[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66950-66951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26619]


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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; Rescheduling of 
Washington, DC Public Hearing and Change in Dates for Filing Requests 
To Appear, Pre- and Post-Hearing Briefs, All Other Written Submissions, 
and for Transmittal of Final Report

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Rescheduling of Washington public hearing and change in dates 
for filing requests to appear, pre- and post-hearing briefs, all other 
written submissions, and transmittal of the final report.

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SUMMARY: Due to the lapse in appropriations and resulting furlough, the 
Commission has rescheduled the Washington, DC, public hearing in this 
investigation to 9:30 a.m. on November 20, 2013. The Commission has 
also changed the dates for filing requests to appear, pre-hearing 
briefs and post-hearing briefs relating to the Washington hearing; for 
filing all other written submissions, and for transmitting the final 
report to USTR. The Washington, DC, hearing was previously scheduled 
for October 8, 2013, with post-hearing briefs and all written 
submission due by October 15, 2013, and a transmittal date of January 
31, 2014.
    Revised Dates:

November 12, 2013: Deadline for filing requests to appear at Washington 
hearing.
November 13, 2013: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
November 20, 2013: Public hearing.
December 2, 2013: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs.
December 2, 2013: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
February 28, 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

[[Page 66951]]

[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 a 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. 
Due to the lapse in appropriations and resulting furlough, the hearing 
scheduled for October 8, 2013, did not take place.
    Public Hearing: The rescheduled hearing will be held at the U.S. 
International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, 
DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on November 20, 2013. Requests to appear at 
the public hearing should be filed with the Secretary, no later than 
5:15 p.m., November 12, 2013, in accordance with the requirements in 
the ``Request to Appear'' section below. All pre-hearing briefs and 
statements should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., November 13, 2013; 
and all post-hearing briefs and statements should be filed not later 
than 5:15 p.m., December 2, 2013. In the event that, as of the close of 
business on November 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 November 12, 2013, 
for information concerning whether the hearing will be held. All hourly 
times in this notice are eastern time.
    Requests to Appear: Requests to appear at the 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 the hearing. Requests to appear must be made by mail 
or delivered in person to the Commission's Office of the Secretary (see 
ADDRESSES), or in the alternative 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 received no 
later than 5:15 p.m., December 2, 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. 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 its 
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.

    Issued: November 1, 2013.

    By order of the Commission.
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-26619 Filed 11-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P