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

As part of a comprehensive review of agency practices related to the disclosure of records and information, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is updating both its systems of records and implementing rule under the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act). This notice concerns updates to USTR's Privacy Act system of records notices (SORNs). Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, USTR is publishing a proposed rule that would update the agency's Privacy Act regulation. The rule describes how individuals can find out if a USTR system of records contains information about them and, if so, how to access or amend a record.

This rule amends the Office of the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The final rule is a comprehensive update of the prior USTR implementing rule and describes in plain language how to make a FOIA request to USTR and how the FOIA Office processes requests for records. The FOIA rule appears in subpart B to part 2004.

This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider designation of Argentina as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP program, and the schedule for public comments and a public hearing relating to whether Argentina meets the criteria for designation.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that the United States has requested the establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement). That request may be found at www.wto.org in a document designated as WT/DS508/6. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), invites written comments from the public on the interim environmental review of the proposed WTO Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA). The interim environmental review will be available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ environment/environmental-reviews.

As part of a comprehensive review of agency practices related to the disclosure of records and information, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is updating its implementing rule under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The proposed rule, which is modeled after a template provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, describes how to make a FOIA request to USTR and how the FOIA Office, which includes the USTR officials who are authorized to work on FOIA requests, processes requests for records. We are in the process of renaming and reorganizing part 2004 to include all of the rules governing disclosure of USTR records and information, and with this proposed rule, we are moving the FOIA rule into a new subpart B to part 2004.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requests written comments identifying Internet and physical markets based outside the United States that should be included in the 2016 Notorious Markets List (List). In 2010, USTR began publishing the Notorious Markets List separately from the annual Special 301 Report as an ``Out-of-Cycle Review.'' The List identifies online and physical marketplaces that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

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 commitments as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On September 21, 2015, the WTO Committee on Government Procurement approved the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The United States, which also is a party to the GPA, has agreed to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements for eligible products and suppliers of the Republic of Moldova beginning on July 14, 2016

This notice announces the results of the 2015/2016 Annual GSP Review with respect to: Products considered for addition to the list of eligible products for GSP; products considered for removal from the list of eligible products for certain beneficiary countries; decisions related to competitive need limitations (CNLs), including petitions for waivers of CNLs; and requests for redesignations of products previously excluded from GSP eligibility for certain countries.

This notice announces the initiation of the annual review of the eligibility of the sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (Subcommittee) is developing recommendations for the President on AGOA country eligibility for calendar year 2017. The Subcommittee is requesting written public comments for this review and will conduct a public hearing on this matter. The Subcommittee will consider the written comments, written testimony, and oral testimony in developing recommendations for the President. Comments received related to the child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor in the preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor as required under section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974. This notice identifies the eligibility criteria under AGOA that must be considered under AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan African countries that are currently eligible for the benefits of AGOA and those that were ineligible for such benefits in 2016.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of country-by-country allocations of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2017) in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, certain sugars, syrups and molasses (also known as refined sugar), specialty sugar, and sugar-containing products.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published an interim final rule establishing a petition process to review the eligibility of countries for the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on March 18, 2016. USTR publishes this final rule to adopt and implement the interim final rule without change.

This notice announces the initiation of a review of the eligibility of Nepal to receive preferential treatment for the articles described in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The South Asia Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee is developing recommendations for the President on Nepal's eligibility. The Subcommittee is requesting written comments from the public for this review. The Subcommittee will consider the written comments in developing its recommendations for the President. This notice identifies the eligibility criteria that the President must consider in determining whether to provide preferential treatment to certain articles from Nepal.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of country-by-country reallocations of the fiscal year (FY) 2016 in-quota quantity of the World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for imported raw cane sugar.

This notice announces the availability of full 2015 calendar year import statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will accept public comments submitted by April 1, 2016, regarding: (1) Possible de minimis CNL waivers; and (2) possible redesignations of articles currently not eligible for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNL thresholds. This notice also announces the withdrawal by the petitioners of certain previously accepted CNL waiver petitions.

For the purpose of U.S. Government procurement that is covered by Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the effective date of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement, done on March 30, 2012 at Geneva, World Trade Organization, for the Republic of Korea is January 14, 2016.

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) requires the United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) 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 Trade Act requires the Trade Representative to determine which, if any, of these countries to identify as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's identification as a Priority Foreign Country can be subject to the procedures set out in sections 301-305 of the Trade Act. In addition, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' to assist the Administration in pursuing the goals of the Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority Watch List of Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement or market access for persons that rely on intellectual property protection. Trading partners placed on the Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral attention concerning the problem areas. USTR chairs the Special 301 Subcommittee (Subcommittee) of the Trade Policy Staff Committee. The Subcommittee reviews information from many sources, and consults with and makes recommendations to the Trade Representative on issues arising under Special 301. Written submissions from the public are a key source of information for the Special 301 review process. In 2015, USTR again will conduct a public hearing as part of the review process as well as offer the opportunity, as described below, for hearing participants to provide additional information relevant to the review. At the conclusion of the process, USTR will publish the results of the review in a ``Special 301'' Report. USTR is hereby requesting written submissions from the public concerning foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. USTR requests that interested persons provide the information described below in the ``Public Comments'' section, and identify whether a particular trading partner should be named as a Priority Foreign Country under Section 182 of the Trade Act or placed on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. Foreign governments that have been identified in previous Special 301 Reports or that are nominated for review in 2016 are considered interested parties, and are invited to respond to this request for public submissions. Interested persons and foreign governments wishing to submit information to be considered during the review or testify at the public hearing must adhere to the procedures and deadlines stet forth below.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an environmental review of the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA), a plurilateral trade agreement currently being negotiated among 17 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the United States. The TPSC invites written comments from the public on the topics that should be included in the scope of the EGA environmental review, including potential positive or negative environmental effects that might result from the trade agreement. The TPSC also welcomes public views on appropriate methodologies and sources of data for conducting the review.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), with the participation of other U.S. Government agencies, will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist in the preparation of its report to Congress on policy levers for deepening the U.S.- Africa trade and investment relationship.

The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) announces that it has accepted for review a country practices petition regarding worker rights in Thailand submitted as part of the GSP Annual Review. This notice sets forth the schedule for public comments and a public hearing on the newly accepted petition on Thailand, as well as the ongoing GSP country practice reviews regarding Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Iraq, Niger, and Uzbekistan. This notice also announces the closure of the country practices review of worker rights in the Philippines without change to that country's GSP trade benefits.

This notice is to inform the public of the availability of import statistics for the first nine months of 2015 relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. These import statistics identify some articles for which the 2015 trade levels may exceed statutory CNLs. Interested parties may find this information useful in deciding whether to submit a petition to waive the CNLs for individual beneficiary developing countries (BDCs) with respect to specific GSP-eligible articles. This notice also extends the deadline for submission of petitions to waive CNLs for individual BDCs with respect to GSP- eligible articles to 5 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2015.

This notice announces the results of the GSP Limited Product Review launched in July 2015, including: (1) The designation of certain cotton products as eligible for GSP benefits when imported from least- developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs), and (2) the results of the review of CNL-related issues arising from 2014 import data, including CNL waivers, CNL waiver revocations, requests for redesignation of certain products, and de minimis CNL waivers.

This notice announces a review of products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program that based on full-year 2014 import data, are subject to certain actions related to competitive need limitations (CNLs). The review will also consider the proposed designation for GSP eligibility of five cotton products from least developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs). The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will accept petitions by interested parties seeking waivers of CNLs for certain products submitted by July 31, 2015. USTR will also accept comments from the public submitted by July 31, 2015, regarding: (1) Possible de minimis CNL waivers, (2) possible redesignations of articles not currently eligible for GSP benefits, (3) possible revocation of CNL waivers, and (4) the proposed designation for GSP eligibility for LDBDCs of the five cotton products. This notice also sets forth the schedule for submitting comments and for a public hearing on prospective CNL waiver petitions and the proposed designation of the cotton products.

For the purpose of U.S. Government procurement that is covered by Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the effective date of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement, done at Geneva on 30 March 2012, World Trade Organization (WTO), for Armenia is June 6, 2015.