[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 160 (Monday, August 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39561-39563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17553]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Office of the United States Trade Representative
Request for Comment on the Costs and Benefits to U.S. Industry of
U.S. International Government Procurement Obligations for Report to the
President on ``Buy American and Hire American''
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce;
Office of the United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of
the President.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Section 3(e) of the Presidential Executive Order on Buy
American and Hire American directs the Secretary of Commerce and the
United States Trade Representative to assess the impacts of all United
States free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization Agreement
on Government Procurement (GPA) on the operation of Buy American Laws,
including their impacts on the implementation of domestic procurement
preferences. The Executive Order can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/18/presidential-executive-order-buy-american-and-hire-american.
In response to this Executive Order, the Department of Commerce
(Department) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) are conducting industry outreach in order to better understand
how the U.S. government procurement obligations under all U.S. free
trade agreements and the GPA affect U.S. manufacturers' and suppliers'
access to and participation in the domestic government procurement
process. In addition, because reciprocal access to trading partners'
markets is an important motivation for including government procurement
obligations in U.S. free trade agreements and for the United States'
membership in the GPA, the Department and the USTR are also seeking
information about the costs and benefits of these obligations to U.S.
manufacturers and suppliers competing in U.S. trading partners'
government procurement markets. The trading partners with which the
United States has international government procurement obligations are:
Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei
(Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the
European Union (which includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong,
Iceland, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Mexico,
the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
The Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade
Representative are required to conclude the assessment called for under
Section 3(e) by September 15, 2017. Responses to this notice will be
considered in the assessment as well as in the final report of findings
and recommendations to strengthen the implementation of Buy American
Laws that the Secretary of Commerce will submit to the President of the
United States by November 24, 2017.
DATES: September 18, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT):
Deadline for interested persons to submit written comments.
ADDRESSES: You may submit responses to the questions below by one of
the following methods:
(a) Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. The
materials in the docket will not be edited to remove identifying or
contact information, and the Department cautions against including any
information in an electronic submission that the submitter does not
want publicly disclosed. Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF formats only. Comments
containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that
are not widely published should include copies of the referenced
materials. Please do not submit additional materials. If you want to
submit a comment with business confidential information that you do not
wish to be made public, submit the comment as a written/paper
submission in the manner detailed below.
(b) Written/Paper Submissions
Send all written/paper submissions to: Adam Boltik, International
Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave.
NW., Room 3043, Washington, DC 20230;
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Submissions of ``Business Confidential Information'': Any submissions
containing ``business confidential information'' must be delivered in a
sealed envelope marked ``confidential treatment requested'' to the
address listed above. Please provide an index listing the document(s)
or information that the submitter would like the Department to
withhold. The index should include information such as numbers used to
identify the relevant document(s) or information, document title and
description, and relevant page numbers and/or section numbers within a
document. Provide a statement explaining the submitter's grounds for
objecting to disclosure of the information to the public. The
Department also requests that submitters of business confidential
information include a non-confidential version (either redacted or
summarized) of those confidential submissions, which will be available
for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. In the
event that the submitter cannot provide a non-confidential version of
its submission, the Department requests that the submitter post a
notice in the docket stating that it has provided the Department with
business confidential information. Should a submitter fail to docket
either a non-confidential version of its submission or to post a notice
that business confidential information has been provided, the
Department will note the receipt of the submission on the docket with
the submitter's organization or name (to the degree permitted by law)
and the date of submission.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice
contact: Adam Boltik or Kate Mellor at the U.S. Department of Commerce,
International Trade Administration, at (202) 482-0357 or (202) 482-
5456. Please direct media inquiries to the Department of Commerce
Office of Public Affairs at (202) 482-4883, or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Topics on which the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade
Representative Seek Information: To assist the Department and USTR in
conducting the assessment of how the U.S. government procurement
obligations under all U.S. free trade agreements and the GPA affect
U.S. manufacturers' and suppliers' access to and participation in the
domestic and U.S. trading partners' government procurement markets,
commenters should submit information addressing any or all of the
following questions. Please identify, where possible, the questions
your comments are intended to address.
Background: While EO 13788 is focused on the acquisition of goods,
products, or materials in U.S. federal government procurement, the
access provided by U.S. free trade agreements and the GPA in foreign
markets to U.S. manufacturers and suppliers is based on reciprocity.
Discussing the impact of these agreements on the access that U.S. goods
have in foreign government procurement markets helps inform whether or
not the access is truly reciprocal.
In responding to the questions below, commenters should consider
the impact for participating in U.S. federal and/or foreign government
procurement markets with respect to:
Business opportunities that are made available;
Economic incentives that trade agreements and Buy American
Laws provide;
How trade agreements impact business competitiveness, or
increase or decrease competition, in government procurement
opportunities;
How trade agreements affect companies' (prime
contractors') supply chain and sourcing decisions for goods;
How Buy American or similar foreign requirements increase
or decrease companies' (prime contractors') competitiveness in
government procurement opportunities;
Administrative compliance costs tied to Buy American and
similar government procurement policies; and
Additional costs relating to providing or otherwise
proving the country of origin of goods provided.
The questions below are focused on gathering information on the access
to U.S. federal and/or foreign government procurement markets for goods
that are manufactured in the United States, regardless of the
nationality or location of the supplier. Additionally, this includes
goods that are furnished to the U.S. federal and/or foreign government
that may be a part of a contract for services, such as products that
may be provided to the government as part of a contract for IT
services, where Buy American Laws might otherwise apply.
Respondents may organize their submissions in any manner, and all
responses that comply with the requirements listed in the DATES and
ADDRESSES sections of this notice will be considered.
1. What is your company's experience with respect to U.S. federal
and/or foreign government procurement, either as prime contractor or a
subcontractor? While any experience is welcome, please identify
experiences within the past 5 years.
a. Have you bid on U.S. federal contracts? How many?
b. Were you awarded any U.S. federal contracts? How many?
c. What share of annual revenue from your U.S. operations was from
U.S. federal contracts?
d. Have you bid on foreign government contracts? How many? List the
countries of five largest bids.
e. Were you awarded any foreign government contracts? How many?
List the countries of five largest awards.
f. What share of annual revenue from your U.S. operations was from
foreign government contracts?
g. List the industries in which your company was awarded U.S.
federal or foreign government contracts. Indicate NAICS code(s) if
possible.
2. Please describe in a few sentences how your company's decisions
to bid on or supply U.S. federal contracts (as a prime or subcontractor
or company that produces goods used in procurements) are affected by
U.S. free trade agreements and the WTO GPA which allow equal
participation by companies from U.S. trading partners.
3. Please describe in few sentences your company's experience as a
prime or subcontractor in bidding on national government procurements
in countries with which the U.S. has a trade agreement with government
procurement obligations. What are your three greatest challenges?
(These countries are: Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Bahrain, Canada,
Chile, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, the European Union (which includes Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom), Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, the
Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Mexico, the Republic of Moldova,
Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Panama,
Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, and Ukraine.) How does this differ from
your experience competing for bids in markets in countries with which
the U.S. does not have a trade agreement with government procurement
obligations?
4. What is the average U.S. content of goods that your company
supplies to the U.S. federal government?
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5. What is the average U.S. content of goods that your company
supplies to foreign governments?
6. What are the three principal barriers to having 100% domestic
content in the goods that you produce for U.S. federal or foreign
governments?
7. Please describe in a few sentences how trade agreements with
government procurement obligations affect strategic decisions your
company makes about production and supply chains for government
procurements as well as for commercial (private sector) customers.
8. Please describe in a few sentences any experience your company
has had with conflict between Buy American or similar foreign
requirements and U.S. free trade agreement or WTO GPA requirements,
including whether and how the conflict was resolved.
9. Please describe in a few sentences whether the presence of Buy
American or similar foreign requirements affected positively or
negatively your company's ability to bid and/or win contracts for U.S.
or foreign government procurement.
Dated: August 14, 2017.
John Liuzzi,
Director, Office of Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance,
International Trade Administration.
Dawn Shackleford,
Assistant USTR for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-17553 Filed 8-17-17; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P