[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12787-12788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04161]



[[Page 12787]]

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-540]


Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 2; 
Institution of Investigation and Scheduling of Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation, opportunity to appear at public 
hearing and provide written submissions, and extension of deadlines for 
filing requests to appear at hearing and pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.

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SUMMARY: In response to a request from the Senate Committee on Finance 
(Committee) dated December 13, 2012 (received on December 14, 2012) 
under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the 
U.S. International Trade Commission has instituted the second of two 
investigations, investigation No. 332-540, Digital Trade in the U.S. 
and Global Economies, Part 2. The Commission's report in this 
investigation will build upon the approaches outlined in the 
Commission's report in the first investigation, No. 332-531, Digital 
Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 1, which is scheduled to 
be transmitted to the Committee by July 14, 2013. The Commission has 
previously announced that it will hold a public hearing in the two 
investigations on March 7, 2013.

DATES: 
February 28, 2013: New deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
February 28, 2013: New deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
March 7, 2013: Public hearing.
March 14, 2013: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and statements.
March 21, 2014: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
July 14, 2014: Transmittal of Commission report to the Committee.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record 
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov/edis3-internal/app.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader James Stamps (202-205-
3227 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader David Coffin 
(202-205-2232 or [email protected]) for information specific to 
this investigation. 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 Web 
site (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: As requested by the Committee, the Commission will base 
its report in this second investigation on available information, 
including a survey of U.S. firms in selected industries particularly 
involved in digital trade and the application of approaches outlined in 
the first report. To the extent practicable, this second report will:
     Estimate the value of U.S. digital trade and the potential 
growth of this trade (with the potential growth estimates to highlight 
any key trends and discuss their implications for U.S. businesses and 
employment);
     Provide insight into the broader linkages and 
contributions of digital trade to the U.S. economy (such linkages and 
contributions may include effects on consumer welfare, output, 
productivity, innovation, business practices, and job creation);
     Present case studies that examine the importance of 
digital trade to selected U.S. industries that use or produce such 
goods and services, with some of the case studies to highlight, if 
possible, the impact of digital trade on small and medium-sized 
enterprises; and
     Examine the effect of notable barriers and impediments to 
digital trade on selected industries and the broader U.S. economy.
    The Commission expects to transmit this second report to the 
Committee by July 14, 2014.
    The Commission published notice of institution of the first 
investigation, investigation No. 332-531, Digital Trade in the U.S. and 
Global Economies, Part 1, and the scheduling of a public hearing for 
both investigations, in the Federal Register of January 14, 2013 (78 FR 
2690). The Commission will transmit its report to the Committee in this 
first investigation by July 14, 2013. As requested by the Committee, in 
its first report the Commission will:
     Describe U.S. digital trade in the context of the broader 
economy;
     Examine U.S. and global digital trade, the relationship to 
other cross-border transactions (e.g., foreign direct investment), and 
the extent to which digital trade facilitates and enables trade in 
other sectors;
     Describe notable barriers and impediments to digital 
trade; and
     Outline potential approaches for assessing the linkages 
and contributions of digital trade to the U.S economy, noting any 
challenges associated with data gaps and limitations; such 
contributions and linkages may include effects on consumer welfare, 
output, productivity, innovation, business practices, and job creation.
    For the purposes of these reports, the Commission is defining 
``digital trade'' to encompass commerce in products and services 
delivered over digital networks. Examples include software, digital 
media files (e.g., e-books and digital audio files), and services such 
as data processing and hosting. The report will also examine how other 
industries, such as financial services and retailing, make use of 
digital products and services for production and trade.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing in connection with these 
investigations will be held at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
March 7, 2013. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed 
with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., February 28, 2013, in 
accordance with the requirements in the ``Submissions'' section below. 
All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be filed not later than 
5:15 p.m., February 28, 2013; and all post-hearing briefs and 
statements responding to matters raised at the hearing should be filed 
not later than 5:15 p.m., March 14, 2013. In the event that, as of the 
close of business on February 28, 2013, no witnesses are scheduled to 
appear at the hearing, the hearing will be canceled. Any person 
interested in attending the hearing as an observer or nonparticipant 
should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000 after 
February 28, 2013, for information concerning whether the hearing will 
be held.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to participating in 
the hearing, interested parties are invited to submit written 
statements concerning these

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investigations. All written submissions should be addressed to the 
Secretary, and should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., March 21, 
2014. 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). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing 
Procedures require that interested parties file documents 
electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) 
true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. 
In the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, 
interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper 
copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the 
confidential information must be deleted (see the following paragraph 
for further information regarding confidential business information). 
Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the 
Secretary (202-205-2000).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information 
(CBI) must also conform to 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 is clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties.
    In its request letter, the Committee stated that it 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 sends to the Committee. Any confidential business 
information received by the Commission in this investigation 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: February 19, 2013.
Lisa Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.

[FR Doc. 2013-04161 Filed 2-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P