[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65760-65761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26537]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comments To Compile the Reports on Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended 
(19 U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(USTR) is required to publish annually the Reports on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade. With this notice, the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to 
submit comments to assist it in identifying significant sanitary and 
phytosanitary and standards-related barriers to U.S. exports of goods 
for inclusion in these two reports.
    These reports were published as the 2012 Report on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (2012 SPS Report) and the 2012 Report on 
Technical Barriers to Trade (2012 TBT Report) respectively. The TPSC 
invites written comments from the public on issues that USTR should 
examine in preparing the SPS and TBT Reports.

DATES: Public comments are due not later than November 15, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at 
www.regulations.gov under the following dockets (based on the subject 
matter of the submission):
    SPS Measures: USTR-2012-0032.
    Standards-related Measures: USTR-2012-0033.
    For alternatives to on-line submissions please contact TBD USTR 
(202-395-3475). The public is strongly encouraged to file submissions 
electronically rather than by facsimile or mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the SPS Report or 
substantive questions or comments concerning SPS measures should be 
directed to Jane Doherty, Director of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Affairs, USTR (202-395-6127). Questions regarding the TBT Report or 
substantive questions or comments concerning standards-related measures 
should be directed to Jennifer Stradtman, Director, Technical Barriers 
to Trade, USTR (202-395-4498).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SPS and TBT Reports set out inventories 
of SPS and standards-related non-tariff barriers to trade. These 
inventories facilitate U.S. negotiations aimed at reducing or 
eliminating these barriers. The reports also provide a valuable tool in 
enforcing U.S. trade laws and strengthening the rules-based trading 
system. The 2012 and earlier SPS and TBT Reports may be found on USTR's 
Internet Home Page (http://www.ustr.gov) under ``USTR News'' under the 
tab ``Reports''.
    To ensure compliance with the applicable statutory mandate and the 
Obama Administration's commitment to focus on the most significant 
foreign trade barriers, USTR will be guided by the existence of active 
private sector interest in deciding which restrictions to include in 
the SPS and TBT Reports.
    Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in the 
preparation of the SPS and TBT Reports, commenters should submit 
information related to:(1) SPS measures; or(2) standards-related 
measures (including standards, technical regulations, and conformity 
assessment procedures). Such measures should constitute significant 
foreign trade barriers to U.S. exports.
    SPS and TBT Reports: On April 2, 2012, USTR released two reports 
focusing on foreign trade barriers--one on SPS measures (SPS Report) 
and the other on standards-related measures (TBT report). USTR also 
released SPS and TBT Reports in 2011 and 2010. These reports serve as 
tools to bring greater attention and focus to resolving SPS and 
standards-related measures that may be inconsistent with international 
trade agreements to which the United States is a party or that 
otherwise act as significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. USTR 
plans to use comments on SPS and standards-related measures submitted 
pursuant to this notice in producing these two reports.
    The following information describing SPS and standards-related 
measures may help commenters to file submissions on particular foreign 
trade barriers under the appropriate docket.
    SPS Measures: Generally, SPS measures are measures applied to 
protect the life or health of humans, animals, and plants from risks 
arising from additives, contaminants, pests, toxins, diseases, or 
disease-carrying and causing organisms. SPS measures can take such 
forms as specific product or processing standards, requirements for 
products to be produced in disease-free areas, quarantine regulations, 
certification or inspection procedures, sampling and testing 
requirements, health-related labeling measures, maximum permissible 
pesticide residue

[[Page 65761]]

levels, and prohibitions on certain food additives.
    Standards-related Measures: Standards-related measures comprise 
standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures, 
such as mandatory process or design standards, labeling or registration 
requirements, and testing or certification procedures. Standards-
related measures can be applied not only to industrial products but to 
agricultural products as well, such as food nutrition labeling schemes 
and food quality or identity requirements.
    For further information on SPS and standards-related measures and 
additional detail on the types of comments that would assist USTR in 
identifying and addressing significant trade-restrictive SPS and 
standards-related measures, please see ``Supporting & Related 
Materials'' under dockets USTR-2012-0032 and USTR-2012-0033 at 
www.regulations.gov. The previously released SPS and TBT Reports also 
contain extensive information on SPS and standards-related measures 
that commenters may find useful in preparing comments in response to 
this notice.
    In responding to this notice with respect to the two reports, 
commenters should place particular emphasis on any practices that may 
violate U.S. trade agreements. The TPSC is also interested in receiving 
new or updated information pertinent to the barriers covered in the 
2012 SPS and TBT Reports as well as information on new barriers. If 
USTR does not include in the 2013 SPS or TBT Reports information that 
USTR receives pursuant to this notice, USTR will maintain the 
information for potential use in future discussions or negotiations 
with trading partners.
    Estimate of Increase in Exports: Each comment should include an 
estimate of the potential increase in U.S. exports that would result 
from removing any foreign trade barrier the comment identifies, as well 
as a description of the methodology the commenter used to derive the 
estimate. Estimates should be expressed within the following value 
ranges: Less than $5 million; $5 to $25 million; $25 million to $50 
million; $50 million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; or 
over $500 million. These estimates will help USTR conduct comparative 
analyses of a barrier's effect over a range of industries.
    Requirements for Submissions: Commenters providing information on 
SPS or standards-related measures in more than one country should, 
whenever possible, provide a separate submission for each country.
    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Comments 
should be submitted under one of the following dockets (depending on 
the subject of the comment):
    SPS Measures: USTR-2012-0032.
    Standards-related Measures: USTR-2012-0033.
    To find these dockets, enter the pertinent docket number in the 
``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the http://www.regulations.gov home 
page and click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page 
listing all documents associated with that docket number. Find a 
reference to this notice by selecting ``Notices'' under ``Document 
Type'' on the search-results page, and click on the link entitled 
``Submit a Comment.'' (For further information on using the 
www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on the ``Help'' tab.)
    The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of 
making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by attaching a 
document. USTR prefers submissions to be provided in an attached 
document. If a document is attached, please identify the name of the 
country to which the submission pertains in the ``Comments'' field. For 
example: ``See attached comment on SPS measures for (name of country)'' 
or ``See attached comment on standards-related measures for (name of 
country)''. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe 
Acrobat (.pdf).
    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. If a comment contains no business 
confidential information, the file name should begin with the character 
``P'', followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments.
    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.

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.

Douglas M. Bell,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2012-26537 Filed 10-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P