[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27225-27226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11382]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Dispute No. WT/DS489]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Certain Measures 
Providing Export-Contingent Subsidies to Enterprises in Several 
Industrial Sectors in China

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(``USTR'') is providing notice that the United States has requested the 
establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh 
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO 
Agreement''). That request may be found at www.wto.org contained in a 
document designated as WT/DS489/6. USTR invites written comments from 
the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before May 12, 2015, to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted electronically to 
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0004. If you are unable to 
provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy 
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.
    If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential 
information, then the comment should be submitted by

[[Page 27226]]

fax only to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur Tsao, Assistant General 
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Office of 
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 127(b) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act (``URAA'') (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)) requires that notice 
and opportunity for comment be provided after the United States submits 
or receives a request for the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement 
panel. USTR is providing notice that a dispute settlement panel has 
been requested pursuant to the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding 
(``DSU'') and has been established by the WTO. The panel will hold its 
meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.

Major Issues Raised by the United States

    The United States has requested the establishment of a panel to 
examine whether certain Chinese measures are providing export-
contingent subsidies to enterprises in several industrial sectors in 
China. It appears that China provides export-contingent subsidies 
through a program establishing ``Foreign Trade Transformation and 
Upgrading Demonstration Bases'' (``Demonstration Bases'') and ``Common 
Service Platforms''. Demonstration Bases are industrial clusters of 
enterprises in several Chinese industries, including the textiles, 
agriculture, medical products, light industry, special chemical 
engineering, new materials, and hardware and building materials 
industries. Common Service Platforms are service suppliers designated 
by China to provide services to enterprises in Demonstration Bases. 
China designates an industrial cluster of enterprises in a particular 
industry as a Demonstration Base and then provides subsidies to the 
enterprises located in the Demonstration Base. These subsidies include 
the provision of discounted or free services through Common Service 
Platforms or the provision of grants.
    The Demonstration Base/Common Service Platform program and the 
grants at issue are reflected in legal instruments that include, but 
are not limited to, the instruments set out in the panel request.
    Because the Demonstration Base/Common Service Platform program and 
the grants at issue provide subsidies contingent upon export 
performance to enterprises located in China, the measures appear to be 
inconsistent with Article 3.1(a) of the SCM Agreement, and China 
appears to have acted inconsistently with Article 3.2 of the SCM 
Agreement.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons may submit public 
comments electronically to www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2015-
0004. If you are unable to provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, 
please contact Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an 
alternative method of transmission.
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2015-0004 on the home page and click ``search''. The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice'' 
under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-results page, 
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 ``How to Use This 
Site'' on the left side of the home page.)
    The www.regulations.gov site provides the option of providing 
comments by filling in a ``Type Comments'' field, or by attaching a 
document using an ``Upload File'' field. It is expected that most 
comments will be provided in an attached document. If a document is 
attached, it is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type 
Comments'' field.
    A person requesting that information contained in a comment 
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such 
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment 
containing business confidential information must be submitted by fax 
to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640. A non-confidential summary of the 
confidential information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The 
non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket and will be open 
to public inspection.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with Section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information 
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
    (1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
    (2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE'' 
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
    (3) Must provide a non-confidential summary of the information or 
advice.

Any comment containing confidential information must be submitted by 
fax. A non-confidential summary of the confidential information must be 
submitted to www.regulations.gov. The non-confidential summary will be 
placed in the docket and open to public inspection.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a docket on this dispute settlement 
proceeding, accessible to the public at www.regulations.gov, docket 
number USTR-2015-0004. The public file will include non-confidential 
comments received by USTR from the public regarding the dispute. If a 
dispute settlement panel is composed, or in the event of an appeal of 
any report circulated by such a panel, the U.S. submissions, any non-
confidential submissions, or non-confidential summaries of submissions, 
received from other participants in the dispute, will be made available 
to the public on USTR's Web site at www.ustr.gov. The report of the 
panel, and, if applicable, the report of the Appellate Body, will be 
available on the Web site of the World Trade Organization, www.wto.org. 
Comments open to public inspection may be viewed on the 
www.regulations.gov Web site.

Juan A. Mill[aacute]n,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2015-11382 Filed 5-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P