[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36521-36522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16389]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2017-0012]


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seeks comments to assist the Office of the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its 
annual report to Congress on Russia's implementation of its obligations 
as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

DATES: 
    September 22, 2017: Deadline for filing a summary of testimony and 
requests to appear at the September 28, 2017 public hearing, and for 
submitting public comments.
    September 28, 2017: The TPSC will convene a public hearing on 
Russia's implementation of its obligations as a member of the WTO at 
9:30 a.m. in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508.

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-2017-0012. 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 participating in the public hearing, contact Yvonne 
Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all other questions regarding this 
notice to Betsy Hafner, Deputy Assistant United States Trade 
Representative for Russia and Eurasia, at (202) 395-9124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    Russia became a member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on 
December 21, 2012, following the termination of the application of the 
Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal 
trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia 
both filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of non-
application and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between 
them. In accordance with section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova 
Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 
Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-208), USTR is required to submit, by December 
21st of each year, a report to Congress on the extent to which Russia 
is implementing the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on 
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The report also 
must assess Russia's progress on acceding to the Government Procurement 
Agreement (GPA) and the Information Technology Agreement, the latter of 
which Russia implemented fully in 2016. In addition, to the extent that 
USTR finds that Russia is not implementing fully the WTO Agreement or 
is not making adequate progress in acceding to the GPA, USTR must 
describe in the report the actions it plans to take to encourage Russia 
to improve its implementation and/or increase its accession efforts. In 
accordance with section 201(a), and to assist it in preparing this 
year's report, the TPSC is soliciting comments on these issues.
    The terms of Russia's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the 
Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO 
(including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on 
the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides 
detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. You can 
find the Protocol and Working Party Report on USTR's Web site at 
https://ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO Web site at http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/
MIN(11)/24, WT/L/839, and WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.2.

2. Public Comments and Hearing

    USTR must receive written comments no later than 11:59 p.m. on 
Friday, September 22, 2017. USTR invites written comments and/or oral 
testimony on Russia's implementation of the commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited 
to, commitments in the following areas:
    a. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses).
    b. Export regulation.
    c. Subsidies.
    d. Standards and technical regulations.
    e. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
    f. Trade-related investment measures.
    g. Taxes and charges levied on imports and exports.
    h. Other internal policies affecting trade.
    i. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement).
    j. Services.
    k. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations).
    l. Trade-related investment measures.
    m. Other WTO commitments.
    The TPSC will convene a public hearing on Thursday, September 28, 
2017, in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. We must 
receive your written requests to present oral testimony at the hearing 
and a summary of that testimony by noon on by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, 
September 22, 2017. You must make the intent to testify notification in 
the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2017-0012 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.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to be assured of consideration, we must receive your 
written comments in English by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 
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 ``Russia's Implementation of its WTO 
Commitments.''
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2017-0012 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!''

[[Page 36522]]

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. 2017-16389 Filed 8-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P