81 FR 54646 - Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 158 (August 16, 2016)

The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54646-54647]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19413]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will 
convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of 
its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the 
commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade 
Organization (WTO).

DATES: If you want to testify at the hearing, you must provide written 
notification and a summary of your testimony by Wednesday, September 
21, 2016. Written comments also are due by Wednesday, September 21, 
2016. A hearing will be held in Washington DC on Wednesday, October 5, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: You should submit notifications of intent to testify and 
written comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in 
part 3 below. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact 
Yvonne Jamison, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-3475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Yvonne 
Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all other questions to Terrence J. 
McCartin, Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for China 
Enforcement, at (202) 395-3900, or Philip D. Chen, Chief Counsel for 
China Enforcement, at (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In 
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 
(Pub. L. 106-286), USTR is required to submit, by December 11 of each 
year, a report to Congress on China's compliance with commitments made 
in connection with its accession to the WTO, including both 
multilateral commitments and any bilateral commitments made to the 
United States. In accordance with section 421, and to assist it in 
preparing this year's report, the TPSC is soliciting public comments. 
Last year's report is available on USTR's Web site: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2015-Report-to-Congress-China-WTO-Compliance.pdf.
    The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the 
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including 
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the 
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. The 
Protocol and Working Party Report can be found on the WTO Web site: 
http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3, 
WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

2. Public Comment and Hearing

    USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons on China's compliance with commitments made in connection with 
its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in 
the following areas:
    a. Trading rights;
    b. import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, 
import licenses);
    c. export regulation;
    d. internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards 
and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 
government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and 
charges levied on imports and exports);
    e. intellectual property rights (including intellectual property 
rights enforcement);
    f. services;
    g. rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform 
administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform; and
    h. other WTO commitments.
    In addition, given the United States' view that China should be 
held accountable as a full participant in, and beneficiary of, the 
international trading system, USTR requests that interested persons 
specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review 
and evaluation by USTR's China Enforcement Task Force.
    You must submit written comments no later than Wednesday, September 
21, 2016.
    A hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, in Room 1, 
1724 F Street NW., Washington DC 20508. If necessary, the hearing will 
continue on the next business day. Persons wishing to testify orally at 
the hearing must provide written notification of their intention by 
Wednesday, September 21, 2016. The intent to testify notification must 
be made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-2016-
0012 on the regulations.gov Web site and should include the name, 
address and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. 
You should attach a summary of the testimony by using the ``Upload 
File'' field. The name of the file also should include who will be 
presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to 
no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the 
TPSC.
    You should submit all documents in accordance with the instructions 
in section 3 below.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments must do so in English and must identify (on the first 
page of the submission) ``China's WTO Compliance.''
    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line 
submissions, using the www.regulations.gov Web site. To submit comments 
via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2016-0012 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 and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For 
further information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please 
consult the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on ``How to 
Use This Site'' on the left side of the home page.)
    The www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to provide comments 
by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a document 
using an ``Upload File'' field. USTR prefers that comments be provided 
in an attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to 
type ``See attached'' in the ``Type

[[Page 54647]]

Comment'' field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or 
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the submission is in a different application, 
please indicate the name of the application in the ``Type Comment'' 
field.
    For any comments submitted electronically containing business 
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential 
version should begin with the characters ``BC.'' Any page containing 
business confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of submissions 
containing business confidential information must also submit a public 
version of their comments. The file name of the public version should 
begin with the character ``P.'' The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed 
by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. Filers 
submitting comments containing no business confidential information 
should name their file using the name of the person or entity 
submitting the comments.
    Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic 
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a 
cover letter in the comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent 
possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in 
the same file as the submission itself, not as separate files.
    As noted above, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments 
through www.regulations.gov. Any alternative arrangements must be made 
with Yvonne Jamison in advance of transmitting the comments. You can 
contact Ms. Jamison at (202) 395-3475. General information concerning 
USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.
    Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection, except business confidential information. Comments may be 
viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant 
docket number in the search field on the home page.

Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2016-19413 Filed 8-15-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F6-P