[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29576-29583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13376]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2019-0005]


Procedures for Requests To Exclude Particular Products From the 
September 2018 Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, 
and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, 
and Innovation

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In a notice published on May 9, 2019, the United States Trade 
Representative (Trade Representative) announced that the Office of the 
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) would establish a process by which 
U.S. stakeholders may request exclusion of particular products 
classified within a tariff subheading covered by the September 2018 
action in this investigation from the additional duties. This notice 
announces that USTR will open an electronic portal for submission of 
exclusion requests on June 30, 2019, and sets out the specific 
procedures for submitting requests.

DATES: 
    June 30, 2019 at noon EDT: The web portal for submitting exclusion 
requests--http://exclusions.USTR.gov--will open.
    September 30, 2019: Deadline for submitting exclusion requests.
    Responses to individual exclusion requests are due 14 days after 
the request is posted on USTR's online portal. Any replies to responses 
to an exclusion request are due the later of 7 days after the close of 
the 14-day response period, or 7 days after the posting of a response.

ADDRESSES: You must submit all requests, responses to requests, and 
replies to responses through the online portal: http://exclusions.USTR.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about the product 
exclusion process, contact USTR Assistant General Counsels Philip 
Butler or Megan Grimball at (202) 395-5725. For questions on customs 
classification or implementation of additional duties, contact 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. September 2018 Action

    For background on the proceedings in this investigation, please see 
the prior notices issued in the investigation, including 82 FR 40213 
(August 24, 2017), 83 FR 14906 (April 6, 2018), 83 FR 28710 (June 20, 
2018), 83 FR 33608 (July 17, 2018), 83 FR 38760 (August 7, 2018), 83 FR 
40823 (August 16, 2018), 83 FR 47974 (September 21, 2018), as modified 
by 83 FR 49153 (September 28, 2018), and 84 FR 20549 (May 9, 2019), as 
modified by 84 FR 21892 (May 15, 2019) and 84 FR 26930 (June 10, 2019).
    In a notice published on September 21, 2018 (83 FR 47974), the 
Trade Representative, at the direction of the President, announced a 
determination to modify the action being taken in the Section 301 
investigation by imposing 10 percent additional duties on products of 
China with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion. On 
September 28, 2018 (83 FR 65198), the Trade Representative issued a 
conforming amendment and modification of the September 21 action. The 
current notice refers to the September 21 action, as modified by 
September 28 notice, as the ``September 2018 action.'' In a notice 
published on May 9, 2019 (84 FR 20459), the Trade Representative, at 
the direction of the President, increased the rate of additional duty 
for the September 2018 action to 25 percent.

B. Procedures To Request the Exclusion of Particular Products

    USTR invites interested persons, including trade associations, to 
submit requests for exclusion from the additional duties under the 
September 2018 action. The September 2018 action covers the products 
classified within the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheadings set out in Annex A of the notice published at 83 FR 
47974 (September 21, 2018) as amended and modified by 83 FR 49153 
(September 28, 2018). As explained in more detail below, each request 
must specifically identify a particular product, and provide supporting 
data and the rationale for the requested exclusion. USTR will evaluate 
each request on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the asserted 
rationale for the exclusion, whether the exclusion would undermine the 
objective of the Section 301 investigation, and whether the request 
defines the product with sufficient precision. Any exclusion will be 
effective starting from the September 24, 2018 effective date of the 
September 2018 action, and extending for one year after the publication 
of the exclusion determination in the Federal Register. USTR will 
periodically announce decisions on pending requests.
    To submit an exclusion request, requesters must first register on 
the portal at http://exclusions.USTR.gov. As noted above, the portal 
will open at noon EDT on June 30, 2019. After registration, the 
requester can fill out and submit one or more exclusion request forms.
    Fields on the exclusion request form marked with an asterisk (*) 
are required fields. Fields with a gray (BCI) notation are for Business 
Confidential Information and the information entered will not be 
publicly available. Fields with a green (Public) notation will be 
publicly available. Additionally, parties will be able to upload 
documents and indicate whether the documents are BCI or public. 
Requesters will be able to review the public version of their 
submission before the submission is posted.
    In order to facilitate preparation of requests prior to the June 30 
opening of the web portal, a facsimile of the exclusion request form to 
be used on the portal is attached as an annex to this notice. Please 
note that the color-coding of public fields and BCI fields is not 
visible on the attached facsimile, but will be apparent on the actual 
form used on the portal.
    Set out below is a summary of the information to be entered on the 
exclusion request form.
    Each requester has to provide contact information, including the 
full legal name of the organization making the request, whether the 
requester is a third party (law firm, trade association, or customs 
broker) submitting on behalf of an organization or industry, and the 
primary point of contact (requester and/or third party submitter). The 
requester may report whether the requester's business satisfies the 
Small Business

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Administration's size standard for a small business, which are 
identified by North American Industry Classification Systems Codes and 
are found in 13 CFR 121.201.
    With regard to product identification, any request for exclusion 
must include the following information:
     The 10-digit subheading of the HTSUS applicable to the 
particular product requested for exclusion. If no 10-digit subheading 
is available (i.e., the 8-digit subheading does not contain breakouts 
at the 10-digit level), requesters should use the 8-digit subheading 
and add ``00''. Different models classified under different 8-digit or 
10-digit subheadings are considered different products and require 
separate exclusion requests.
     Product name and a detailed description of the product. A 
detailed description of the product includes, but is not limited to, 
its physical characteristics (e.g., dimensions, weight, material 
composition, etc.). Requesters may submit a range of comparable goods 
within the product definition set out in an exclusion request. Thus, a 
product request may include two or more goods with similar product 
characteristics or attributes. Goods with different SKUs, model 
numbers, or sizes are not necessarily different products.
     The products function, application (whether the product is 
designed to function in or with a particular machine or other device), 
principal use, and any unique physical features that distinguish it 
from other products within the covered 8-digit HTSUS subheading. 
Requesters may submit attachments that help distinguish the product 
(e.g., CBP rulings, photos and specification sheets, and previous 
import documentation). Documents submitted to support a requester's 
product description must be made available for public inspection and 
contain no BCI. USTR will not consider requests that identify the 
product using criteria that cannot be made available for public 
inspection.
    Requesters must provide their relationship to the product 
(Importer, U.S. Producer, Purchaser, Industry Association, Other) and 
provide specific data on the annual quantity and value of the Chinese-
origin product, domestic product, and third-country product the 
requester purchased, in 2017, 2018, and the first quarter of 2019.
    Requesters must provide information regarding their company's gross 
revenues for 2018, the first quarter of 2018, and the first quarter of 
2019.
    For imports sold as final products, requesters must provide the 
percentage of their total gross sales in 2018 that sales of the 
Chinese-origin product accounted for.
    For imports used in the production of final products, requesters 
must provide the percentage of the total cost of producing the final 
product(s) the Chinese-origin input accounts for and the percentage of 
their total gross sales in 2018 that sales of the final product(s) 
accounted for.
    As noted in the attached facsimile, required information regarding 
the requester's purchases and gross sales and revenue is BCI and the 
information entered will not be publicly available.
    With regard to the rationale for the requested exclusion, each 
requester will be asked to address the following:
     Whether the particular product is available only from 
China and whether the particular product and/or a comparable product is 
available from sources in the United States and/or in third countries. 
The requester must provide an explanation if the product is not 
available outside of China or the requester is not sure of the product 
availability.
     Whether the requester has attempted to source the product 
from the United States or third countries.
     Whether the imposition of additional duties (since 
September 2018) on the particular product has or will cause severe 
economic harm to the requester or other U.S. interests.
     Whether the particular product is strategically important 
or related to ``Made in China 2025'' or other Chinese industrial 
programs.
    In addressing each factor, the requester should provide support for 
their assertions. To provide information about the possible cumulative 
effects of the Section 301 tariff actions, requesters also may submit 
information about any exclusion requests submitted by the requester 
under the initial $34 billion tariff action (Docket ID: USTR-2018-0025) 
or the additional $16 billion tariff action (Docket ID: USTR-2018-0032) 
and the value of the requester's imports applicable to the previous 
tariff actions. Requesters also may provide any other information or 
data that they consider relevant to an evaluation of the request.

C. Responses to Requests for Exclusions

    After a request for exclusion of a particular product is posted on 
USTR's online portal, interested persons will have 14 days to respond 
to the request, indicating support or opposition and providing reasons 
for their view. A response to a product exclusion request must be 
submitted using USTR's online portal at http://exclusions.USTR.gov. To 
file a response, an interested party does not have to register. 
Responses will be publicly available.

D. Replies to Responses to Requests for Exclusions

    After a response is posted on USTR's online portal, the requester 
will have the opportunity to reply to the response using the same 
portal. Any reply must be submitted within the later of 7 days after 
the close of the 14 day response period, or 7 days after the posting of 
a response. A reply to a response must be submitted using USTR's online 
portal at http://exclusions.USTR.gov. Replies to responses will be 
publicly available.

E. Submission Instructions

    As noted above, interested persons must submit requests for 
exclusions in the period between the opening of the portal on June 30, 
2019, and the September 30, 2019 submission deadline. Any responses to 
those requests must be submitted within 14 days after the requests are 
posted. Any reply to a response must be submitted within the later of 7 
days after the close of the 14 day response period, or 7 days after the 
posting of a response. Interested persons seeking to exclude two or 
more products must submit a separate request for each product, i.e., 
one product per request. As noted above, a single product may include 
two or more goods with similar product characteristics or attributes.
    By submitting an exclusion request, a response, or a reply, the 
submitter certifies that the information provided is complete and 
correct to the best of his or her knowledge.

F. Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, USTR submitted a 
request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency 
review and clearance of this information collection request (ICR) 
titled 301 Exclusion Requests. OMB assigned control number 0350-0015, 
which is due to expire on December 31, 2019. USTR intends to submit the 
information collection to OMB for review and approval of a three-year 
extension of the control number.

Joseph Barloon,
General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
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[FR Doc. 2019-13376 Filed 6-21-19; 8:45 am]
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