[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5804-5806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2260]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Inv. No. 332-509; Inv. No. 332-510]


Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export 
Activities, and Barriers and Opportunities Experienced by U.S. Firms 
and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Characteristics and Performance

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of time and place of additional public hearings in St. 
Louis, MO, and Portland, OR, and reaffirming of time and place of 
Washington, DC hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Commission will hold a public hearing on these 
investigations in St. Louis, MO, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 10, 
2010 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, and in Portland, OR, 
beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 12, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Portland 
Airport. As previously announced, the Commission will also hold a 
public hearing on these investigations in Courtroom A at the U.S. 
International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, 
DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 (and continuing 
on February 10, 2010, if needed).

ADDRESSES: All written correspondence should be addressed to the 
Secretary, United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record for these investigations 
may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leaders Justino De La Cruz 
(202-205-3252 or [email protected]) or Laura Bloodgood (202-
708-4726 or [email protected]) for information specific to 
these investigations. For information on the legal aspects of these 
investigations, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of 
the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [email protected]). The 
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations 
(202-205-1819 or [email protected]). Hearing-impaired 
individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.
    Background Information: The hearings relate to the second and third 
of a series of three investigations that the Commission is conducting 
under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)) at 
the request of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The 
Commission received the request for the investigations on October 6, 
2009. The Commission delivered its report to the USTR on the first 
investigation, No. 332-508, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: 
Overview of Participation in U.S. Exports, on January 12, 2010, and it 
is available to the public at www.usitc.gov. The Commission is 
scheduled to deliver its reports to the USTR on the second and third 
investigations, investigation No. 332-509, Small and Medium-Sized 
Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export Activities, and Barriers and 
Opportunities Experienced by U.S. Firms, and investigation No. 332-510, 
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Characteristics and Performance, by 
July 6, 2010, and October 6, 2010, respectively. Notices announcing 
institution of the three investigations were published in the Federal 
Registers of October 28, 2009 (74 FR 55581); December 1, 2009 (74 FR 
62812); and December 11, 2009 (74 F.R. 65787). The second and third 
notices also announced the Washington, DC hearing and the intent to 
hold additional hearings in St. Louis, MO and Portland, OR.
    Public Hearings: The times and places of the three hearings and 
deadlines for filing requests to appear and any pre- or post-hearing 
briefs or statements or summaries of testimony are as follows:

Washington, DC:

    The hearing will be held in Courtroom A at the U.S. International 
Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC, beginning 
at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 (and continuing on February 
10, 2010, if needed).

January 26, 2010: Deadline for filing requests to appear.
January 28, 2010: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, 
or summaries of testimony.
February 9, 2010: Public hearing (Washington, DC).
February 10, 2010: Public hearing, second day if needed.
February 23, 2010: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs or 
statements.

St. Louis, MO:

    The hearing will be held at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, 
One South Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102, beginning at 9:30 a.m. local 
time on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

February 24, 2010: Deadline for filing requests to appear.
February 26, 2010: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, 
or summaries of testimony.
March 10, 2010: Public hearing (St. Louis, MO).
March 26, 2010: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs or statements.

Portland, OR:

    The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland Airport, 8439 
NE Columbia Boulevard, Portland, OR 97220, beginning at 9:30 a.m. local 
time on Friday, March 12, 2010.

February 26, 2010: Deadline for filing requests to appear.
March 2, 2010: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, or 
summaries of testimony.
March 12, 2010: Public hearing (Portland, OR).
March 26, 2010: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs or statements.

    The above hearings will be open to the public. Accordingly, persons 
testifying should not include confidential business information in 
their testimony. Any person desiring to submit confidential business 
information to the Commission in these investigations should do so in 
writing in accordance with the procedures set out in the ``Written 
Submissions'' section below.
    To assist the Commission in the preparation of the two reports, the 
Commission is particularly interested in obtaining information and 
views on the following:
     The most significant constraints that U.S. SMEs face in 
their efforts to export.
     The strategies that SMEs have adopted to address or 
overcome those constraints.
     The benefits to SMEs of increased export opportunities 
from free trade agreements or other trading arrangements.
     The U.S. free trade agreements or other trading 
arrangements that have been most beneficial to SMEs that export.
     The characteristics of SMEs that export services.
     How exporting affects SME business performance.
     The extent to which U.S. SMEs have global operations.
     How SMEs based in the United States differ in their 
exporting activities from SMEs based in the European Union and other 
leading economies.
    In the event that as of the close of business on the deadline for 
filing requests to appear no witnesses have filed requests to appear at 
a hearing, that hearing will be canceled. Any person interested in 
attending a hearing as an observer or non-participant may call the 
Office of the Secretary (202-205-2000) after the deadline for filing 
requests to appear for information concerning whether that hearing will 
be held.
    Notice of Appearance: Written requests to appear at the Commission 
hearings must be filed with the Secretary to the Commission in 
Washington, DC by 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time of the filing deadline for the 
hearing at which the person wishes to appear. The request, which may be 
in

[[Page 5806]]

the form of a letter and which should be on company or other 
appropriate stationery, should identify the hearing at which the person 
wishes to appear, the investigation to which their testimony pertains 
(it could be both investigations), their name, title, and company or 
other organizational affiliation (if any), address, telephone number, 
e-mail address, and industry or main line of business of the company if 
any they are representing. Requests to appear must be made by post mail 
or delivered in person (see ``ADDRESSES''). The Commission will also 
accept requests to appear filed by e-mail to [email protected], or 
through Laura Bloodgood at [email protected]. The Commission 
does not accept requests filed by fax.
    Pre- and Post-Hearing Briefs And Statements, Summaries: 
Participants are encouraged to provide a pre-hearing brief or statement 
or, in lieu thereof, may provide a one-page summary of the testimony 
they plan to present. Such summaries will be placed in the public 
record and therefore should not include any confidential business 
information. Any confidential business information included in a pre-
hearing brief or statement should be submitted in accordance with the 
procedures set forth below under ``Written Submissions.'' Post-hearing 
briefs and statements would generally be for the purpose of responding 
to matters raised at the hearing, including questions asked by the 
Commissioners or testimony presented by other interested parties.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to participating in 
the hearing, interested parties are invited to file written submissions 
concerning these investigations. All written submissions should be 
addressed to the Secretary to the Commission, and all such submissions 
(other than pre- and post-hearing statements) should be received not 
later than 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time, March 26, 2010. One signed original 
(or a copy so designated) and fourteen (14) copies of each document 
must be filed. In the event that confidential treatment of a document 
is requested, at least four (4) additional copies must be filed, in 
which the confidential information must be deleted (see below for 
further information regarding confidential business information). 
Written submissions may be filed by post mail or delivered in person 
(see ADDRESSES), or filed using the Commission's electronic filing 
procedure described below.
    To use the Commission's electronic filing procedure, filers must 
first be registered users of the Commission's Electronic Document 
Information System (EDIS), accessible from the USITC Web site (http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm). The Commission's rules for 
electronic filing are available in its Handbook on Electronic Filing 
Procedures (http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/handbook_on_electronic_filing.pdf). All written submissions must 
conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Persons with questions 
regarding electronic filing and EDIS should contact the Office of the 
Secretary (202-205-2000).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information must 
also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the 
rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages 
be clearly marked as to whether they are the ``confidential'' or ``non-
confidential'' version, and that the confidential business information 
be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written submissions, 
except for confidential business information, will be made available 
for inspection by interested parties.
    In his request letter, the USTR stated that his office intends to 
make the Commission's reports available to the public in their 
entirety, and asked that the Commission not include any confidential 
business information or national security classified information in the 
reports that the Commission transmits to his office. Any confidential 
business information received by the Commission in these investigations 
and used in preparing this report will not be published in a manner 
that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: January 29, 2010.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-2260 Filed 2-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P