[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54677-54678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21499]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-543]


Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policies in India: Effects on 
the U.S. Economy; Institution of Investigation and Scheduling of 
Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request on August 2, 2013 from the 
Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means 
(Committees) 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. 332-543, Trade, Investment, and Industrial 
Policies in India: Effects on the U.S. Economy.

DATES:  January 21, 2014: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
    January 30, 2014: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    February 13, 2014: Public hearing.
    February 25, 2014: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    April 11, 2014: Deadline for filing all other written statements.
    November 30, 2014: Transmittal of Commission report to the 
Committees.

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 Bill Powers (202-708-
5405 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader Renee Berry 
(202-205-3498 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

[[Page 54678]]

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: In their request letter the Committees asked that the 
Commission conduct an investigation regarding Indian industrial 
policies that discriminate against U.S. imports and investment for the 
sake of supporting Indian domestic industries, and the effect that 
those barriers have on the U.S. economy and U.S. jobs. As requested by 
the Committees, the Commission will provide in its report:
     An overview of trends and policies in India affecting 
trade and foreign direct investment in that country's agriculture, 
manufacturing and service sectors, as well as the overall business 
environment. The overview will take a historic view, but focus on the 
period since 2003. It will include examples of changes in tariff and 
nontariff measures, including measures related to the protection of 
intellectual property rights, and other actions taken by India's 
government to facilitate or restrict the inflow of trade and FDI.
     A description of (1) any significant restrictive trade and 
FDI policies currently maintained or recently adopted by India as 
identified by Commission research; (2) the sectors in the U.S. economy 
most affected by these restrictive policies; and (3) the general 
competitiveness of sectors in India's economy that are subject to the 
identified restrictions.
     Several case studies that examine the effects of 
particular restrictive measures on U.S. firms that export to or invest 
in India, or that have not done so because of the measures. To the 
extent feasible, the case studies will address the impact of the 
restrictive measures on both large and small and medium-sized 
enterprises.
     To the extent feasible, a quantitative analysis of the 
economic effects of India's identified restrictive measures on the U.S. 
economy as a whole, on U.S. trade and investment, and on selected 
sectors of the U.S. economy.
     Based on the survey and analysis of results, and to the 
extent feasible, a summary of U.S. firms' perception of (1) recent 
changes in India's trade and investment policies in selected sectors 
and (2) the effects of these changes on U.S. firms' strategies towards 
India (e.g., reducing investment or altering product mix), and analysis 
of whether the effects of these policy changes differ by firms' 
characteristics, such as size, IP-intensiveness, or export status.
    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 
February 13, 2014. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., January 21, 2014 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., January 30, 2014; and all post-hearing briefs and statements 
should be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., February 25, 2014. In the 
event that, as of the close of business on January 21, 2014, 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 January 21, 2014, 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 not later than 5:15 
p.m., April 11, 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 with 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 be 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 Committees stated that they intend to 
make the Commission's report available to the public in its entirety, 
and asked that the Commission not include any confidential business 
information or national security classified information in the report 
that it sends to the Committees. 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 29, 2013.
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-21499 Filed 9-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P