81 FR 62921 - Probable Economic Effect of Certain Modifications to the U.S.-Morocco FTA Rules of Origin

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 177 (September 13, 2016)

Following receipt of a request on August 24, 2016, from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission instituted investigation No. 103-030, Probable Economic Effect of Certain Modifications to the U.S.-Morocco FTA Rules of Origin, for the purpose of providing the advice required under Sec. 104(1) of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62921-62922]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21974]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. U.S.-Morocco FTA-103-030]


Probable Economic Effect of Certain Modifications to the U.S.-
Morocco FTA Rules of Origin

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of institution of investigation and opportunity to 
provide written comments.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request on August 24, 2016, from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission instituted 
investigation No. 103-030, Probable Economic Effect of Certain 
Modifications to the U.S.-Morocco FTA Rules of Origin, for the purpose 
of providing the advice required under Sec.  104(1) of the United 
States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

DATES: October 13, 2016: Deadline for filing written submissions.
    January 24, 2017: Transmittal of Commission report to USTR.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record 
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's Electronic 
Document Information System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project leader Mahnaz Khan (202-205-
2046 or [email protected]) or deputy project leader Heidi Colby-
Oizumi (202-205-3391 or [email protected]) for information specific 
to this investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this 
investigation, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of 
the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [email protected]). The 
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations 
(202-205-1819 or [email protected]). Hearing-impaired 
individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
Internet server (https://www.usitc.gov). Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the 
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.

BACKGROUND:  In his request letter, the USTR stated that U.S. 
negotiators have recently reached agreement in principle with 
representatives of the government of Morocco on certain proposed 
modifications to the textile and apparel goods rules of origin 
contained in the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Morocco FTA). 
The USTR noted that Sec.  203(j)(2)(B)(i) of the United States-Morocco 
Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the Act) authorizes the 
President, subject to the consultation and layover requirements of 
Sec.  104 of the Act, to proclaim such modifications to the rules of 
origin as are necessary to implement an agreement with Morocco pursuant 
to Annex 4.3 of the FTA. The USTR further stated that one of the 
requirements set out in Sec.  104(1) is that the President obtain 
advice regarding the proposed action from the U.S. International Trade 
Commission.
    In his request letter, the USTR asked that the Commission provide 
advice on the probable economic effect of the proposed modifications on 
U.S. trade under the U.S.-Morocco FTA, total U.S. trade, and on 
domestic producers of the affected articles. The affected articles 
identified in the proposal are certain apparel goods, including 
dresses, skirts, blouses, tops, shirts, shirt-blouses, and pants. The 
request letter and the complete list of proposed modifications are 
available on the Commission's Web site at https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/what_we_are_working_on.htm. As requested, the 
Commission will provide its advice to USTR by January 24, 2017.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS:  No public hearing is planned for this 
investigation. However, interested parties are invited to file written 
submissions concerning this investigation. All written submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, and all such submissions should 
be received not later than 5:15 p.m., October 13, 2016. All written 
submissions must conform with the provisions of Sec.  201.8 of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 
201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures require that 
interested parties file documents electronically on or before the 
filing deadline and submit eight (8) true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. 
eastern time on the next business day. In the event that confidential 
treatment of a document is requested, interested parties must file, at 
the same time as the eight paper copies, at least four (4)

[[Page 62922]]

additional true paper copies in which the confidential information must 
be deleted (see the following paragraph for further information 
regarding confidential business information). Persons with questions 
regarding electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, 
Docket Services Division (202-205-1802).

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION:  Any submissions that contain 
confidential business information must also conform to the requirements 
of Sec.  201.6 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 
CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the rules requires that the cover of the 
document and the individual pages be clearly marked as to whether they 
are the ``confidential'' or ``non-confidential'' version, and that the 
confidential business information is clearly identified by means of 
brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available for inspection by interested 
parties.
    The Commission may include some or all of the confidential business 
information submitted in the course of this investigation in the report 
it sends to the USTR. As requested, the Commission will issue a public 
version of its report, with any confidential business information 
deleted, shortly after it transmits its report. All information, 
including confidential business information, submitted in this 
investigation may be disclosed to and used: (i) By the Commission, its 
employees and Offices, and contract personnel (a) for developing or 
maintaining the records of this or a related proceeding, or (b) in 
internal investigations, audits, reviews, and evaluations relating to 
the programs, personnel, and operations of the Commission including 
under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. government employees and 
contract personnel for cybersecurity purposes. The Commission will not 
otherwise disclose any confidential business information in a manner 
that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.

SUMMARIES OF WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS:  The Commission intends to publish 
summaries of the positions of interested persons in an appendix to its 
report. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position included in 
the appendix should include a summary with their written submission. 
The summary may not exceed 500 words, should be in MSWord format or a 
format that can be easily converted to MSWord, and should not include 
any confidential business information. The summary will be published as 
provided if it meets these requirements and is germane to the subject 
matter of the investigation. In the appendix the Commission will 
identify the name of the organization furnishing the summary, and will 
include a link to the Commission's Electronic Document Information 
System (EDIS) where the full written submission can be found.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: September 8, 2016.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-21974 Filed 9-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P