[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 133 (Friday, July 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41566-41567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14938]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RTID 0648-XQ012


Recommendations for a Comprehensive Interagency Seafood Trade 
Strategy

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: On May 7, 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order on 
Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. As part 
of this effort, the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) are co-chairing the Interagency Seafood Trade 
Task Force (Seafood Trade Task Force), which will develop 
recommendations to provide to USTR for the development of

[[Page 41567]]

a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy. On behalf of the 
Seafood Trade Task Force co-chairs, NOAA requests written input from 
interested parties on how best to achieve the objectives of the Seafood 
Trade Task Force as described in the Executive Order, including 
improving access to foreign markets for U.S. seafood exports through 
trade policy and negotiations; resolving technical barriers to U.S. 
seafood exports; and otherwise supporting fair market access for U.S. 
seafood products. In addition, interested parties are requested to 
respond to the questions listed below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section as appropriate. The public input provided in response to this 
request for information (RFI) will inform the Seafood Trade Task Force 
as it works with Federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop 
recommendations to USTR in the preparation of a comprehensive 
interagency seafood trade strategy.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 1, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Responses should be submitted via email to 
[email protected]. Include ``RFI Response: Interagency 
Seafood Trade Task Force'' in the subject line of the message.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents need 
not comment on all listed objectives. For all submissions, clearly 
indicate which objective is being addressed. Email attachments will be 
accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats only. Each 
individual or institution is requested to submit only one response. The 
Department of Commerce may post responses to this RFI, without change, 
on a Federal website. NOAA, therefore, requests that no business 
proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally 
identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please 
note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or 
for the use of any information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Lawler, [email protected], 
202-689-4590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 7, 2020, the President signed a new 
Executive Order promoting American seafood competitiveness and economic 
growth. Specifically, the Executive Order calls for the expansion of 
sustainable U.S. seafood production through: More efficient and 
predictable aquaculture permitting; cutting-edge research and 
development; regulatory reform to maximize commercial fishing; and 
enforcement of common-sense restrictions on seafood imports that do not 
meet American standards.
    As outlined in Section 11 of the Executive Order, the Secretary of 
Commerce is establishing a Seafood Trade Task Force to be co-chaired by 
the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative (Co-
Chairs), or their designees. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Seafood 
Trade Task Force will include the following members, or their 
designees: The Secretary of State; the Secretary of the Interior; the 
Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of Homeland Security; the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget; the Assistant to the 
President for Economic Policy; the Assistant to the President for 
Domestic Policy; the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; the 
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; the Commissioner 
of Food and Drugs; the Administrator of NOAA; and the heads of such 
other agencies and offices as the Co-Chairs may designate.
    The Seafood Trade Task Force will provide recommendations to USTR 
in the preparation of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade 
strategy by identifying opportunities to improve access to foreign 
markets for U.S. seafood products through trade policy and 
negotiations, resolve technical barriers to U.S. seafood exports, and 
otherwise support fair market access for U.S. seafood products. USTR 
will then submit a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy to 
the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic 
Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, within 
90 days of the receiving the recommendations from the Seafood Trade 
Task Force.

Questions To Inform Recommendations for the Development of the 
Comprehensive Interagency Seafood Trade Strategy

    Through this RFI, NOAA seeks written public input on how the 
Administration can best achieve the Seafood Trade Task Force 
objectives, including but not limited to, responses to the following 
questions to inform the Task Force recommendations on the development 
of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy:
    1. Which seafood products (to include fish, shellfish, and 
processed fish and seafood products) are you currently exporting? 
Please provide the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) codes for these 
products.
    2. To which countries or other trading partners are you currently 
exporting?
    3. Are there countries or other trading partners to which you are 
planning to export, or to which you would like to export? Please 
specify.
    4. Are there issues in the markets you currently export to that 
limit your exports or unnecessarily increase the costs for your 
exports? Please specify.
    5. Are there issues in other markets that have prevented you from 
exporting? Please specify.
    6. Are there other issues that affect the competitiveness of your 
product in foreign markets? Please specify.
    7. Are there barriers that prevent the export of your product to 
certain markets? Please specify.

    Dated: July 7, 2020.
Chris Oliver,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-14938 Filed 7-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P