[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3253-3254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01125]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Notice of Proposed Changes to the Slate of Industry Trade 
Advisory Committees

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) 
and the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) plan to establish a new four-
year charter term for the Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) 
beginning in February 2018. As part of the re-chartering process, the 
Secretary and the Trade Representative are proposing changes to the 
current slate of ITACs and invite interested parties to submit their 
view on these changes.

DATES: The deadline for submission of written comments is February 5, 
2018 at midnight EST.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via email to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory M. Walters, Assistant United 
States Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public 
Engagement at [email protected] or (202) 395-2558. You can 
find additional information about the ITACs on the International Trade 
Administration website at www.trade.gov/itac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2155), 
establishes a private-sector trade advisory system to ensure that U.S. 
trade policy and trade negotiation objectives adequately reflect U.S. 
commercial and economic interests. Section 135(c)(2) (19 U.S.C. 
2155(c)(2)) directs the President to establish sectoral or functional 
trade advisory committees as appropriate, comprised of representatives 
of all industry, labor, agricultural, and services interests (including 
small business interests) in the sector or functional area. These 
committees provide detailed policy and technical advice, information, 
and recommendations regarding trade barriers, negotiation of trade 
agreements, and implementation of existing trade agreements affecting 
industry sectors, and perform other advisory functions relevant to U.S. 
trade policy matters as requested. In organizing such committees, the 
Trade Representative and the relevant Secretary are to consult with 
interested private organizations and to consider ``(i) patterns of 
actual or potential competition between United States industry and 
agriculture and foreign enterprise in international trade, (ii) the 
character of the nontariff barriers and other distortions affecting 
such competition, (iii) the necessity for reasonable limits on the 
number of such advisory committees, (iv) the necessity that each 
committee be reasonably limited in size, and (v) in the case of each 
sectoral committee, that the product lines covered by each committee be 
reasonably related.''
    Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary and the Trade 
Representative established the ITACs to provide detailed policy and 
technical advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary and 
the Trade Representative on trade policy matters including: (1) 
Negotiating objectives and bargaining positions before entering into 
trade agreements; (2) the impact of the implementation of trade 
agreements on the relevant sector; (3) matters concerning the operation 
of any trade agreement once entered into; and (4) other matters arising 
in connection with the development, implementation, and administration 
of the trade policy of the United States. The nonpartisan, industry 
input provided by the ITACs is important in developing unified trade 
policy objectives and positions when the United States negotiates and 
implements trade agreements. The ITACs address market-access problems, 
trade barriers, tariffs, discriminatory foreign procurement practices, 
and information, marketing, and advocacy needs of their industry 
sector. With

[[Page 3254]]

limited statutory exceptions, the ITACs are subject to the provisions 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. See 19 U.S.C. 2155(f); 5 U.S.C. 
App. II.
    The current ITACs expire in February 2018, and the Secretary and 
the Trade Representative intend to renew the ITACs as described below 
for a new four-year charter terms for the ITACs to begin in February 
2018 and end in February 2022.
    For the 2014-2018 charter term, the Secretary and Trade 
Representative chartered: Thirteen sectoral ITACs advising on issues 
that affect specific sectors of U.S. industry; three ITACs advising on 
crosscutting, functional issues that affect all industry sectors and 
include specifically appointed members along with non-voting members 
from the industry specific ITACs to represent a broad range of industry 
perspectives; and a Committee of Chairs of the ITACs as follows:
    Industry Trade Advisory Committees on:

(ITAC 1) Aerospace Equipment
(ITAC 2) Automotive Equipment and Capital Goods
(ITAC 3) Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Health/Science Products and 
Services
(ITAC 4) Consumer Goods
(ITAC 5) Distribution Services
(ITAC 6) Energy and Energy Services
(ITAC 7) Forest Products
(ITAC 8) Information and Communications Technologies, Services, and 
Electronic Commerce
(ITAC 9) Building Materials, Construction, and Nonferrous Metals
(ITAC 10) Services and Finance Industries
(ITAC 11) Small and Minority Business
(ITAC 12) Steel
(ITAC 13) Textiles and Clothing
(ITAC 14) Customs Matters and Trade Facilitation
(ITAC 15) Intellectual Property Rights
(ITAC 16) Standards and Technical Trade Barriers and a Committee of 
Chairs of the Industry Trade Advisory Committees.

    For the 2018-2022 charter term, after considering the statutory 
factors listed above, the Secretary and the Trade Representative 
propose to streamline the ITACs as follows based on the nature of the 
U.S. industry in various sectors, the level of interest in serving on 
an ITAC (using the number of members and applications for appointment 
during the 2014-2018 charter terms), the level of activity of each ITAC 
(using the number of meetings and recommendations submitted during the 
2014-2018 charter terms), and constraints on the resources to support 
and engage with the ITACs.
     Combining the current ITACs on Distribution Services and 
on Services and Finance Industries into one ITAC on Services.
     Combining the current ITACs on Forest Products and on 
Building Materials, Construction, and Nonferrous Metals into one ITAC 
on Forest Products, Building Materials, Construction, and Nonferrous 
Metals.
     Changing the name of the ITAC on Information and 
Communications Technologies, Services, and Electronic Commerce to the 
ITAC on Digital Economy to reflect the innovation in and full scope of 
that industry sector.
     Discontinuing the Committee of Chairs of the ITACs to both 
preserve staff resources and to ensure that all ITAC members receive 
relevant, timely, and unfiltered information directly from appropriate 
government staff.
    This streamlining would result in eleven sectoral ITACs and three 
functional ITACs for the new four-year charter term as follows:
    Industry Trade Advisory Committees on:

(ITAC 1) Aerospace Equipment
(ITAC 2) Automotive Equipment and Capital Goods
(ITAC 3) Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Health/Science Products and 
Services
(ITAC 4) Consumer Goods
(ITAC 5) Forest Products, Building Materials, Construction and 
Nonferrous Metals
(ITAC 6) Energy and Energy Services
(ITAC 7) Steel
(ITAC 8) Digital Economy
(ITAC 9) Small and Minority Business
(ITAC 10) Services
(ITAC 11) Textiles and Clothing
(ITAC 12) Customs Matters and Trade Facilitation
(ITAC 13) Intellectual Property Rights
(ITAC 14) Standards and Technical Trade Barriers

III. Request for Comments

    In accordance with Section 135(c)(2)(A) (19 U.S.C. 2155(c)(2)) of 
the Trade Act, we invite written comments on the proposed changes to 
the slate of ITACs for the 2018-2022 charter term.

Gregory M. Walters,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Intergovernmental 
Affairs and Public Engagement, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-01125 Filed 1-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P