[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51746-51747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20388]


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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; Scheduling of an 
Additional Public Hearing With Simplified Filing Procedures

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 an additional public hearing in 
Inv. No. 332-541, Trade Barriers that U.S. Small and Medium-sized 
Enterprises Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union, to be 
held beginning at 9:30 a.m., September 26, 2013, at the NASA Ames 
Research Center at Moffett Field, CA. This hearing is in addition to a 
previously announced public hearing in this investigation to 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. Procedures 
for filing requests to appear have been changed for both hearings to 
encourage the appearance of small businesses.
    This field hearing is being scheduled in conjunction with a field 
hearing to be held on September 25, 2013, also at the NASA Center in 
Moffett Field, CA in a second Commission investigation, No. 332-540, 
Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part 2, requested by 
the Senate Committee on Finance. Interested persons who wish to present 
consolidated statements and testimony relevant to both investigations 
are invited to do so on Wednesday September 25, 2013.

DATES: September 12, 2013: Deadline for filing requests to appear at 
the Moffett Field, CA hearing.
    September 18, 2013: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    September 26, 2013: Public hearing in Moffett Field, CA.
    October 3, 2013: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs.
    October 15, 2013: Deadline for filing all other written 
submissions.
    January 31, 2014: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR.

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 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: The hearing relates to a report that the Commission is 
preparing at the request of the United States Trade Representative 
(USTR) under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1332(g)). The USTR requested that the Commission prepare a report that 
catalogs trade 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 the 
request letter, the USTR stated that the United States, in the 
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with 
the European Union (EU), is seeking to strengthen the participation of 
SMEs in transatlantic trade and to address trade barriers that may 
disproportionately impact small businesses. The notice announcing the 
institution of this investigation and the Washington, DC, hearing on 
October 8, 2013, was published in the Federal Register of July 30, 2013 
(78 FR 45969); the notice is also posted on the Commission's Web site 
at www.usitc.gov.
    The Commission is particularly interested in receiving information 
and views from SMEs and related organizations about trade-related 
barriers faced by U.S. SMEs in exporting goods or services to the EU 
and about EU trade barriers by economic sector or by special issue. 
(For purposes of this report, an SME is defined as a firm with fewer 
than 500 U.S.-based employees.) The Commission is also interested in 
receiving information and views about specific trade barriers in 
individual EU countries; the relative effect on exports of different EU 
trade barriers; and ways in which SME participation in transatlantic 
trade might be strengthened.
    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 September 26, 
2013. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed with the 
Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m. (eastern daylight time), September 
18, 2013, in accordance with the requirements in the ``Requests to 
Appear'' section below. All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be 
filed no later than 5:15 p.m. (eastern daylight time), September 18, 
2013; and all post-hearing briefs and statements 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.
    Requests To Appear: Requests to appear at the Moffett Field, CA, 
and Washington, DC, hearings may be in the form of a letter, which 
should be on company or other appropriate

[[Page 51747]]

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 file written submissions 
concerning this investigation. Such 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 report 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.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: August 16, 2013
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-20388 Filed 8-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P