[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 160 (Wednesday, August 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50377-50379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20524]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comments To Compile the National Trade 
Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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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) is required to publish annually the National Trade Estimate 
Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). With this notice, the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to 
submit comments to assist it in identifying significant barriers to 
U.S. exports of goods, services, and U.S. foreign direct investment for 
inclusion in the NTE. The TPSC invites written comments from the public 
on issues that USTR should examine in preparing the NTE.
    Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 
(19 U.S.C. 3106) (``Section 1377'') requires the USTR to review 
annually the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services that are in force 
with respect to the United States. In past years, USTR has solicited 
comments with regard to Section 1377 in a separate Federal Register 
Notice. In 2016, USTR is collecting information regarding the trade 
barriers pertinent to the conduct of the review called for in Section 
1377 through this notice.

DATES: Public comments are due not later than 11:59 p.m., October 28, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at 
www.regulations.gov docket number USTR 2015-0014. For alternatives to 
on-line submissions please contact Yvonne Jamison (202) 395-3475. The 
public is strongly encouraged to file submissions electronically rather 
than by facsimile or mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this notice should 
be directed to Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NTE sets out an inventory of the most 
important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and 
services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and protection of 
intellectual property rights. The inventory facilitates U.S. 
negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers. The 
report also provides a valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and 
strengthening the rules-based trading system. The 2015 NTE Report may 
be found on USTR's Internet Home Page (http://www.ustr.gov) under the 
tab ``Reports''. To ensure compliance with the NTE's statutory mandate 
and the Obama Administration's commitment to

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focus on the most significant foreign trade barriers, USTR will be 
guided by the existence of active private sector interest in deciding 
which restrictions to include in the NTE.
    Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in 
preparing the NTE, commenters should submit information related to one 
or more of the following categories of foreign trade barriers:
    (1) Import policies (e.g., tariffs and other import charges, 
quantitative restrictions, import licensing, and customs barriers);
    (2) Government procurement restrictions (e.g., ``buy national 
policies'' and closed bidding);
    (3) Export subsidies (e.g., export financing on preferential terms, 
subsidies provided to equipment manufacturers contingent on export and 
agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S. exports in third 
country markets);
    (4) Lack of intellectual property protection (e.g., inadequate 
patent, copyright, and trademark regimes);
    (5) Services barriers (e.g., limits on the range of financial 
services offered by foreign financial institutions, regulation of 
international data flows, restrictions on the use of data processing, 
quotas on imports of foreign films, unnecessary or discriminatory 
technical regulations or standards for telecommunications services and 
barriers to the provision of services by professionals);
    (6) Investment barriers (e.g., limitations on foreign equity 
participation and on access to foreign government-funded R&D consortia, 
local content, technology transfer and export performance requirements, 
and restrictions on repatriation of earnings, capital, fees, and 
royalties);
    (7) Government-tolerated anticompetitive conduct of state-owned or 
private firms that restrict the sale or purchase of U.S. goods or 
services in the foreign country's markets;
    (8) Trade restrictions affecting electronic commerce (e.g., tariff 
and non-tariff measures, burdensome and discriminatory regulations and 
standards, and discriminatory taxation);
    (9) Trade restrictions implemented through unwarranted Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures, including unwarranted measures justified for 
purposes of protecting food safety, and animal and plant life or 
health;
    (10) Trade restrictions implemented through unwarranted standards, 
conformity assessment procedures, or technical regulations (Technical 
Barriers to Trade) that may have as their objective protecting national 
security requirements, preventing deceptive practices, or protecting 
human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the 
environment, but that can be formulated or implemented in ways that 
create significant barriers to trade (including unnecessary or 
discriminatory technical regulations or standards for 
telecommunications products); and
    (11) Other barriers (e.g., barriers that encompass more than one 
category, such as bribery and corruption, or that affect a single 
sector).
    In addition, Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness 
Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``Section 1377'') requires the USTR to 
review annually the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade 
agreements regarding telecommunications products and services that are 
in force with respect to the United States. The purpose of the review 
is to determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a country that 
has entered into a trade agreement or other telecommunications trade 
agreement with the United States is inconsistent with the terms of such 
agreement or otherwise denies U.S. firms, within the context of the 
terms of such agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities 
for telecommunications products and services. In past years, USTR has 
solicited comments with regard to Section 1377 in a separate Federal 
Register Notice. For 2016, USTR is collecting the information with 
regard to the trade barriers pertinent to the Section 1377 review 
through this notice.
    Furthermore, commenters are invited to identify those barriers 
covered in submissions that may operate as ``localization barriers to 
trade''. Localization barriers are measures designed to protect, favor, 
or stimulate domestic industries, services providers, and or 
intellectual property at the expense of goods services or intellectual 
property from other countries, including the provision of subsidies 
linked to local production. For more information on localization 
barriers, please go to http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/localization-barriers.
    In responding to this notice, commenters should place particular 
emphasis on any practices that may violate U.S. trade agreements. The 
TPSC is also interested in receiving new or updated information 
pertinent to the barriers covered in the 2015 NTE as well as 
information on new barriers. If USTR does not include in the NTE 
information that it receives pursuant to this notice, it 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 foreign trade 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 
foreign trade barriers 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.
    Comments should be submitted under docket number USTR 2015-0014. 
Persons submitting comments must do so in English and must identify (on 
the first page of the submission) ``Comments Regarding Foreign Trade 
Barriers To U.S. Exports for 2016 Reporting.''
    In order to be assured of consideration, comments should be 
submitted by 11:59 p.m., October 28, 2015. In order to ensure the 
timely receipt and consideration of comments, USTR strongly encourages 
commenters to make on-line submissions, using the www.regulations.gov 
Web site. To submit comments via www.regulations.gov enter docket 
number USTR 2015-0014 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 and click on the link 
entitled ``Comment Now!'' (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 Web site allows users to provide comments 
by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document 
using an ``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that comments 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 ``Type 
Comment'' field. For example: ``See attached comments with respect to 
(name of country)''. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) 
or

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Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the submission is in an application other than 
those two, please indicate the name of the application in the ``Type 
Comment'' field. For any comments submitted electronically containing 
business confidential information, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page 
containing business confidential must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of submissions 
containing business confidential information must also submit a public 
version of their comments. The file name of the public version should 
begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed 
by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or reply 
comments. Filers submitting comments containing no business 
confidential information should name their file using 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.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments through 
www.regulations.gov, if at all possible. Any alternative arrangements 
must be made with Ms. Jamison in advance of transmitting a comment. Ms. 
Jamison should be contacted at (202) 395-3475. General information 
concerning USTR is available at www.ustr.gov. Comments will be placed 
in the docket and open to public inspection, except confidential 
business information. 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.

Edward Gresser,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2015-20524 Filed 8-18-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P