[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61363-61364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27798]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2017-0024]


Request for Comments and Notice of a Public Hearing Regarding the 
2018 Special 301 Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Each year, the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative conducts a Special 301 review to identify countries that 
deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights 
(IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely 
on intellectual property protection. Based on this review, the United 
States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) determines which, if 
any, of these countries to identify as Priority Foreign Countries. USTR 
requests written comments that identify acts, policies, or practices 
that may form the basis of a country's identification as a Priority 
Foreign Country or placement on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. 
USTR also requests notices of intent to appear at the public hearing.

DATES: February 8, 2018 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments, hearing statements, and notices of intent to appear 
at the hearing from the public.
    February 22, 2018 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments, hearing statements, and notices of intent to appear 
at the hearing from foreign governments.
    February 27, 2018: The Special 301 Subcommittee will hold a public 
hearing at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F 
Street NW, Rooms 1 & 2, Washington, DC. If necessary, the hearing may 
continue on the next business day. Please consult the USTR website for 
confirmation of the date and location and the schedule of witnesses.
    March 2, 2018 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing written comments from persons who testified at the public 
hearing.
    On or about April 30, 2018: USTR will publish the 2018 Special 301 
Report within 30 days of the publication of the National Trade Estimate 
(NTE) Report.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly encourages electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
submission instructions in section IV below. The docket number is USTR-
2017-0024. 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: Sung Chang, Director for Innovation 
and Intellectual Property, at 202-395-7548 or [email protected]. 
You can find information about the Special 301 Review at www.ustr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), 
commonly known as the ``Special 301'' provisions, requires the Trade 
Representative to identify countries that deny adequate and effective 
IPR protections or fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who 
rely on intellectual property protection. The Trade Act requires the 
Trade Representative to determine which, if any, of these countries to 
identify as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies or practices 
that are the basis of a country's identification as a Priority Foreign 
Country can be subject to the procedures set out in sections 301-305 of 
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2411-2415),
    In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch 
List'' to assist the Administration in pursuing the goals of 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 that rely on intellectual property protection. 
Trading partners placed on the Priority Watch List are the focus of 
increased bilateral attention concerning the problem areas.
    USTR chairs the Special 301 Subcommittee (Subcommittee) of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee. The Subcommittee reviews information from 
many sources, and consults with and makes recommendations to the Trade 
Representative on issues arising under Special 301. Written submissions 
from the public are a key source of information for the Special 301 
review process. In 2018, USTR will conduct a public hearing as part of 
the review process and will allow hearing participants to provide 
additional information relevant to the review. At the conclusion of the 
process, USTR will publish the results of the review in a Special 301 
Report.
    USTR requests that interested persons identify through the process 
outlined in this notice those countries whose acts, policies, or 
practices 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.
    Section 182 also requires the Trade Representative to identify any 
act, policy or practice of Canada that affects cultural industries, was 
adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992, and is actionable under 
Article 2106 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). USTR 
invites the public to submit views relevant to this aspect of the 
review.
    Section 182 requires the Trade Representative to identify all such 
acts, policies, or practices within 30 days of the publication of the 
NTE Report. In accordance with this statutory requirement, USTR will 
publish the annual Special 301 Report on or about April 30, 2018.

II. Public Comments

    To facilitate the review, written comments should be as detailed as 
possible and provide all necessary information to identify and assess 
the

[[Page 61364]]

effect of the acts, policies, and practices. USTR invites written 
comments that provide specific references to laws, regulations, policy 
statements, including innovation policies, executive, presidential or 
other orders, and administrative, court or other determinations that 
should factor in the review. USTR also requests that, where relevant, 
submissions mention particular regions, provinces, states, or other 
subdivisions of a country in which an act, policy, or practice is 
believed to warrant special attention. Finally, submissions proposing 
countries for review should 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. Comments that include 
quantitative loss claims should include the methodology used to 
calculate the estimated losses.

III. Public Hearing

    The Special 301 Subcommittee will convene a public hearing on 
February 27, 2018, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC, 
at which interested persons, including representatives of foreign 
governments, may appear to provide oral testimony. If necessary, the 
hearing may continue on the next business day. Because the hearing will 
take place in Federal facilities, attendees must show photo 
identification and will be screened for security purposes. Please 
consult www.ustr.gov to confirm the date and location of the hearing 
and to obtain copies of the hearing schedule. USTR also will post the 
transcript and recording of the hearing on the USTR website as soon 
after the hearing as possible. Witnesses must deliver prepared oral 
testimony, which is limited to five minutes, before the Special 301 
Subcommittee in person and in English. Subcommittee member agencies may 
ask questions following the prepared statement.
    Notices of intent to testify and hearing statements from the public 
are due on February 8, 2017, and from foreign governments on February 
22, 2018. The submissions must be in English and should include: (1) 
The name, address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and 
firm or affiliation of the individual wishing to testify, and (2) a 
hearing statement that is relevant to the Special 301 review.

IV. Submission Instructions

    All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via 
www.regulations.gov using docket number USTR-2017-0024. To submit 
comments, locate the docket (folder) by entering the number USTR-2017-
0024 in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the www.regulations.gov 
home page 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!.''
    USTR requests that you provide comments in an attached document, 
and that you name the file according to the following protocol, as 
appropriate: Commenter Name, or Organization_2018 Special 
301_Review_Comment, or Notice of Intent to Testify or Hearing 
Testimony. Please include the following information in the ``Type 
Comment'' field: ``2018 Special 301 Review'' and whether the submission 
is a comment, a request to testify at the hearing, or hearing 
testimony. Please submit documents prepared in (or compatible with) 
Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. If you prepare 
the submission in a compatible format, please indicate the name of the 
relevant software application in the ``Type Comment'' field. For 
further information on using the www.regulations.gov website, 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 comments 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'' in the ``Type 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 ``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. 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 commenters to submit comments through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements before 
transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline by 
contacting USTR at [email protected].
    USTR will place comments in the docket and they will be open to 
public inspection, except business confidential information. You can 
view comments on the www.regulations.gov website by entering Docket 
Number USTR-2017-0024 in the ``Search'' field on the home page.

Elizabeth L. Kendall,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual 
Property (Acting), Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-27798 Filed 12-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P