[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46066-46067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17606]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2021-0015]


Request for Written Comments Concerning China's Compliance With 
WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for written comments.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites 
written comments to assist the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to 
Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection 
with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Due to COVID-
19, the TPSC will foster public participation via written questions and 
responses relating to the comments received by the TPSC rather than an 
in-person hearing. This notice includes the schedule for submission of 
comments, questions and responses.

DATES: 
    September 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for submission of 
written comments.
    September 29, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for the TPSC to pose 
written questions on written comments.
    October 13, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for submission of 
commenters' responses to written questions from the TPSC.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov (REGS.GOV). 
The instructions for submitting written submissions are in sections III 
and IV below. The docket number is USTR-2021-0015. For alternatives to 
online submissions, contact Spencer Smith at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-2974 before transmitting a 
submission and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written submissions, contact Spencer Smith at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-2974. Direct all other 
questions to Tsering Dhongthog, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade 
Representative for China Affairs, at (202) 395-3900, or Arthur N. Tsao, 
Chief Counsel for China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In 
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-286), USTR is required to submit, on or about December 11 
of each year, a report to Congress on China's compliance with 
commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including 
both multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the 
United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in 
preparing this year's report, the TPSC is soliciting public comments. 
You can find last year's report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/reports/2020/2020USTRReportCongressChinaWTOCompliance.pdf.
    The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including 
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the 
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. You 
can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on the WTO website at 
http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, 
WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

II. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information

    The TPSC invites written comments on China's compliance with 
commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, 
including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas:
    A. Trading rights.
    B. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses).
    C. Export regulation.
    D. Internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards 
and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 
government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and 
charges levied on imports and exports).
    E. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement).
    F. Services.
    G. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform.
    H. Other WTO commitments.
    In addition, given the United States' view that China should be 
held accountable as a full participant in, and beneficiary of, the 
international trading system, USTR requests that commenters 
specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review 
and evaluation by USTR's China Enforcement Task Force.

III. Public Participation

    Due to COVID-19, the TPSC will foster public participation via 
written submissions rather than an in-person hearing on China's 
compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession 
to the WTO. In accordance with the schedule set out in the Dates 
section above, USTR invites written comments from the public. The TPSC 
will review the written comments and may pose written clarifying 
questions to the commenters. The TPSC will post the written questions 
on the public docket, other than questions that include properly 
designated business confidential information (BCI). USTR will send 
questions that include properly designated BCI to the relevant 
commenters by email and will not post these questions on the public 
docket. Written responses to questions that contain BCI must follow the 
procedures in section IV below.

IV. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to be assured of consideration, we must receive your 
written comments in English by 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 15, 2021. 
USTR strongly encourages commenters to make online submissions, using 
REGS.GOV. On the first page, please identify the submission as `China's 
WTO Compliance.'
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2021-0015 on the home page and click `search.' The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
this docket. Find a reference to this notice and click on the link 
entitled `comment now'. For further information on using REGS.GOV, 
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on 
`How to Use Regulations.gov' on the

[[Page 46067]]

bottom of the home page. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions.
    REGS.GOV allows users to submit comments by filling in a `type 
comment' field or by attaching a document using the `upload file' 
field. USTR prefers that you submit comments in an attached document. 
If you attach a document, it is sufficient to type `see attached' in 
the `type comment' field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word 
(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If you use an application other than 
those two, please indicate the name of the application in the `type 
comment' field.
    Filers submitting comments that do not include BCI should name 
their file using the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments. For any comments submitted electronically containing BCI, the 
file name of the business confidential version should begin with the 
characters `BCI. Any page containing business confidential information 
must be clearly marked `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' on the top of that page. 
Filers of submissions containing BCI also must submit a public version 
of their comments that we will place in the docket for public 
inspection. The file name of the public version should begin with the 
character `P. The `BCI' and `P' should be followed by the name of the 
person or entity submitting the comments.
    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 submission itself, not as separate files.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges that you file submissions through 
REGS.GOV. You must make any alternative arrangements with Spencer Smith 
at [email protected] or (202) 395-2974 before transmitting 
a submission and in advance of the relevant deadline.
    USTR will post written submissions in the docket for public 
inspection, except BCI. You can view written submissions on REGS.GOV by 
entering docket number USTR-2021-0015 in the search field on the home 
page. General information concerning USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.

Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2021-17606 Filed 8-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F1-P