[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 57503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25057]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Identification of Countries Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 
1974: Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.

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SUMMARY: 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 or deny fair and equitable market access 
to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. Section 
182 is commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions in the 
Trade Act. In addition, USTR is required to determine which of those 
countries should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. On May 1, 
2003, USTR announced the results of the 2003 Special 301 review and 
stated that an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) would be conducted in the fall 
for the Republic of Korea. USTR requests written comments from the 
public concerning the acts, policies, and practices relevant for this 
review under section 182 of the Trade Act.

DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 12 noon on Monday, 
October 27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be sent to Sybia Harrison, Special 
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, at the following e-mail 
address: [email protected], with ``Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review'' in 
the subject line. Please not, only electronic submissions will be 
accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Wu, Director for Intellectual 
Property, (202) 395-6864; or Victoria Espinel, Associate General 
Counsel, (202) 395-7305, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 182 of the Trade Act, 
USTR must identify those countries that deny adequate and effective 
protection for intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable 
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property 
protection. Those countries that have the most onerous or egregious 
acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, policies, or practices 
have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on relevant U.S. 
products may be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, 
policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's designation as 
a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject of an investigation 
under the section 301 provisions of the Trade Act.
    On May 1, 2003, USTR announced the results of the 2003 Special 301 
review, including an announcement that an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) 
would be conducted in the fall for the Republic of Korea. Additional 
countries may also be reviewed as a result of the comments received 
pursuant to this notice, or as warranted by events.
    Requirements for Comments: Comments should include a description of 
the problems experienced and the effect of the acts, policies, and 
practices on U.S. industry. Comments should be as detailed as possible 
and should provide all necessary information for assessing the effect 
of the act, policies, and practice. Any comments that include 
quantitative loss claims should be accompanied by the methodology used 
in calculating such estimated losses.
    Comments must be in English and sent electronically. No submissions 
will be accepted via postal service mail. Documents should be submitted 
as either WordPerfect, MS Word, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting 
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro 
or Excel files. A submitter requesting that information contained in a 
comments be treated as confidential business information must certify 
that information is business confidential and would not customarily be 
released to the public by the submitter. A non-confidential 
information, the file name of the business confidential version should 
begin with the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of the public 
version should begin with the character ``P-''. The ``P'' or ``B'' 
should be followed by the name of the submitter. Submissions should not 
include separate cover letters; information that might appear in a 
cover letter should be included in the submission itself. To the extent 
possible,any attachments to the submission should be included in the 
same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
    All comments should be sent to Sybia Harrison, Special Assistant to 
the section 301 Committee, at the following e-mail address: 
[email protected], with ``Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review'' in the 
subject line. Please note, only electronic submissions will be 
accepted.
    Public Inspection of Submissions: Within one business day of 
receipt, non-confidential submissions will be placed in a public file, 
open for inspection at the USTR reading room, Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, Annex Building, 1724 F Street, NW., Room 
1, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled 
at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling Harry Simpson 
at (202) 395-6186. The USTR reading room is open to the public from 10 
a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Mark Wu,
Director for Intellectual Property.
[FR Doc. 03-25057 Filed 10-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M