Executive Office of the President – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (`Section 1377'), the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is reviewing and requests comments on the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with the following agreements regarding telecommunications products and services of the United States: the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') General Agreement on Trade in Services; the North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''); U.S. free trade agreements (``FTAs'') with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Morocco, Oman, Peru, and Singapore; and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR''). The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2011.

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242) requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. (The provisions of Section 182 are commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions of the Trade Act.) The USTR is required to determine which, if any, of these countries should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' under Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority Watch List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market access for persons relying on intellectual property. Countries placed on the Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral attention concerning the problem areas. In the 2010 Special 301 Report (https://www.ustr.gov), USTR announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific IPR issues, Out-of-Cycle Reviews would be conducted for the Philippines and Thailand. USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning any act, policy, or practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether the Philippines and Thailand should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) invites the general public and Federal agencies to comment on the renewal of the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. Although OMB proposes no changes to the SF-LLL as part of this notice, we are seeking public comments on whether changes are warranted. We are particularly interested in comments on whether the information collected in the forms could be more consistent with other similar governmentwide information collections or whether additional information should be collected to further the aims of government transparency.