[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44695-44696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20354]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR-2017-0019]
2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Colombia: Request for
Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In the 2017 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to monitor
progress on specific intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, USTR
would conduct an out-of-cycle review of Colombia. At this time, USTR
requests written comments concerning any act, policy, or practice that
is relevant to the decision regarding whether and how USTR should
identify Colombia based on Colombia's protection for intellectual
property rights or market access Columbia provides to U.S. persons who
rely on intellectual property protection.
DATES: October 20, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of
written comments.
October 27, 2017 at midnight EST: 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 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Whitlock, Director for
Intellectual Property and Innovation, at [email protected]
or (202) 395-4359. 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 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 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 protection of intellectual property
rights. 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
[[Page 44696]]
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, which you can find on the USTR Web
site at www.ustr.gov, USTR placed Colombia on the Watch List and
announced that it would conduct an OCR of Colombia in order to monitor
progress on issues relating to IPR protection and enforcement. The OCR
of Colombia will include a focus on Colombia's commitment to the
intellectual property provisions of the United States-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement and Colombia's implementation of its National
Development Plan.
II. Public Comments
USTR invites written comments concerning any act, policy, or
practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether USTR should
identify Colombia under Section 182 of the Trade Act. Submissions may
report positive or negative developments with respect to Colombia. 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. In particular, where applicable, comments should address
Colombia's commitment to the intellectual property provisions of the
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and Colombia's
implementation of its National Development Plan 2014-2018.
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-2017-0019 in the ``Enter Keyword or
IP'' window at the regulations.gov homepage 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
selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the
search-results page, and click 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 Colombia. Please include the
following information in the ``Type Comment'' field: ``2017 Out-of-
Cycle Review of Columbia.'' USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word
(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. 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 Colombia'' 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-2017-0019
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. 2017-20354 Filed 9-22-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P