[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 152 (Friday, August 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47516-47517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19436]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-555]


Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented Under Trade 
Authorities Procedures, 2016 Report

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has instituted investigation No. 332-555, 
Economic Impact of Trade Agreements Implemented Under Trade Authorities 
Procedures, 2016 Report, for the purpose of preparing the first of two 
reports required by section 105(f)(2) of the Bipartisan Congressional 
Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-26). 
Section 105(f)(2) requires that the Commission submit to the House 
Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance two 
reports, one by June 29, 2016, and a second by June 29, 2020, on the 
economic impact on the United States of all trade agreements with 
respect to which Congress has enacted an implementing bill under trade 
authorities procedures since January 1, 1984.

DATES: 
November 2, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing.
November 4, 2015: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
November 17, 2015: Public hearing.
November 30, 2015: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs.
February 5, 2016: Deadline for filing all other written statements.
June 29, 2016: Transmittal of Commission report to the House Committee 
on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance.

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 Leaders Tamar Khachaturian 
(202-205-3299 or [email protected]) and David Riker (202-
205-2201 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader Ravinder 
Ubee (202-205-3493 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

[[Page 47517]]

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: On June 29, 2015, the President signed the Bipartisan 
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA). 
Section 105(f)(2) of the Act requires the Commission to submit two 
reports to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate 
Committee on Finance, one in 2016 and a second not later than mid-2020, 
on the economic impact of trade agreements implemented under trade 
authorities procedures since 1984. Section 105(f)(2) provides as 
follows:
    (2) REPORT ON IMPACT OF TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY.-- Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not later 
than 5 years thereafter, the United States International Trade 
Commission shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report 
on the economic impact on the United States of all trade agreements 
with respect to which Congress has enacted an implementing bill under 
trade authorities procedures since January 1, 1984.
    The Commission will submit its first report by June 29, 2016, and 
the second report by June 29, 2020. This notice pertains only to the 
procedures relating to preparation of the first report.
    For purposes of this report the Commission considers the trade 
agreements covered to include the Uruguay Round Agreements, the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA--Canada and Mexico), and U.S. free 
trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, 
Colombia, the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries 
(Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), Israel, 
Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru, and Singapore.
    The Commission has instituted an investigation under section 332(g) 
of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)) for the purpose of 
preparing this report and also for the purpose of assisting the public 
in the filing and inspection of documents and also to make the report 
more readily accessible to the public through the Commission's Web 
site.
    Public Hearing: The Commission will hold a public hearing in 
connection with this investigation at the U.S. International Trade 
Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC, beginning at 
9:30 a.m. on November 17, 2015. Requests to appear at the public 
hearing should be filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., 
November 2, 2015, in accordance with the requirements in the 
``Submissions'' section below. All pre-hearing briefs and statements 
should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., November 4, 2015; and all 
post-hearing briefs and statements should be filed not later than 5:15 
p.m., November 30, 2015. In the event that, as of the close of business 
on November 2, 2015, 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 2, 2015, 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. Except in the case of requests to appear at 
the hearing and pre- and post-hearing briefs, all written submissions 
should be received no later than 5:15 p.m., February 5, 2016. 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. 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.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish 
summaries of the positions of interested persons in an appendix to its 
report. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position included in 
the appendix should include a summary with their written submission. 
The summary may not exceed 500 words, should be in MSWord format or a 
format that can be easily converted to MSWord, and should not include 
any confidential business information. The summary will be published as 
provided if it meets these requirements and is germane to the subject 
matter of the investigation. In the appendix the Commission will 
identify the name of the organization furnishing the summary, and will 
include a link to the Commission's Electronic Document Information 
System (EDIS) where the full written submission can be found.


    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: August 4, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-19436 Filed 8-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P