[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49787-49789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19846]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning

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China's compliance with its WTO commitments.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the 
commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade 
Organization (WTO).

DATES: Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written 
notification of their intention, as well as a summary of their 
testimony, by Friday, September 20, 2013. Written comments are also due 
by Friday, September 20, 2013. A hearing will be held in Washington, 
DC, on Friday, October 4, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Notifications of intent to testify and written comments 
should be submitted electronically via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please 
contact Yvonne Jamison, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-
3475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Yvonne 
Jamison at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to 
Terrence J. McCartin, Deputy Assistant United States Trade 
Representative for China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3900, or Katherine 
C. Tai, Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In 
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each 
year, a report to Congress on China's compliance with commitments made 
in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both 
multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the 
United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in 
preparing this year's report, the TPSC is hereby soliciting public 
comment. Last year's report is available on USTR's Internet Web site 
(http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/3620).
    The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including 
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the 
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. The 
Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on the Department of 
Commerce Web page, http://www.mac.doc.gov/china/WTOAccessionPackageNEW.html, or on the WTO Web site, http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, WT/
MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

2. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on China's compliance with commitments made in connection with 
its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in 
the following areas: (a) Trading rights; (b) import regulation (e.g., 
tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses); (c) export 
regulation; (d) internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, 
standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary 
measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures, 
taxes and charges levied on imports and exports); (e) intellectual 
property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement); 
(f) services; (g) rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial 
review, uniform administration of laws and regulations) and status of 
legal reform; and (h) other WTO commitments. In addition, given the 
United States' view that China should be held accountable as a full 
participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system, 
USTR requests that interested persons specifically identify unresolved 
compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR's China 
Enforcement Task Force.
    Written comments must be received no later than Friday, September 
20, 2013.
    A hearing will be held on Friday, October 4, 2013, in Room 1, 1724 
F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing will 
continue on the next business day. Persons wishing to testify orally at 
the hearing must provide written notification of their intention by 
Friday, September 20, 2013. The intent to testify notification must be 
made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2013-0026 
on the regulations.gov Web site and should include the name, address 
and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. A summary 
of the testimony should be attached by using the ``Upload File'' field. 
The name of the file should also include who will be presenting the 
testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to no more than 
five minutes to allow for possible questions from the TPSC.
    All documents should be submitted in accordance with the 
instructions in section 3 below.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first 
page of the submission) ``China's WTO Compliance.''
    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. To submit comments 
via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2013-0026 on the home 
page and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search-results page 
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to 
this notice and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For 
further information on using the 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.)
    The www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to provide comments 
by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document 
using an ``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that comments be provided 
in an attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to 
type ``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the 
submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate 
the name of the application in the ``Type Comment'' field.
    For any comments submitted electronically containing business 
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential 
version should begin with the characters ``BC.'' Any page containing 
business confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of submissions 
containing business confidential information must also submit a public 
version of their comments. The file name of the public version should 
begin with the character ``P.'' The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed 
by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. Filers 
submitting comments containing no business confidential information 
should name their file using the name of the person or entity 
submitting the comments.

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    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.
    As noted above, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments 
through www.regulations.gov, if at all possible. Any alternative 
arrangements must be made with Yvonne Jamison in advance of 
transmitting the comments. Ms. Jamison should be contacted at (202) 
395-3475. General information concerning USTR is available at 
www.ustr.gov.
    Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection, except business confidential information. Comments may be 
viewed on the 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. 2013-19846 Filed 8-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P