[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66924-66925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23501]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for nominations from state, local, and 
municipal governments to the trade promotion coordinating committee 
state and federal export promotion coordination working group.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce, as Chair of the Trade Promotion 
Coordinating Committee (TPCC), announces the establishment of the State 
and Federal Export Promotion Coordination Working Group as a 
subcommittee of the TPCC. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement 
Act of 2015 (the Act) requires the President to establish this Working 
Group as a subcommittee of the TPCC to identify issues related to the 
coordination of Federal resources relating to export promotion and 
export financing with such resources provided by State and local 
governments.

DATES: Nominations for the Working Group must be received 
electronically on or before 5:00 p.m. (ET) on October 24, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Kirwan, Director, Trade 
Promotion Coordinating Committee Secretariat, Room 31027, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230, telephone: 202-482-5455, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Establishment of Working Group
III. Member and Meeting Information
IV. Request for Nominations

I. Background

    The TPCC is an interagency group mandated by Congress (15 U.S.C. 
4727) and chaired by the Secretary of Commerce. It was established to 
provide a unifying framework to coordinate the export promotion and 
financing activities of the U.S. Government, as well as to develop a 
government wide strategic plan for carrying out Federal export 
promotion and export financing programs. The United States does not 
have a single agency or government department responsible for creating 
a unified approach to governing export promotion; instead, 20 different 
departments and agencies approach exports with differing mandates. The 
TPCC serves as the coordinating body designed to ensure that these 
agencies and departments act together and work to implement the 
Administration's export promotion agenda, through periodic principals 
meetings and more frequent working group meetings on a variety of 
subjects.
    The TPCC statutory mandate includes:
    (1) Coordinate the development of the trade promotion policies and 
programs of the United States Government;
    (2) provide a central source of information for the business 
community on Federal export promotion and export financing programs;
    (3) coordinate official trade promotion efforts to ensure better 
delivery of services to United States businesses, including: (a) 
Information and counseling on United States export promotion and export 
financing programs and opportunities in foreign markets; (b) 
representation of United States business interests abroad; and (c) 
assistance with foreign business contacts and projects;
    (4) prevent unnecessary duplication in Federal export promotion and 
export financing activities; and
    (5) assess the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among 
agencies in support of export promotion and export financing and 
provide recommendations to the President based on its assessment.
    In carrying out that mandate, the TPCC develops and implements an 
annual government wide strategic plan for Federal trade promotion 
efforts. The annual strategic plan establishes a set of priorities for 
Federal activities in support of U.S. exports; explains the rationale 
for the priorities; reviews current Federal programs designed to 
promote U.S. exports in light of those priorities; identifies areas of 
overlap and duplication and proposes means of eliminating them; 
proposes an annual unified Federal trade promotion budget to the 
President; reviews efforts by the States to promote exports and 
proposes means of developing cooperation between State and Federal 
efforts; and reflects certain recommendations regarding the promotion 
of travel and tourism exports as appropriate.
    For additional information, including the list of TPCC member 
departments and agencies, please see https://www.export.gov/article?id=What-is-the-TPCC.

II. Establishment of Working Group

    Section 504(a) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act 
of 2015 (``Act''), amended the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to add a 
new section 2313A. Section 2313A notes that U.S. policy is to promote 
exports as an opportunity for small businesses, and in exercising their 
powers and functions to advance that policy, all Federal agencies shall 
work constructively with State and local agencies engaged in export 
promotion and export financing activities. Section 2313A directs the 
President to establish the State and Federal Export Promotion 
Coordination Working Group (``Working Group'') under the TPCC with the 
purposes to:
    (1) Identify issues related to the coordination of Federal 
resources relating to export promotion and export financing with such 
resources provided by State and local governments;
    (2) identify ways to improve coordination with respect to export 
promotion and export financing activities through the TPCC annual 
strategic plan;
    (3) develop a strategy for improving coordination of Federal and 
State resources relating to export promotion and export financing, 
including methods to eliminate duplication of effort and overlapping 
functions; and
    (4) develop a strategic plan for considering and implementing the 
suggestions of the Working Group as part of the TPCC annual strategic 
plan.

[[Page 66925]]

    The President issued Executive Order No. 13733, Delegation of 
Certain Authorities and Assignment of Certain Functions under the Trade 
Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, on July 22, 2016, 
assigning to the Secretary of Commerce the function under Section 
2313A(b) of establishing the Working Group. In the Executive Order, the 
President further directed that, in carrying out its functions, the 
State and Federal Export Promotion Coordination Working Group shall 
also coordinate with local and municipal governments representing 
regionally diverse areas.

III. Member and Meeting Information

    The Secretary of Commerce shall select the members of the Working 
Group, who shall include representatives from State trade agencies and 
local and municipal governments representing regionally diverse areas 
and representatives of the federal departments and agencies that are 
represented on the TPCC. Representatives from State trade agencies must 
be: (1) Elected officers of a State, or (2) State employees designated 
by an elected State officer to represent the State trade agency with 
authority to act on his or her behalf. Representatives from local and 
municipal governments must be: (1) Elected officers or (2) local or 
municipal employees designated by an elected officer to represent the 
local and municipal government with authority to act on his or her 
behalf.
    Because the Working Group will be an intergovernmental committee 
composed wholly of full-time or part-time Federal Government officers 
or employees, State government elected officers or their designees, and 
local and municipal elected officials or their designees, all of whom 
will be acting in their official capacities solely to exchange views, 
information, or advice relating to the management and implementation of 
Federal programs established by statute that explicitly share 
intergovernmental responsibilities and administration, the Working 
Group is not covered by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. 
App.
    Members appointed as representatives from State trade agencies and 
local and municipal governments will not receive any Federal 
compensation for their services and will not be reimbursed for travel 
expenses. Meetings will be held in person and/or via teleconference. 
The TPCC will make every effort to use technology to allow for remote 
participation in meetings, but there will be times when in-person 
meetings will be necessary. The TPCC will strive to provide members of 
the Working Group notice of meetings at least 15 calendar days in 
advance.

IV. Request for Nominations

    The TPCC Secretariat seeks nominations for representatives from 
State trade agencies and local and municipal governments to the Working 
Group. For purposes of this notice, a ``State trade agency'' is the 
lead official governmental trade promotion agency for a State, and 
includes separately established trade agencies as well as trade offices 
within a State agency or department or the Office of the Governor. A 
``local or municipal government'' includes, but is not limited to, 
town, city, and county governments. The TPCC seeks representation of 
regionally diverse areas.
    Qualified individuals may self-nominate or be nominated by a senior 
level State government or local or municipal government official. To be 
considered, nominators should submit the following information:
    (1) Name, title, and relevant contact information (including phone 
and email address) for the nominee, the state trade agency that the 
nominee would represent or the local or municipal government the 
nominee would represent;
    (2) A resume or short biography of the nominee, including 
professional and academic credentials.
    (3) A statement of the nominee's role in state, local, or municipal 
export promotion activities.
    Should more information be needed, TPCC staff will contact the 
nominee. If nominees are not an elected official, a letter may be 
requested from an elected official that indicates the nominee has been 
designated to participate in the Working Group on his or her behalf.
    Nominators should submit the above information via electronic 
transmission to [email protected]. The submission must be 
received on or before 5:00 p.m. (ET) on October 24, 2016.

     Dated: September 23, 2016.
Patrick Kirwan,
Director, Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2016-23501 Filed 9-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-25-P