[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17191-17192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08069]



[[Page 17191]]

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-566]


Trade Authorities Extension: Economic Impact of Trade Agreements 
Implemented Under the Bipartisan Trade Act of 2015

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and notice of opportunity to file 
written submissions.

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SUMMARY: Having been notified by the U.S. Trade Representative that the 
President on March 20, 2018, submitted a report to Congress that 
contains a request for an extension of trade authorities procedures, 
the Commission, as required by section 103(c)(3)(B) of the Bipartisan 
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 \1\ 
(Bipartisan Trade Act), has instituted an investigation for the purpose 
of preparing a report to Congress that contains a review and analysis 
of the economic impact on the United States of all trade agreements 
implemented between the date of the enactment of the Bipartisan Trade 
Act and March 20, 2018. The Commission is unaware of any trade 
agreements that were implemented under the Bipartisan Trade Act between 
the date of its enactment and March 20, 2018.
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    \1\ 19 U.S.C. 4202(c)(3)(B).

DATES: 
    May 2, 2018: Deadline for filing written submissions.
    June 1, 2018: Transmittal of Commission report to Congress.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC. All written submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. The public record 
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commissions electronic 
docket (EDIS) at http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information specific to this 
investigation may be obtained from Yasnanhia Cabral, Project Leader, 
Office of Operations (202-205-2230, or [email protected]). For 
information on the legal aspects of this investigation, contact William 
Gearhart of the Commission's Office of the General Counsel (202-205-
3091 or [email protected]). The media should contact Peg 
O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations (202-205-1819 or 
[email protected]). Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
at 202-205-1810. General information concerning the Commission may also 
be obtained by accessing its website (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
202-205-2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: As indicated above, the Commission is unaware of any 
trade agreements that were implemented under the Bipartisan Trade Act 
between the date of its enactment (June 29, 2015) and March 20, 2018, 
the date of the President's request to Congress to extend trade 
authorities procedures. While at least one trade agreement was 
negotiated during this period, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, 
it was not implemented during this period.
    The Commission instituted this investigation under section 332 of 
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332) to facilitate public filing of 
comments and public review of such comments and to include the report 
in an existing series of Commission reports. The Commission will submit 
its report to Congress by June 1, 2018.
    Written Submissions: The Commission does not plan to hold a public 
hearing in connection with this investigation. However, interested 
parties are invited to file written submissions concerning this 
investigation. All written submissions should be addressed to the 
Secretary, and should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., May 2, 
2018. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of 
section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 
CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing 
Procedures require that interested parties file documents 
electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) 
true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. 
In the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, 
interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper 
copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the 
confidential information must be deleted (see the following paragraph 
for further information regarding confidential business information). 
Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the 
Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (202-205-1802).
    Confidential Business Information. Any submissions that contain 
confidential business information must also conform to the requirements 
of section 201.6 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 
(19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the rules requires that the cover of 
the document and the individual pages be clearly marked as to whether 
they are the ``confidential'' or ``non-confidential'' version, and that 
the confidential business information is clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties.
    The Commission will not include any confidential business 
information in the report that it sends to Congress or that it makes 
available to the public. However, all information, including 
confidential business information, submitted in this investigation may 
be disclosed to and used: (i) By the Commission, its employees and 
offices, and contract personnel (a) for developing or maintaining the 
records of this or a related proceeding, or (b) in internal 
investigations, audits, reviews, and evaluations relating to the 
programs, personnel, and operations of the Commission including under 5 
U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. government employees and contract 
personnel for cybersecurity purposes. The Commission will not otherwise 
disclose any confidential business information in a manner that would 
reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish 
summaries of the positions of interested persons. Persons wishing to 
have a summary of their position included in the report should include 
a summary with their written submission. The summary may not exceed 500 
words, should be in MSWord format or a format that can be easily 
converted to MSWord, and should not include any confidential business 
information. The summary will be published as provided if it meets 
these requirements and is germane to the subject matter of the 
investigation. The Commission will identify the name of the 
organization furnishing the summary and will include a link to the 
Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) where the 
full written submission can be found.

    By order of the Commission.


[[Page 17192]]


    Issued: April 12, 2018.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-08069 Filed 4-17-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P