[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52232-52233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22672]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. TPA-105-003]


United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. 
Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors; 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 31, 2018, the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (Commission) has instituted investigation No. TPA-105-003 
for the purpose of preparing the report required by section 105(c) of 
the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 
2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(c)). The report will assess the likely impact of 
the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the U.S. economy 
as a whole, on selected industry sectors, and on U.S. consumer 
interests. The Commission will submit its report to the President and 
Congress.

DATES: 
October 29, 2018: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing
October 30, 2018: Deadline for filing prehearing briefs and statements
November 15, 2018 and continuing on November 16, 2018 if necessary: 
Public hearing
November 23, 2018: Deadline for filing posthearing briefs
December 20, 2018: Written submissions from the public
Transmittal of Commission report to the President and Congress: No 
later than 105 days after the President enters into the agreement

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: Co-Project Leader Serge Shikher (202-
205-2393 or [email protected]) or Co-Project Leader Mihir 
Torsekar (202-205-3350 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

    On August 31, 2018, the Commission received a letter from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) stating that the President 
that day had notified Congress of his intent to enter into a trade 
agreement ``with Mexico--and with Canada if it is willing.'' On October 
1, 2018, the Office of the USTR published the text of the United 
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on its website at https://www.ustr.gov. In his August 31, 2018, letter, the USTR requested that 
the Commission prepare the report specified in section 105(c)(2)(3) of 
the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 
2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(c)(2)-(3)) (TPA Act). The TPA Act requires that 
the Commission submit to the President and Congress a report assessing 
the likely impact of the agreement on the United States economy as a 
whole and on specific industry sectors, including the impact the 
agreement will have on the gross domestic product, exports and imports, 
aggregate employment and employment opportunities, the production, 
employment, and competitive position of industries likely to be 
significantly affected by the agreement, and the interests of U.S. 
consumers. In addition, the TPA Act requires the Commission to review 
available economic assessments regarding the agreement, including 
literature regarding any substantially equivalent proposed agreement, 
and provide in its assessment a description of the analyses used and 
conclusions drawn in such literature, and a discussion of areas of 
consensus and divergence between the various analyses and conclusions, 
including those of the Commission regarding the agreement.
    The statute requires that the Commission submit its assessment to 
the President and Congress no later than 105 days after the President 
enters into the Agreement.

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 November 15, 2018, and 
continuing on November 16, 2018, if necessary. Requests to appear at 
the public hearing should be filed with the Secretary, no later than 
5:15 p.m., October 29, 2018; all pre-hearing briefs and statements 
should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., October 30, 2018; and all 
post-hearing briefs responding to matters raised at the hearing should 
be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., November 23, 2018. All requests to 
appear, pre-hearing briefs and statements, and post-hearing briefs must 
be filed in accordance with the procedural requirements in the 
``Submissions'' section below. In the event that, as of the close of 
business on November 8, 2018, no witnesses are scheduled to appear at 
the hearing, the hearing will be canceled.

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., December 20, 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

[[Page 52233]]

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.
    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. The report that the Commission sends to 
the President and Congress will not include any CBI.

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 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 12, 2018.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-22672 Filed 10-15-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P