Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments, 40470-40471 [2019-17393]

Download as PDF 40470 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 14, 2019 / Notices must be filed by September 3, 2019, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423–0001. A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to WCL’s representative, Bradon J. Smith, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov. Decided: August 8, 2019. By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Director, Office of Proceedings. Jeffrey Herzig, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2019–17437 Filed 8–13–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE [Docket Number USTR–2019–0011] Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia’s Implementation of Its WTO Commitments Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing. AGENCY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on Russia’s implementation of its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). DATES: September 27, 2019 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of written comments and for filing requests to appear and a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing. October 8, 2019: The TPSC will convene a public hearing in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 20508 beginning at 9:30 a.m. ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket number is USTR–2019–0011. For alternatives to online submissions, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–3475 before transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline. jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 247001 For procedural questions concerning written comments, contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–3475. Direct all other questions to Betsy Hafner, Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Russia and Eurasia, at (202) 395–9124. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: I. Background Russia became a Member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on December 21, 2012, following the termination of the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia both filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of nonapplication and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between them. In accordance with Section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112–208), USTR is required to submit annually a report to Congress on the extent to which Russia is implementing the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The report also must assess Russia’s progress on acceding to and implementing the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). In addition, to the extent that USTR finds that Russia is not implementing fully any WTO agreement or is not making adequate progress in acceding to the ITA or the GPA, USTR must describe in the report the actions it plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its implementation and/or increase its accession efforts. In accordance with Section 201(a), and to assist it in preparing this year’s report, the TPSC is soliciting public comment. The terms of Russia’s accession to the WTO are contained in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO (including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. You can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on USTR’s website at https:// ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO website at https://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/MIN(11)/24, WT/L/ PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 839, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/ MIN(11)/2/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/ Add.2, and WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1.) II. Public Comment and Hearing USTR invites written comments and/ or oral testimony of interested persons on Russia’s implementation of the commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas: a. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariffrate quotas, quotas, import licenses). b. Export regulation. c. Subsidies. d. Standards and technical regulations. e. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures. f. Trade-related investment measures (including local content requirements). g. Taxes and charges levied on imports and exports. h. Other internal policies affecting trade. i. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement). j. Services. k. Government procurement. l. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform administration of laws and regulations). m. Other WTO commitments. USTR must receive your written comments no later than Friday, September 27, 2019 at midnight EST. The TPSC will convene a public hearing on Tuesday, October 8, 2019, in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 20508. Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written notification of their intention no later than September 27, 2019 at midnight EST. The intent to testify notification must be made in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field under docket number USTR–2019–0011 on the www.regulations.gov website and should include the name, address, and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. You should attach a summary of the testimony by using the ‘‘Upload File’’ field. The name of the file also should include who will be presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing will be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the TPSC. III. Requirements for Submissions Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first page of the submission) ‘‘Russia’s WTO Implementation of its WTO Commitments.’’ The deadline for E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM 14AUN1 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 14, 2019 / Notices submission is Friday, September 27, 2019 at midnight EST. In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line submissions, using the www.regulations.gov website. To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR–2019–0011 on the home page and click ‘‘search.’’ The site will provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice and click on the link entitled ‘‘comment now!’’. For further information on using the www.regulations.gov website, please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on ‘‘How to Use Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of the home page. The www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by filling in a ‘‘type comment’’ field, or by attaching a document using an ‘‘upload file’’ field. USTR prefers that you provide comments in an attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type ‘‘see attached’’ in the ‘‘type comment’’ field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate the name of the application in the ‘‘type comment’’ field. Filers submitting comments containing no business confidential information should name their file using the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. For any comments submitted electronically containing business confidential information, the file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters ‘‘BC’’. Any page containing business confidential information must be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ on the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing business confidential information also must submit a public version of their comments. The file name of the public version should begin with the character ‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’ should be 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. As noted, USTR strongly urges that you file submissions through www.regulations.gov. You must make VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 247001 any alternative arrangements with Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–3475 before transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline. We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except business confidential information. You can view comments on the https:// www.regulations.gov website by entering docket number USTR–2019– 0011 in the search field on the home page. General information concerning USTR is available at www.ustr.gov. Edward Gresser, Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative. [FR Doc. 2019–17393 Filed 8–13–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290–F9–P OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE [Docket Number USTR–2019–0010] Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China’s Compliance With WTO Commitments Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Notice of public hearing and request for comments. AGENCY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites interested persons to submit written comments and participate in a public hearing to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China’s compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). DATES: September 18, 2019 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of comments, and requests to appear and summaries of testimony at the October 2, 2019 public hearing. October 2, 2019: The TPSC will convene a public hearing in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 20508, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. The instructions for submitting notification of intent to testify and/or written comments are in sections 3 and 4 below. The docket number is USTR–2019–0010. For alternatives to on-line submissions, contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395– 3475 before transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–3475 for SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 40471 procedural questions concerning written comments or participation in the public hearing. Direct all other questions to Terrence J. McCartin, Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for China Affairs, at (202) 395–3900, or Philip D. Chen, Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, at (202) 395–3150. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Background China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 (Pub L. 106–286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each year, a report to Congress on China’s compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in preparing this year’s report, the TPSC is soliciting public comments. You can find last year’s report on USTR’s website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2018USTR-Report-to-Congress-onChina%27s-WTO-Compliance.pdf. The terms of China’s accession to the WTO are contained in the Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China (including its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. You can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on the WTO website at https://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/ MIN(01)/3, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/ MIN(01)/3/Add.2). 2. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information The TPSC invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested persons on China’s compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas: A. Trading rights. B. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses). C. Export regulation. D. Internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and charges levied on imports and exports). E. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement). F. Services. E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM 14AUN1

Agencies

Office of the United States Trade Representative

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40470-40471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17393]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2019-0011]


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.

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

SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to Congress on Russia's implementation of its 
obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

DATES: September 27, 2019 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments and for filing requests to appear and a summary of 
expected testimony at the public hearing. October 8, 2019: The TPSC 
will convene a public hearing in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW, 
Washington DC 20508 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket 
number is USTR-2019-0011. For alternatives to online submissions, 
please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a 
comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all 
other questions to Betsy Hafner, Deputy Assistant United States Trade 
Representative for Russia and Eurasia, at (202) 395-9124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Russia became a Member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on 
December 21, 2012, following the termination of the application of the 
Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal 
trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia 
both filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of non-
application and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between 
them. In accordance with Section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova 
Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 
Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-208), USTR is required to submit annually a 
report to Congress on the extent to which Russia is implementing the 
WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights. The report also must assess Russia's 
progress on acceding to and implementing the Information Technology 
Agreement (ITA) and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). In 
addition, to the extent that USTR finds that Russia is not implementing 
fully any WTO agreement or is not making adequate progress in acceding 
to the ITA or the GPA, USTR must describe in the report the actions it 
plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its implementation and/or 
increase its accession efforts. In accordance with Section 201(a), and 
to assist it in preparing this year's report, the TPSC is soliciting 
public comment.
    The terms of Russia's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the 
Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO 
(including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on 
the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides 
detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. You can 
find the Protocol and Working Party Report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO website at https://docsonline.wto.org 
(document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/MIN(11)/24, WT/L/
839, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.2, and 
WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1.)

II. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on Russia's implementation of the commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited 
to, commitments in the following areas:
    a. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses).
    b. Export regulation.
    c. Subsidies.
    d. Standards and technical regulations.
    e. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
    f. Trade-related investment measures (including local content 
requirements).
    g. Taxes and charges levied on imports and exports.
    h. Other internal policies affecting trade.
    i. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement).
    j. Services.
    k. Government procurement.
    l. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations).
    m. Other WTO commitments.
    USTR must receive your written comments no later than Friday, 
September 27, 2019 at midnight EST.
    The TPSC will convene a public hearing on Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 
in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 20508. Persons wishing 
to testify at the hearing must provide written notification of their 
intention no later than September 27, 2019 at midnight EST. The intent 
to testify notification must be made in the ``Type Comment'' field 
under docket number USTR-2019-0011 on the www.regulations.gov website 
and should include the name, address, and telephone number of the 
person presenting the testimony. You should attach a summary of the 
testimony by using the ``Upload File'' field. The name of the file also 
should include who will be presenting the testimony. Remarks at the 
hearing will be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for 
possible questions from the TPSC.

III. Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first 
page of the submission) ``Russia's WTO Implementation of its WTO 
Commitments.'' The deadline for

[[Page 40471]]

submission is Friday, September 27, 2019 at midnight EST. In order to 
ensure the timely receipt and consideration of comments, USTR strongly 
encourages commenters to make on-line submissions, using the 
www.regulations.gov website. To submit comments via 
www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2019-0011 on the home 
page and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search-results page 
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to 
this notice and click on the link entitled ``comment now!''. For 
further information on using the www.regulations.gov website, please 
consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on ``How to 
Use Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of the home page.
    The www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by 
filling in a ``type comment'' field, or by attaching a document using 
an ``upload file'' field. USTR prefers that you provide comments in an 
attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type 
``see attached'' in the ``type comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the 
submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate 
the name of the application in the ``type comment'' field.
    Filers submitting comments containing no business confidential 
information should name their file using the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. For any comments submitted 
electronically containing business confidential information, the file 
name of the business confidential version should begin with the 
characters ``BC''. Any page containing business confidential 
information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top 
of that page. Filers of submissions containing business confidential 
information also must submit a public version of their comments. The 
file name of the public version should begin with the character ``P''. 
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be 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.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges that you file submissions through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements with 
Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a comment and in 
advance of the relevant deadline.
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov website by entering docket number USTR-2019-0011 
in the search field on the home page. General information concerning 
USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.

Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2019-17393 Filed 8-13-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P

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