[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51744-51746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20387]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-540]


Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 2; 
Scheduling of an Additional Public Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Scheduling of additional public hearing in Moffett Field, CA.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has scheduled a public hearing in investigation 
No. 332-540, Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 2 at 
the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California beginning at 
9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25, 2013.

DATES: September 12, 2013: Deadline for filing requests to appear at 
the public hearing.
    September 18, 2013: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    September 25, 2013: Public hearing.

[[Page 51745]]

    October 3, 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 Senate 
Committee on Finance.

ADDRESSES: 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: The additional hearing relates to the second of two 
reports that the Commission is preparing on the role of digital trade 
in the U.S. and global economies at the request of the U.S. Senate 
Committee on Finance. The Commission held a public hearing in 
connection with both reports in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2013. The 
first report, Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 1, 
Investigation No. 332-531, will be available to the public on August 
15, 2013, on the Commission's Web site (http://www.usitc.gov). 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. For the purposes of this investigation, the 
Commission is defining ``digital trade'' to encompass commerce in 
products and services delivered via the Internet as well as commerce in 
products and services that is facilitated by the use of the Internet 
and Internet-based technologies. Commerce includes both U.S. domestic 
economic activity as well as international trade.
    Public Hearing: The additional hearing will be held at the NASA 
Ames Conference Center/NASA Research Park, Building 152, Room 171, 200 
Dailey Road, Moffett Field, CA, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 
September 25, 2013. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., September 12, 2013, 
in accordance with the requirements in the ``Requests to Appear'' 
section below. All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be filed 
not later than 5:15 p.m., September 18, 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., October 3, 2013. In the event 
that, as of the close of business on September 12, 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 12, 2013, for information concerning whether the 
hearing will be held.
    This field hearing is being planned in conjunction with a field 
hearing to be held on September 26, 2013 for Inv. No. 332-541, Trade 
Barriers that U.S. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Perceive as 
Affecting Exports to the European Union. Interested persons who wish to 
present consolidated statements and testimony relevant to both 
investigations are invited to do so on Wednesday, September 25, 2013.
    Requests To Appear: Requests to appear at the Moffett Field, CA 
hearing may be in the form of a letter, which should be on company or 
other appropriate stationery. Requests should identify the name, title, 
and company or other organizational affiliation (if any), address, 
telephone number, email address, and industry or main line of business 
of the company, if any, of the person signing the request letter and of 
the persons who plan to appear at one or both hearings. Requests to 
appear may be made by mail or delivered in person to the Commission's 
Office of the Secretary (see ADDRESSES), or may be filed by email sent 
to [email protected]. The Commission does not accept requests 
filed by fax.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to participating in 
the hearing, interested parties are invited to submit written 
statements concerning this investigation. Such 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 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

[[Page 51746]]

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: August 15, 2013
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-20387 Filed 8-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P