories (NPL) and the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The United
States and India announced a private sector-led collaboration to update
a bilateral standards portal, which facilitates the sharing of
information to improve industry understanding of market access
requirements in both countries.
Request For Public Input: Submissions relevant to this request for
public input should be submitted no later than 60 days after the date
of this notice and can be submitted online or in writing.
Written submissions should be directed to Michael Boyles, Office of
Standards and Investment Policy, Industry and Analysis, U.S. Department
of Commerce, Room 22025, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20230.
Online submissions should be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov.
In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of
comments, ITA strongly encourages commenters to make online submissions
using https://www.regulations.gov. Comments should be submitted under
ITA-2015-0005. 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 the 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
``Comment now!'' 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 https://www.regulations.gov, 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 so should not include any
privileged or confidential business information. The file name should
begin with the character ``P'' (signifying that the comments contain no
privileged or confidential business information and can be posted
publicly), followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the
comments. Written submissions should include an original and five (5)
copies.
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.
Required Content for Submissions: USDOC seeks public input on the
sectors that would benefit most from focused engagement by U.S. and
Indian private-sector leaders and government representatives under the
S&CD to address trade barriers related to standards, regulatory, and
conformity assessment practices to increase bilateral trade. Criteria
for selection include: The nature of the existing standards-related
barriers in the sector (medical devices, ICT products, oil and gas,
etc.), including whether the standards related measures that are
affecting bilateral trade are subject to regulatory discretion or have
limited potential for adjustment due to legislated mandates; the
relative estimated trade impact of eliminating the standards-related
barriers in the sector; and whether private sector representatives from
the sector--both U.S. and Indian--are committed to leading a
cooperative dialogue to
[[Page 77321]]
produce concrete recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on
breaking down the barriers in the sector. Selection will also take into
account the willingness of U.S. and Indian regulators to become
involved in this targeted work.
Submissions should include: A description of the main standards-
related barrier(s) affecting U.S.-India trade in the sector (e.g., lack
of transparency by U.S. and/or Indian officials in developing standards
and/or regulations affecting the sector; U.S. and Indian officials
applying different standards or technical regulations to products or
services in the sector; testing or other requirements that are
difficult to meet; and/or requirements being applied by U.S. and/or
Indian officials only when products or services in the sector are
imported from the other's market), including whether the areas involved
are subject to regulatory discretion or have limited potential for
adjustment due to legislated mandates; the relative estimated trade
impact of eliminating the standards-related barriers in the sector; and
data on bilateral trade in the sector for at least three years to help
evaluate trade trends.
Submissions must identify private-sector leaders from the United
States and India that have mutually agreed to coordinate and lead a
cooperative dialogue among stakeholders in the sector from both the
United States and India to develop recommendations for the U.S. and
Indian governments on breaking down standards-related barriers in their
sector. Confirmation of such agreement is encouraged. No U.S.
Government funding will be provided for these activities.
Additionally, submissions should provide information on current and
previous efforts to address standards-related barriers to bilateral
trade in the sector, including under other government-to-government
initiatives, to help evaluate the potential for liberalization of
barriers identified. Submissions should also provide information, if
known, about the U.S. and Indian government authorities, in particular
regulators, whose actions impact the sector, and who would need to be
involved in implementing the recommendations that the private sector
leads will develop under a U.S.-India cooperative dialogue on the
subject sector. Before finalizing priority sector selection, U.S. and
Indian government S&CD leads will confirm that their respective
relevant regulators support targeted work in the sector. Additional
information also is welcome that would help USDOC and its interagency
partners evaluate prospects for growth in bilateral trade in the
sector, if this work is undertaken.
Dated: December 4, 2015.
Chris Rosettie,
Director, Office of Standards and Investment Policy, International
Trade Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-31430 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P
