[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 166 (Thursday, August 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52064-52065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21157]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 131-041]


APEC List of Environmental Goods: Advice on the Probable Economic 
Effect of Providing Duty Reductions for Imports

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt on August 5, 2015, of a request from the 
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) under section 131 of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2151), the U.S. International Trade Commission 
(Commission) instituted investigation no. 131-041, APEC List of 
Environmental Goods: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of 
Providing Duty Reductions for Imports.

DATES: 
    September 11, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
    September 15, 2015: Deadline for filing prehearing briefs and 
statements.
    September 25, 2015: Public hearing.
    October 2, 2015: Deadline for filing posthearing briefs and 
statements.
    October 2, 2015: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
    November 4, 2015: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR.

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 http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project leader Renee Berry (202-205-
3498 or [email protected]) for information specific to this 
investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this 
investigation, 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).

[[Page 52065]]

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: As requested by the USTR, the Commission will provide a 
report containing its advice as to the probable economic effect of 
modifying tariffs for six products specified in the request. The report 
will consider the effect of such modifications on U.S. industries 
producing like or directly competitive articles, and on consumers. The 
products are included in a List of Environmental Goods endorsed by 
leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in 2012. Leaders 
agreed to reduce applied duties on such products to 5 percent or less 
by the end of 2015. Broadly, the affected imports covered by the list 
are steam turbine parts and certain types of wood flooring.
    The USTR stated that portions of the Commission's report will be 
classified as national security information and that the USTR considers 
the report to be an inter-agency memorandum that will contain pre-
decisional advice and be subject to the deliberative process privilege.
    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 Friday, September 25, 2015. Requests to appear at the 
public hearing should be filed with the Secretary not later than 5:15 
p.m., September 11, 2015, in accordance with the requirements in the 
``Written Submissions'' section below. All prehearing briefs and 
statements should be filed with the Secretary not later than 5:15 p.m., 
September 15, 2015; and all posthearing briefs and statements 
responding to matters raised at the hearing should be filed with the 
Secretary not later than 5:15 p.m., October 2, 2015. All hearing-
related briefs and statements should be filed in accordance with the 
requirements for filing written submissions set out below.
    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, and all such submissions should 
be received not later than 5:15 p.m., October 2, 2015. All written 
submissions must conform with 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 with 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 be clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties. The Commission may include some or all of the confidential 
business information submitted in the course of this investigation in 
the report it sends to the USTR. The Commission will not otherwise 
publish any confidential business information in a manner that would 
reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to include 
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 21, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-21157 Filed 8-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P