[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66484-66492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18190]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for the Office 
of Management and Budget To Approve Renewal of the Collection of 
Information Titled `301 Exclusion Requests'

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: 30-Day notice with a request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
submitting a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to 
reinstate an expired information collection request (ICR) titled 301 
Exclusion Requests under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and 
its implementing regulations.

DATES: Submit comments no later than September 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on the information collection through 
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection titled 301 Exclusion Requests by selecting 
`Currently under Review-Open for Public Comments' or by using the 
search function. The OMB control number for this information collection 
is 0350-0015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Assistant General Counsel Rachel 
Hasandras at 202.395.5725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Comments

    Submit written comments and suggestions to OMB addressing one or 
more of the following four points:
    (1) Whether the ICR is necessary for the proper performance of 
USTR's functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility.
    (2) The accuracy of USTR's estimate of the burden of the ICR, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the ICR.
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the ICR on those who are to 
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

B. Overview of This Information Collection

    Title: 301 Exclusion Requests.
    OMB Control Number: 0350-0015, which expired on January 31, 2023.

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    Form Number(s): 301 Exclusion Request/Response/Reply Form; 
Exclusion Extension Comment.
    Description: Following a comprehensive review of the July 6, 2018, 
and the August 23, 2018 actions, as modified, in the Section 301 
Investigation of China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to 
Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation, the 
President directed the U.S. Trade Representative to establish a process 
by which interested persons may request that particular machinery used 
in domestic manufacturing classified within a subheading under Chapters 
84 and 85 of the of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) be temporarily excluded from Section 301 tariffs (machinery 
exclusion process).
    Consistent with the President's direction, on May 28, 2024, USTR 
published a notice announcing that the U.S. Trade Representative was 
establishing an exclusion process and requested comments on whether 
certain subheadings under Chapters 84 and 85 of the HTSUS should or 
should not be eligible for consideration of temporary exclusion. See 89 
FR 46252.
    The ICR is included as an annex to this notice.
    Affected Public: U.S. stakeholders who want to request, or respond 
to a request, to exclude particular products from the additional duties 
on products from China.
    Frequency of Submission: One submission per request, response, 
reply or comment.
    Respondent Universe: U.S. stakeholders.
    Reporting Burden:
    Total Estimated Responses: 5,000 requests to exclude a particular 
product, 1,000 responses to a product exclusion request, and 750 
replies to a response.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden: USTR estimates that preparing and 
submitting a request to exclude a particular product will take 
approximately 90 minutes and will cost about $175 per submission. The 
total time burden for requests is 7,500 hours (5,000 requests x 90 
minutes) and the estimated total cost is $875,000 (5,000 requests x 
$175 per submission).
    USTR estimates that preparing and submitting a response to a 
product exclusion request will take approximately 45 minutes, and will 
cost about $100 per submission. The total time burden for responses is 
750 hours (1,000 responses x 45 minutes) and the estimated total cost 
is $100,000 (1,000 responses x $100 per submission).
    USTR estimates that preparing and submitting a reply will take 
approximately 45 minutes, and will cost about $100 per submission. The 
total time burden for replies is 563 hours (750 replies x 45 minutes) 
and the estimated total cost is $75,000 (750 replies x $100 per 
submission).
    USTR estimates that it will take staff about 75 minutes to evaluate 
each request, response or reply or a total time burden of approximately 
8,438 hours (6,750 requests/responses/replies x 75 minutes) at an 
estimated total cost of $813,000. The $813,000 total cost estimate 
includes the average annual salary plus benefits, for the federal 
employees and contractors expected to work on the exclusion process. 
USTR estimates that it will take approximately one year to complete the 
process.
    Status: Pursuant to the PRA and its implementing regulations, USTR 
is submitting a request to OMB to renew approval of this ICR for three 
years.

C. Requirements for Submissions

    You must submit written comments by the deadline set forth in this 
notice. Submit comments about the ICR, including the title 301 
Exclusion Requests, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
at OMB, at [email protected], or 725 Seventeenth Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: USTR Desk Officer.

Juan Millan,
Acting General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
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[FR Doc. 2024-18190 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
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