[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 107 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47536-47539]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12240]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 240530-0148]


Request for Comments on Commerce Supply Chain Risk Assessment and 
IPEF Supply Chains

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) seeks public comment to 
inform its work on assessing and analyzing risk in global supply 
chains. This includes input into a determination of an initial list of 
``critical sectors'' and ``key goods'' as provided under the Indo-
Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to 
Supply Chain Resilience (Supply Chain Agreement). The United States' 
initial list will be shared with the IPEF Supply Chain Council members 
and will inform work undertaken pursuant to the Agreement. Comments 
will also inform other analytical tools and methodologies developed by 
Commerce's Industry & Analysis unit to support resilient supply chains 
for U.S. industry.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, submit any written comments by 
the June 21 deadline. Commerce may consider comments filed after the 
deadline.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 240530-0148 by the 
following methods:
    Online Submission (Strongly Preferred): Submit all electronic 
public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter 240530-0148 in the Search.
    Email Submission to [email protected]: Comments submitted by email 
should be machine-readable and should not be copy-protected.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Kevin Doyle, Policy Advisor for IPEF, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave NW; 
telephone 202-779-0376; or emails at [email protected].
    Ahmad Khalil, Managing Director, Risk Assessment and Advanced 
Analytics, Supply Chain Center, International Trade Administration, 
Industry and Analysis unit, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Ave NW; telephone 202-779-0376; or emails at 
[email protected].
    Please direct media inquiries to ITA's Office of Public Affairs at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Building supply chain resilience is a top priority of the 
Department of Commerce, building on a long history of supply chain work 
led by the Industry & Analysis (I&A) unit in the International Trade 
Administration (ITA). I&A is comprised of a broad set of industry 
experts with unique commercial perspectives in understanding supply 
chains and informing and driving policy action. In 2023, the Department 
launched a first-of its-kind Supply Chain Center to serve as an 
analytic engine to help drive decision-making and policy action on 
efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience, leveraging I&A's deep 
industry expertise, quantitative data, and advanced analytics to help 
make the government's work on supply chains more proactive and 
impactful. The Center is facilitating collaboration across I&A, other 
parts of Commerce, and other government agencies to support a proactive 
approach by the U.S. government in getting ahead of supply chain 
challenges, to be strategic in setting priorities for policy focus and 
action based on data-driven risk analysis, and to serve as a force 
multiplier in improving the targeting and effectiveness of U.S. 
government investments. Across these efforts, the Department depends on 
close partnerships with stakeholders from government, industry, 
academia, labor, and civil society.

Department of Commerce Supply Chain Risk Assessment

    Central to the Supply Chain Center's work are efforts to boost the 
U.S. government's ability to understand systemic supply chain risks by 
building a cross-sectoral risk assessment framework (the ``tool''). The 
tool will utilize a comprehensive set of indicators to assess current 
or prospective supply chain risk across the U.S. economy, with an 
emphasis on risks to national security, including economic security, 
most relevant to the U.S. government. The goal is to help the U.S. 
government more comprehensively and systematically identify supply 
chain vulnerabilities and pursue in-depth analysis for actionable and 
evidence-based policy recommendations.
    This is the first effort by the U.S. government to assess supply 
chain vulnerability across all major sectors of the economy. This tool 
will help the U.S. government to determine--at the sectoral, and 
eventually product, level--where there are hidden vulnerabilities that 
could be addressed through policy action by the U.S. government and/or 
public-private partnerships.
    The supply chain risk assessment framework is an iterative tool. 
The latest version of the framework incorporates upwards of 40 
indicators of risk that relate to a sector's criticality to the U.S. 
government, vulnerability to disruption, and resilience in the face of 
disruption.
    Examples of criticality of a product or sector include products 
listed in the White House Critical and Emerging Technologies list, the 
products required for the Department of Defense industrial base, and 
products central to U.S. public health and safety, such as 
pharmaceuticals and certain nutritional foods.
    The vulnerability indicators cover six categories of risk: 
geopolitical; economic; logistical; business/financial; technological; 
and environmental.
    Resiliency indicators focus on how quickly a sector can bounce back 
from a disruption, considering levels of substitutability, unutilized 
capacity, and replacement of key inputs.
    The Center has been consulting with relevant external stakeholders 
in the development of this tool as well, including reaching out to 
dozens of industry and academic experts. The vision and success of this 
framework depend on close collaboration with industry stakeholders, as 
well as those from government, academia, civil society, labor, and 
others, to gather insights, develop accurate assessments of risks and 
mitigation options, and then take targeted and coordinated action to

[[Page 47537]]

advance U.S. supply chain resiliency and competitiveness.
    The creation of an economy-wide risk tool is an important element 
of the Commerce Department's Supply Chain Center work, though not the 
only instance in which the Center is leveraging big data and the 
qualitative insights of industry experts and economists. The Center is 
also leveraging analytic tools for targeted scans of critical sectors; 
expanding its ability to model scenarios and evaluate the potential 
impacts of proposed policy actions; and deepening its proactive 
analysis through case studies and replicable and scalable frameworks 
and toolkits for supply chain analysis and policy action. The Center is 
also bolstering its ability to produce quick-turn analysis in the event 
of supply chain disruptions by building partnerships with academia, 
civil society, labor and others as well as standing playbooks that can 
help inform policy responses and industry engagement.

IPEF List of Critical Sectors and Key Goods

    Commerce's supply chain resilience efforts are also being advanced 
through the Supply Chain Agreement. Launched in May 2022 with 13 
regional partners--Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, 
Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the 
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam--IPEF seeks to establish 
a platform for long-term economic engagement and cooperation, and to 
tackle present-day challenges.
    Negotiations among the 14 IPEF partners for the Supply Chain 
Agreement substantially concluded on May 27, 2023, and a signing 
ceremony of the Agreement was held on November 14 of that same year. 
The Supply Chain Agreement entered into force on February 24, 2024, 
after the fifth partner deposited its instrument of ratification, 
acceptance, or approval. As of May 6, 2024, a total of six partners--
Japan, the United States, Singapore, Fiji, India, and the Republic of 
Korea--have deposited their instruments, in that order.
    Parties to the Supply Chain Agreement intend to collaborate on 
initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience and competitiveness 
of target supply chains, better preparing for and responding to supply 
chain disruptions, and enhancing the role of workers across these 
supply chains. To do this, the Supply Chain Agreement establishes three 
supply chain bodies tasked with facilitating various forms of 
cooperation--a Supply Chain Council, a Crisis Response Network, and a 
Labor Rights Advisory Board. Parties to the Supply Chain Agreement 
shall, and signatories that have not deposited an instrument of 
ratification, acceptance, or approval may designate representatives to 
these bodies to discuss and carry out this work.
    Article 10 of the Supply Chain Agreement requires the development 
of initial lists of ``critical sectors'' and ``key goods,'' which will 
then be shared through the Supply Chain Council. The Parties can change 
or update these lists at any time. As the U.S. Government's 
representative to the Council, the Department of Commerce, through the 
International Trade Administration (ITA), is leading the process to 
prepare and submit this list on behalf of the United States, and 
intends to update the list periodically, as appropriate and as 
envisioned under the Supply Chain Agreement.
    These lists will, among other things, inform discussions among the 
members of the IPEF Supply Chain Council on opportunities for 
collaboration under the Supply Chain Agreement through the IPEF Supply 
Chain Council. Such collaboration could take the form of actions to 
promote business matchmaking, encourage investment, or improve policy 
coordination in areas impacting supply chains, among others. The 
Council may establish teams to develop Action Plans to provide 
recommendations to promote resilience and competitiveness for critical 
sectors or key goods based on the lists provided. Those critical 
sectors and key goods that appear on three or more lists are eligible 
for the development of an Action Plan.
    Article 1 of the Supply Chain Agreement provides the following 
definitions of ``critical sectors'' and ``key goods'':
     critical sectors means sectors that produce goods and 
supply any related essential services critical to a Party's national 
security, public health and safety, or prevention of significant or 
widespread economic disruptions, as identified by that Party in 
accordance with Article 10;
     key goods means raw, in-process, or manufactured 
materials, articles, or commodities, the absence of which could have a 
significant effect on a Party's national security, public health and 
safety, or prevention of significant or widespread economic 
disruptions, as identified by that Party in accordance with Article 10;
    Article 10 of the Supply Chain Agreement further outlines the 
factors intended to be considered in identifying respective critical 
sectors and key goods. These include:
    (a) the impact of a potential shortage on its national security, 
public health and safety, or prevention of significant or widespread 
economic disruptions;
    (b) the level of dependence on a single supplier or a single 
country, region, or geographic location;
    (c) geographic factors including actual or potential transport 
constraints, especially for its island or remote regions;
    (d) the availability and reliability of alternative suppliers or 
supply locations;
    (e) the extent of imports required to meet domestic demand;
    (f) the availability of domestic production capacity; or
    (g) the extent of interconnectedness with other critical sectors or 
key goods.
    The Department of Commerce recognizes the importance of a 
deliberative and inclusive review and selection process for identifying 
the United States' initial list of critical sectors and key goods under 
the Supply Chain Agreement.
    To assist in these endeavors, Commerce requests information from 
the public on the topics provided below.

Request for Written Comments

    Instructions: This notice is intended to improve Commerce's 
understanding of public views on how the Department and I&A should 
assess risk in global supply chains, including what indicators and data 
sets it should include in the development of an economy-wide risk 
assessment tool, and how to apply the factors outlined in the Supply 
Chain Agreement in its determination of the United States' initial list 
of critical sectors and key goods under the Supply Chain Agreement. 
This notice is a general solicitation for public comments and further 
sets forth specific topics for discussion and comment. Commerce seeks 
broad input from all interested stakeholders, including U.S. industry, 
researchers, labor organizations, academia, and civil society. 
Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the following 
questions and may respond with general views on how to apply these 
factors or provide specific information about a specific sector or 
good. To the extent commenters choose to respond to the specific 
questions asked, responses may be formatted as the commenter prefers.
    Comments will be reviewed by Commerce staff, including the Supply 
Chain Center, the Industry & Analysis business unit offices, the IPEF 
team, and, as appropriate, Commerce

[[Page 47538]]

contractors, and may be used to inform the agency's work on supply 
chain risk analysis as outlined above, as well as in identifying the 
United States' initial list of critical sectors and key goods for 
cooperation under the Supply Chain Agreement. Commerce intends to share 
the information received with relevant U.S. government departments and 
agencies, consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration's whole-of-
government approach to strengthening supply chains.

Topics

General Methodology Questions (To Inform Commerce's Supply Chain Risk 
Assessment Framework)

     What tools, approaches, and methodologies do you recommend 
that Commerce utilize in order to identify priority products and 
sectors at elevated risk of supply chain disruption, particularly those 
of relevance to the United States based on national security, including 
economic security?
     More specifically, what definitions, indicators, and data 
sets do you recommend that Commerce use to evaluate the following 
aspects of supply chain risk:

    [cir] Criticality of the product or sector to the United States
    [cir] Vulnerability of the product or sector to supply chain 
disruption
    [cir] Resiliency of the product or sector in the face of a supply 
chain disruption

     What tools, approaches, and methodologies could Commerce 
use to assess a supply chain's areas of greatest vulnerability? How can 
those vulnerabilities be quantified and tracked over time?
     What factors influence your organization's evaluation of 
risk in your supply chains? What additional data, information, or 
analysis from the U.S. government would you view as valuable in this 
assessment?
     How should the U.S. government leverage technological 
advancements to foster data collection, analysis, and dissemination for 
both public and private entities?
     What data, indicia, or criteria might help Commerce 
identify those supply chains where the market would be least likely to 
prevent or quickly resolve a disruption?

IPEF-Related Questions (To Inform the U.S. List of Critical Sectors and 
Key Goods Under the Supply Chain Agreement)

     How should Commerce assess ``significant or widespread 
economic disruptions'' for purposes of the Supply Chain Agreement? What 
thresholds or metrics should Commerce consider in assessing the risk of 
such disruptions for the purposes of identifying critical sectors and 
key goods?
     Which, if any, of the factors listed in Article 10 of the 
Supply Chain Agreement should Commerce prioritize in making its 
determinations of critical sectors or key goods for cooperation under 
the Supply Chain Agreement? Please offer a justification.
     In your view, bearing in mind the seven factors outlined 
above, what sectors and goods best fit the criteria for ``critical 
sectors'' and ``key goods'' for cooperation under the Supply Chain 
Agreement and why?
     For those sectors and goods that Commerce should consider 
``critical sectors'' and ``key goods'' for cooperation under the Supply 
Chain Agreement, what types of activities, either by governments, by 
companies, or via public-private cooperation, would be most valuable to 
the private sector?
     The U.S. Department of Commerce requests U.S. small 
businesses (generally defined by the Small Business Administration as 
firms with fewer than 500 employees) or organizations representing U.S. 
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.

Requirements for Submissions

    To be assured of consideration, submit any written comments by the 
June 21 deadline. All submissions must be in English. Commerce strongly 
encourages submissions via Regulations.gov. Commerce may consider 
comments filed after the deadline. The docket number is 240530-0148.
    To submit via Regulations.gov, use Docket Number 240530-0148 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. Commerce prefers that you provide submissions in an attached 
document named according to the following protocol, as appropriate: 
Commenter Name or Organization and ``Commerce Supply Chain''. If you 
provide submissions in an attached document, please type `see attached 
comments' in the `comment' field on the online submission form.
    Please include the name, email address, and telephone number of an 
individual Commerce can contact if there are issues or questions with 
the submission. 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.
    Commerce 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. You can 
contact the Regulations.gov help desk at [email protected] or 
1-866-498-2945 for help with technical questions on submitting comments 
on Regulations.gov.
    If you are unable to submit through Regulations.gov after seeking 
assistance from the help desk, please contact Kevin Doyle at 202-779-
0376 or [email protected] or Ahmad Khalil at 202-963-9696 or 
[email protected] before transmitting your application and in 
advance of the deadline to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission. ITA will not accept hand-delivered submissions. ITA may 
not consider submissions that you do not make in accordance with these 
instructions. General information concerning Commerce's Supply Chain 
Center is available at https://www.trade.gov/supply-chain-center. 
Commerce's work on IPEF is available at https://www.commerce.gov/ipef.

Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions

    If you ask Commerce to treat information you submit as BCI, you 
must certify that the information is business confidential and that 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' on 
the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must 
submit a public version that will be placed in the docket for public 
inspection. The file name of the public version should begin with the 
character `P.' Follow the `BCI' and `P' with the name of the individual 
or organization submitting the comments.

[[Page 47539]]

Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    ITA will post written submissions in the docket for public 
inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view comments on 
Regulations.gov by entering Docket Number 240530-0148 in the search 
field on the home page.

Public Burden Statement

    A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with an information collection subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the 
information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The 
approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0690-
0038. Without this approval, we could not conduct this information 
collection. Public reporting for this information collection is 
estimated to be approximately 2 hours per response, including the time 
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering 
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
information collection. All responses to this information collection 
are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any 
other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for 
reducing this burden to the International Trade Administration 
Paperwork Reduction Act Program: [email protected] or to Katelynn Byers, 
ITA PRA Process Administrator: [email protected].

    Dated: May 30, 2024.
Sharon H Yuan,
Counselor and Chief Negotiator for IPEF.
[FR Doc. 2024-12240 Filed 5-30-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-25-P