[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36071-36072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16204]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2017-0011]


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is seeking 
comments and will convene a public hearing to assist the Office of the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) to prepare its annual report 
to Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

DATES: September 20, 2017: Deadline for filing requests to appear and a 
summary of expected testimony at the October 4, 2017 public hearing, 
and for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, or comments concerning 
China's compliance with WTO commitments.
    October 4, 2017: The TPSC will convene a public hearing in 
Washington, DC concerning China's compliance with WTO commitments.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section 3 below. The docket 
number is USTR-2017-0011. For alternatives to on-line submissions, 
please contact Yvonne Jamison, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 
395-3475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Yvonne 
Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all other questions to Terrence J. 
McCartin, Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for China 
Affairs, at (202) 395-3900, or Philip D. Chen, Chief Counsel for China 
Enforcement, at (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In 
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-286), by December 11th of each year USTR has to submit a 
report to Congress on China's compliance with commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the WTO, including both multilateral 
commitments and any bilateral

[[Page 36072]]

commitments made to the United States. In accordance with section 421, 
and to assist in preparing this year's report, the TPSC is soliciting 
public comments. You can view last year's report on USTR's Web site: 
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2015-Report-to-Congress-China-WTO-Compliance.pdf.
    The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including 
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the 
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. You 
can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on the WTO Web site: 
http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, 
WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

2. Public Comments and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony on China's 
compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to 
the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following 
areas:
    a. Trading rights.
    b. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses);
    c. Export regulation.
    d. Internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards 
and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 
government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and 
charges levied on imports and exports).
    e. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement).
    f. Services.
    g. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform.
    h. Other WTO commitments.
    In addition, given the United States' view that China should be 
held accountable as a full participant in, and beneficiary of, the 
international trading system, USTR requests that commenters 
specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review 
and evaluation by USTR's China Enforcement Task Force.
    We must receive written comments no later than Wednesday, September 
20, 2017.
    The TPSC will convene a public hearing on Wednesday, October 4, 
2017. If necessary, the hearing will continue on the next business day. 
The hearing will be held at 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508 and 
will be open to the public and to the press. We must receive your 
written requests to present oral testimony at the hearing and pre-
hearing briefs, statements, or comments by Wednesday, September 20, 
2017. You must make the intent to testify notification in the ``Type 
Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2017-0011 on the 
www.regulations.gov Web site and you should include the name, address, 
telephone number and email address, if available, of the person 
presenting the testimony. You should attach a summary of the testimony 
by using the ``Upload File'' field. The name of the file also should 
include who will be presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing 
should be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible 
questions from the TPSC.
    You should submit all documents in accordance with the instructions 
in section 3 below.
    We will make a transcript of the hearing available on 
www.regulations.gov within approximately two weeks of the date of the 
hearing.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to be assured of consideration, we must receive your 
written comments and notifications of intent to testify in English by 
Wednesday, September 20, 2017. USTR strongly encourages commenters to 
make on-line submissions, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. On 
the first page of the submission, please identify it as ``China's WTO 
Compliance.''
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2017-0011 on the home page and click ``search.'' The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
this docket. Find a reference to this notice and click on the link 
entitled ``Comment Now!'' For further information on using the 
www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use Regulations.gov'' on the 
bottom of the home page. We will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
    The www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to submit comments by 
filling in a ``Type Comment'' field or by attaching a document using an 
``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that you submit comments in an 
attached document. If you attach a document, it is sufficient to type 
``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If you 
use an application other than those two, please indicate the name of 
the application in the ``Type Comment'' field.
    For any comments submitted electronically containing 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. Filers of submissions 
containing business confidential information also must submit a public 
version of their comments that we will place in the docket for public 
inspection. 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.
    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.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements with 
Yvonne Jamison in advance of transmitting a comment. You can contact 
Ms. Jamison at (202) 395-3475. General information concerning USTR is 
available at www.ustr.gov.
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the 
www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant docket number in 
the search field on the home page.

Edward Gresser,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-16204 Filed 8-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P