[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 203 (Monday, October 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 62255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24878]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Notice of Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's International Trade 
Administration (ITA) is seeking U.S. companies and industry 
associations in the field of Information and Communication Technologies 
(ICT) who are interested in the Vietnam's business climate for U.S. 
products or services and how policy issues may have an impact on trade 
and investment in this sector. In 2007, the ITA launched the U.S.-
Vietnam ICT Commercial Dialogue with the Ministry of Information and 
Communications (MIC) in Vietnam to discuss various ICT issues that have 
an impact on trade between our two countries. The U.S. and Vietnamese 
companies that participated in the meeting made several recommendations 
for future areas of cooperation. To continue facilitating input from 
the private sector, ITA and MIC agreed to create a Business Advisory 
Group under the Dialogue and encourage wide participation from both 
countries. The main objectives of the Business Advisory Group are to 
identify areas of mutual concern to be potentially addressed by the 
Working Group of the U.S.-Vietnam ICT Commercial Dialogue, and to 
coordinate activities that could be considered deliverables for the 
Dialogue. Examples of issues that have been covered so far include 
advancement of telecom infrastructure, protection of intellectual 
property rights for software, and supporting electronic commerce by 
developing legal frameworks for data privacy.

DATES: November 12-13, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Inquiries about participation in the Business Advisory Group 
should be addressed to the contact below, and received by close of 
business on Monday, November 10, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cora Dickson, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 4327, Washington, DC 20230; Telephone: 
202-482-6083; Fax: 202-482-5834; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Business Advisory Group is expected to 
have participants from U.S. and Vietnamese companies or associations 
and generally be responsible for developing their own internal 
communication and consultation mechanisms, including informal meetings. 
Participation in the Business Advisory Group should be open to any ICT 
companies and industry associations who wish to contribute to the 
Dialogue. However, due to space constraints, only two representatives 
per company and/or organization can attend the upcoming Business 
Advisory Group meeting, which will be hosted at the Department of 
Commerce in Washington on November 12 in preparation for the U.S.-
Vietnam ICT Commercial Dialogue Working Group meeting on November 13.

    Dated: October 14, 2008.
Robin Layton,
Director, Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce.
 [FR Doc. E8-24878 Filed 10-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P