83 FR 42968 - 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 83, Issue 165 (August 24, 2018)

The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites interested persons to submit written comments and participate in a public hearing 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 83, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42968-42969]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18304]


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

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2018-0030]


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.

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

SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites 
interested persons to submit written comments and participate in a 
public hearing 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: September 19, 2018 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of 
comments, and requests to appear and summaries of testimony at the 
October 3, 2018 public hearing. October 3, 2018: The TPSC will convene 
a public hearing in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington DC 
20508, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The 
instructions for submitting notification of intent to testify and/or 
written comments are in sections 3 and 4 below. The docket number is 
USTR-2018-0030. For alternatives to on-line submissions, contact Yvonne 
Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a comment and in advance 
of the relevant deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 for 
procedural questions concerning written comments or participation in 
the public hearing. Direct all other questions to Terrence J. McCartin, 
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for China Affairs, 
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 
(P.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. 
You can find last year's report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Reports/China%202017%20WTO%20Report.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. You 
can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on the WTO website at 
http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/

[[Page 42969]]

MIN(01)/3, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).

2. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information

    The TPSC 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.
    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.

3. Notice of Public Hearing

    The TPSC will hold a hearing on October 3, 2018, beginning at 9:30 
a.m., to receive information regarding China's compliance with WTO 
commitments. The hearing will be held in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20508, and will be open to the public and to the 
press. A transcript of the hearing will be available on 
www.regulations.gov within approximately two weeks after the date of 
the hearing.
    All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit, following the Requirements for Submissions below, 
the name, address, telephone number, and email address, if available, 
of the witness(es) representing their organization no later than 
midnight on September 19, 2018. Requests to present oral testimony must 
be accompanied by a written summary of the proposed testimony, in 
English. The TPSC will limit oral testimony to five-minute 
presentations that summarize or supplement information contained in 
briefs or statements submitted for the record to allow for possible 
questions from the TPSC.

4. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to be assured of consideration, we must receive your 
notification of intent to testify and/or written comments in English by 
11:59 p.m. on September 19, 2018. USTR strongly encourages commenters 
to make on-line submissions, using www.regulations.gov. On the first 
page, please identify the submission as ``China's WTO Compliance.''
    To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2018-0030 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 website, please consult the resources provided on 
the website by clicking on ``How to Use Regulations.gov'' on the bottom 
of the home page. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
    The www.regulations.gov website allows users to submit comments by 
filling in a ``type comment'' field or by attaching a document using an 
``upload file'' field. USTR prefers that you submit comments in an 
attached document. If you attach a document, it is sufficient to type 
``see attached'' in the ``type comment'' field. USTR prefers 
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If you 
use an application other than those two, please indicate the name of 
the application in the ``type comment'' field.
    Filers submitting comments containing no business confidential 
information should name their file using the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. 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 also must submit a public version of their comments that we 
will place in the docket for public inspection. 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.
    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, USTR strongly urges that you file submissions through 
www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements with 
Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475 before transmitting a comment and in 
advance of the relevant deadline.
    USTR will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov website by entering docket number USTR-2018-0030 
in the search field on the home page. General information concerning 
USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.

Edward Gresser,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-18304 Filed 8-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P