[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50687-50688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21800]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-565]


American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act: Effects of Temporary 
Duty Suspensions and Reductions on the U.S. Economy; 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: The U.S. International Trade Commission has instituted 
investigation No. 332-565, American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act: 
Effects of Temporary Duty Suspensions and Reductions on the U.S. 
Economy, for the purpose of preparing the report required by section 4 
of the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 on the 
effects on the U.S. economy of duty suspensions and reductions 
contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill. The Commission will also 
solicit and append to the report recommendations with respect to 
domestic industry sectors or specific domestic industries that might 
benefit from permanent duty suspensions and reductions. The Commission 
will hold a public hearing in the investigation on March 5, 2019.

DATES: 
    February 19, 2019: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
    February 22, 2019: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    March 5, 2019: Public hearing.
    March 12, 2019: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    March 22, 2019: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
    September 13, 2019: Transmittal of the Commission's report to the 
House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance.

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/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Kimberlie Freund (202-
708-5402 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader 
Samantha DeCarlo (202-205-3165 or [email protected]) for 
information specific to this investigation. 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 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: Section 4 of the American Manufacturing

[[Page 50688]]

Competitiveness Act of 2016 (the Act) (19 U.S.C. 1332 note) requires 
that the Commission submit a report on the effects on the U.S. economy 
of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act no 
later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of a miscellaneous 
tariff bill. More specifically, section 4 of the Act requires that the 
report include a broad assessment of the economic effects of such duty 
suspensions and reductions on producers, purchasers, and consumers in 
the United States, using case studies describing such effects on 
selected industries or by type of article as available data permit. The 
Act also requires that the Commission solicit and append to the report 
recommendations with respect to those domestic industry sectors or 
specific domestic industries that might benefit from permanent duty 
suspensions and reductions, either through a unilateral action of the 
United States or through negotiations for reciprocal tariff agreements, 
with a particular focus on inequities created by tariff inversions.
    On September 13, 2018, the President signed into law the 
Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-239), which 
triggers the reporting requirement. The Commission expects to transmit 
its report to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate 
Committee on Finance by September 13, 2019.
    Public Hearing: The Commission will hold a public hearing in 
connection with this investigation at the U.S. International Trade 
Commission Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 
a.m. on March 5, 2019. Requests to appear at the public hearing should 
be filed with the Secretary, no later than 5:15 p.m., February 19, 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 22, 2019; and all post-hearing briefs and 
statements responding to matters raised at the hearing should be filed 
no later than 5:15 p.m., March 12, 2019. In the event that, as of the 
close of business on February 19, 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 19, 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 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., March 22, 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: 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 by means of brackets. The Commission will make all 
written submissions available for inspection by interested parties 
except those containing CBI.
    In its request, Congress requires that this report be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may use a classified appendix. As such, the 
Commission will not include any CBI or national security classified 
information in the report that it delivers to the Committees. 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. The 
Summary should be clearly marked as ``Summary'' at the top of the page. 
It 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.

    Issued: October 2, 2018.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-21800 Filed 10-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P