[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 173 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45281-45283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19279]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-569]


U.S. SME Exports: Trade-Related Barriers Affecting Exports of 
U.S. Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises to the United Kingdom; 
Institution of Investigation and Scheduling of Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request from the U.S. Trade 
Representative (USTR) on August 3, 2018, under section 332(g) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, the U.S. International Trade Commission has 
instituted investigation No. 332-569, U.S. SME Exports: Trade-Related 
Barriers Affecting Exports of U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises 
to the United Kingdom, for the purpose of providing a report that 
catalogs trade-related barriers that small and medium-sized enterprises 
(SMEs) perceive as disproportionately affecting U.S. SMEs exporting to 
the United Kingdom (UK), compared to larger U.S. exporters to the UK.

DATES: 
February 8, 2019: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing
February 13, 2019: Deadline for filing prehearing briefs and statements
February 26, 2019: Public hearing
March 8, 2019: Deadline for filing posthearing briefs
March 15, 2019: Deadline for filing all other written submissions
July 31, 2019: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR

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 Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov/edis3-internal/app.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Mahnaz Khan (202-205-

[[Page 45282]]

2046 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader Sarah Scott 
(202-708-1397 or [email protected]) for information specific to 
this investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this 
investigation, contact Katherine Linton (202-205-3393 or 
[email protected]) or William Gearhart of the Commission's 
Office of the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or 
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret 
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 
202-205-2002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: As requested by the USTR, the Commission will conduct 
an investigation and prepare a report that catalogs trade-related 
barriers that SMEs perceive as disproportionately affecting U.S. SMEs 
exporting to the UK, compared to larger U.S. exporters to the UK. In 
identifying these barriers to exporting, the USTR indicated in his 
letter that the Commission may consider information and definitions 
contained in the three Commission reports on SMEs released in 2010, the 
Commission report on Trade Barriers that U.S. Small- and Medium-sized 
Enterprises Perceive as Affecting Exports to the European Union 
released in 2014, any relevant literature, and information gathered 
from SMEs and others throughout the investigation. The letter also said 
that the report should cover barriers faced by U.S. SMEs exporting 
manufactured products, agricultural goods, and services, focusing 
primarily on barriers identified by U.S. SMEs that have experience in 
exporting to the UK either directly or through supply chains. The 
letter said that the investigation, to the degree practicable, should 
identify barriers by economic sector and should focus on sectors with 
high concentrations of SMEs.
    In addition, USTR asked that the Commission base its report on 
available information, including information furnished by SMEs and 
interested parties following the Commission's notice of investigation. 
The USTR said that the Commission, to the extent applicable, should 
provide qualitative distinctions among the identified trade-related 
barriers. Additionally, the letter said that the report may include 
suggestions gathered from SMEs or the relevant literature for actions 
that would help address some of the identified barriers and enhance the 
participation of U.S. SMEs in U.S.-UK trade. As requested, the 
Commission expects to transmit its report to the USTR by July 31, 2019.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing in connection with this 
investigation will be held at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
February 26, 2019. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., February 8, 2019, in 
accordance with the requirements in the ``Submissions'' section below. 
All pre-hearing briefs and statements should be filed no later than 
5:15 p.m., February 13, 2019; and all post-hearing briefs should be 
filed no later than 5:15 p.m., March 8, 2019 and all other statements 
responding to matters raised at the hearing should be filed no later 
than 5:15 p.m., March 15, 2019. In the event that, as of the close of 
business on February 8, 2019, no witnesses are scheduled to appear at 
the hearing, the hearing will be canceled. Any person interested in 
attending the hearing as an observer or nonparticipant should contact 
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000 after February 8, 2019, for 
information concerning whether the hearing will be held.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to participating in 
the hearing, the Commission invites interested parties to submit 
written statements concerning this investigation. All written 
submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, and should be 
received no later than 5:15 p.m., March 15, 2019. 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 or ``CBI''). Persons with questions 
regarding electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, 
Docket Services Division (202-205-1802).
    Confidential Business Information (CBI): Any submissions that 
contain CBI 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 CBI is 
clearly identified using brackets. All written submissions, except for 
those containing CBI, will be made available for inspection by 
interested parties.
    In his request letter, the USTR stated that his office intends to 
make the Commission's report available to the public in its entirety, 
and asked that the Commission not include any CBI or national security 
classified information in the report that it delivers to the USTR. All 
information, including CBI, 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 
CBI 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 written submissions filed by interested persons. 
Persons wishing to have a summary of their submission included in the 
report should include a summary with their written submission and 
should mark the summary as having been provided for that purpose. 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 CBI. 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.


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    Issued: August 30, 2018.
 Katherine Hiner,
 Supervisory Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2018-19279 Filed 9-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P