[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 45 (Thursday, March 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8341-8342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04157]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-345]


Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2019 Annual Report

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Schedule for 2019 report and opportunity to submit information.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has prepared and published annual reports in 
this series under investigation No. 332-345, Recent Trends in U.S. 
Services Trade, since 1996. The 2019 report, which the Commission plans 
to publish in September 2019, will provide aggregate data on cross-
border trade in services for the period ending in 2017, and 
transactions by affiliates based outside the country of their parent 
firm for the period ending in 2016. The report's analysis will focus on 
distribution services (including logistics services, maritime transport 
services, and retail services). The Commission is inviting interested 
members of the public to furnish information and views in connection 
with the 2019 report.

DATES: April 1, 2019: Deadline for filing written submissions.
    September 20, 2019: Anticipated date for online publication of the 
report.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E St. SW, Washington, DC. All written submissions should 
be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E St. SW, Washington, DC 20436. The public record for 
this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket 
information system (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information specific to this 
investigation may be obtained from Sarah Oliver, Project Leader, Office 
of Industries, Services Division (202-205-3288, 
[email protected]), Eric Forden, Deputy Project Leader, Office of 
Industries, Services Division (202-205-3235, [email protected]), or 
Services Division Chief Martha Lawless (202-205-3497, 
[email protected]). For information on the legal aspects of

[[Page 8342]]

these investigations, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's 
Office of the General Counsel (202-205-3091; 
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret 
O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations (202-205-1819; 
[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 (https://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: The 2019 annual services trade report will provide 
aggregate data on cross-border trade in services for 2017 and affiliate 
transactions in services for 2016, and more specific data and 
information on trade in distribution services (logistics, maritime 
trade, and retail services). Under Commission Investigation No. 332-
345, the Commission publishes two annual reports, one on services trade 
(Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade), and a second on merchandise 
trade (Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade). The Commission's 2018 annual 
report in the series of reports on Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade 
is now available online at https://www.usitc.gov.
    The initial notice of institution of this investigation was 
published in the Federal Register on September 8, 1993 (58 FR 47287) 
and provided for what is now the report on merchandise trade. The 
Commission expanded the scope of the investigation to cover services 
trade in a separate report, which it announced in a notice published in 
the Federal Register on December 28, 1994 (59 FR 66974). The separate 
report on services trade has been published annually since 1996, except 
in 2005. As in past years, the report will summarize trade in services 
in the aggregate and provide analyses of trends and developments in 
selected services industries during the latest period for which data 
are published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis.
    Written Submissions: The Commission invites interested parties to 
submit written statements concerning its 2019 report. For the 2019 
report, the Commission is particularly interested in receiving 
information relating to trade in distribution services (logistics, 
maritime trade, and retail services). All written submissions should be 
addressed to the Secretary, and should be received no later than 5:15 
p.m., April 1, 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 noon 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 paragraph below 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 
confidential business information (CBI) must also conform with the 
requirements in 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 confidential or non-confidential, and that the 
confidential business information be 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 intends to prepare only a public report in this 
investigation. The report that the Commission makes available to the 
public will not contain confidential business information. However, 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 solely for cybersecurity purposes. The Commission 
will not otherwise disclose any confidential business information 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 positions of interested persons in this report. If you 
wish to have a summary of your position included in an appendix of the 
report, please include a summary with your written submission and mark 
the summary as submitted for that purpose. The summary 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 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. In the report 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: March 4, 2019.
Katherine Hiner,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-04157 Filed 3-6-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P