[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72736-72738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29659]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. TPA-105-001]


Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. 
Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Following receipt on November 5, 2015 of a request from the 
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission has instituted 
investigation No. TPA-105-001, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: 
Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors, 
under section 105(c) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 
and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(c)), for the purpose of 
assessing the likely impact of the Agreement on the U.S. economy as a 
whole and on specific industry sectors and the interests of U.S. 
consumers. In addition to the United States, the Agreement includes 
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, 
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

DATES: 
    December 22, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
    December 29, 2015: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    January 13, 2016: Public hearing.
    January 22, 2016: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    February 15, 2016: Deadline for filing all other written 
submissions.
    May 18, 2016: Anticipated date for transmitting Commission report 
to the President and Congress.

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Jose Signoret (202-205-
3125 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader Laura 
Bloodgood (202-708-4726 or [email protected]) for information 
specific to this investigation. For information on the legal aspects of 
this investigation, contact William Gearhart of the

[[Page 72737]]

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). 
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 November 5, 2015, the Commission received a letter from the USTR 
stating that the President notified Congress, also on November 5, 2015, 
of his intent to enter into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement 
with the countries of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, 
Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. As 
requested by the USTR and as required by section 105(c) of the 
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 
2015 (2015 Act), the Commission will submit to the President and 
Congress a report assessing the likely impact of the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership (TPP) Agreement on the U.S. economy as a whole and on 
specific industry sectors and the interests of U.S. consumers. In 
assessing the likely impact, the Commission will include the impact the 
agreement will have on the U.S. gross domestic product; exports and 
imports; aggregate employment and employment opportunities; and the 
production, employment, and competitive position of industries likely 
to be significantly affected by the agreement. In preparing its 
assessment, the Commission will also review available economic 
assessments regarding the Agreement, including literature concerning 
any substantially equivalent proposed agreement. The Commission will 
provide a description of the analytical methods used and conclusions 
drawn in such literature, and a discussion of areas of consensus and 
divergence between the Commission's analyses and conclusions and other 
economic assessments reviewed.
    Section 105(c)(2) of the 2015 Act requires that the Commission 
submit its report to the President and the Congress not later than 105 
days after the President enters into the agreement. The USTR requested 
that the Commission provide the report as soon as possible. Section 
105(c)(4) of the 2015 Act requires the President to make the 
Commission's assessment under section 105(c)(2) available to the 
public.

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 January 13, 
2016, and continuing on additional days, if necessary. Requests to 
appear at the public hearing should be filed with the Secretary no 
later than 5:15 p.m., December 22, 2015. All pre-hearing briefs and 
statements must be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., December 29, 2015; 
and all post-hearing briefs and statements, which should focus on 
matters raised at the hearing, must be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., 
January 22, 2016. In order to appear at the hearing, all interested 
parties and other persons appearing must file a pre-hearing brief or 
statement that sets forth the information and arguments they intend to 
present at the hearing. An extension of time for filing requests to 
appear, pre-hearing and post-hearing statements, and all other written 
submissions will not be granted unless the Chairman determines that the 
condition for granting an extension of time in section 201.14(b)(2) of 
the Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.14(b)(2)) is 
met. All requests to appear and all pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs 
and statements should otherwise be filed in accordance with the 
requirements in the ``Written Submissions'' section below. In the event 
that, as of the close of business on December 22, 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 December 22, 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-hearing and post-hearing briefs and statements, all written 
submissions should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., February 15, 
2016. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of 
section 201.8 of the Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 
201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing 
Procedures requires 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 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. 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 either their pre-hearing or post-hearing brief 
or another written submission, or as a separate written submission, and 
the summary must be clearly marked on its front page as being their 
``summary of position for inclusion in the appendix to the Commission's 
report.'' 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

[[Page 72738]]

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: November 17, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-29659 Filed 11-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P