[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45969-45970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18272]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-541]


Trade Barriers That U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises 
Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union; Institution of 
Investigation and Scheduling of Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a letter from the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) dated June 13, 2013 (received on June 18, 2013), 
under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) instituted 
investigation No. 332-541, Trade Barriers that U.S. Small and Medium-
sized Enterprises Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union.

DATES: 

September 13, 2013: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
September 20, 2013: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
October 8, 2013: Public hearing.
October 15, 2013: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs.
October 15, 2013: Deadline for filing all other written statements.
January 31, 2014: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR.

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 William Deese (202-205-
2626 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader Tamar 
Khachaturian (202-205-3299 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 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: As requested by the USTR, the Commission will conduct 
an investigation and prepare a report that catalogues trade-related 
barriers that U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceive 
as disproportionately affecting their exports to the EU, compared to 
those of larger U.S. exporters to the EU. In identifying these barriers 
to exporting, the Commission will use, to the extent appropriate, 
information and definitions contained in the three Commission reports 
on SMEs released in 2010, including definitions of ``SME,'' 
``disproportionate,'' and ``barrier,'' any relevant literature, and 
information gathered from SMEs and others. As requested by the USTR, 
the Commission's report will cover barriers faced by U.S. SMEs 
exporting both goods and services, and will focus primarily on barriers 
identified by U.S. SMEs that have experience in exporting to the EU. 
Also as requested, the report, to the degree practicable, will identify 
barriers by economic sector or by special issue and will focus on 
sectors with high concentrations of SMEs.
    The letter indicated that the United States, in the Transatlantic 
Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, will seek to 
strengthen U.S.-European Union (EU) cooperation to enhance the 
participation of SMEs in transatlantic trade, and to address trade 
barriers that may disproportionately impact small businesses.
    As requested by the USTR, the Commission (1) will base its report 
on available information, including information furnished by SMEs and 
interested parties following the Commission's notice of investigation; 
(2) will address, where information is available, specific trade 
barriers in individual EU member states; (3) will provide, to the 
extent applicable,

[[Page 45970]]

qualitative distinctions among the identified trade-related barriers; 
and (4) will include suggestions gathered from SMEs or the relevant 
literature to strengthen U.S.-EU cooperation to enhance the 
participation of SMEs in transatlantic trade. As requested by the USTR, 
the Commission expects to transmit its report to the USTR by January 
31, 2014.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing in connection with this 
investigation will be held at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
October 8, 2013. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., September 13, 2013, 
in accordance with the requirements in the ``Submissions'' section 
below. All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be filed no later 
than 5:15 p.m., September 20, 2013; and all post-hearing briefs and 
statements should be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., October 15, 2013. 
In the event that, as of the close of business on September 13, 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 September 13, 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 file written submissions 
concerning this investigation. All written submissions should be 
addressed to the Secretary, and should be received no later than 5:15 
p.m., October 15, 2013. All written submissions must conform to 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 the request letter, the USTR stated that the Office of the USTR 
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 report that the Commission sends to the USTR. 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.

     Issued: July 25, 2013.

    By order of the Commission.
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-18272 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
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