[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77319-77321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31430]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Request for Public Input on Sectoral Dialogues To Inform Work on 
Standards Cooperation Under the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial 
Dialogue

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: With this notice, the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), on 
behalf of the Administration, is seeking public input to identify 
priority sectors in which the United States and India will pursue 
cooperative dialogues under the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial 
Dialogue (S&CD) to address standards-related trade barriers. The aim of 
the cooperative dialogues is for the private sector to produce concrete 
recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on breaking down 
barriers related to standards, regulatory, and conformity assessment 
practices to increase bilateral trade. Stakeholder input will be used 
by the USDOC, in consultation with its interagency partners, to 
identify those sectors where cooperative work will yield the most 
benefits for bilateral trade from a U.S. perspective. The USDOC will 
also use stakeholder input to seek agreement from its Indian government 
counterparts on the sectors in which to begin cooperative work.
    Criteria for selection include: The nature of the existing 
standards-related barriers in the sector (medical devices, ICT 
products, oil and gas, etc.), including whether the standards related 
measures that are affecting bilateral trade are subject to regulatory 
discretion or have limited potential for adjustment due to legislated 
mandates; the relative

[[Page 77320]]

estimated trade impact of eliminating the standards-related barriers in 
the sector; and whether private sector representatives from the 
sector--both U.S. and Indian--are committed to leading a cooperative 
dialogue to produce concrete recommendations for the U.S. and Indian 
governments on breaking down barriers in the sector. Selection will 
also take into account the willingness of U.S. and Indian regulators to 
become involved in this targeted work, as well as if another bilateral 
forum relevant to the suggested issue already exists.
    In order for a sector to be considered, stakeholder input must 
identify private-sector leaders from the United States and India that 
have mutually agreed to coordinate and lead a cooperative dialogue 
among stakeholders in the sector from both the United States and India 
to develop recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on 
breaking down standards-related barriers in their sector. Confirmation 
of such agreement is encouraged. See additional requirements for 
submissions in the contents below.
    The private sector cooperative dialogue leaders from the selected 
priority sectors are expected to begin work as early as possible in 
2016 and to report their preliminary recommendations to the U.S. and 
Indian governments at the next meeting of the U.S.-India S&CD, expected 
to take place in India in mid-2016. At the discretion of the U.S. and 
Indian private sector cooperative dialogue leads, U.S. and Indian 
government officials will be available to provide information to 
facilitate the development of private sector recommendations. Selection 
of future priority sectors will be evaluated on the basis of the 
performance of the cooperative dialogues in the initially selected 
priority sectors.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Boyles, Manager, Emerging 
Issues, Office of Standards and Investment Policy, International Trade 
Administration, by telephone at (202) 482-1935 (this is not a toll-free 
number) or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2015, President Obama and Prime 
Minister Modi decided to elevate the bilateral commercial and economic 
partnership by establishing the first-ever U.S.-India Strategic and 
Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) which was held in Washington, DC on 
September 22, 2015. The S&CD is the signature, annual forum for policy 
discussions between the United States Government and the Government of 
India. The United States and Indian Governments are using this vehicle 
to advance their shared priorities of generating economic growth, 
creating jobs, and strengthening the middle class. U.S. Secretary of 
State John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker co-
chaired the dialogue with their Indian counterparts, Minister of 
External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Commerce and Industry 
Nirmala Sitharaman.
    Below are highlights of work agreed to on standards cooperation at 
the September 22, 2015 S&CD:
    Standards Cooperation: The United States and India are working 
together to participate in the development of international standards 
and technical regulations to boost trade and help reduce administrative 
and logistical burdens, which disproportionately affect small and 
medium sized enterprises. The United States and India will engage their 
respective industries to identify up to two sectors where standards and 
conformity assessment-focused cooperative dialogues could lead to 
mutual benefit and increased trade. To support the removal of barriers 
that impact the global supply chain, the United States and India will 
exchange best practices for the operation of national Enquiry Points 
under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to 
Trade and will explore opportunities for more cooperation on reference 
standards between India's National Physical Laboratories (NPL) and the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The United 
States and India announced a private sector-led collaboration to update 
a bilateral standards portal, which facilitates the sharing of 
information to improve industry understanding of market access 
requirements in both countries.
    Request For Public Input: Submissions relevant to this request for 
public input should be submitted no later than 60 days after the date 
of this notice and can be submitted online or in writing.
    Written submissions should be directed to Michael Boyles, Office of 
Standards and Investment Policy, Industry and Analysis, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, Room 22025, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20230.
    Online submissions should be submitted using http://www.regulations.gov.
    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, ITA strongly encourages commenters to make online submissions 
using http://www.regulations.gov. Comments should be submitted under 
ITA-2015-0005. To find this docket, enter the docket number in the 
``Enter Keyword or ID'' Window at the http://www.regulations.gov home 
page and click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page 
listing all documents associated with the docket number. Find a 
reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document 
Type'' on the search-results page, and click on the link entitled 
``Comment now!'' The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the 
option of making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by 
attaching a document. ITA prefers submissions to be provided in an 
attached document. (For further information on using http://www.regulations.gov, please consult the resources provided on the Web 
site by clicking on the ``Help'' tab.)
    All comments and recommendations submitted in response to this 
notice will be made available to the public so should not include any 
privileged or confidential business information. The file name should 
begin with the character ``P'' (signifying that the comments contain no 
privileged or confidential business information and can be posted 
publicly), followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments. Written submissions should include an original and five (5) 
copies.
    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.
    Required Content for Submissions: USDOC seeks public input on the 
sectors that would benefit most from focused engagement by U.S. and 
Indian private-sector leaders and government representatives under the 
S&CD to address trade barriers related to standards, regulatory, and 
conformity assessment practices to increase bilateral trade. Criteria 
for selection include: The nature of the existing standards-related 
barriers in the sector (medical devices, ICT products, oil and gas, 
etc.), including whether the standards related measures that are 
affecting bilateral trade are subject to regulatory discretion or have 
limited potential for adjustment due to legislated mandates; the 
relative estimated trade impact of eliminating the standards-related 
barriers in the sector; and whether private sector representatives from 
the sector--both U.S. and Indian--are committed to leading a 
cooperative dialogue to

[[Page 77321]]

produce concrete recommendations for the U.S. and Indian governments on 
breaking down the barriers in the sector. Selection will also take into 
account the willingness of U.S. and Indian regulators to become 
involved in this targeted work.
    Submissions should include: A description of the main standards-
related barrier(s) affecting U.S.-India trade in the sector (e.g., lack 
of transparency by U.S. and/or Indian officials in developing standards 
and/or regulations affecting the sector; U.S. and Indian officials 
applying different standards or technical regulations to products or 
services in the sector; testing or other requirements that are 
difficult to meet; and/or requirements being applied by U.S. and/or 
Indian officials only when products or services in the sector are 
imported from the other's market), including whether the areas involved 
are subject to regulatory discretion or have limited potential for 
adjustment due to legislated mandates; the relative estimated trade 
impact of eliminating the standards-related barriers in the sector; and 
data on bilateral trade in the sector for at least three years to help 
evaluate trade trends.
    Submissions must identify private-sector leaders from the United 
States and India that have mutually agreed to coordinate and lead a 
cooperative dialogue among stakeholders in the sector from both the 
United States and India to develop recommendations for the U.S. and 
Indian governments on breaking down standards-related barriers in their 
sector. Confirmation of such agreement is encouraged. No U.S. 
Government funding will be provided for these activities.
    Additionally, submissions should provide information on current and 
previous efforts to address standards-related barriers to bilateral 
trade in the sector, including under other government-to-government 
initiatives, to help evaluate the potential for liberalization of 
barriers identified. Submissions should also provide information, if 
known, about the U.S. and Indian government authorities, in particular 
regulators, whose actions impact the sector, and who would need to be 
involved in implementing the recommendations that the private sector 
leads will develop under a U.S.-India cooperative dialogue on the 
subject sector. Before finalizing priority sector selection, U.S. and 
Indian government S&CD leads will confirm that their respective 
relevant regulators support targeted work in the sector. Additional 
information also is welcome that would help USDOC and its interagency 
partners evaluate prospects for growth in bilateral trade in the 
sector, if this work is undertaken.

    Dated: December 4, 2015.
Chris Rosettie,
Director, Office of Standards and Investment Policy, International 
Trade Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-31430 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P