[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40383-40384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17379]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2018-0028]


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to Congress on Russia's implementation of its 
obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

DATES: 
    September 25, 2018 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments and for filing requests to appear and a summary of 
expected testimony at the public hearing.
    October 4, 2018: The TPSC will convene a public hearing in Rooms 1 
& 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket 
number is USTR-2018-0028. For alternatives to online submissions, 
please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a 
comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all 
other questions to Betsy Hafner, Deputy Assistant United States Trade 
Representative for Russia and Eurasia, at (202) 395-9124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Russia became a Member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on 
December 21, 2012, following the termination of the application of the 
Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal 
trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia 
both filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of non-
application and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between 
them. In accordance with Section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova 
Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 
Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-208), USTR is required to submit, by December 
21st of each year, a report to Congress on the extent to which Russia 
is implementing the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on 
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The Report also 
must assess Russia's progress on acceding to and implementing the 
Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Government Procurement 
Agreement (GPA). In addition, to the extent that USTR finds that Russia 
is not implementing fully any WTO agreement or is not making adequate 
progress in acceding to the ITA or the GPA, USTR must describe in the 
report the actions it plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its 
implementation and/or increase its accession efforts. In accordance 
with Section 201(a), and to assist it in preparing this year's report, 
the TPSC is hereby soliciting public comment.
    The terms of Russia's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the 
Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO 
(including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on 
the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides 
detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. You can 
find the Protocol and Working Party Report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO website at http://docsonline.wto.org 
(document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/MIN(11)/24, WT/L/
839, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.2, and 
WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1).

II. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on Russia's implementation of the commitments made in 
connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited 
to, commitments in the following areas:
    a. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses).
    b. Export regulation.
    c. Subsidies.
    d. Standards and technical regulations.
    e. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
    f. Trade-related investment measures (including local content 
requirements).
    g. Taxes and charges levied on imports and exports.
    h. Other internal policies affecting trade.
    i. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement).
    j. Services.
    k. Government procurement.
    l. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations).
    m. Other WTO commitments.
    USTR must receive your written comments no later than September 25, 
2018 at midnight EST.
    The TPSC will convene a public hearing on Thursday, October 4, 
2018, in Rooms 1 & 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508. Persons 
wishing to testify at the hearing must provide written notification of 
their intention no later than September 25, 2018 at midnight EST. The 
intent to testify notification must be made in the ``Type Comment'' 
field under docket number USTR-2018-0028 on the www.regulations.gov 
website and should include the name, address, and telephone number of 
the person presenting the testimony. You should attach a summary of the 
testimony by using the ``Upload File'' field. The name of the file also 
should include who will be presenting the testimony. Remarks at the 
hearing will be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for 
possible questions from the TPSC.

III. Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first 
page of the submission) ``Russia's WTO Implementation of its WTO 
Commitments.'' The deadline for submission is September 25, 2018 at 
midnight EST. In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration 
of comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the www.regulations.gov website. To submit comments 
via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2018-0028

[[Page 40384]]

on the home page and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search-
results page listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a 
reference to this notice and click on the link entitled ``comment 
now!'' For further information on using the www.regulations.gov 
website, please consult the resources provided on the website by 
clicking on ``How to Use Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of the home 
page.
    The www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by 
filling in a ``type comment'' field, or by attaching a document using 
an ``upload file'' field. USTR prefers that you provide comments in an 
attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type 
``see attached'' in the ``type comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the 
submission is in an application other than those two, please indicate 
the name of the application in the ``type comment'' field.
    Filers submitting comments containing no business confidential 
information should name their file using the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. For any comments submitted 
electronically containing 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. Filers of submissions 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. 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 submission itself, not as separate 
files.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges that you file submissions through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements with 
Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a comment and in 
advance of the relevant deadline.
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov website by entering docket number USTR-2018-0028 
in the search field on the home page. General information concerning 
USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.

Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-17379 Filed 8-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P