[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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