[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7896-7897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02793]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2022-0001]


Request for Comments Concerning the Operation of the United 
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement With Respect to Trade in Automotive 
Goods

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Trade Representative must conduct a review of trade 
in automotive goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 
(USMCA) and submit a report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate 
and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives no 
later than July 1, 2022. USTR invites comments concerning the operation 
of the USMCA with respect to automotive goods, including the 
implementation and enforcement of the USMCA rules of origin for 
automotive goods, as well as whether the automotive provisions of the 
USMCA are relevant in light of technological and production advances.

DATES: USTR must receive your written comments by March 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the online USTR portal: https://comments.ustr.gov/s/. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in sections C and D below. The 
docket number is USTR-2022-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Justin Hoffmann, Director for 
Industrial Goods at (202) 395-2990 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. USMCA Background

    On January 29, 2020, the President signed into law the USMCA 
Implementation Act (Pub. L. 116-113), which implements the USMCA 
between the United States, the United Mexican States, and Canada 
attached as an Annex to the Protocol Replacing the North American Free 
Trade Agreement. The USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020.
    The USMCA includes new rules of origin to claim preferential 
treatment for automotive goods, including higher Regional Value Content 
(RVC) thresholds, mandatory requirements to produce core parts in the 
region, mandatory steel and aluminum purchasing requirements, and a 
Labor Value Content (LVC) requirement. The USMCA allows vehicle 
producers to request an alternative staging regime for these 
requirements that would permit a longer period of transition to help 
ensure that future production is able to meet the new rules. The 
standard staging regime is specified under the Automotive Appendix to 
Chapter 4 of the USMCA, with the exception of Article 8, which 
specifies provisions relating to the alternative staging regime.
    The USMCA Implementation Act and Executive Order 13908 established 
the Interagency Committee on Trade in Automotive Goods (Committee) to 
advise the President and the U.S. Trade Representative on the 
implementation, enforcement, and modification of the USMCA provisions 
related to automotive goods. In addition, the Committee reviews the 
operation of the USMCA with respect to trade in automotive goods, 
including the economic effects of the USMCA automotive rules of origin 
on the U.S. economy, workers, consumers, and the impact of new 
technology on such rules.

B. Report to Congress

    Section 202A(g) of the USMCA Implementation Act requires the U.S. 
Trade Representative, in consultation with the Committee, to conduct a 
biennial review of the operation of the USMCA with respect to trade in 
automotive goods, including:
    (a) To the extent practicable, a summary of actions taken by 
producers to demonstrate compliance with the automotive rules of 
origin, use of the alternative staging regime, enforcement of such 
rules of origin, and other relevant matters.
    (b) Whether the automotive rules of origin are effective and 
relevant in light of new technology and changes in content, production 
processes, and character of automotive goods.
    No later than July 1, 2022, USTR will submit the results of the 
biennial review to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and post a 
public version of the report to its website at https://www.ustr.gov.

C. Request for Public Input

    In accordance with the USMCA Implementation Act, USTR and the 
Committee seek views from producers of automotive goods, labor 
organizations, and other interested parties regarding:
    1. The overall operation of the USMCA with respect to automotive 
goods.
    2. Actions taken by automotive and parts producers to demonstrate 
compliance with the USMCA automotive rules of origin, including:
    a. The applicable RVC requirements for passenger vehicles, light 
trucks, heavy trucks, other vehicles, and parts thereof.
    b. The North American steel and aluminum purchase requirements.
    c. The LVC requirements.
    3. The use of alternative staging regimes by vehicle producers to 
meet the USMCA automotive rules of origin.
    4. Enforcement of the USMCA automotive rules of origin, including 
the alternative staging regimes and the automotive certification 
process for steel and aluminum content, LVC, and RVC.
    5. Whether the current USMCA automotive rules of origin are 
effective and relevant in light of new technology and changes in the 
content, production processes, and character of automotive goods.
    6. Any other topics relevant to the trade in automotive goods under 
the USMCA.

D. Procedures for Written Submissions

    All submissions must be in English and submitted using the 
electronic portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/. You will be able to 
view a docket entitled `Request for Comments Concerning the Operation 
of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) with Respect to 
Trade in Automotive Goods' on the portal, docket number USTR-2022-0001.
    You do not need to establish an account to make a submission. 
Fields with a gray (BCI) notation are for Business Confidential 
Information (BCI), which will not be made publicly available. Required 
fields are marked `Required' and have a red asterisk (*). Fields with a 
green (Public) notation will be viewable by the public. The first 
screen of the portal requires you to enter identification and contact 
information.

[[Page 7897]]

Submitters should identify the full legal name of the organization they 
represent, and identify the primary point of contact for the 
submission.
    For uploads containing BCI, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI'. Any page 
containing BCI 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 BCI. If you request business confidential treatment, you must 
certify in writing that disclosure of the information would endanger 
trade secrets or profitability, and that the information would not 
customarily be released to the public. Parties uploading attachments 
containing BCI also must submit a public version of their submission. 
The file name of the public version, which you must upload on https://comments.ustr.gov/s/, should begin with the character `P'. Follow the 
`BCI' and `P' with the name of the person or entity making the 
submission. USTR will post attachments uploaded to the docket for 
public inspection, except for attachments marked as BCI.
    You can view all public submissions on the USTR portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/.

Greta Peisch,
General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2022-02793 Filed 2-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F2-P