[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29424-29426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08515]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Nos. USTR-2024-0004, USTR-2024-0005]
Initiation of Section 301 Investigation: China's Acts, Policies,
and Practices Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding
Sectors for Dominance
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of investigation initiation, hearing, and request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: On March 12, 2024, the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) received a petition requesting an investigation
of China's acts, policies, and practices targeting the maritime,
logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance. On consideration of
the petition and the advice of the Section 301 Committee, the U.S.
Trade Representative has initiated an investigation into the issues
raised in the petition. The inter-agency Section 301 Committee will
hold a public hearing and is seeking public comments in connection with
this investigation.
DATES:
April 17, 2024: The U.S. Trade Representative initiated the
investigation.
May 22, 2024: To be assured of consideration, submit written
comments and any requests to appear at the hearing, along with a
summary of the testimony, by this date.
May 29, 2024: The Section 301 Committee will convene a public
hearing in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade
Commission Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington DC, beginning at 10
a.m. If necessary, the hearing may continue on May 31, 2024.
Seven days after the last day of the public hearing: Submit post-
hearing rebuttal comments.
ADDRESSES: Submit documents in response to this notice, including
written comments, hearing appearance requests, summaries of testimony,
and post-hearing rebuttal comments through the appropriate online USTR
portal at: https://comments.ustr.gov/s/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Grimball and Philip Butler,
Chairs of the Section 301 Committee, or Assistant General Counsels
Thomas Au and Henry Smith, (202) 395-5725.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary of the Petition
On March 12, 2024, five labor unions \1\ filed a Section 301
petition regarding the acts, policies, and practices of China to
dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sector.\2\ The
petition was filed pursuant to section 302(a)(1) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2412(a)(1)), requesting action
pursuant to Section 301(b) (19 U.S.C. 2411(b)).
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\1\ The five petitioners are the United Steel, Paper and
Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and
Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO CLC (USW), the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,
Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, AFL-CIO/CLC (IBB), the
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM),
and the Maritime Trades Department of the AFL-CIO (MTD).
\2\ For additional information, the full text of the petition
and accompanying exhibits are available at: https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/section-301-petition-china-maritime-logistics-and-shipbuilding-sector.
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Petitioners allege that China targets the maritime, logistics, and
shipbuilding sector for dominance and engages in a wide range of
unreasonable or discriminatory acts, policies, and practices that
provide unfair advantages across maritime industries, such as
shipbuilding, shipping, and maritime equipment, including:
Implementing industrial planning and policies that are
designed to unfairly capture market share, distort global markets, and
advantage Chinese enterprises;
Directing mergers and anticompetitive activities;
Providing non-market advantages to Chinese firms to
dominate key upstream inputs and technologies;
Providing advanced financing mechanisms advantaging
Chinese industry;
Creating a Chinese network of upstream suppliers, foreign
ports and terminals, shippers, and equipment and logistics software
that allow advantageous use of information;
Tolerating intellectual property theft and industrial
espionage; and
Controlling shipping freight rates and capacity
allocations.
The petitioners also aver that China threatens to discriminate
against U.S. commerce and disrupt supply chains.
Petitioners allege that China's acts, policies, and practices
burden or restrict U.S. commerce by:
Dramatically increasing China's shipbuilding excess
capacity and global market share, contributing to declines in U.S.
shipbuilding capacity, production, and market share;
Artificially depressing prices, which makes it more
difficult for U.S. companies to compete for sales;
Impeding U.S. investment, production, and employment;
Reducing the number of U.S.-produced ships in the domestic
and global merchant fleets; and
Providing unfair advantages and preferences that burden or
restrict trade in inputs, and burden or restrict trade opportunities
for upstream inputs and downstream industries.
In addition, the petitioners assert that China threatens to
undermine U.S. national and economic security.
II. Initiation of a Section 301 Investigation
Pursuant to section 302(a)(2) of the Trade Act, the U.S. Trade
Representative reviewed the allegations in the petition, and after
receiving the advice of the section 301 Committee, the U.S. Trade
Representative determined to initiate an investigation regarding the
issues raised in the petition. In accordance with Section 303(a) of the
Trade Act, USTR is requesting consultations with the government of
China. Petitioners have requested a public hearing. In accordance with
section 302(a)(4), and with the agreement of the petitioners, the
section 301 Committee will hold a public hearing on this matter on May
29, 2024.
III. Relevant Provisions of the Trade Act
Section 302(a)(4) of the Trade Act authorizes the U.S. Trade
Representative to initiate an investigation to determine whether an
act, policy, or practice of a foreign country is actionable under
section 301 of the Trade Act. Actionable matters under section 301
include acts, policies, and practices of a foreign country that are
unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.
See Section 301(b)(1). An act, policy, or practice is unreasonable if,
while not necessarily in violation of, or inconsistent with, the
international legal rights of the United States, it is otherwise unfair
and inequitable. See Section 301(d)(3)(A). The statute provides that
acts, policies, and practices that are unreasonable include any act,
policy, or practice, or any combination of acts, policies, or
[[Page 29425]]
practices, which constitutes export targeting. See Section
301(d)(3)(B)(ii). Export targeting means any government plan or scheme
consisting of a combination of coordinated actions (whether carried out
severally or jointly) that are bestowed on a specific enterprise,
industry, or group thereof, the effect of which is to assist the
enterprise, industry, or group to become more competitive in the export
of a class or kind of merchandise. See Section 301(d)(3)(E). The
statute also provides that an act, policy, or practice of a foreign
country that burdens or restricts U.S. commerce may include the
provision, directly or indirectly, by that foreign country of subsidies
for the construction of vessels used in the commercial transportation
by water of goods between foreign countries and the United States. See
Section 301(d)(2).
Pursuant to section 304 of the Trade Act, the U.S. Trade
Representative will determine on the basis of the investigation whether
any act, policy, or practice described under section 301(b) exists. If
that determination is affirmative, the U.S. Trade Representative will
determine whether action is appropriate, and if so, what action to
take. See Section 304(a)(1)(B).
IV. Request for Public Comments
You may submit written comments on any issue covered by the
investigation. In particular, USTR invites comments on:
China's acts, policies, and practices targeting the
maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance;
Whether China's acts, policies, and practices targeting
the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance are
unreasonable or discriminatory;
China's efforts to dominate the global maritime,
logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, including the upstream and
downstream supply chain, as well as shipping services;
Information on other acts, policies, and practices of
China relating to the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors,
including:
political guidance, directives, and control within state
and private enterprises,
activities of state-owned or state-controlled enterprises,
market access and investment restrictions,
opaque regulatory preferences and discrimination,
wage-suppressing labor practices,
state support of industry (including government guidance
funds),
forced technology transfer (including state-sponsored
cyber theft of intellectual property), or
other means employed by China to achieve its goals, which
might be included in this investigation, or be addressed through other
applicable mechanisms;
Whether China's acts, policies, and practices burden or
restrict U.S. commerce, and if so, the nature and level of the burden
or restriction. Such comments may include economic assessments of the
burden or restriction on any sector or industry, as well as assessments
of the burden or restriction on labor in the United States related to
the acts, policies, and practices under investigation;
The determinations required under section 304 of the Trade
Act; and
Any other views concerning issues raised in the petition.
To be assured of consideration, USTR must receive written comments
by May 22, 2024. Additional instructions on how to submit written
comments are provided in section V below.
The Section 301 Committee will convene a public hearing on May 29,
2024, in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade
Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington DC 20436, beginning at 10 a.m.
Persons wishing to appear at the hearing must provide written
notification of their intention and a summary of the proposed testimony
by 11:59 p.m. on May 22, 2024, using the procedures in section V below.
Remarks at the hearing are limited to five minutes to allow for
possible questions from the Section 301 Committee.
Post-hearing rebuttal comments, which should be limited to
rebutting or supplementing testimony at the hearing, may be submitted
within seven calendar days after the last day of the public hearing.
Post-hearing rebuttal comments must be submitted using the electronic
portal following the instructions in section V below.
V. Procedures for Notification of Intent To Testify and Written
Submissions, Including Rebuttal Submissions
You must submit written comments, requests to appear at the
hearing, summaries of testimony, and post-hearing rebuttal comments
using the appropriate docket on the portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/. To submit written comments, including post-
hearing rebuttal comments, use the docket on the portal entitled
``Request for Comments on the Section 301 Investigation of China's
Acts, Policies, and Practices Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and
Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance'', docket number USTR-2024-0005.
Persons wishing to provide testimony at the hearing must submit a
notification of intent and summary of testimony using the docket
entitled: ``Request to Appear at the Hearing on the Section 301
Investigation of China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Targeting the
Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance'', docket
number USTR-2024-0004.
You do not need to establish an account to submit comments or
notification of intent to testify. The first screen of each docket
allows you to enter identification and contact information. Third party
organizations such as law firms, trade associations, or customs
brokers, should identify the full legal name of the organization they
represent, and identify the primary point of contact for the
submission. Information fields are optional; however, your comment or
request may not be considered if insufficient information is provided.
Fields with a gray Business Confidential Information (BCI) notation
are for BCI information which will not be made publicly available.
Fields with a green (Public) notation will be viewable by the public.
After entering the identification and contact information, you can
complete the remainder of the comment, or any portion of it by clicking
``Next.'' You may upload documents at the end of the form and indicate
whether USTR should treat the documents as business confidential or
public information.
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 comments. If these procedures are not
sufficient to protect BCI or otherwise protect business interests,
please contact the USTR section 301 support line at (202) 395-5725 to
discuss whether alternative arrangements are possible.
USTR will post attachments uploaded to the docket for public
inspection, except for properly designated BCI. You can view
submissions on USTR's
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electronic portal at https://comments.ustr.gov/s/.
Juan Millan,
Acting General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2024-08515 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F4-P