[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 242 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78764-78765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31734]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. CAFTA-DR-103-028]


Probable Economic Effects of Certain Modifications to the CAFTA-
DR Rules of Origin

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and notice of opportunity to 
provide written comments.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt on November 24, 2015, of a request from the 
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), under authority delegated by the 
President and pursuant to section 104 of the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 
U.S.C. 4014), the Commission instituted investigation No. CAFTA-DR-103-
028, Probable Economic Effects of Certain Modifications to the CAFTA-DR 
Rules of Origin.

DATES: January 25, 2016: Deadline for filing written submissions. May 
24, 2016: Transmittal of Commission report to 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 Philip Stone (202-205-
3424 or [email protected]) or deputy project leader Brian Allen 
(202-205-3034 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). 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: In his request letter (received November 24, 2015), the 
USTR stated that U.S. negotiators have recently reached agreement in 
principle with representatives of the CAFTA-DR governments on certain 
modifications to the rules of origin in Annex 4.1 of the Dominican 
Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. The USTR 
noted that section 203(o)(3)(A) of the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 
authorizes the President, subject to the consultation and layover 
requirements of section 104 of the Act, to proclaim such modifications 
to rules of origin provisions included in Annex 4.1 of the Agreement in 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), other than 
with respect to goods of HTS chapters 50 through 63. He noted that one 
of the requirements set out in section 104 is that the President obtain 
advice regarding the proposed action from the U.S. International Trade 
Commission. In the request letter, the USTR asked that the Commission 
provide advice on the probable economic effects of the proposed 
modifications in rules of origin on U.S. trade under the Agreement, on 
total U.S. trade, and on domestic producers of the affected articles. 
The products identified in the proposal are fishing lures, gaming 
machines, polyvinyl chloride, and certain products of the chemical or 
allied industries. The request letter and the complete list of proposed 
modifications are available on the Commission's Web site at http://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/what_we_are_working_on.htm. As

[[Page 78765]]

requested, the Commission will provide its advice to USTR by May 24, 
2016.
    Written Submissions: No public hearing is planned. However, 
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., January 25, 2016. 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 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 and the 
President. As requested, the Commission will issue a public version of 
its report, with any confidential business information deleted, shortly 
after it transmits its report.
    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 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.

    Dated: December 14, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-31734 Filed 12-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P