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

The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites written comments to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Due to COVID- 19, the TPSC will foster public participation via written questions and responses relating to the comments received by the TPSC rather than an in-person hearing. This notice includes the schedule for submission of comments, questions and responses.

Effective July 1, 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) implemented certain changes to statistical reporting categories in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). To conform with these changes, this notice makes a technical amendment to a product exclusion in this Section 301 investigation.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of country-by-country reallocations of the fiscal year (FY) 2021 in-quota quantity of the World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for imported raw cane sugar.

The U.S. Trade Representative has to submit a report to Congress regarding the operation of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) no later than December 31, 2021. The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites comments concerning the operation of the CBI, including the performance of each beneficiary country, to assist in preparing the report to Congress on the operation of the CBI.

The Parties to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) intend to hold the first meeting of the Labor Council virtually, on June 29, 2021. The session will include a government-to- government Labor Council meeting and a virtual public session on implementation of the USMCA labor chapter. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) seek suggestions for topics to be discussed during the Labor Council meeting and questions from the public in advance of the public session.

On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative announced a determination that the United Kingdom's Digital Services Tax (DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to take action in the form of additional duties of 25 percent on the products of the United Kingdom specified in Annex A to this notice. The U.S. Trade Representative has further determined to suspend application of the additional duties for a period of up to 180 days.

On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative announced a determination that Italy's Digital Services Tax (DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to take action in the form of additional duties of 25 percent on the products of Italy specified in Annex A to this notice. The U.S. Trade Representative has further determined to suspend application of the additional duties for a period of up to 180 days.

On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative announced a determination that Austria's Digital Services Tax (DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to take action in the form of additional duties of 25 percent on the products of Austria specified in Annex A to this notice. The U.S. Trade Representative has further determined to suspend application of the additional duties for a period of up to 180 days.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing 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 (AGOA Subcommittee) is developing recommendations for the President on AGOA country eligibility for calendar year 2022 and requests comments for this review. Due to COVID-19, the AGOA Subcommittee will foster public participation via written submissions rather than an in-person hearing. This notice includes the schedule for submission of comments and responses to questions from the AGOA Subcommittee related to this review.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined not to list any countries as denying fair market opportunities for U.S. products, suppliers, or bidders in foreign government-funded airport construction projects.

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 India's Digital Services Tax (DST). USTR also will convene virtual public hearings and accept rebuttal comments in relation to the potential action.

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.

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.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined to modify the action being taken in the investigation by suspending the additional tariffs on goods of the European Union for a period of four months. The suspension is in accord with a joint U.S.-EU statement that promotes a resolution of the large civil aircraft dispute.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined to modify the action being taken in the investigation by suspending the additional tariffs on goods of the United Kingdom for a period of four months. The suspension is in accord with a joint U.S.-UK statement that promotes a resolution of the large civil aircraft dispute.

The U.S. Trade Representative together with the affected United States industry have agreed that it is unnecessary at this time to revise the action in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of U.S. rights in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute involving Large Civil Aircraft subsidies provided by certain current or former member States of the European Union. The U.S. Trade Representative will continue to consider the action taken in the investigation.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined that Vietnam's acts, policies, and practices related to currency valuation, including excessive foreign exchange market interventions and other related actions, taken in their totality, are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, and thus actionable under Section 301.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined that Austria's Digital Services Tax (DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and thus is actionable under Section 301.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined to modify the action being taken in this investigation by suspending, until further notice, the additional duties on products of France scheduled to take effect on January 6, 2021.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined that Italy's Digital Services Tax (DST) is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and thus is actionable under Section 301.

The U.S. Trade Representative has determined to revise the action being taken in this Section 301 investigation to mirror the approach taken by the European Union (EU) in exercising its World Trade Organization (WTO) authorization in the Boeing dispute. In implementing this approach, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to revise the action by adding certain products of certain EU member States to the list of products subject to additional duties.

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.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will convene a virtual public hearing and accept rebuttal comments in the Section 301 investigation concerning Vietnam's acts, policies, and practices related to the import and use of illegally harvested or traded timber.

Effective August 23, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative imposed additional duties on goods of China with an annual trade value of approximately $16 billion as part of the action in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The U.S. Trade Representative's determination included a decision to establish a product exclusion process. The U.S. Trade Representative initiated the exclusion process in September 2018, and stakeholders have submitted requests for the exclusion of specific products. The first set of exclusions was published in July 2019 and expired in July 2020. On April 30, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative established a process for the public to comment on whether to extend particular exclusions granted in July 2019 for up to 12 months. In July 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative determined to extend certain exclusions through December 31, 2020. This notice announces the U.S. Trade Representative's determination to make one technical amendment to a previously extended exclusion.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing the results of the 2020 Annual GSP Review with respect to: Products considered for the addition to, and removal from, the list of eligible products for certain beneficiary countries; and decisions related to competitive need limitations (CNLs), including petitions for waivers of CNLs.