[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22121-22122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9650]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket Number: 100416189-0189-01]


Request for Public Comment on the Scope of Viewpoints Represented 
on the Industry Trade Advisory Committees

AGENCIES: Office of the United States Trade Representative and U.S. 
Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

ACTION: Notice, request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
and the Department of Commerce have initiated a joint review of the 
Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) component of the trade 
advisory committee system. As part of this joint review, USTR and 
Commerce are seeking comments and suggestions from the public on the 
appropriate scope of representation on the ITACs.

DATES: Written comments are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) 
on May 25, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by Docket Number ITA-2010-
0001, using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Please see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more 
information and instructions for sending your comments electronically.
     For alternatives to online submission please contact 
Ingrid Mitchem, Director, Industry Trade Advisory Center, at (202) 482-
3268.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this request for 
comments should be directed to Ingrid Mitchem, Director, Industry Trade 
Advisory Center, at (202) 482-3268.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 135 of the 1974 Trade Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2155), 
directed the President to obtain information and advice from 
representative elements of the private sector and the non-Federal 
government sector regarding U.S. trade policy and trade negotiation 
objectives. Among other mechanisms, Section 135(c)(2) of the 1974 Trade 
Act provides:

    (2) The President shall establish such sectoral or functional 
advisory committees as may be appropriate. Such committees shall, 
insofar as is practicable, be representative of all industry, labor, 
agricultural, or service interests (including small business 
interests) in the sector or functional areas concerned. In 
organizing such committees, the United States Trade Representative 
and the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, Agriculture, the Treasury, 
or other executive departments, as appropriate, shall--
    (A) Consult with interested private organizations; and
    (B) Take into account such factors as--
    (i) Patterns of actual and potential competition between United 
States industry and agriculture and foreign enterprise in 
international trade,
    (ii) The character of the non-tariff barriers and other 
distortions affecting such competition,
    (iii) The necessity for reasonable limits on the number of such 
advisory committees,
    (iv) The necessity that each committee be reasonably limited in 
size, and
    (v) In the case of each sectoral committee, that the product 
lines covered by each committee be reasonably related.

    The accompanying legislative history indicated that the sectoral 
and functional committees were to ``be representative of the producing 
sectors of our economy'' to ``strengthen the hand of U.S. negotiators 
by improving their knowledge and familiarity with the problems domestic 
producers face in obtaining access to foreign markets.'' S. Rep. 1298, 
93d Cong., 2d Sess. 102 (1974).
    Pursuant to Presidential delegation of this authority, USTR and 
Commerce have established and co-chair sixteen ITACs, plus an ITAC 
Committee of Chairs. The ITACs provide information and advice 
addressing the concerns of specific industry sectors for use by the 
USTR and the Secretary of Commerce in developing U.S. trade policy and 
negotiating positions.
    To date, USTR and Commerce, with minor exceptions, have limited the 
viewpoints represented on the ITACs to those of industry stakeholders 
based on the need to obtain technical and detailed sectoral advice from 
the representatives of the producing sectors and the existence of other 
fora within the USTR-administered trade advisory committee system which 
provide for advice from representatives of other viewpoints, such as 
the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee, the 
Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade, the Labor 
Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy, and the 
Trade Advisory Committee on Africa. USTR and Commerce both have 
received multiple inquiries recently regarding the appropriate 
viewpoints to be represented on the ITACs. As a result of those 
inquiries, in accordance with Section 135(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Trade 
Act, USTR and Commerce have decided to seek comments from the public on 
the appropriate scope of viewpoints represented on the ITACs.
    In submitting comments regarding what viewpoints should be 
represented, please address: How the proposed viewpoint would improve 
the quality of information and advice provided to the Secretary and the 
USTR through the ITACs; how the proposed specific perspective would add 
value and contribute to the ITACs' mission to provide information and 
advice addressing the concerns of specific industry sectors to assist 
the USTR and the Secretary in developing U.S. trade policy and 
negotiating positions; how such viewpoints could be effectively 
incorporated into the existing ITAC structure (i.e., on which specific 
ITAC would that viewpoint be appropriate); and whether such viewpoints 
may be more effectively incorporated into other fora within the trade 
advisory system. (Further information on trade advisory committees is 
available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/intergovernmental-affairs/advisory-committees/).
    General information concerning the Industry Trade Advisory 
Committees, including a list of the subject areas of the sixteen ITACs, 
is available at http://www.trade.gov/itac/.

Requirements for Submission

    Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. EST on May 25, 2010. In 
order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration of comments, USTR and Commerce have arranged to accept 
on-line submissions via www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via 
www.regulations.gov, enter docket number ITA-2010-0001 on the home page 
and click ``go''. The site will provide a search-results page listing 
all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this 
notice by selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side 
of the search results page, and click on the link entitled ``Send a 
Comment or Submission.'' For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov/ Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This Site'' on the left side 
of the home page.

[[Page 22122]]

    The www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of making 
submissions by filling in a ``General Comments'' field, or by attaching 
a document. We expect that most submissions will be provided in an 
attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type 
``See attached'' in the ``General Comments'' field.
    We strongly urge submitters to avail themselves of the electronic 
filing, if at all possible. If an on-line submission is impossible, 
alternative arrangements must be made with Ms. Mitchem, Director, 
Industry Trade Advisory Center, at (202) 482-3268, prior to delivery 
for the receipt of such submissions. General information concerning the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative may be obtained by 
accessing its Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov). General 
information concerning the Department of Commerce may be obtained by 
accessing its Internet Web site (http://www.commerce.gov).

    Dated: April 20, 2010.
Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale,
Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, U.S. Department of 
Commerce.
    Dated: April 19, 2010.
Myesha Ward,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative, Intergovernmental 
Affairs and Public Engagement.
[FR Doc. 2010-9650 Filed 4-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-DR-P