[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 223 (Friday, November 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71617-71618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29750]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments Concerning Compliance With 
Telecommunications Trade Agreements

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and reply comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (`Section 1377'), the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is 
reviewing and requests comments on the operation, effectiveness, and 
implementation of and compliance with the following agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services of the United 
States: The World Trade Organization (``WTO'') General Agreement on 
Trade in Services; The North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''); 
U.S. free trade agreements (``FTAs'') with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, 
Morocco, Oman, Peru, and Singapore; and the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR''), and any 
other telecommunications trade agreements, such as Mutual Recognition 
Agreements (MRAs) for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications 
Equipment. The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2012.

DATES: Comments are due on December 16, 2011 and reply comments on 
January 13, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Donald W. Eiss, Trade Policy Staff Committee, or Jonathan 
McHale, DAUSTR, Telecom Trade Policy, ATTN: Section 1377 Comments, 
Office of the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan McHale, Office of Services 
and Investment (202) 395-9533; or Maria Pagan, Office of the General 
Counsel (202) 395-9626.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1377 requires the USTR to review 
annually the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services that are in force 
with respect to the United States. The purpose of the review is to 
determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a country that has 
entered into an FTA or other telecommunications trade agreement with 
the United States is inconsistent with the terms of such agreement or 
otherwise denies U.S. firms, within the context of the terms of such 
agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities for 
telecommunications products and services. For the current review, the 
USTR seeks comments on:
    (1) Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is 
inconsistent with its obligations under WTO agreements affecting market

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opportunities for telecommunications products or services, e.g., the 
WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''), including the 
Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services, the Annex on 
Telecommunications, and any scheduled commitments including the 
Reference Paper on Pro-Competitive Regulatory Principles; the WTO 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures; the WTO Agreement 
on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; or the 
plurilateral WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.
    (2) Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with its 
telecommunications obligations under the NAFTA;
    (3) Whether Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua has failed to comply with its 
telecommunications obligations under the CAFTA-DR;
    (4) Whether Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Morocco, Oman, Peru, or 
Singapore has failed to comply with its telecommunications obligations 
under its FTA with the United States (see http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements for links to U.S. FTAs);
    (5) Whether any country has failed to comply with its obligations 
under telecommunications trade agreements with the United States other 
than FTAs, e.g., Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for Conformity 
Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (see http://ts.nist.gov/standards/conformity/mra/mra.cfm for links to certain U.S. 
telecommunications MRAs);
    (6) Whether any act, policy, or practice of a country cited in a 
previous section 1377 review remains unresolved (see http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/services-investment/telecom-e-commerce/section-1377-review for recent reviews); and
    (7) Whether any measures or practices impede access to 
telecommunications markets or otherwise deny telecommunications 
products and services market opportunities with respect to any country 
that is a WTO member or for which an FTA or telecommunications trade 
agreement has entered into force between such country and the United 
States. Measures or practices of interest include, for example, efforts 
by a foreign government or a telecommunications service provider to 
block services delivered over the Internet (including, but not limited 
to voice over Internet protocol services, social networking, and search 
services); requirements for access to or use of networks that limit the 
products or services U.S. suppliers can offer in specific foreign 
markets; the imposition of excessively high licensing fees; 
unreasonable wholesale roaming rates that mobile telecommunications 
service suppliers in specific foreign markets charge U.S. suppliers 
that seek to supply international mobile roaming services to their U.S. 
customers; discriminatory procedures that foreign governments apply in 
allocating or allowing use of spectrum or other scarce resources; 
subsidies provided to equipment manufactures which are contingent upon 
exporting or local content, or have caused adverse effects to domestic 
equipment manufacturers (supported by evidence and/or identifiable 
legal measures); and the imposition by foreign governments of 
unnecessary or discriminatory technical regulations or standards for 
telecommunications products or services. In all cases, commenters 
should provide any available documentary evidence, translated into 
English where necessary, to facilitate evaluation of a claim.

Public Comment and Reply Comment: Requirements for Submission

    Comments in response to this notice must be written in English, 
must identify (on the first page of the comments) the 
telecommunications trade agreement(s) discussed therein, and must be 
submitted no later than December 16, 2011. Reply comments must also be 
in English and must be submitted no later than January 13, 2012. 
Comments and reply comments must be submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2010-0034. In the unusual case 
where submitters are unable to make submissions through 
Regulations.gov, the submitter must contact Donald W. Eiss at (202) 
395-9603 to make alternate arrangements.
    To submit comments using http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket 
number USTR-2010-0034 under ``Key Word or ID'' on the home page and 
click ``Search''. The site will provide a search-results page listing 
all documents associated with this docket. Locate the reference to this 
notice by selecting ``Notices'' under ``Document Type'' on the search-
results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a Comment.'' 
Follow the instructions given on the screen to submit a comment. The 
http://www.regulations.gov Web site offers the option of providing 
comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field or by attaching a 
document. While both options are acceptable, USTR prefers submissions 
in the form of an attachment.
    Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic 
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a 
cover letter in the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent 
possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in 
the same file as the submission itself, not as separate files.
    Submitters should provide updated information on all issues they 
cite in their filings; USTR will not review submissions that are copies 
of earlier submissions.

Business Confidential Submissions

    For any comments submitted electronically containing business 
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential 
version should begin with the characters ``BC''. The top of any page 
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL''. Any person filing comments that contain 
business confidential information must also file in a separate 
submission a public version of the comments. The file name of the 
public version of the comments should begin with the character ``P''. 
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. The submitter must include in the 
comments a written explanation of why the information should be 
protected. The submission must indicate, with asterisks, where 
confidential information was redacted or deleted. The top and bottom of 
each page of the non-confidential version must be marked either 
``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''.

Public Inspection of Submissions

    Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection, except confidential business information exempt from public 
inspection. Comments may be viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov 
Web site by entering the relevant docket number in the search field on 
the home page.

Donald Eiss,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2011-29750 Filed 11-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W2-P