[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 182 (Thursday, September 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44240-44241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20103]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2017-0017]


2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Thailand: Request for 
Comments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
conducting a Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Thailand. USTR requests 
written comments concerning any act, policy, or practice that is 
relevant to the decision regarding whether and how USTR should identify 
Thailand based on Thailand's protection for intellectual property 
rights or market access Thailand provides to U.S. persons who rely on 
intellectual property protection.

DATES: 
    October 20, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time: Deadline for 
submission of written comments.
    October 27, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time: Deadline for 
submission of written comments from foreign governments.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments in section III below. For alternatives to on-
line submissions, please contact USTR at [email protected] before 
transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Lee, Deputy Assistant U.S. 
Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual Property, at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-4510. You can find information 
about the Special 301 Review at www.ustr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242), 
USTR must identify countries that deny adequate and effective 
protection for intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and 
equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual 
property protection. USTR will identify the countries that have the 
most onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, 
policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact (actual or 
potential) on relevant U.S. products as Priority Foreign Countries. 
Acts, policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's 
designation as a Priority Foreign Country normally are the

[[Page 44241]]

subject of an investigation under the Section 301 provisions of the 
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.). USTR may not identify a country as 
a Priority Foreign Country if that country is entering into good faith 
negotiations or making significant progress in bilateral or 
multilateral negotiations to provide adequate and effective IPR 
protection. In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and 
a ``Watch List'' under 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 relying on 
intellectual property. Countries placed on the Priority Watch List are 
the focus of increased bilateral attention concerning the problem 
areas.
    An Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) is a tool that USTR uses to encourage 
progress on IPR issues of concern. It provides an opportunity for 
heightened engagement with a trading partner to address and remedy such 
issues. Successful resolution of specific IPR issues of concern or lack 
of action on such issues can lead to a change in a trading partner's 
identification on a Special 301 list outside of the typical period for 
the annual Special 301 Report. USTR may conduct OCRs of other trading 
partners as circumstances warrant or as requested by the trading 
partner.
    In the 2017 Special 301 Report, USTR placed Thailand on the 
Priority Watch List but noted that the United States was prepared to 
review that status if Thailand continued to take positive steps and 
made substantial progress in addressing the concerns described in the 
Report. Thailand has requested that USTR conduct an OCR in light of its 
efforts to achieve substantial progress.

II. Public Comments

    USTR invites written comments concerning any act, policy, or 
practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether USTR should 
identify Thailand under Section 182 of the Trade Act. Submissions may 
report positive or negative developments with respect to Thailand. USTR 
requests that interested parties provide specific references to laws, 
regulations, policy statements, executive, presidential or other 
orders, administrative, court or other determinations that should 
factor into the review. USTR also requests that submissions 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. For comments that include quantitative loss claims, you 
should include the methodology used to calculate the estimated losses. 
Comments should be as detailed as possible and should provide all 
necessary information for assessing the effect of the acts, policies, 
and practices, particularly with respect to issues regarding Thailand 
identified in the 2017 Special 301 Report.

III. Submission Instructions

    All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via 
www.regulations.gov. To submit comments, locate the docket (folder) by 
entering the docket number USTR-2017-0017 in the ``SEARCH for: Rules, 
Comments, Adjudications or Supporting Documents'' window at the 
regulations.gov homepage and clicking ``Search.'' The site will provide 
a search-results page listing all documents associated with this 
docket. Locate the reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice'' 
under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-results page, 
and clicking on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' You should provide 
comments in an attached document, and name the file according to the 
following protocol, as appropriate: Commenter Name, or 
Organization_2017 Special 301 OCR Thailand. Please include the 
following information in the ``Type Comment'' field: ``2017 Out-of-
Cycle Review of Thailand.'' USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word 
(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. If the submission is in another 
file format, please indicate the name of the 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 comment 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 2017 Special 301 OCR Thailand'' in the 
``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 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 submitters to file comments through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements in 
advance of the relevant deadline and before transmitting a comment by 
contacting USTR at [email protected].
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering docket number USTR-2017-0017 
in the search field on the home page.

Elizabeth Kendall,
Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and 
Intellectual Property, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-20103 Filed 9-20-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P