[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22013-22014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07895]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Notification of U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Labor Council
Meeting
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Under the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS),
the United States and Republic of Korea (Parties) intend to hold a
virtual meeting of the Labor Council on April 25-26, 2022. The session
will include a government-to-government Labor Council meeting on April
25, 2022, and a virtual public session on implementation of the KORUS
labor chapter on April 26, 2022. The Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) seek
questions from the public in advance of the public session.
DATES:
April 18, 2022: Information on how to register for the public
session will be posted on the USTR and DOL websites noted in the
Addresses section below, and registration to attend the public session
will open.
April 20, 2022, 5:00 p.m. ET: Deadline for submission of questions
for the public session. Attendees also will be given an opportunity to
ask questions through a live-chat function during the event.
[[Page 22014]]
April 24, 2022: Registration for the public session will close.
April 25, 2022: The Parties will hold a government-to-government
session.
April 26, 2022, 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET: The Parties will host a
virtual public session regarding the implementation of Chapter 19 of
the KORUS.
ADDRESSES: Submit written questions with the subject line `KORUS Labor
Council Meeting' to Donna Chung, Director for Labor Affairs, USTR by
email to [email protected]; and Sarah Casson at the Division
of Monitoring and Enforcement, Office of Trade and Labor Affairs,
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, DOL by email to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Chung, Director for Labor
Affairs, USTR by email to [email protected], or by phone 202-
395-2870; and Sarah Casson at the Division of Monitoring and
Enforcement, Office of Trade and Labor Affairs, Bureau of International
Labor Affairs, DOL by email to [email protected], or by phone 202-
693-2960.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Article 19.5 of the KORUS establishes a Labor Council composed of
senior government representatives from the Parties' labor ministries
and other appropriate agencies or ministries. Pursuant to the Article,
the Council met within the first year after the KORUS entered into
force. This will be the second meeting of the Council under the KORUS.
The Labor Council may consider any matter within the scope of the
implementation of Chapter 19 (Labor), including activities of the Labor
Cooperation Mechanism established under Article 19.6. Unless the
Parties otherwise agree, each meeting of the Council will include a
session in which members of the Council have an opportunity to meet
with the public to discuss matters related to the implementation of
Chapter 19. Formal decisions of the Council will be made public, unless
the Council decides otherwise. The Council may prepare reports on
matters related to the implementation of Chapter 19 and will make such
reports public.
The Labor Council meeting will include a virtual government-to-
government session to discuss the Parties' Chapter 19 (Labor)
obligations, and a virtual public session. The government-to-government
session will not be open to the public.
II. Public Session on KORUS FTA Chapter 19 Implementation
The Labor Council invites members of the public to attend a virtual
public session on April 26, 2022, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET, to
address the implementation of Chapter 19 (Labor) of the KORUS. In
addition to the questions received in advance of the public session,
the Labor Council will welcome questions concerning the implementation
of Chapter 19 obligations through a live-chat function during the
event. Details on how to access the public session will be made
available by April 18, 2022, on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/labor, and on the DOL website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/our-work/trade/agreements/upcoming-fta-labor-meetings.
III. Comments
DOL and USTR invite specific questions that could be addressed at
the public session. When preparing questions or comments, we encourage
submitters to refer to Chapter 19 of the KORUS (https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/agreements/fta/korus/asset_upload_file934_12718.pdf).
Joshua Kagan,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Labor Affairs Office of the
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2022-07895 Filed 4-12-22; 8:45 am]
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