82 FR 44695 - 2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Colombia: Request for Public Comment

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 184 (September 25, 2017)

In the 2017 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, USTR would conduct an out-of-cycle review of Colombia. At this time, USTR requests written comments concerning any act, policy, or practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether and how USTR should identify Colombia based on Colombia's protection for intellectual property rights or market access Columbia provides to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44695-44696]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20354]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2017-0019]


2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Colombia: Request for 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In the 2017 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United 
States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, in order to monitor 
progress on specific intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, USTR 
would conduct an out-of-cycle review of Colombia. At this time, USTR 
requests written comments concerning any act, policy, or practice that 
is relevant to the decision regarding whether and how USTR should 
identify Colombia based on Colombia's protection for intellectual 
property rights or market access Columbia provides to U.S. persons who 
rely on intellectual property protection.

DATES: October 20, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments.
    October 27, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of 
written comments from foreign governments.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments in section II below. For alternatives to on-
line submissions, please contact USTR at [email protected] before 
transmitting a comment and in advance of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Whitlock, Director for 
Intellectual Property and Innovation, at [email protected] 
or (202) 395-4359. You can find information about the Special 301 
Review at www.ustr.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242), 
USTR must identify countries that deny adequate and effective 
protection for intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable 
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property 
protection. USTR will identify the countries that have the most onerous 
or egregious acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, policies, or 
practices have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on 
relevant U.S. products as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies, 
or practices that are the basis of a country's designation as a 
Priority Foreign Country normally are the subject of an investigation 
under the Section 301 provisions of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2411 et 
seq.) USTR may not identify a country as a Priority Foreign Country if 
that country is entering into good faith negotiations or making 
significant progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations to 
provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property 
rights. In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and a 
``Watch List'' under the Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading 
partner on the Priority Watch List or Watch List indicates that 
particular problems exist in that country

[[Page 44696]]

with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market access for 
persons relying on intellectual property. Countries placed on the 
Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral attention 
concerning the problem areas.
    An Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) is a tool that USTR uses to encourage 
progress on IPR issues of concern. It provides an opportunity for 
heightened engagement with a trading partner to address and remedy such 
issues. Successful resolution of specific IPR issues of concern or lack 
of action on such issues can lead to a change in a trading partner's 
identification on a Special 301 list outside of the typical period for 
the annual Special 301 Report. USTR may conduct OCRs of other trading 
partners as circumstances warrant or as requested by the trading 
partner.
    In the 2017 Special 301 Report, which you can find on the USTR Web 
site at www.ustr.gov, USTR placed Colombia on the Watch List and 
announced that it would conduct an OCR of Colombia in order to monitor 
progress on issues relating to IPR protection and enforcement. The OCR 
of Colombia will include a focus on Colombia's commitment to the 
intellectual property provisions of the United States-Colombia Trade 
Promotion Agreement and Colombia's implementation of its National 
Development Plan.

II. Public Comments

    USTR invites written comments concerning any act, policy, or 
practice that is relevant to the decision regarding whether USTR should 
identify Colombia under Section 182 of the Trade Act. Submissions may 
report positive or negative developments with respect to Colombia. USTR 
requests that interested parties provide specific references to laws, 
regulations, policy statements, executive, presidential or other 
orders, administrative, court or other determinations that should 
factor into the review. USTR also requests that submissions include 
data, loss estimates, and other information regarding the economic 
impact on the United States, U.S. industry, and the U.S. workforce 
caused by the denial of adequate and effective intellectual property 
protection. For comments that include quantitative loss claims, you 
should include the methodology used to calculate the estimated losses. 
Comments should be as detailed as possible and should provide all 
necessary information for assessing the effect of the acts, policies, 
and practices. In particular, where applicable, comments should address 
Colombia's commitment to the intellectual property provisions of the 
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and Colombia's 
implementation of its National Development Plan 2014-2018.

III. Submission Instructions

    All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via 
www.regulations.gov. To submit comments, locate the docket (folder) by 
entering the docket number USTR-2017-0019 in the ``Enter Keyword or 
IP'' window at the regulations.gov homepage and click ``Search.'' The 
site will provide a search-results page listing all documents 
associated with this docket. Locate the reference to this notice by 
selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the 
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' 
You should provide comments in an attached document, and name the file 
according to the following protocol, as appropriate: Commenter Name, or 
Organization_2017 Special 301 OCR Colombia. Please include the 
following information in the ``Type Comment'' field: ``2017 Out-of-
Cycle Review of Columbia.'' USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word 
(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the submission is in another 
file format, please indicate the name of the software application in 
the ``Type Comment'' field. For further information on using the 
www.regulations.gov Web site, please select ``How to Use 
Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of any page.
    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 comment itself, rather than submitting them as 
separate files.
    For any comment submitted electronically that contains 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 and the submission should 
clearly indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or other means, the 
specific information that is business confidential. A filer requesting 
business confidential treatment must certify that the information is 
business confidential and would not customarily be released to the 
public by the submitter. Additionally, the submitter should type 
``Business Confidential 2017 Special 301 OCR Colombia'' in the 
``Comment'' field.
    Filers of comments containing business confidential information 
also must submit a public version of their comments. The file name of 
the public version should begin with the character ``P''. The non-
business confidential version will be placed in the docket at 
www.regulations.gov and be available for public inspection.
    As noted, USTR strongly urges submitters to file comments through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements in 
advance of the relevant deadline and before transmitting a comment by 
contacting USTR at [email protected].
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering docket number USTR-2017-0019 
in the search field on the home page.

Elizabeth Kendall,
Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and 
Intellectual Property, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-20354 Filed 9-22-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P