[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70613-70615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27572]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2019-0023]


Request for Comments and Notice of a Public Hearing Regarding the 
2020 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 (IP) rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. 
persons who rely on IP 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 6, 2020 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 20, 2020 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 26, 2020: 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. Those who intend to testify at the 
public hearing must submit a notice of intent to appear by the 
deadlines stated above. 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, 2020 at 11:59pm EST: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing written comments from persons who testified at the public 
hearing.
    On or about April 30, 2020: USTR will publish the 2020 Special 301

[[Page 70614]]

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: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
submission instructions in section IV below. The docket number is USTR-
2019-0023. 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: Jacob Ewerdt, Director for Innovation 
and Intellectual Property, at [email protected]. You can find 
information about the Special 301 Review at https://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 
IP protections or fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who 
rely on IP 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 IP protection, enforcement, or market 
access for persons that rely on 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 2020, 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 IP rights or 
deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on IP 
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 30, 2020.

II. Public Comments

    To facilitate this year's 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 26, 2020, 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.
    Witnesses not from foreign governments must submit a notice of 
intent to testify and a hearing statement by February 6, 2020, and 
foreign government witnesses must submit a notice of intent to testify 
and a hearing statement by February 20, 2020. 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 
https://www.regulations.gov using docket number USTR-2019-0023. To 
submit comments, locate the docket (folder) by entering the number 
USTR-2019-0023 in the `Enter Keyword or ID' window at the https://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_2020 Special 
301_Review_Comment, or Notice of Intent to Testify or Hearing 
Statement. Please include the following information in the `Type 
Comment' field: ``2020 Special 301 Review'' and whether the submission 
is a comment, a request to testify at the hearing, or a hearing 
statement. Please submit documents prepared in (or compatible with) 
Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. If you prepare

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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 https://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 through 
https://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 https://www.regulations.gov website by entering 
Docket Number USTR-2019-0023 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. 2019-27572 Filed 12-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F0-P