[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67468-67470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28319]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR-2018-0037]
Request for Comments and Notice of a Public Hearing Regarding the
2019 Special 301 Review
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: Each year, the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) conducts a Special 301 review to identify
countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual
property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S.
persons who rely on intellectual property protection. Based on this
review, the United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative)
determines which, if any, of these countries to identify as Priority
Foreign Countries. USTR requests written comments that identify acts,
policies, or practices that may form the basis of a country's
identification as a Priority Foreign Country or placement on the
Priority Watch List or Watch List. USTR also requests notices of intent
to appear at the public hearing.
DATES:
February 7, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for submission of
written comments, hearing statements, and notices of intent to appear
at the hearing from the public.
February 21, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for submission of
written comments, hearing statements, and notices of intent to appear
at the hearing from foreign governments.
February 27, 2019: The Special 301 Subcommittee will hold a public
hearing at the Office of the United State Trade Representative, 1724 F
Street NW, Rooms 1&2, Washington, DC. If necessary, the hearing may
continue on the next business day. Please consult the USTR website at
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/intellectual-property/Special-301, for
confirmation of the date and location and the schedule of witnesses.
March 5, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing written comments from persons who testified at the public
hearing.
On or about April 26, 2019: USTR will publish the 2019 Special 301
Report within 30 days of the publication of the National Trade Estimate
(NTE) Report.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly encourages electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
submission instructions in section IV below. The docket number is USTR-
2018-0037. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact USTR
at [email protected] before transmitting a comment and in advance
of the relevant deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sung Chang, Director for Innovation
and Intellectual Property, at [email protected]. You can find
information about the Special 301 Review at www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242),
commonly known as the ``Special 301'' provisions, requires the Trade
Representative to identify countries that deny adequate and effective
IPR protections or fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who
rely on intellectual property protection. The Trade Act requires the
Trade Representative to determine which, if any, of these countries to
identify as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies or practices
that are the basis of a country's identification as a Priority Foreign
Country can be subject to the procedures set out in sections 301-305 of
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2411-2415).
In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch
List'' to assist the Administration in pursuing the goals of the
Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority
Watch List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in
that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market
access for persons that rely on
[[Page 67469]]
intellectual property protection. Trading partners placed on the
Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral attention
concerning the problem areas.
USTR chairs the Special 301 Subcommittee (Subcommittee) of the
Trade Policy Staff Committee. The Subcommittee reviews information from
many sources, and consults with and makes recommendations to the Trade
Representative on issues arising under Special 301. Written submissions
from the public are a key source of information for the Special 301
review process. In 2019, USTR will conduct a public hearing as part of
the review process and will allow hearing participants to provide
additional information relevant to the review. At the conclusion of the
process, USTR will publish the results of the review in a Special 301
Report.
USTR requests that interested persons identify through the process
outlined in this notice those countries whose acts, policies, or
practices deny adequate and effective protection for intellectual
property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S.
persons who rely on intellectual property protection.
The Special 301 provisions also require the Trade Representative to
identify any act, policy, or practice of Canada that affects cultural
industries, was adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992, and is
actionable under Article 2106 of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). USTR invites the public to submit views relevant to
this aspect of the review.
The Special 301 provisions require the Trade Representative to
identify all such acts, policies, or practices within 30 days of the
publication of the NTE Report. In accordance with this statutory
requirement, USTR will publish the annual Special 301 Report about
April 26, 2019.
II. Public Comments
To facilitate the review, written comments should be as detailed as
possible and provide all necessary information to identify and assess
the effect of the acts, policies, and practices. USTR invites written
comments that provide specific references to laws, regulations, policy
statements, including innovation policies, executive, presidential, or
other orders, and administrative, court, or other determinations that
should factor in the review. USTR also requests that, where relevant,
submissions mention particular regions, provinces, states, or other
subdivisions of a country in which an act, policy, or practice is
believed to warrant special attention. Finally, submissions proposing
countries for review should include data, loss estimates, and other
information regarding the economic impact on the United States, U.S.
industry, and the U.S. workforce caused by the denial of adequate and
effective intellectual property protection. Comments that include
quantitative loss claims should include the methodology used to
calculate the estimated losses.
III. Public Hearing
The Special 301 Subcommittee will convene a public hearing on
February 27, 2019, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC,
at which interested persons, including representatives of foreign
governments, may appear to provide oral testimony. If necessary, the
hearing may continue on the next business day. Because the hearing will
take place in Federal facilities, attendees must show photo
identification and will be screened for security purposes. Please
consult the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/intellectual-property/Special-301, to confirm the date and location of the hearing
and to obtain copies of the hearing schedule. USTR also will post the
transcript and recording of the hearing on the USTR website as soon
after the hearing as possible. Witnesses must deliver prepared oral
testimony, which is limited to five minutes, before the Special 301
Subcommittee in person and in English. Subcommittee member agencies may
ask questions following the prepared statement.
Notices of intent to testify and hearing statements from the public
are due on February 7, 2019, and from foreign governments on February
21, 2019. The submissions must be in English and must include: (1) The
name, address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and firm or
affiliation of the individual wishing to testify, and (2) a hearing
statement that is relevant to the Special 301 review.
IV. Submission Instructions
All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via
www.regulations.gov using docket number USTR-2018-0037. To submit
comments, locate the docket (folder) by entering the number USTR-2018-
0037 in the `Enter Keyword or ID' window at the www.regulations.gov
home page and click `Search.' The site will provide a search-results
page listing all documents associated with this docket. Locate the
reference to this notice by selecting `Notice' under `Document Type' on
the left side of the search-results page, and click on the link
entitled `Comment Now!'.
USTR requests that you provide comments in an attached document,
and that you name the file according to the following protocol, as
appropriate: Commenter Name, or Organization_2019 Special
301_Review_Comment, or Notice of Intent to Testify or Hearing
Testimony. Please include the following information in the `Type
Comment' field: ``2019 Special 301 Review'' and whether the submission
is a comment, a request to testify at the hearing, or hearing
testimony. Please submit documents prepared in (or compatible with)
Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. If you prepare
the submission in a compatible format, please indicate the name of the
relevant software application in the `Type Comment' field. For further
information on using the www.regulations.gov website, please select
`How to Use Regulations.gov' on the bottom of any page.
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 comment itself, rather than submitting them as
separate files.
For any comments that contains 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 and the submission should clearly indicate, via brackets,
highlighting, or other means, the specific information that is business
confidential. A filer requesting business confidential treatment must
certify that the information is business confidential and that they
would not customarily released it to the public. Additionally, the
filer should type `Business Confidential' in the `Type Comment' field.
Filers of comments 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. Filers submitting comments containing no business
confidential information should name their file using the name of the
person or entity submitting the comments.
As noted, USTR strongly urges commenters to submit comments
[[Page 67470]]
through www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements
before transmitting a document and in advance of the relevant deadline
by contacting USTR at [email protected].
USTR will place comments in the docket and they will be open to
public inspection, except business confidential information. You can
view comments on the www.regulations.gov website by entering Docket
Number USTR-2018-0037 in the `Search' field on the home page.
Daniel Lee,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual
Property (Acting), Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-28319 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P