[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38760-38761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16919]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2018-0026]


Extension of Public Comment Period Concerning Proposed 
Modification of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, 
and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, 
and Innovation

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: In a notice published on July 17, 2018 (83 FR 33608), the U.S. 
Trade Representative (Trade Representative) proposed a modification of 
the action taken in this investigation in the form of an additional 10 
percent ad valorem duty on products of China with an annual trade value 
of approximately $200 billion. The July 17th notice sought public 
comment and provided notice of a public hearing regarding this proposed 
modification of the action in the investigation. On August 1, 2018, the 
Trade Representative announced that the President had directed the 
Trade Representative to consider raising the level of the additional 
duty in the proposed supplemental action from 10 percent to 25 percent. 
In light of this possible increase in the rate of additional duty, the 
Trade Representative is extending certain

[[Page 38761]]

comment periods set out in the July 17th notice.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, you must submit comments and 
responses in accordance with the following schedule:
    August 13, 2018: The due date for filing requests to appear and a 
summary of expected testimony at the public hearing and for filing pre-
hearing submissions is extended from July 27 to August 13, 2018.
    September 6, 2018: The due date for submission of written comments 
is extended from August 17 to September 6, 2018.
    August 20-23, 2018: The scheduled start date of the Section 301 
hearing (August 20) has not changed. The Section 301 Committee may 
extend the length of the hearing depending on the number of additional 
interested persons who request to appear. The Section 301 Committee 
will convene the public hearing in the main hearing room of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436 
beginning at 9:30 a.m. on August 20, 2018.
    September 6, 2018: The due date for submission of post-hearing 
rebuttal comments is extended from August 30 to September 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in sections E and F of the July 
17th notice. The docket number--USTR-2018-0026--has not changed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about the ongoing 
investigation or proposed action, contact Arthur Tsao, Assistant 
General Counsel, or Justin Hoffmann, Director of Industrial Goods, at 
(202) 395-5725. For questions on customs classification of products, 
contact [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    In the July 17th notice, the Trade Representative proposed 
modifying the action in this investigation by maintaining the original 
$34 billion action and the proposed $16 billion action, and by taking a 
further, supplemental action. In particular, the Trade Representative 
proposed a supplemental action of an additional 10 percent ad valorem 
duty on products of China covered in a list of 6,031 tariff subheadings 
in the Annex to the July 17th notice.
    On August 1, 2018, the Trade Representative announced that the 
President directed the Trade Representative to consider increasing the 
proposed level of the additional duty from 10 percent to 25 percent. 
This additional 25 percent duty would be applied to the proposed list 
of products in the Annex to the July 17th notice. The possible increase 
in the proposed rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the 
Administration with additional options to obtain the elimination of the 
acts, policies, and practices covered in the investigation.

B. Request for Public Comments and Hearing Participation

    Subject to the modified due dates set out above, the procedures for 
submission of public comments and requests to participate in the public 
hearing set out in sections E and F of the July 17th notice continue to 
apply. Interested persons are invited to include comments in their 
written submissions and oral testimony on the possible imposition of a 
25 percent additional duty. In the event an interested person already 
has provided written comments and wishes to provide further comments in 
light of the possible increase in the rate of additional duty, the 
submitter may file a supplemental comment.

Robert E. Lighthizer,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-16919 Filed 8-3-18; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P