[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 168 (Monday, August 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52535-52536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21494]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Obligations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning 
Russia's implementation of its obligations as a Member of the World 
Trade Organization (WTO).

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to Congress on Russia's implementation of its 
obligations as a Member of the WTO.

DATES: Written comments are due by 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 28, 
2015. Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide 
written notification of their intention, as well as a summary of their 
testimony, by 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 28, 2015. The hearing will 
be held on Thursday, October 8, 2015, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Rooms 1 
& 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and notifications of intent to testify 
should be submitted electronically via the Internet at 
www.regulations.gov. If you are unable to provide submissions at 
www.regulations.gov, please contact Yvonne Jamison, TPSC, at (202) 395-
3475, to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475. All 
other questions regarding this notice should be directed to Betsy 
Hafner, Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Russia 
and Eurasia, at (202) 395-9124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 52536]]

1. Background

    Russia became a Member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on 
December 21, 2012, following the termination of the application of the 
Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal 
trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia 
both filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of non-
application and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between 
them. In accordance with section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova 
Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitskiy Rule of Law Accountability 
Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-208), USTR is required to submit, by December 
21 of each year, a report to Congress on the extent to which Russia is 
implementing the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on 
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The Report must 
also assess Russia's progress on acceding to the Information Technology 
Agreement (ITA) and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). In 
addition, to the extent that USTR finds that Russia is not implementing 
fully the WTO Agreement or is not making adequate progress in acceding 
to the ITA or the GPA, USTR must describe in the report the actions it 
plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its implementation and/or 
increase its accession efforts. In accordance with section 201(a), and 
to assist it in preparing this year's report, the TPSC is hereby 
soliciting public comment.
    The terms of Russia's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the 
Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO 
(including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on 
the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides 
detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. The 
Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on USTR's Web page, 
https://ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO Web site, http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/
MIN(11)/24, WT/L/839, and WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.2.

2. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on Russia's implementation of the commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited 
to, commitments in the following areas: (a) Import regulation (e.g., 
tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses); (b) export 
regulation; (c) subsidies; (d) standards and technical regulations; (e) 
sanitary and phytosanitary measures; (f) trade-related investment 
measures; (g) taxes and charges levied on imports and exports; (h) 
other internal policies affecting trade; (i) intellectual property 
rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement); (j) 
services; (k) rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, 
uniform administration of laws and regulations); and (l) other WTO 
commitments.
    Written comments must be received no later than 11:59 p.m., Monday, 
September 28, 2015.
    A hearing will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2015, in Rooms 1 & 
2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. Persons wishing to testify 
at the hearing must provide written notification of their intention by 
11:59 p.m., September 28, 2015. The intent to testify notification must 
be made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2015-
0015 on the www.regulations.gov Web site and should include the name, 
address and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. A 
summary of the testimony should be attached by using the ``Upload 
File'' field. The name of the file should also include who will be 
presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to 
no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the 
TPSC.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first 
page of the submission) ``Russia's WTO Implementation.'' In order to be 
assured of consideration, comments should be submitted by 11:59 p.m., 
September 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-2015-0015 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 Regulations.gov'' on the bottom 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, it is sufficient to 
type ``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or 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 information 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 Yvonne 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 business 
confidential information. Comments may be viewed on the 
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. 2015-21494 Filed 8-28-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P