Proposed Action in Section 301 Investigation of Austria's Digital Services Tax, 16816-16819 [2021-06625]
Download as PDF
16816
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HTSUS subheading
Product description
6403.99.90 .............
Footwear w/outer soles of rubber/plastics/comp. leather & uppers of leather, n/cov. ankle, for women/child./infants, val.
over $2.50/pair.
Footwear w/outer sole rub./plast. & upp. textile, nesoi, w/open toes/heels or slip-on, >10% by wt. rub./plast. not subj note
5 ch 64.
Footwear w/outer soles of leather/comp. leath., n/o 50% by wt. rub./plast. or rub./plast./text. & 10%+ by wt. rub./plast., val.
o/$2.50/pr.
Footwear w/outer soles of leather/comp. leather & uppers of textile, nesoi.
Footwear, nesoi, w/outer soles and uppers o/than leather or comp. leather, not disposable.
Hats and headgear, plaited or assembled from strips of veg. fibers or unspun fibrous veg. materials and/or paper yarn, not
sewed.
Hats and headgear of fur felt made from hat forms and hat bodies of 6501.
Hats and headgear made from hat forms and hat bodies of 6501, except of fur felt.
Hats and headgear, of cotton and/or flax, knitted.
Hats and headgear, of wool, knitted or crocheted or made up from knitted or crocheted fabric.
Hats and headgear, of man-made fibers, knitted or crocheted or made up from knitted or crocheted fabrics, not in part of
braid.
Glassware for toilet/office/indoor decor. or similar purposes, nesoi, valued over $0.30 but n/over $3 each.
Glassware for toilet/office/indoor decor. or similar purposes, nesoi, n/cut or engraved, valued over $3 but n/over $5 each.
Glassware for toilet/office/indoor decor. or similar purposes, nesoi, n/cut or engraved, valued over $5 each.
6404.19.39 .............
6404.20.40 .............
6404.20.60 .............
6405.90.90 .............
6504.00.60 .............
6505.00.04
6505.00.08
6505.00.15
6505.00.30
6505.00.60
.............
.............
.............
.............
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7013.99.50 .............
7013.99.80 .............
7013.99.90 .............
BILLING CODE 3290–F1–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR–2021–0002]
Proposed Action in Section 301
Investigation of Austria’s Digital
Services Tax
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and
notice of public hearing.
AGENCY:
The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR)
requests written comments regarding a
potential trade action in connection
with the Section 301 investigation of
Austria’s Digital Services Tax (DST).
USTR also will convene virtual public
hearings and accept rebuttal comments
in relation to the potential action.
DATES:
April 21, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit requests to appear
at a hearing, along with a summary of
the testimony, by this date.
April 30, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit written comments
by this date.
May 3, 2021: Multi-jurisdictional
virtual hearing on proposed actions.
May 10, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit multijurisdictional hearing rebuttal
comments by this date.
May 11, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.: Virtual
hearing on Austria DST proposed
action.
May 18, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit Austria DST
hearing rebuttal comments by this date.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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Submit documents in
response to this notice, including
written comments and hearing
appearance requests, through the online
USTR portal: https://
comments.ustr.gov/s/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions concerning the investigation,
please contact Ben Allen or Patrick
Childress, Assistant General Counsels at
(202) 395–9439 and (202) 395–9531,
respectively; Robert Tanner, Director,
Services and Investment at (202) 395–
6125; or Michael Rogers, Director,
Europe and the Middle East at (202)
395–2684. For issues with on-line
submissions, please contact the USTR
Section 301 line at (202) 395–5725.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
[FR Doc. 2021–06617 Filed 3–30–21; 8:45 am]
I. Proceedings in the Investigation
Austria has adopted a DST that
imposes a 5% tax on gross revenues
from digital advertising services
provided in Austria. The DST applies
only to companies with annual global
revenues of Ö750 million or more, and
annual revenues from digital advertising
services in Austria of Ö25 million or
more.
On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade
Representative initiated an investigation
of Austria’s DST pursuant to section
302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended (Trade Act). See 85 FR 34709
(June 5, 2020) (notice of initiation). The
notice of initiation solicited written
comments on, inter alia, the following
aspects of Austria’s DST: Discrimination
against U.S. companies; retroactivity;
and possibly unreasonable tax policy.
With respect to tax policy, USTR
solicited comments on, inter alia,
whether the DST diverged from
principles reflected in the U.S. and
international tax systems including
extraterritoriality; taxing revenue not
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income; and a purpose of penalizing
particular technology companies for
their commercial success. Interested
persons filed over 380 written
submissions in response. The public
submissions are available on
www.regulations.gov in docket number
USTR–2020–0022.
Under section 303 of the Trade Act,
the U.S. Trade Representative requested
consultations with the government of
Austria regarding the issues involved in
the investigation. Consultations were
held on December 21, 2020.
Based on information obtained during
the investigation, USTR prepared a
comprehensive report on Austria’s DST
(Austria DST Report). The Austria DST
Report is posted on the USTR website
at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/
enforcement/section-301-investigations/
section-301-digital-services-taxes. The
report includes a full description of
Austria’s DST, and supports findings
that Austria’s DST is unreasonable and
discriminatory and burdens or restricts
U.S. commerce.
On January 14, 2021, based on the
information obtained during the
investigation and the advice of the
Section 301 Committee, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined that
Austria’s DST is unreasonable or
discriminatory and burdens or restricts
U.S. commerce, and therefore is
actionable under sections 301(b) and
304(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C.
2411(b) and 2414(a)). See 86 FR 6406
(January 21, 2021).
II. Proposed Action
Section 301(b) provides that upon
determining that the acts, policies, and
practices under investigation are
actionable and that action is
appropriate, the U.S. Trade
Representative shall take all appropriate
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and feasible action authorized under
section 301(c), subject to the specific
direction, if any, of the President
regarding such action, and all other
appropriate and feasible action within
the power of the President that the
President may direct the U.S. Trade
Representative to take under section
301(b), to obtain the elimination of that
act, policy, or practice.
Section 301(c)(1)(B) of the Trade Act
authorizes the U.S. Trade
Representative to impose duties on the
goods of the foreign country subject to
the investigation. Pursuant to sections
301(b) and (c), USTR proposes that the
U.S. Trade Representative should
determine that action is appropriate and
that appropriate action would include
the imposition of additional ad valorem
tariffs on certain products of Austria.
In particular, USTR proposes to
impose additional tariffs of up to 25
percent ad valorem on an aggregate
level of trade that would collect duties
on goods of Austria in the range of the
amount of the DST that Austria is
expected to collect from U.S.
companies. Initial estimates indicate
that the value of the DST payable by
U.S.-based company groups to Austria
will be up to approximately $45 million
per year.
USTR further proposes that the goods
of Austria subject to additional tariffs
would be drawn from the preliminary
list of products in the Annex to this
notice, as specified by the listed eightdigit tariff subheadings.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
III. Request for Public Comments
In accordance with section 304(b) of
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2414(b)), USTR
invites comments from interested
persons with respect to whether action
is appropriate, and if so, the appropriate
action to be taken.
USTR requests comments with
respect to any issue related to the action
to be taken in this investigation. With
respect to the proposed tariff action
outline above, USTR specifically invites
comments regarding:
• The level of the burden or
restriction on U.S. commerce resulting
from Austria’s DST, including the
amount of DST payments owed by U.S.
companies, the annual growth rate of
such payments, and other effects, such
as compliance costs.
• The appropriate aggregate level of
trade to be covered by additional duties.
• The level of the increase, if any, in
the rate of duty.
• The specific products to be subject
to increased duties, including whether
the tariff subheadings listed in the
Annex should be retained or removed,
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Jkt 253001
or whether tariff subheadings not
currently on the list should be added.
In commenting on the inclusion or
removal of particular products on the
preliminary list of products subject to
the proposed additional duties, USTR
requests that commenters specifically
address whether imposing increased
duties on a particular product would be
practicable or effective to obtain the
elimination of Austria’s acts, policies,
and practices, and whether imposing
additional duties on a particular
product would cause disproportionate
economic harm to U.S. interests,
including small- or medium-size
businesses and consumers.
Simultaneously with this notice,
USTR also is requesting public
comments on proposed trade actions in
five other DST investigations initiated at
the same time as the Austria DST
investigation. Certain interested persons
may wish to provide written comments
or oral testimony on multi-jurisdictional
issues common to two or more
investigations. To avoid duplication, the
USTR portal will have a separate docket
for multi-jurisdictional submissions,
and USTR will hold a separate multijurisdictional hearing.
To be assured of consideration, you
must submit written comments on the
proposed action by April 30, 2021, and
post-hearing rebuttal comments by May
10, 2021 for the multi-jurisdictional
hearing, and by May 18, 2021 for the
Austria DST hearing.
IV. Hearing Participation
The Section 301 Committee will
convene a virtual public hearing for
comments pertaining to the Austria DST
proposed action on May 11, 2021,
beginning at 9:30 a.m. Those requesting
to appear at this hearing should have
comments applicable only to the Austria
DST proposed action.
The Section 301 Committee will
convene a virtual public hearing for
comments pertaining to multiple
jurisdictions on May 3, 2021, beginning
at 9:30 a.m. Those requesting to appear
at the multi-jurisdictional hearing
should have comments that are
applicable to two or more DST
investigations.
For either hearing, you must submit a
request to appear at the specific hearing
using the electronic portal at https://
comments.ustr.gov/s/. You will be able
to view a docket entitled ‘Request to
Appear at Hearing on Proposed Action
in Section 301 Investigation of Austria’s
Digital Services Tax.’ Requests to appear
must include a summary of testimony,
and may be accompanied by a prehearing submission. Remarks at the
hearing are limited to five minutes to
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allow for possible questions from the
Section 301 Committee. All submissions
must be in English. To be assured of
consideration, USTR must receive your
request to appear by April 21, 2021.
V. Procedures for Written Submissions
You must submit written comments,
rebuttal comments, and requests to
appear at the hearing using the
electronic portal at https://
comments.ustr.gov/s. You will be able to
view a docket entitled ‘Comments
Concerning Proposed Action in Section
301 Investigation of Austria’s Digital
Services Tax’ on the portal, docket
number USTR–2021–0002.
You do not need to establish an
account to submit comments. Fields
with a gray (BCI) notation are for
Business Confidential Information and
the information entered will not be
publicly available. Required fields are
marked ‘Required’ and will have a red
asterisk (*). Fields with a green (Public)
notation will be viewable by the public.
The first screen of the portal requires
you to enter identification and contact
information. Third party organizations
such as law firms, trade associations, or
customs brokers, should identify the full
legal name of the organization they
represent, and identify the primary
point of contact for the submission. The
remaining fields of the form are
optional.
After entering the identification and
contact information, you can complete
the remainder of the questionnaire, or
any portion of it by clicking ‘Next.’ You
can comment on multiple products in a
single entry, or submit multiple
comments. You will be able to navigate
through each screen of the form by
clicking ‘Next,’ with or without entering
a response to each field on an
individual screen or page. Additionally,
you will be able to upload documents at
the end of the form and designate
whether USTR should treat the
documents as business confidential or
public information.
For uploads containing BCI, the file
name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters
‘BCI’. Any page containing BCI must be
clearly marked ‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’ on the top of that page
and the submission should clearly
indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or
other means, the specific information
that is BCI. If you request business
confidential treatment, you must certify
in writing that disclosure of the
information would endanger trade
secrets or profitability, and that the
information would not customarily be
released to the public. Parties uploading
attachments containing BCI also must
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Notices
submit a public version of their
comments. The file name of the public
version, which must be uploaded on
https://comments.ustr.gov/s/, should
begin with the character ‘P’. The ‘BCI’
and ‘P’ should be followed by the name
of the person or entity submitting the
comments or rebuttal comments. If these
procedures are not sufficient to protect
BCI or otherwise protect business
interests, please contact the USTR
Section Hotline 301 line at (202) 395–
5725 to discuss whether alternative
arrangements are possible. USTR will
Greta Peisch,
General Counsel, Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
Annex
Note: All products that are classified in the
eight-digit subheadings of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
that are listed in this Annex are covered by
the proposed action. The product
descriptions that are contained in this Annex
are provided for informational purposes only,
and are not intended to delimit in any way
the scope of the proposed action. Any
questions regarding the scope of a particular
HTSUS subheading should be referred to
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In the
product descriptions, the abbreviation
‘‘nesoi’’ means ‘‘not elsewhere specified or
included’’.
HTSUS subheading
Product description
4107.99.70 .............
Bovine (not buffalo) and equine leather, not whole, nesoi, without hair on, not fancy, prepared after tanning or crusting, not
heading 4114.
Clothing accessories of leather or of composition leather, nesoi.
Articles of leather or of composition leather, nesoi, excluding reptile leather.
Unbleached 3- or 4-thread twill fabrics of cotton, including cross twill, 85 percent or more cotton by weight, weighing more
than 200 g/m2.
Other yarns, monofil; multifil, untwisted or twisted > or = to 5, not exceeding 50 turns per meter of other synthetic, not for
retail sale.
Racket strings of synthetic monofilament of 67 decitex or more and of which no cross-sectional dimension exceeds 1 mm.
Synthetic monofilament (exc. polypropylene), of 67 decitex or more and with no cross-sectional dimension > 1 mm, nesoi.
Nonwoven floor covering underlays (not of man-made filaments), weighing >150 g/square m, whether or not impreg, coated, cov or laminated.
Nonwovens nesoi (not of man-made filaments), weighing >150 g/square m, whether or not impregnated, coated, covered
but not laminated.
Refractory ceramic goods (o/than of siliceous fossil meals or earths), nesoi, cont. by wt. o/50% alumina or mix. or comp.
of Al2O3 & SiO3.
Stemware drinking glasses of lead crystal, valued over $5 each.
Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal, valued o/$0.30 but n/over $3 each.
Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal, not cut or engraved, valued o/$3 but n/over $5
each.
Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal, not cut or engraved, valued over $5 each.
Drinking glasses, nesoi, o/than of pressed and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal, valued o/$0.30 but n/over $3 each.
Drinking glasses, nesoi, o/than of pressed and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal, not cut or engraved, valued over $5
each.
Glassware for table or kitchen purposes (o/than drinking glasses), of lead crystal, valued over $5 each.
Glassware for table or kitchen purposes (o/than drinking glasses), nesoi, n/cut or engraved, valued over $5 each.
Glassware for toilet/office/indoor decor. & similar purposes, of lead crystal, valued over $5 each.
Woven glass fiber articles (other than fabrics), nesoi.
Glass fibers (including glass wool), nesoi, and articles thereof, nesoi.
Natural or synthetic precious (except diamond) or semiprecious stone dust and powder.
Copper alloys (o/than copper-zinc, copper-tin alloys), unwrought nesoi.
Base metal staples in strips (e.g., for offices, upholstery, packaging).
Combined refrigerator-freezers, fitted with separate external doors, electric or other.
Printed circuit assemblies of the goods of subheading 8504.40 or 8504.50 for telecommunication apparatus.
Printed circuit assemblies of electrical transformers, static converters and inductors, nesoi.
Electric welding apparatus nesoi, and electric machines and apparatus for hot spraying metals or sintered metal carbides.
Radar apparatus.
Frames and mountings, of plastics, for spectacles, goggles or the like.
Binoculars.
Optical telescopes, including monoculars.
Monoculars and astronomical instruments other than binoculars and optical telescopes but not including instruments for
radio-astronomy.
Projection screens.
Microscopes other than optical microscopes; diffraction apparatus.
Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and appliances, other than electrical.
Optical surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic, hydrological, meteorological or geophysical instruments and appliances,
nesoi.
Nonelectrical instruments and apparatus using optical radiations (ultraviolet, visible, infrared), nesoi.
Instruments and apparatus specially designed for telecommunications.
Grand pianos.
4203.40.60 .............
4205.00.80 .............
5209.12.00 .............
5402.49.91 .............
5404.19.10 .............
5404.19.80 .............
5603.94.10 .............
5603.94.90 .............
6903.20.00 .............
7013.22.50 .............
7013.28.20 .............
7013.28.50 .............
7013.28.60 .............
7013.37.20 .............
7013.37.60 .............
7013.41.50 .............
7013.49.60 .............
7013.91.50 .............
7019.90.10 .............
7019.90.50 .............
7105.90.00 .............
7403.29.01. ............
8305.20.00 .............
8418.10.00 .............
8504.90.65 .............
8504.90.75 .............
8515.80.00 .............
8526.10.00 .............
9003.11.00 .............
9005.10.00 .............
9005.80.40 .............
9005.80.60 .............
9010.60.00
9012.10.00
9015.40.80
9015.80.20
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post attachments uploaded to the docket
for public inspection, except for
attachments marked as business
confidential.
You can view all public submissions
on the USTR portal at https://
comments.ustr.gov/s.
.............
.............
.............
.............
9027.50.80 .............
9030.40.00 .............
9201.20.00 .............
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Notices
[FR Doc. 2021–06625 Filed 3–30–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F1–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR–2021–0004]
Proposed Action in Section 301
Investigation of Italy’s Digital Services
Tax
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and
notice of public hearing.
AGENCY:
The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR)
requests written comments regarding a
potential trade action in connection
with the Section 301 investigation of
Italy’s Digital Services Tax (DST). USTR
also will convene virtual public
hearings and accept rebuttal comments
in relation to the potential action.
DATES:
April 21, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit requests to appear
at a hearing, along with a summary of
the testimony, by this date.
April 30, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit written comments
by this date.
May 3, 2021: Multi-jurisdictional
virtual hearing on proposed actions.
May 5, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.: Virtual
hearing on Italy DST proposed action.
May 10, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit multijurisdictional hearing rebuttal
comments by this date.
May 12, 2021: To be assured of
consideration, submit Italy DST hearing
rebuttal comments by this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit documents in
response to this notice, including
written comments and hearing
appearance requests, through the online
USTR portal: https://
comments.ustr.gov/s/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions concerning the investigation,
please contact Ben Allen or Patrick
Childress, Assistant General Counsels at
(202) 395–9439 and (202) 395–9531,
respectively; Robert Tanner, Director,
Services and Investment at (202) 395–
6125; or Michael Rogers, Director,
Europe and the Middle East at (202)
395–2684. For issues with on-line
submissions, please contact the USTR
Section 301 line at (202) 395–5725.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
I. Proceedings in the Investigation
Italy has adopted a DST that applies
to companies that during the previous
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18:54 Mar 30, 2021
Jkt 253001
calendar year, generated Ö750 million or
more in worldwide revenues and Ö5.5
million or more in revenues deriving
from the provision of digital services in
Italy.
On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade
Representative initiated an investigation
of Italy’s DST pursuant to section
302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended (Trade Act). See 85 FR 34709
(June 5, 2020) (notice of initiation). The
notice of initiation solicited written
comments on, inter alia, the following
aspects of Italy’s DST: Discrimination
against U.S. companies; retroactivity;
and possibly unreasonable tax policy.
With respect to tax policy, USTR
solicited comments on, inter alia,
whether the DST diverged from
principles reflected in the U.S. and
international tax systems including
extraterritoriality; taxing revenue not
income; and a purpose of penalizing
particular technology companies for
their commercial success. Interested
persons filed over 380 written
submissions in response. The public
submissions are available on
www.regulations.gov in docket number
USTR–2020–0022.
Under section 303 of the Trade Act,
the U.S. Trade Representative requested
consultations with the government of
Italy regarding the issues involved in
the investigation. Consultations were
held on November 10, 2020.
Based on information obtained during
the investigation, USTR prepared a
comprehensive report on Italy’s DST
(Italy DST Report). The Italy DST Report
is posted on the USTR website at
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/
enforcement/section-301-investigations/
section-301-digital-services-taxes. The
report includes a full description of
Italy’s DST, and supports findings that
Italy’s DST is unreasonable and
discriminatory and burdens or restricts
U.S commerce.
On January 6, 2021, based on the
information obtained during the
investigation and the advice of the
Section 301 Committee, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined that Italy’s
DST is unreasonable or discriminatory
and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce,
and therefore is actionable under
sections 301(b) and 304(a) of the Trade
Act (19 U.S.C. 2411(b) and 2414(a)). See
86 FR 2477 (January 12, 2021).
II. Proposed Action
Section 301(b) provides that upon
determining that the acts, policies, and
practices under investigation are
actionable and that action is
appropriate, the U.S. Trade
Representative shall take all appropriate
and feasible action authorized under
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16819
section 301(c), subject to the specific
direction, if any, of the President
regarding such action, and all other
appropriate and feasible action within
the power of the President that the
President may direct the U.S. Trade
Representative to take under section
301(b), to obtain the elimination of that
act, policy, or practice.
Section 301(c)(1)(B) of the Trade Act
authorizes the U.S. Trade
Representative to impose duties on the
goods of the foreign country subject to
the investigation. Pursuant to sections
301(b) and (c), USTR proposes that the
U.S. Trade Representative should
determine that action is appropriate and
that appropriate action would include
the imposition of additional ad valorem
tariffs on certain products of Italy.
In particular, USTR proposes to
impose additional tariffs of up to 25
percent ad valorem on an aggregate
level of trade that would collect duties
on goods of Italy in the range of the
amount of DST that Italy is expected to
collect from U.S. companies. Initial
estimates indicate that the value of the
DST payable by U.S.-based company
groups to Italy will be up to
approximately $140 million per year.
USTR further proposes that the goods
of Italy subject to additional tariffs
would be drawn from the preliminary
list of products in the Annex to this
notice, as specified by the listed eightdigit tariff subheadings.
III. Request for Public Comments
In accordance with section 304(b) of
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2414(b)), USTR
invites comments from interested
persons with respect to whether action
is appropriate, and if so, the appropriate
action to be taken.
USTR requests comments with
respect to any issue related to the action
to be taken in this investigation. With
respect to the proposed tariff action
outline above, USTR specifically invites
comments regarding:
• The level of the burden or
restriction on U.S. commerce resulting
from Italy’s DST, including the amount
of DST payments owed by U.S.
companies, the annual growth rate of
such payments, and other effects, such
as compliance costs.
• The appropriate aggregate level of
trade to be covered by additional duties.
• The level of the increase, if any, in
the rate of duty.
• The specific products to be subject
to increased duties, including whether
the tariff subheadings listed in the
Annex should be retained or removed,
or whether tariff subheadings not
currently on the list should be added.
E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM
31MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 31, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16816-16819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06625]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2021-0002]
Proposed Action in Section 301 Investigation of Austria's Digital
Services Tax
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
requests written comments regarding a potential trade action in
connection with the Section 301 investigation of Austria's Digital
Services Tax (DST). USTR also will convene virtual public hearings and
accept rebuttal comments in relation to the potential action.
DATES:
April 21, 2021: To be assured of consideration, submit requests to
appear at a hearing, along with a summary of the testimony, by this
date.
April 30, 2021: To be assured of consideration, submit written
comments by this date.
May 3, 2021: Multi-jurisdictional virtual hearing on proposed
actions.
May 10, 2021: To be assured of consideration, submit multi-
jurisdictional hearing rebuttal comments by this date.
May 11, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.: Virtual hearing on Austria DST proposed
action.
May 18, 2021: To be assured of consideration, submit Austria DST
hearing rebuttal comments by this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit documents in response to this notice, including
written comments and hearing appearance requests, through the online
USTR portal: https://comments.ustr.gov/s/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning the
investigation, please contact Ben Allen or Patrick Childress, Assistant
General Counsels at (202) 395-9439 and (202) 395-9531, respectively;
Robert Tanner, Director, Services and Investment at (202) 395-6125; or
Michael Rogers, Director, Europe and the Middle East at (202) 395-2684.
For issues with on-line submissions, please contact the USTR Section
301 line at (202) 395-5725.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Proceedings in the Investigation
Austria has adopted a DST that imposes a 5% tax on gross revenues
from digital advertising services provided in Austria. The DST applies
only to companies with annual global revenues of [euro]750 million or
more, and annual revenues from digital advertising services in Austria
of [euro]25 million or more.
On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative initiated an
investigation of Austria's DST pursuant to section 302(b)(1)(A) of the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act). See 85 FR 34709 (June 5,
2020) (notice of initiation). The notice of initiation solicited
written comments on, inter alia, the following aspects of Austria's
DST: Discrimination against U.S. companies; retroactivity; and possibly
unreasonable tax policy. With respect to tax policy, USTR solicited
comments on, inter alia, whether the DST diverged from principles
reflected in the U.S. and international tax systems including
extraterritoriality; taxing revenue not income; and a purpose of
penalizing particular technology companies for their commercial
success. Interested persons filed over 380 written submissions in
response. The public submissions are available on www.regulations.gov
in docket number USTR-2020-0022.
Under section 303 of the Trade Act, the U.S. Trade Representative
requested consultations with the government of Austria regarding the
issues involved in the investigation. Consultations were held on
December 21, 2020.
Based on information obtained during the investigation, USTR
prepared a comprehensive report on Austria's DST (Austria DST Report).
The Austria DST Report is posted on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/section-301-digital-services-taxes. The report includes a full description of
Austria's DST, and supports findings that Austria's DST is unreasonable
and discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce.
On January 14, 2021, based on the information obtained during the
investigation and the advice of the Section 301 Committee, the U.S.
Trade Representative determined that Austria's DST is unreasonable or
discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and therefore is
actionable under sections 301(b) and 304(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C.
2411(b) and 2414(a)). See 86 FR 6406 (January 21, 2021).
II. Proposed Action
Section 301(b) provides that upon determining that the acts,
policies, and practices under investigation are actionable and that
action is appropriate, the U.S. Trade Representative shall take all
appropriate
[[Page 16817]]
and feasible action authorized under section 301(c), subject to the
specific direction, if any, of the President regarding such action, and
all other appropriate and feasible action within the power of the
President that the President may direct the U.S. Trade Representative
to take under section 301(b), to obtain the elimination of that act,
policy, or practice.
Section 301(c)(1)(B) of the Trade Act authorizes the U.S. Trade
Representative to impose duties on the goods of the foreign country
subject to the investigation. Pursuant to sections 301(b) and (c), USTR
proposes that the U.S. Trade Representative should determine that
action is appropriate and that appropriate action would include the
imposition of additional ad valorem tariffs on certain products of
Austria.
In particular, USTR proposes to impose additional tariffs of up to
25 percent ad valorem on an aggregate level of trade that would collect
duties on goods of Austria in the range of the amount of the DST that
Austria is expected to collect from U.S. companies. Initial estimates
indicate that the value of the DST payable by U.S.-based company groups
to Austria will be up to approximately $45 million per year.
USTR further proposes that the goods of Austria subject to
additional tariffs would be drawn from the preliminary list of products
in the Annex to this notice, as specified by the listed eight-digit
tariff subheadings.
III. Request for Public Comments
In accordance with section 304(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C.
2414(b)), USTR invites comments from interested persons with respect to
whether action is appropriate, and if so, the appropriate action to be
taken.
USTR requests comments with respect to any issue related to the
action to be taken in this investigation. With respect to the proposed
tariff action outline above, USTR specifically invites comments
regarding:
The level of the burden or restriction on U.S. commerce
resulting from Austria's DST, including the amount of DST payments owed
by U.S. companies, the annual growth rate of such payments, and other
effects, such as compliance costs.
The appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by
additional duties.
The level of the increase, if any, in the rate of duty.
The specific products to be subject to increased duties,
including whether the tariff subheadings listed in the Annex should be
retained or removed, or whether tariff subheadings not currently on the
list should be added.
In commenting on the inclusion or removal of particular products on
the preliminary list of products subject to the proposed additional
duties, USTR requests that commenters specifically address whether
imposing increased duties on a particular product would be practicable
or effective to obtain the elimination of Austria's acts, policies, and
practices, and whether imposing additional duties on a particular
product would cause disproportionate economic harm to U.S. interests,
including small- or medium-size businesses and consumers.
Simultaneously with this notice, USTR also is requesting public
comments on proposed trade actions in five other DST investigations
initiated at the same time as the Austria DST investigation. Certain
interested persons may wish to provide written comments or oral
testimony on multi-jurisdictional issues common to two or more
investigations. To avoid duplication, the USTR portal will have a
separate docket for multi-jurisdictional submissions, and USTR will
hold a separate multi-jurisdictional hearing.
To be assured of consideration, you must submit written comments on
the proposed action by April 30, 2021, and post-hearing rebuttal
comments by May 10, 2021 for the multi-jurisdictional hearing, and by
May 18, 2021 for the Austria DST hearing.
IV. Hearing Participation
The Section 301 Committee will convene a virtual public hearing for
comments pertaining to the Austria DST proposed action on May 11, 2021,
beginning at 9:30 a.m. Those requesting to appear at this hearing
should have comments applicable only to the Austria DST proposed
action.
The Section 301 Committee will convene a virtual public hearing for
comments pertaining to multiple jurisdictions on May 3, 2021, beginning
at 9:30 a.m. Those requesting to appear at the multi-jurisdictional
hearing should have comments that are applicable to two or more DST
investigations.
For either hearing, you must submit a request to appear at the
specific hearing using the electronic portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/. You will be able to view a docket entitled
`Request to Appear at Hearing on Proposed Action in Section 301
Investigation of Austria's Digital Services Tax.' Requests to appear
must include a summary of testimony, and may be accompanied by a pre-
hearing submission. Remarks at the hearing are limited to five minutes
to allow for possible questions from the Section 301 Committee. All
submissions must be in English. To be assured of consideration, USTR
must receive your request to appear by April 21, 2021.
V. Procedures for Written Submissions
You must submit written comments, rebuttal comments, and requests
to appear at the hearing using the electronic portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s. You will be able to view a docket entitled
`Comments Concerning Proposed Action in Section 301 Investigation of
Austria's Digital Services Tax' on the portal, docket number USTR-2021-
0002.
You do not need to establish an account to submit comments. Fields
with a gray (BCI) notation are for Business Confidential Information
and the information entered will not be publicly available. Required
fields are marked `Required' and will have a red asterisk (*). Fields
with a green (Public) notation will be viewable by the public.
The first screen of the portal requires you to enter identification
and contact information. Third party organizations such as law firms,
trade associations, or customs brokers, should identify the full legal
name of the organization they represent, and identify the primary point
of contact for the submission. The remaining fields of the form are
optional.
After entering the identification and contact information, you can
complete the remainder of the questionnaire, or any portion of it by
clicking `Next.' You can comment on multiple products in a single
entry, or submit multiple comments. You will be able to navigate
through each screen of the form by clicking `Next,' with or without
entering a response to each field on an individual screen or page.
Additionally, you will be able to upload documents at the end of the
form and designate whether USTR should treat the documents as business
confidential or public information.
For uploads containing BCI, the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI'. Any page
containing BCI must be clearly marked `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' on the
top of that page and the submission should clearly indicate, via
brackets, highlighting, or other means, the specific information that
is BCI. If you request business confidential treatment, you must
certify in writing that disclosure of the information would endanger
trade secrets or profitability, and that the information would not
customarily be released to the public. Parties uploading attachments
containing BCI also must
[[Page 16818]]
submit a public version of their comments. The file name of the public
version, which must be uploaded on https://comments.ustr.gov/s/, should
begin with the character `P'. The `BCI' and `P' should be followed by
the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or rebuttal
comments. If these procedures are not sufficient to protect BCI or
otherwise protect business interests, please contact the USTR Section
Hotline 301 line at (202) 395-5725 to discuss whether alternative
arrangements are possible. USTR will post attachments uploaded to the
docket for public inspection, except for attachments marked as business
confidential.
You can view all public submissions on the USTR portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s.
Greta Peisch,
General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Annex
Note: All products that are classified in the eight-digit
subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) that are listed in this Annex are covered by the proposed
action. The product descriptions that are contained in this Annex
are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended
to delimit in any way the scope of the proposed action. Any
questions regarding the scope of a particular HTSUS subheading
should be referred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In the
product descriptions, the abbreviation ``nesoi'' means ``not
elsewhere specified or included''.
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HTSUS subheading Product description
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4107.99.70................. Bovine (not buffalo) and equine leather,
not whole, nesoi, without hair on, not
fancy, prepared after tanning or crusting,
not heading 4114.
4203.40.60................. Clothing accessories of leather or of
composition leather, nesoi.
4205.00.80................. Articles of leather or of composition
leather, nesoi, excluding reptile leather.
5209.12.00................. Unbleached 3- or 4-thread twill fabrics of
cotton, including cross twill, 85 percent
or more cotton by weight, weighing more
than 200 g/m2.
5402.49.91................. Other yarns, monofil; multifil, untwisted
or twisted > or = to 5, not exceeding 50
turns per meter of other synthetic, not
for retail sale.
5404.19.10................. Racket strings of synthetic monofilament of
67 decitex or more and of which no cross-
sectional dimension exceeds 1 mm.
5404.19.80................. Synthetic monofilament (exc.
polypropylene), of 67 decitex or more and
with no cross-sectional dimension > 1 mm,
nesoi.
5603.94.10................. Nonwoven floor covering underlays (not of
man-made filaments), weighing >150 g/
square m, whether or not impreg, coated,
cov or laminated.
5603.94.90................. Nonwovens nesoi (not of man-made
filaments), weighing >150 g/square m,
whether or not impregnated, coated,
covered but not laminated.
6903.20.00................. Refractory ceramic goods (o/than of
siliceous fossil meals or earths), nesoi,
cont. by wt. o/50% alumina or mix. or
comp. of Al2O3 & SiO3.
7013.22.50................. Stemware drinking glasses of lead crystal,
valued over $5 each.
7013.28.20................. Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened
glass, o/than lead crystal, valued o/$0.30
but n/over $3 each.
7013.28.50................. Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened
glass, o/than lead crystal, not cut or
engraved, valued o/$3 but n/over $5 each.
7013.28.60................. Stemware, o/than of pressed and toughened
glass, o/than lead crystal, not cut or
engraved, valued over $5 each.
7013.37.20................. Drinking glasses, nesoi, o/than of pressed
and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal,
valued o/$0.30 but n/over $3 each.
7013.37.60................. Drinking glasses, nesoi, o/than of pressed
and toughened glass, o/than lead crystal,
not cut or engraved, valued over $5 each.
7013.41.50................. Glassware for table or kitchen purposes (o/
than drinking glasses), of lead crystal,
valued over $5 each.
7013.49.60................. Glassware for table or kitchen purposes (o/
than drinking glasses), nesoi, n/cut or
engraved, valued over $5 each.
7013.91.50................. Glassware for toilet/office/indoor decor. &
similar purposes, of lead crystal, valued
over $5 each.
7019.90.10................. Woven glass fiber articles (other than
fabrics), nesoi.
7019.90.50................. Glass fibers (including glass wool), nesoi,
and articles thereof, nesoi.
7105.90.00................. Natural or synthetic precious (except
diamond) or semiprecious stone dust and
powder.
7403.29.01................. Copper alloys (o/than copper-zinc, copper-
tin alloys), unwrought nesoi.
8305.20.00................. Base metal staples in strips (e.g., for
offices, upholstery, packaging).
8418.10.00................. Combined refrigerator-freezers, fitted with
separate external doors, electric or
other.
8504.90.65................. Printed circuit assemblies of the goods of
subheading 8504.40 or 8504.50 for
telecommunication apparatus.
8504.90.75................. Printed circuit assemblies of electrical
transformers, static converters and
inductors, nesoi.
8515.80.00................. Electric welding apparatus nesoi, and
electric machines and apparatus for hot
spraying metals or sintered metal
carbides.
8526.10.00................. Radar apparatus.
9003.11.00................. Frames and mountings, of plastics, for
spectacles, goggles or the like.
9005.10.00................. Binoculars.
9005.80.40................. Optical telescopes, including monoculars.
9005.80.60................. Monoculars and astronomical instruments
other than binoculars and optical
telescopes but not including instruments
for radio-astronomy.
9010.60.00................. Projection screens.
9012.10.00................. Microscopes other than optical microscopes;
diffraction apparatus.
9015.40.80................. Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and
appliances, other than electrical.
9015.80.20................. Optical surveying, hydrographic,
oceanographic, hydrological,
meteorological or geophysical instruments
and appliances, nesoi.
9027.50.80................. Nonelectrical instruments and apparatus
using optical radiations (ultraviolet,
visible, infrared), nesoi.
9030.40.00................. Instruments and apparatus specially
designed for telecommunications.
9201.20.00................. Grand pianos.
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[[Page 16819]]
[FR Doc. 2021-06625 Filed 3-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F1-P