[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56100-56101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24704]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. TA-131-043 and TPA-105-004]


U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement: Advice on the Probable Economic 
Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Currently Dutiable Imports; 
Institution of Investigation and Scheduling of Hearing

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of investigation and scheduling of a public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt on October 26, 2018, of a request from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission instituted 
Investigation Nos. TA-131-043 and TPA-105-004, U.S.-Japan Trade 
Agreement: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-
Free Treatment for Currently Dutiable Imports.

DATES: 
    November 26, 2018: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the 
public hearing.
    November 30, 2018: Deadline for filing prehearing briefs and 
statements.
    December 6, 2018: Public hearing.
    December 13, 2018: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
submissions.
    December 13, 2018: Deadline for filing all other written 
statements.
    January 24, 2019: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the U.S. International Trade Commission Building, 
500 E Street SW, Washington, DC. All written submissions should be 
addressed to the Secretary, U.S. 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/internal/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Leader Justino De La Cruz 
(202-205-3252 or [email protected]) or Deputy Project Leader 
Saad Ahmad (202-205-3331 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 202-205-2000.
    Background: In his letter of October 26, 2018, the USTR requested 
that the Commission provide certain advice under section 131 of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2151) and an assessment under section 
105(a)(2)(B)(i)(III) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 
and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(a)(2)(B)(i)(III) with 
respect to the effects of providing duty-free treatment for imports of 
products from Japan.
    More specifically, the USTR, under authority delegated by the 
President and pursuant to section 131 of the Trade Act of 1974, 
requested that the Commission provide a report containing its advice as 
to the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment for 
imports of currently dutiable products from Japan on (i) industries in 
the United States producing like or directly competitive products, and 
(ii) consumers. The USTR asked that the Commission's analysis consider 
each article in chapters 1 through 97 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (HTS) for which U.S. tariffs will remain, taking 
into account implementation of U.S. commitments in the World Trade 
Organization. The USTR asked that the advice be based on the HTS in 
effect during 2018 and trade data for 2017.
    In addition, the USTR requested that the Commission prepare an 
assessment, as described in section 105(a)(2)(B)(i)(III) of the 
Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 
2015, of the probable economic effects of eliminating tariffs on 
imports from Japan of those agricultural products described in the list 
attached to the USTR's request letter on (i) industries in the United 
States producing the products concerned, and (ii) the U.S. economy as a 
whole. The USTR's request letter and list of agricultural products are 
posted on the Commission's website at http://www.usitc.gov.
    As requested, the Commission will provide its report to the USTR as 
soon as possible. The USTR indicated that those sections of the 
Commission's report that relate to the advice and assessment of 
probable economic effects will be classified. The USTR also indicated 
that he considers the

[[Page 56101]]

Commission's report to be an interagency memorandum that will contain 
pre-decisional advice and be subject to the deliberative process 
privilege.
    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 
December 6, 2018. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be 
filed with the Secretary no later than 5:15 p.m., November 26, 2018, in 
accordance with the requirements in the ``Submissions'' section below. 
All prehearing briefs and statements should be filed not later than 
5:15 p.m., November 30, 2018, and all post-hearing briefs and 
statements should be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., December 13, 2018. 
For further information, call 202-205-2000.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to participating in 
the hearing, interested parties are invited 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., December 13, 2018. All written submissions must conform to the 
provisions of Sec.  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 paragraphs 
for further information regarding confidential business information). 
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 
confidential business information must also conform to the requirements 
of Sec.  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 
confidential business information is clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties. The Commission may include some or all of the confidential 
business information submitted in the course of this investigation in 
the report it sends to the USTR. Additionally, all information, 
including confidential business information, 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 (a) for cybersecurity purposes or (b) in monitoring 
user activity on U.S. government classified networks. The Commission 
will not otherwise disclose any confidential business information in a 
way that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the 
information.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: Persons wishing to have a summary 
of their position included in the report should include a summary with 
their written submission and should specifically identify the summary 
as being for this purpose. The summaries will be published in an 
appendix to the report. The summary may not exceed 500 words, should be 
in MS Word format or a format that can be easily converted to MS Word, 
and should not include any confidential business information. 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 list 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: November 7, 2018.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-24704 Filed 11-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P