[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63271-63273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24720]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comments to Compile the Report on Technical 
Barriers to Trade

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended 
(19 U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(USTR) will be publishing in 2014 a Report on Technical Barriers to 
Trade (TBT Report) identifying and analyzing significant standards-
related barriers to U.S. exports. With this notice, the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to submit 
written comments to assist it in identifying significant standards-
related barriers to U.S. exports of goods for inclusion in the report.

DATES: Public comments are due not later than November 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at 
www.regulations.gov under the docket number USTR-2013-0034. For 
alternatives to on-line submissions please contact Yvonne Jamison at 
(202-395-3475) or [email protected]. The public is 
strongly encouraged to file submissions electronically rather than by 
facsimile or mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the TBT Report or 
substantive questions or comments concerning standards-related measures

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should be directed to Jennifer Stradtman, Director, Technical Barriers 
to Trade, USTR (202-395-4498).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The TBT Report sets out an inventory of 
standards-related non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports. This inventory 
facilitates U.S. efforts to reduce or eliminate these barriers. The 
report also provides a valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and 
strengthening the rules-based trading system. The 2013 and earlier TBT 
Reports may be found on USTR's Internet Home Page (http://www.ustr.gov) 
under ``USTR News'' under the tab ``Reports''.
    To ensure compliance with the applicable statutory mandate and the 
Obama Administration's commitment to focus on the most significant 
foreign trade barriers, USTR will be guided by the existence of active 
private sector interest in deciding which issues to include in the 
Report.
    Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in the 
preparation of the 2014 TBT Report, commenters should submit 
information related to standards-related measures (including standards, 
technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures). Such 
measures should constitute significant foreign trade barriers to U.S. 
exports.
    TBT Report: On April 1, 2013, USTR released the fourth annual TBT 
report. This report serves as a tool to bring greater attention and 
focus to resolving standards-related issues that may be inconsistent 
with international trade agreements to which the United States is a 
party or that otherwise act as significant foreign barriers to U.S. 
exports. USTR plans to use comments on standards-related measures 
submitted pursuant to this notice in producing this report.
    The following information describing standards-related measures may 
help commenters to file submissions on particular foreign trade 
barriers under the TBT docket.
    Standards-related Measures: Broadly, standards-related measures are 
documents and procedures that set out specific technical or other 
requirements for products or processes as well as procedures to ensure 
that these requirements are met. Standards-related measures comprise 
standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures, 
such as mandatory process or design standards, labeling or registration 
requirements, and testing or certification procedures. The World Trade 
Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade includes 
the following definitions for (i) standards, (ii) technical regulation, 
and (iii) conformity assessment procedure.
    Standard: Document approved by a recognized body, that provides, 
for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for 
products or related processes and production methods, with which 
compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively 
with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements 
as they apply to a product, process, or production method.
    Technical regulation: Document which lays down product 
characteristics or their related processes and production methods, 
including the applicable administrative provisions, with which 
compliance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with 
terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements as 
they apply to a product, process, or production method.
    Conformity assessment procedures: Any procedure used, directly or 
indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical 
regulations or standards are fulfilled. Standards-related measures can 
be applied not only to industrial products, such as machinery or toys, 
but to agricultural products as well, such as food nutrition labeling 
schemes and food quality or identity requirements.
    For further information on standards-related measures and 
additional detail on the types of comments that would assist USTR in 
identifying and addressing significant trade-restrictive standards-
related measures, please see ``Supporting & Related Materials'' under 
dockets USTR--2013-0034 at www.regulations.gov. The previously released 
TBT Reports also contain extensive information on standards-related 
measures that commenters may find useful in preparing comments in 
response to this notice. Those reports are available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/reports-and-publications/2012/technical-barriers-trade-tbt-report.
    In responding to this notice, commenters should place particular 
emphasis on any practices that raise issues with respect to U.S. trade 
agreements, including the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. 
The TPSC is also interested in receiving new or updated information 
pertinent to the barriers covered in the 2013 TBT Report as well as 
information on new barriers. If USTR does not include in the 2014 TBT 
Report information that USTR receives pursuant to this notice, USTR 
will maintain the information for potential use in future discussions 
or negotiations with trading partners.
    Estimate of Increase in Exports: Each comment should include an 
estimate of the potential increase in U.S. exports that would result 
from removing any standards-related barrier the comment identifies, as 
well as a description of the methodology the commenter used to derive 
the estimate. Estimates should be expressed within the following value 
ranges: Less than $5 million; $5 to $25 million; $25 million to $50 
million; $50 million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; or 
over $500 million. These estimates will help USTR conduct comparative 
analyses of a barrier's effect over a range of industries.
    Requirements for Submissions: Commenters providing information on 
standards-related measures in more than one country should, whenever 
possible, provide a separate submission for each country.
    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, docket 
number: USTR-2013-0034
    To make a submission, enter this docket number in the ``Enter 
Keyword or ID'' window at the http://www.regulations.gov home page and 
click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page listing 
all documents associated with that docket number. Find a reference to 
this notice and click on the link entitled ``Submit a Comment.'' (For 
further information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please 
consult the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on the 
``Help'' tab.) The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the 
option of making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by 
attaching a document. USTR prefers submissions to be provided in an 
attached document. If a document is attached, please identify the name 
of the country to which the submission pertains in the ``Comments'' 
field. For example: ``See attached comment on standards-related 
measures for (name of country)''. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft 
Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf).
    For any comments submitted electronically containing business 
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential 
version should begin with the characters ``BC''. The top of any page 
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL''. Any person filing comments that contain 
business confidential

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information must also file in a separate submission a public version of 
the comments. The file name of the public version of the comments 
should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be 
followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. 
If a comment contains no business confidential information, the file 
name should begin with the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments.
    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.

Public Inspection of Submissions

    Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection 
except confidential business information exempt from public inspection. 
Comments may be viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site by 
entering the relevant docket number in the search field on the home 
page.

William Shpiece,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2013-24720 Filed 10-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-F3-P