[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95722-95724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31379]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR-2016-0026]
2017 Special 301 Review: Identification of Countries Under
Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974; Request for Public Comment and
Notice of Public Hearing
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) requires the
United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) to identify
countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual
property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S.
persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The provisions of
Section 182 are commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions
of the Trade Act. The Trade Act requires the Trade Representative to
determine which, if any, of these countries to identify as Priority
Foreign Countries. The Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) requests written comments that identify acts, policies, or
practices that may form the basis of a country's identification as a
Priority Foreign Country or placement on the Priority Watch List or
Watch List. USTR also requests notices of intent to appear at the
public hearing.
DATES: The schedule and deadlines for the 2017 Special 301 review are
as follows:
February 9, 2017 at midnight EST: Written comments, notices of
intent to testify at the Special 301 Public Hearing, and hearing
statements from the public are due.
February 23, 2017 at midnight EST: Written comments, notices of
intent to testify at the Special 301 Public Hearing, and although not
mandatory, any prepared hearing statements from foreign governments are
due.
February 28, 2017: The Special 301 Subcommittee will hold a public
hearing at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F
Street NW., Rooms 1&2, Washington, DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing
may continue on the next business day. Please consult the USTR Web site
for confirmation of the date and location and the schedule of
witnesses.
March 3, 2017 at midnight EST: Post-hearing written comments from
persons who testified at the public hearing are due.
On or about April 30, 2017: USTR will publish the 2017 Special 301
Report within 30 days of the publication of the National Trade Estimate
(NTE) Report.
ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments, notice of intent to
testify, hearing statements, and post hearing comments, which must be
in English, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in
section II below. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please
contact USTR at [email protected] before transmitting a comment
and in advance of the relevant deadline.
Procedures/Addresses: All written comments, notices of intent to
testify at
[[Page 95723]]
the public hearing, hearing statements and post-hearing written
responses must be in English and submitted electronically via
www.regulations.gov, Docket Number USTR-2016-0026. Please specify
``2017 Special 301 Review'' in the ``Type Comment'' field.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Peterson, Director for
Innovation and Intellectual Property, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, at [email protected]. You can find information
about the Special 301 Review at www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 182 of the Trade Act, commonly known as the ``Special 301''
provisions, requires the Trade Representative to identify countries
that deny adequate and effective IPR protections or fair and equitable
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property
protection. The Trade Act requires the Trade Representative to
determine which, if any, of these countries to identify as Priority
Foreign Countries. Acts, policies or practices that are the basis of a
country's identification as a Priority Foreign Country can be subject
to the procedures set out in sections 301-305 of the Trade Act.
In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch
List'' to assist the Administration in pursuing the goals of the
Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority
Watch List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in
that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement or market
access for persons that rely on intellectual property protection.
Trading partners placed on the Priority Watch List are the focus of
increased bilateral attention concerning the problem areas.
USTR chairs the Special 301 Subcommittee (Subcommittee) of the
Trade Policy Staff Committee. The Subcommittee reviews information from
many sources, and consults with and makes recommendations to the Trade
Representative on issues arising under Special 301. Written submissions
from the public are a key source of information for the Special 301
review process. In 2017, USTR again will conduct a public hearing as
part of the review process as well as offer the opportunity, as
described below, for hearing participants to provide additional
information relevant to the review. At the conclusion of the process,
USTR will publish the results of the review in a ``Special 301''
Report.
USTR requests that interested persons identify through the process
outlined in this notice those countries whose acts, policies, or
practices deny adequate and effective protection for intellectual
property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S.
persons who rely on intellectual property protection.
Section 182 also requires the Trade Representative to identify any
act, policy or practice of Canada that affects cultural industries, was
adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992, and is actionable under
Article 2106 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The
public is invited to submit views relevant to this aspect of the
review.
Section 182 requires the Trade Representative to identify all such
acts, policies, or practices within 30 days of the publication of the
NTE Report. In accordance with this statutory requirement, USTR will
publish the annual Special 301 Report on or about April 30, 2017.
II. Public Comments
To facilitate the review, written comments should be as detailed as
possible and provide all necessary information for identifying and
assessing the effect of the acts, policies, and practices. USTR invites
written comments that provide specific references to laws, regulations,
policy statements, including innovation policies, executive,
presidential or other orders, and administrative, court or other
determinations that should factor in the review. USTR also requests
that, where relevant, submissions mention particular regions,
provinces, states, or other subdivisions of a country in which an act,
policy, or practice is believed to warrant special attention. Finally,
submissions proposing countries for review should include data, loss
estimates, and other information regarding the economic impact on the
United States, U.S. industry and the U.S. workforce caused by the
denial of adequate and effective intellectual property protection.
Comments that include quantitative loss claims should be accompanied by
the methodology used in calculating such estimated losses.
III. Public Hearing
The Special 301 Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on February
28, 2017, at the Office of the United State Trade Representative, 1724
F Street NW., Rooms 1&2, Washington DC 20508, at which interested
persons, including representatives of foreign governments, may appear
to provide oral testimony. If necessary, the hearing may continue on
the next business day. The hearing will be open to the public. Because
the hearing will take place in Federal facilities, security screening
will be required. Attendees will need to show photo identification and
be screened for security purposes. Please consult www.ustr.gov to
confirm the date and location of the hearing and to obtain copies of
the hearing schedule. USTR also will post the transcript and recording
of the hearing on the USTR Web site as soon after the hearing as
possible.
Prepared oral testimony before the Special 301 Subcommittee must be
delivered in person, in English, and will be limited to five minutes.
Subcommittee member agencies may ask questions following the prepared
statement. Persons, except representatives of foreign governments,
wishing to testify at the hearing must submit a ``Notice of Intent to
Testify'' and ``Hearing Statement'' by the February 9, 2017, deadline
to www.regulations.gov following the procedures set forth in part IV
below. The Notice of Intent to Testify must include the name of the
witness, name of the organization (if applicable), address, telephone
number, fax number, and email address. A Hearing Statement must
accompany the Notice of Intent to Testify. There is no requirement
regarding the length of the Hearing Statement; however, the content of
the testimony must be relevant to the Special 301 Review.
All representatives of foreign governments that wish to testify at
the hearing must submit a ``Notice of Intent to Testify'' by the
February 23, 2017, deadline to www.regulations.gov following the
procedures set forth in part IV below. The Notice of Intent to Testify
must include the name of the witness, name of the organization (if
applicable), address, telephone number, fax number, and email address.
Although not mandatory, government witnesses may submit a Hearing
Statement when filing the Notice of Intent to Testify.
IV. Submission Instructions
All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2016-0026. To submit comments,
locate the docket (folder) by entering the number USTR-2016-0026 in the
``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the www.regulations.gov home page and
click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page listing
all documents associated with this docket. Locate the reference to this
notice by
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selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!.''
USTR requests that you provide comments in an attached document, and
that you name the file according to the following protocol, as
appropriate: Commenter Name, or Organization_2017 Special
301_Review_Comment, or Notice of Intent to Testify or Hearing
Testimony. Please include the following information in the `Type
Comment'' field: ``2017 Special 301 Review'' and whether the submission
is a comment, a request to testify at the hearing, or hearing
testimony. Please submit documents prepared in (or compatible with)
Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. If the
submission was prepared in a compatible format, please indicate the
name of the relevant software application in the ``Type Comment''
field. For further information on using the www.regulations.gov Web
site, please select ``How to Use Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of any
page. 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 comment itself, rather than submitting them as
separate files. For any comments submitted electronically that contains
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 and the submission
should clearly indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or other means,
the specific information that is business confidential. A filer
requesting business confidential treatment must certify that the
information is business confidential and would not customarily be
released to the public by the submitter. Additionally, the submitter
should type ``Business Confidential'' in the ``Type Comment'' field.
Filers of comments containing business confidential information
also must 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. Filers submitting comments containing no
business confidential information should name their file using the name
of the person or entity submitting the comments. The non-business
confidential version will be placed in the docket at
www.regulations.gov and be available for public inspection.
As noted, USTR strongly urges commenters to submit comments through
www.regulations.gov. Any alternative arrangements must be made before
transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline by
contacting USTR at [email protected].
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 Docket Number
USTR-2016-0026 in the ``Search'' field on the home page.
Probir Mehta,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Innovation and
Intellectual Property Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2016-31379 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
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