Office of the United States Trade Representative December 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) plan to establish a new four-year charter term for the Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) beginning in February 2022. As part of the re-chartering process, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary are proposing changes to the current slate of ITACs and invite interested parties to submit their view on these changes.

Each year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts a review to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property (IP) rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on IP protection. Based on this review, the U.S. Trade Representative determines which, if any, of these countries to identify as Priority Foreign Countries. USTR requests written comments that identify acts, policies, or practices that may form the basis of a country's identification as a Priority Foreign Country or placement on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.

On October 8, 2021, India joined the United States and 134 other jurisdictions participating in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in reaching a political agreement on a two-pillar solution to address tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the world economy. As part of Pillar 1, all parties agreed to remove existing Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) and other relevant similar measures, and to coordinate the withdrawal of these taxes. On November 24, 2021, India and the United States issued statements describing a transitional approach to India's DST prior to entry into force of Pillar 1. These statements reflect a political agreement that, in defined circumstances, the DST liability that U.S. companies accrue in India during the interim period will be creditable against future taxes accrued under Pillar 1 of the OECD agreement. Based on the commitment of India to remove its DST pursuant to Pillar 1 and on India's political agreement to this transitional approach prior to Pillar 1's entry into force, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to terminate the section 301 action taken in the investigation of India's DST. In coordination with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), USTR will monitor implementation of the removal of India's DST as provided for under Pillar 1 and the transitional approach agreed to by India.