Request for Comments on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report, 62421-62423 [2023-19521]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices
I. Background
Authority No. 523 of December 22,
2021.
Nicole L. Elkon,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional
and Cultural Exchanges, Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department
of State.
[FR Doc. 2023–19541 Filed 9–8–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–05–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR–2023–0010]
Request for Comments on Significant
Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2024
National Trade Estimate Report
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR),
through the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC), publishes the
National Trade Estimate Report on
Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report)
each year. USTR invites comments to
assist it and the TPSC in identifying
significant foreign barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. foreign direct investment,
and U.S. electronic commerce for
inclusion in the NTE Report. USTR also
will consider responses to this notice as
part of the annual review of the
operation and effectiveness of all U.S.
trade agreements regarding
telecommunications products and
services that are in force with respect to
the United States.
DATES: October 23, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
ET: Deadline for submission of
comments.
SUMMARY:
USTR strongly prefers
electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov (Regulations.gov).
The instructions for submitting
comments are in sections IV and V
below. The docket number is USTR–
2023–0010. For alternatives to online
submissions, please contact Laura Buffo,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee, at
ForeignTradeBarriersReport@
ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–3475 in
advance of the deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, at
ForeignTradeBarriersReport@
ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–3475.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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ADDRESSES:
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Section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974,
as amended (19 U.S.C. 2241), requires
USTR annually to publish the NTE
Report, which sets out an inventory of
significant foreign barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, including agricultural
commodities and U.S. intellectual
property; foreign direct investment by
U.S. persons, especially if such
investment has implications for trade in
goods or services; and U.S. electronic
commerce. The inventory facilitates
U.S. negotiations aimed at reducing or
eliminating these barriers and is a
valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade
laws and agreements and strengthening
the rules-based trading system. You can
find the 2023 NTE Report on USTR’s
website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/
files/2023-03/
2023%20NTE%20Report.pdf. To ensure
compliance with the statutory mandate
for the NTE Report and the
Administration’s commitment to focus
on significant foreign trade barriers,
USTR will take into account comments
in response to this notice when deciding
which significant barriers to include in
the NTE Report.
II. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks
Information
To assist USTR in preparing the NTE
Report, commenters should submit
information related to one or more of
the following categories of foreign trade
barriers:
1. Import policies. Examples include
tariffs and other import charges;
quantitative restrictions; import
licensing; customs barriers, preshipment inspection, and trade
facilitation or customs valuation
practices; and, other market access
barriers.
2. Technical barriers to trade.
Examples include unnecessarily trade
restrictive or discriminatory standards,
conformity assessment procedures, or
technical regulations, including
unnecessary or discriminatory technical
regulations or standards for
telecommunications products.
3. Sanitary and phytosanitary
measures. Examples include measures
relating to food safety, or animal and
plant life or health that are
unnecessarily trade restrictive,
discriminatory, or not based on
scientific evidence.
4. Government procurement.
Examples include closed bidding and
bidding processes that lack
transparency.
5. Intellectual property protection.
Examples include inadequate patent,
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62421
copyright, and trademark regimes; trade
secret theft; and, inadequate
enforcement of intellectual property
rights.
6. Services. Examples include
prohibitions or restrictions on foreign
participation in the market,
discriminatory licensing requirements
or standards, local-presence
requirements, and unreasonable
restrictions on what services may be
offered.
7. Digital trade. Examples include
restrictions on the supply of internetenabled services, and other restrictive
technology requirements.
8. Investment. Examples include
limitations on foreign equity
participation and on access to foreign
government-funded research and
development programs, technology
transfer requirements and export
performance requirements, and
restrictions on repatriation of earnings,
capital, fees and royalties.
9. Subsidies. Examples include
subsidies contingent upon export
performance, and agricultural export
subsidies that displace U.S. exports in
third country markets.
10. Competition. Examples include
government-tolerated anticompetitive
conduct that restricts the sale or
purchase of U.S. goods or services in the
foreign country’s markets.
11. State-owned enterprises. Examples
include actions by state-owned
enterprises (SOEs) and by governments
with respect to SOEs involved in the
manufacture or production of nonagricultural goods or in the supply of
services that constitute significant
barriers to, or distortions of, U.S.
exports of goods and services, U.S.
investments, or U.S. electronic
commerce, which may negatively affect
U.S. firms and workers. These actions
include subsidies and non-commercial
advantages provided to and from SOEs;
and practices with respect to SOEs that
discriminate against U.S. goods or
services, or actions by SOEs that are
inconsistent with commercial
considerations in the purchase and sale
of goods and services.
12. Labor. Examples include concerns
with failures by a government to protect
internationally recognized worker rights
or to eliminate discrimination in respect
of employment or occupation, in cases
where these failures influence trade
flows or investment decisions in ways
that constitute significant barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. investment, or U.S.
electronic commerce, which may
negatively affect U.S. firms and workers.
Internationally recognized worker rights
include: the right of association; the
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices
right to organize and bargain
collectively; a prohibition on the use of
any form of forced or compulsory labor;
a minimum age for the employment of
children, and a prohibition on the worst
forms of child labor; and, acceptable
conditions of work with respect to
minimum wages, hours of work, and
occupational safety and health.
13. Environment. Examples include
concerns with a government’s levels of
environmental protection, unsustainable
stewardship of natural resources, and
harmful environmental practices that
constitute significant barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. investment, or U.S.
electronic commerce, which may
negatively affect U.S. firms or workers.
14. Other barriers. Examples include
significant barriers or distortions that
are not covered in any other category
above or that encompass more than one
category, such as bribery and
corruption, or that affect a single sector.
Please provide, if available, the titles
of relevant laws or measures and a
description of the concerns with which
the laws or measures relate to the
significant foreign barriers or distortions
identified. Commenters should place
particular emphasis on any practices
that may violate U.S. trade agreements.
USTR also is interested in receiving new
or updated information pertinent to the
barriers covered in the 2023 NTE Report
as well as information on new barriers.
If USTR does not include in the 2024
NTE Report information that it receives
pursuant to this notice, it will maintain
the information for potential use in
future discussions or negotiations with
trading partners.
Commenters should submit
information related to one or more of
the following export markets to be
covered in the report: Algeria, Angola,
the Arab League, Argentina, Australia,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil,
Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile,
China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote
d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, the
European Union, Ghana, Guatemala,
Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea,
Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico,
Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the
Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, South Africa,
Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab
Emirates, the United Kingdom,
Uruguay, and Vietnam. Commenters
may submit information related to
significant barriers or distortions in
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export markets other than those listed in
this paragraph.
In addition, section 1377 of the
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (section
1377) requires USTR annually to review
the operation and effectiveness of U.S.
telecommunications trade agreements
that are in force with respect to the
United States. The purpose of the
review is to determine whether any
foreign government that is a party to one
of those agreements is failing to comply
with that government’s obligations or is
otherwise denying, within the context of
a relevant agreement, ‘‘mutually
advantageous market opportunities’’ to
U.S. telecommunication products or
services suppliers. USTR will consider
responses to this notice in the review
called for in section 1377 and highlight
both ongoing and emerging barriers to
U.S. telecommunication services and
goods exports in the 2024 NTE Report.
III. Estimate of Increase in Exports
To the extent possible, each comment
should include an estimate of the
potential increase in exports of goods or
services of the United States, U.S.
foreign direct investment, or U.S.
electronic commerce that would result
from removing any significant foreign
trade barrier the comment identifies, as
well as a description of the methodology
the commenter used to derive the
estimate. Commenters should express
estimates within the following value
ranges: less than $25 million; $25
million to $100 million; $100 million to
$500 million; and over $500 million.
IV. Requirements for Submissions
To be assured of consideration,
submit your written comments by the
October 23, 2023 11:59 p.m. ET
deadline. All submissions must be in
English. USTR strongly encourages
submissions via Regulations.gov.
To submit via Regulations.gov, use
Docket Number USTR–2023–0010 in the
‘search for’ field 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 by selecting
‘notice’ under ‘document type’ in the
‘refine documents results’ section on the
left side of the screen and click on the
link entitled ‘comment.’ Regulations.gov
allows users to make submissions by
filling in a ‘type comment’ field, or by
attaching a document using the ‘upload
file’ field. USTR prefers that you
provide submissions in an attached
document and note see attached
comments with respect to (name of
country) in the ‘comment’ field on the
online submission form. The first page
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of the submission must identify
‘Comments Regarding Foreign Trade
Barriers to U.S. Exports for 2023
Reporting—[name of country or
countries discussed].’ Commenters
providing information on foreign trade
barriers in more than one country
should provide a separate attachment
for each country as part of the same
submission. USTR strongly encourages
commenters to provide only one
submission. USTR prefers submissions
in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe
Acrobat (.pdf). If you use an application
other than those two, please indicate the
name of the application in the ‘type
comment’ field.
You will receive a tracking number
upon completion of the submission
procedure at Regulations.gov. The
tracking number is confirmation that
Regulations.gov received your
submission. Keep the confirmation for
your records. USTR is not able to
provide technical assistance for
Regulations.gov.
For further information on using
Regulations.gov, please consult the
resources provided on the website by
clicking on ‘How to Use
Regulations.gov’ on the bottom of the
home page. USTR may not consider
submissions that you do not make in
accordance with these instructions.
If you are unable to provide
submissions as requested, please contact
Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, in advance of the
deadline at
ForeignTradeBarriersReport@
ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–3475 to
arrange for an alternative method of
transmission. USTR will not accept
hand-delivered submissions.
General information concerning USTR
is available at https://www.ustr.gov.
V. Business Confidential Information
(BCI) Submissions
If you ask USTR to treat information
you submit as BCI, you must certify that
the information is business confidential
and you would not customarily release
it to the public. For any comments
submitted electronically containing BCI,
the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with
the characters ‘BCI.’ You must clearly
mark any page containing BCI with
‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’ on the top
of that page. Filers of submissions
containing BCI also must submit a
public version that will be placed in the
docket for public inspection. The file
name of the public version should begin
with the character ‘P.’ Follow the ‘BCI’
and ‘P’ with the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 174 / Monday, September 11, 2023 / Notices
VI. Public Viewing of Review
Submissions
USTR will post written submissions
in the docket for public inspection,
except properly designated BCI. You
can view comments on Regulations.gov
by entering Docket Number USTR–
2023–0010 in the search field on the
home page.
Laura Buffo,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee,
Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
BILLING CODE 3390–F3–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Notice of Extension for Product
Exclusions: China’s Acts, Policies, and
Practices Related to Technology
Transfer, Intellectual Property, and
Innovation
Office of the United States
Trade Representative (USTR).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In prior notices, the U.S.
Trade Representative modified the
actions in the section 301 investigation
of China’s acts, policies, and practices
related to technology transfer,
intellectual property, and innovation by
excluding from additional duties certain
products of China, including medicalcare products needed to address COVID.
In December 2022, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined to extend
352 previously reinstated exclusions
through September 30, 2023 and in May
2023 determined to extend 77 COVIDrelated exclusions through September
30, 2023. This notice announces the
U.S. Trade Representative’s
determination to further extend the 352
reinstated exclusions and 77 COVIDrelated exclusions until December 31,
2023.
DATES: The extensions in this notice
extend the 352 reinstated exclusions
and 77 COVID-related exclusions
through December 31, 2023. U.S.
Customs and Border Protection will
issue instructions on entry guidance and
implementation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general questions about this notice,
contact Associate General Counsel
Philip Butler or Assistant General
Counsel Edward Marcus at (202) 395–
5725. For specific questions on customs
classification or implementation of the
product exclusions, contact
traderemedy@cbp.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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A. Background
COVID-Related Exclusions
In the course of this investigation, the
U.S. Trade Representative has imposed
additional duties on products of China
in four tranches. See 83 FR 28719 (June
20, 2018); 83 FR 40823 (August 16,
2018); 83 FR 47974 (September 21,
2018), as modified by 83 FR 49153
(September 28, 2018); and 84 FR 43304
(August 20, 2019), as modified by 84 FR
69447 (December 18, 2019) and 85 FR
3741 (January 22, 2020).
On March 25, 2020, USTR requested
public comments on proposed
modifications to exclude from
additional duties certain medical-care
products related to the U.S. response to
COVID. 85 FR 16987 (March 25, 2020).
On December 29, 2020, USTR
announced 99 product exclusions for
medical-care products and products
related to the U.S. COVID response.
These 99 exclusions were later extended
until September 30, 2021. See 86 FR
13785. On August 27, 2021, USTR
published a notice requesting public
comments on whether any of these
exclusions should be further extended
for up to six months. See 86 FR 48280.
On November 16, 2021, USTR
announced the U.S. Trade
Representative’s determination to
extend 81 of these exclusions for an
additional six months. See 86 FR 63438
(November 16, 2021). These 81
exclusions were subsequently extended
through February 28, 2023. See 87 FR
33871 (June 03, 2022); 87 FR 73383
(November 29, 2022).
On February 7, 2023, USTR published
a notice requesting public comments on
whether to further extend any of the
COVID-related exclusions for up to six
months. See 87 FR 8027 (February 7,
2023).
On May 17, 2023, based on evaluation
of the public comments, the factors set
out in the February 7 notice, and to
allow the U.S. Trade Representative to
consider and align, as appropriate, the
exclusions with the results of the
statutory 4-year review, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined to extend 77
of the COVID-related exclusions through
September 30, 2023. See 88 FR 31580
(May 17, 2023).
Reinstated Exclusions
[FR Doc. 2023–19521 Filed 9–8–23; 8:45 am]
62423
For each tranche of additional duties,
the U.S. Trade Representative
established a process by which U.S.
stakeholders could request the
exclusion of particular products subject
to the action. Starting in November
2019, the U.S. Trade Representative
established processes for submitting
public comments on whether to extend
particular exclusions. See, e.g., 85 FR
6687 (February 5, 2019) and 85 FR
38482 (June 26, 2020). Pursuant to these
processes, the U.S. Trade Representative
determined to extend 549 exclusions.
With the exception of certain exclusions
related to the U.S. response to COVID,
all of these 549 exclusions expired.
On October 8, 2021, the U.S. Trade
Representative invited the public to
submit comments on whether to
reinstate certain exclusions previously
granted and extended. 86 FR 56345
(October 8, 2021) (the October 8 notice).
On March 28, 2022, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined to further
modify the action by reinstating 352 of
the 549 expired exclusions. The
reinstated exclusions applied as of
October 12, 2021, and extended through
December 31, 2022. See 87 FR 17380
(March 28, 2022).
In accordance with section 307(c)(3)
of the Trade Act of 1974, on September
8, 2022, USTR announced that it would
be conducting a review of the July 6,
2018 and August 23, 2018 actions, as
modified. See 87 FR 26797 (May 5,
2022); 87 FR 55073 (September 8, 2022).
On December 21, 2022, based on
continued consideration of the factors
and criteria set forth in the October 8
notice, and in light of the ongoing
statutory four-year review, the U.S.
Trade Representative determined to
extend the 352 reinstated exclusions
through September 30, 2023 to allow the
U.S. Trade Representative to consider
and align, as appropriate, the reinstated
exclusions with the results of the
statutory four-year review. See 87 FR
78187 (December 21, 2022) (December
21 notice).
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B. Determination To Further Extend
Reinstated and COVID-Related
Exclusions
To provide a transition period for the
expiring exclusions and to allow for
further consideration under the fouryear review, and pursuant to sections
301(b), 301(c), and 307(a) of the Trade
Act of 1974, as amended, the U.S. Trade
Representative has determined that it is
appropriate to further extend the 352
reinstated exclusions and the 77 COVIDrelated exclusions, as set out in the
Annex A and Annex B to this notice,
until December 31, 2023.
The exclusion extensions are
available for any product that meets the
description in the product exclusion.
Further, the scope of each exclusion and
modification is governed by the scope of
the ten-digit Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62421-62423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19521]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2023-0010]
Request for Comments on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for
the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR),
through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), publishes the National
Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report) each year.
USTR invites comments to assist it and the TPSC in identifying
significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of
goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic
commerce for inclusion in the NTE Report. USTR also will consider
responses to this notice as part of the annual review of the operation
and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements regarding
telecommunications products and services that are in force with respect
to the United States.
DATES: October 23, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline for submission of
comments.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov
(Regulations.gov). The instructions for submitting comments are in
sections IV and V below. The docket number is USTR-2023-0010. For
alternatives to online submissions, please contact Laura Buffo, Chair
of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, at
[email protected] or (202) 395-3475 in advance of
the deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, at [email protected] or (202)
395-3475.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2241),
requires USTR annually to publish the NTE Report, which sets out an
inventory of significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S.
exports of goods and services, including agricultural commodities and
U.S. intellectual property; foreign direct investment by U.S. persons,
especially if such investment has implications for trade in goods or
services; and U.S. electronic commerce. The inventory facilitates U.S.
negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers and is a
valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and agreements and
strengthening the rules-based trading system. You can find the 2023 NTE
Report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/2023%20NTE%20Report.pdf. To ensure compliance with the statutory
mandate for the NTE Report and the Administration's commitment to focus
on significant foreign trade barriers, USTR will take into account
comments in response to this notice when deciding which significant
barriers to include in the NTE Report.
II. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information
To assist USTR in preparing the NTE Report, commenters should
submit information related to one or more of the following categories
of foreign trade barriers:
1. Import policies. Examples include tariffs and other import
charges; quantitative restrictions; import licensing; customs barriers,
pre-shipment inspection, and trade facilitation or customs valuation
practices; and, other market access barriers.
2. Technical barriers to trade. Examples include unnecessarily
trade restrictive or discriminatory standards, conformity assessment
procedures, or technical regulations, including unnecessary or
discriminatory technical regulations or standards for
telecommunications products.
3. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Examples include measures
relating to food safety, or animal and plant life or health that are
unnecessarily trade restrictive, discriminatory, or not based on
scientific evidence.
4. Government procurement. Examples include closed bidding and
bidding processes that lack transparency.
5. Intellectual property protection. Examples include inadequate
patent, copyright, and trademark regimes; trade secret theft; and,
inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights.
6. Services. Examples include prohibitions or restrictions on
foreign participation in the market, discriminatory licensing
requirements or standards, local-presence requirements, and
unreasonable restrictions on what services may be offered.
7. Digital trade. Examples include restrictions on the supply of
internet-enabled services, and other restrictive technology
requirements.
8. Investment. Examples include limitations on foreign equity
participation and on access to foreign government-funded research and
development programs, technology transfer requirements and export
performance requirements, and restrictions on repatriation of earnings,
capital, fees and royalties.
9. Subsidies. Examples include subsidies contingent upon export
performance, and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S.
exports in third country markets.
10. Competition. Examples include government-tolerated
anticompetitive conduct that restricts the sale or purchase of U.S.
goods or services in the foreign country's markets.
11. State-owned enterprises. Examples include actions by state-
owned enterprises (SOEs) and by governments with respect to SOEs
involved in the manufacture or production of non-agricultural goods or
in the supply of services that constitute significant barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. investments,
or U.S. electronic commerce, which may negatively affect U.S. firms and
workers. These actions include subsidies and non-commercial advantages
provided to and from SOEs; and practices with respect to SOEs that
discriminate against U.S. goods or services, or actions by SOEs that
are inconsistent with commercial considerations in the purchase and
sale of goods and services.
12. Labor. Examples include concerns with failures by a government
to protect internationally recognized worker rights or to eliminate
discrimination in respect of employment or occupation, in cases where
these failures influence trade flows or investment decisions in ways
that constitute significant barriers to, or distortions of, U.S.
exports of goods and services, U.S. investment, or U.S. electronic
commerce, which may negatively affect U.S. firms and workers.
Internationally recognized worker rights include: the right of
association; the
[[Page 62422]]
right to organize and bargain collectively; a prohibition on the use of
any form of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age for the
employment of children, and a prohibition on the worst forms of child
labor; and, acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum
wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
13. Environment. Examples include concerns with a government's
levels of environmental protection, unsustainable stewardship of
natural resources, and harmful environmental practices that constitute
significant barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. investment, or U.S. electronic commerce, which may
negatively affect U.S. firms or workers.
14. Other barriers. Examples include significant barriers or
distortions that are not covered in any other category above or that
encompass more than one category, such as bribery and corruption, or
that affect a single sector.
Please provide, if available, the titles of relevant laws or
measures and a description of the concerns with which the laws or
measures relate to the significant foreign barriers or distortions
identified. Commenters should place particular emphasis on any
practices that may violate U.S. trade agreements. USTR also is
interested in receiving new or updated information pertinent to the
barriers covered in the 2023 NTE Report as well as information on new
barriers. If USTR does not include in the 2024 NTE Report information
that it receives pursuant to this notice, it will maintain the
information for potential use in future discussions or negotiations
with trading partners.
Commenters should submit information related to one or more of the
following export markets to be covered in the report: Algeria, Angola,
the Arab League, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia,
Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,
Ethiopia, the European Union, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Laos,
Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway,
Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom,
Uruguay, and Vietnam. Commenters may submit information related to
significant barriers or distortions in export markets other than those
listed in this paragraph.
In addition, section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (section 1377) requires USTR annually to
review the operation and effectiveness of U.S. telecommunications trade
agreements that are in force with respect to the United States. The
purpose of the review is to determine whether any foreign government
that is a party to one of those agreements is failing to comply with
that government's obligations or is otherwise denying, within the
context of a relevant agreement, ``mutually advantageous market
opportunities'' to U.S. telecommunication products or services
suppliers. USTR will consider responses to this notice in the review
called for in section 1377 and highlight both ongoing and emerging
barriers to U.S. telecommunication services and goods exports in the
2024 NTE Report.
III. Estimate of Increase in Exports
To the extent possible, each comment should include an estimate of
the potential increase in exports of goods or services of the United
States, U.S. foreign direct investment, or U.S. electronic commerce
that would result from removing any significant foreign trade barrier
the comment identifies, as well as a description of the methodology the
commenter used to derive the estimate. Commenters should express
estimates within the following value ranges: less than $25 million; $25
million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; and over $500
million.
IV. Requirements for Submissions
To be assured of consideration, submit your written comments by the
October 23, 2023 11:59 p.m. ET deadline. All submissions must be in
English. USTR strongly encourages submissions via Regulations.gov.
To submit via Regulations.gov, use Docket Number USTR-2023-0010 in
the `search for' field 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 by selecting `notice'
under `document type' in the `refine documents results' section on the
left side of the screen and click on the link entitled `comment.'
Regulations.gov allows users to make submissions by filling in a `type
comment' field, or by attaching a document using the `upload file'
field. USTR prefers that you provide submissions in an attached
document and note see attached comments with respect to (name of
country) in the `comment' field on the online submission form. The
first page of the submission must identify `Comments Regarding Foreign
Trade Barriers to U.S. Exports for 2023 Reporting--[name of country or
countries discussed].' Commenters providing information on foreign
trade barriers in more than one country should provide a separate
attachment for each country as part of the same submission. USTR
strongly encourages commenters to provide only one submission. USTR
prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf).
If you use an application other than those two, please indicate the
name of the application in the `type comment' field.
You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the
submission procedure at Regulations.gov. The tracking number is
confirmation that Regulations.gov received your submission. Keep the
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical
assistance for Regulations.gov.
For further information on using Regulations.gov, please consult
the resources provided on the website by clicking on `How to Use
Regulations.gov' on the bottom of the home page. USTR may not consider
submissions that you do not make in accordance with these instructions.
If you are unable to provide submissions as requested, please
contact Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, in
advance of the deadline at [email protected] or
(202) 395-3475 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
General information concerning USTR is available at https://www.ustr.gov.
V. Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions
If you ask USTR to treat information you submit as BCI, you must
certify that the information is business confidential and you would not
customarily release it to the public. For any comments submitted
electronically containing BCI, the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI.' You must
clearly mark any page containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' on
the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must
submit a public version that will be placed in the docket for public
inspection. The file name of the public version should begin with the
character `P.' Follow the `BCI' and `P' with the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments.
[[Page 62423]]
VI. Public Viewing of Review Submissions
USTR will post written submissions in the docket for public
inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view comments on
Regulations.gov by entering Docket Number USTR-2023-0010 in the search
field on the home page.
Laura Buffo,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023-19521 Filed 9-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F3-P
