[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45971-45973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15134]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2023-0005]


Extension of the Comment Period: Request for Comments Regarding 
the Work of the North American Competitiveness Committee

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

[[Page 45972]]


ACTION: Extension of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: Since entry into force of the United States-Mexico-Canada 
Agreement (USMCA), the United States, Canada, and Mexico (the Parties) 
have focused the work of the North American Competitiveness Committee 
(Committee) on expanding trilateral cooperation on North American 
workforce development issues and establishing mechanisms for 
cooperation during emergency situations that affect North American 
trade flows, including by establishing a joint understanding of 
critical infrastructure priorities in North America. USTR is seeking 
public comments and recommendations for these and potential additional 
workstreams for the Committee relevant to enhancing North American 
competitiveness. USTR is extending the deadline to submit comments by 
30 days, until August 17, 2023.

DATES: The deadline for the submission of written comments is August 
17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov (Regulations.gov). 
Follow the instructions for submissions in parts IV and V below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, please contact Randall Oliver, Director for Canada, 
Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, at [email protected] 
or (202) 395-9449 in advance of the deadline and before transmitting a 
comment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Comment Extension

    On June 16, 2023 (88 FR 39502), USTR published a notice with a 
request for comments concerning additional workstreams for the 
Committee relevant to enhancing North American competitiveness. This 
notice extends the deadline for submission of comments until August 17, 
2023. For convenience, USTR is repeating the background and information 
on solicitation of comments below.

II. Background

    The purpose of the Committee, which was established under Chapter 
26 of the USMCA, is to:
     develop and implement cooperative activities in support of 
a strong economic environment that incentivizes production in North 
America;
     facilitate regional trade and investment;
     enhance a predictable and transparent regulatory 
environment;
     encourage the swift movement of goods and the provision of 
services throughout the region; and
     respond to market developments and emerging technologies.
    The Parties agreed that the Committee should not detract from or 
unnecessarily duplicate work that is taking place under other USMCA 
committees or in other venues such as bilateral cooperation mechanisms, 
including the U.S.-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue and the Roadmap 
for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership. The Parties also agreed that 
projects for the Committee must be based on targeted and specific 
proposals to maximize effectiveness and impact.
    To coordinate U.S. government policy for the Committee, USTR has 
established a Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) Subcommittee on North 
American Competitiveness (TPSC Subcommittee) comprised of officials 
from across the U.S. government.

III. Public Comments

    USTR invites interested parties to submit comments to assist USTR 
and the TPSC Subcommittee in recommending additional workstreams for 
the Committee relevant to enhancing North American competitiveness. 
Comments should be responsive to the Committee activities described in 
the USMCA at Article 26.1, namely:
     effective approaches and information-sharing activities to 
support a competitive environment in North America that facilitates 
trade and investment between the Parties, and promotes economic 
integration and development within the free trade area;
     ways to further assist traders of a Party to identify and 
take advantage of trade opportunities under the USMCA;
     recommendations aimed at enhancing the participation of 
SMEs, and enterprises owned by under-represented groups including 
women, indigenous peoples, youth, and minorities;
     projects and policies to develop a modern physical and 
digital trade- and investment-related infrastructure, and improve the 
movement of goods and provision of services within the free trade area;
     action to combat market-distorting practices by non-
Parties that are affecting the North American region; and
     cooperative activities for trade and investment between 
the Parties with respect to innovation and technology, including best 
practices in their application.
    In addition, USTR invites interested parties to submit comments to 
assist USTR and the TPSC Subcommittee in the ongoing implementation of 
current work under the Committee related to North American workforce 
development and cooperation among the Parties during emergency 
situations that affect North American trade flows, including the 
establishment of a joint understanding of critical infrastructure 
priorities in North America described in Decision #5 of the Free Trade 
Commission of the USMCA.
    Comments could address, among other topics:
     recommendations aimed at developing procedures for 
coordination and consultation in response to specific emergency 
situations;
     effective approaches and mechanisms to timely consult with 
industries and other non-governmental stakeholders, including workers, 
most directly impacted by the disruption of North American trade flows 
in an emergency situation;
     existing projects and policies to engage with state, 
local, tribal, or territorial governments to address disruptions to 
trade in emergency situations; and
     examples of activities related to re-establishing the flow 
of trade after emergency situations.
    USTR requests small businesses (generally defined by the Small 
Business Administration as firms with fewer than 500 employees) or 
organizations representing small business members that submit comments 
to self-identify as such, so that we may be aware of issues of 
particular interest to small businesses.

IV. Procedures for Written Submissions

    To be assured of consideration, submit your written comments by the 
August 17, 2023 11:59 p.m. EDT deadline. All submission must be in 
English. USTR strongly encourages submissions via Regulations.gov, 
using Docket Number USTR-2023-0005.
    To make a submission via Regulations.gov, enter Docket Number USTR-
2023-0005 in the `search for' field 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 
by selecting `notice' under `document type' in the `refine documents 
results' section on the left side of the screen and click on the link 
entitled `comment.'
    Regulations.gov allows users to make submissions by filling in a 
`type comment' field or by attaching a document using the `upload file' 
field. USTR prefers that you provide submissions in an attached 
document

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and note `see attached' in the `comment' field on the online submission 
form. 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.
    You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the 
submission procedure at Regulations.gov. The tracking number is 
confirmation that Regulations.gov received your submission. Keep the 
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical 
assistance for Regulations.gov.
    For further information on using Regulations.gov, please consult 
the resources provided on the website by clicking on `How to Use 
Regulations.gov' on the bottom of the home page. USTR may not consider 
submissions that you do not make in accordance with these instructions.
    If you are unable to provide submissions as requested, please 
contact Randall Oliver, Director for Canada, Office of Western 
Hemisphere Affairs, in advance of the deadline at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-9449, to arrange for an 
alternative method of transmission. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions. General information concerning USTR is available at 
www.ustr.gov.

V. Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions

    If you ask USTR to treat information you submit as BCI, you must 
certify that the information is business confidential and you would not 
customarily release it to the public. For any comments submitted 
electronically containing BCI, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI.' You must 
clearly mark any page containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' at 
the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must 
submit a public version of their submission that will be placed in the 
docket for public inspection. The file name of the public version 
should begin with the character `P.'

VI. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    USTR will post written submissions in the docket for public 
inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view submissions at 
Regulations.gov by entering Docket Number USTR-2023-0005 in the search 
field on the home page.

William Shpiece,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023-15134 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
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