[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

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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