[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65760-65761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26537]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments To Compile the Reports on Sanitary
and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(19 U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) is required to publish annually the Reports on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade. With this notice, the
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to
submit comments to assist it in identifying significant sanitary and
phytosanitary and standards-related barriers to U.S. exports of goods
for inclusion in these two reports.
These reports were published as the 2012 Report on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures (2012 SPS Report) and the 2012 Report on
Technical Barriers to Trade (2012 TBT Report) respectively. The TPSC
invites written comments from the public on issues that USTR should
examine in preparing the SPS and TBT Reports.
DATES: Public comments are due not later than November 15, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at
www.regulations.gov under the following dockets (based on the subject
matter of the submission):
SPS Measures: USTR-2012-0032.
Standards-related Measures: USTR-2012-0033.
For alternatives to on-line submissions please contact TBD USTR
(202-395-3475). The public is strongly encouraged to file submissions
electronically rather than by facsimile or mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the SPS Report or
substantive questions or comments concerning SPS measures should be
directed to Jane Doherty, Director of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Affairs, USTR (202-395-6127). Questions regarding the TBT Report or
substantive questions or comments concerning standards-related measures
should be directed to Jennifer Stradtman, Director, Technical Barriers
to Trade, USTR (202-395-4498).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SPS and TBT Reports set out inventories
of SPS and standards-related non-tariff barriers to trade. These
inventories facilitate U.S. negotiations aimed at reducing or
eliminating these barriers. The reports also provide a valuable tool in
enforcing U.S. trade laws and strengthening the rules-based trading
system. The 2012 and earlier SPS and TBT Reports may be found on USTR's
Internet Home Page (http://www.ustr.gov) under ``USTR News'' under the
tab ``Reports''.
To ensure compliance with the applicable statutory mandate and the
Obama Administration's commitment to focus on the most significant
foreign trade barriers, USTR will be guided by the existence of active
private sector interest in deciding which restrictions to include in
the SPS and TBT Reports.
Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in the
preparation of the SPS and TBT Reports, commenters should submit
information related to:(1) SPS measures; or(2) standards-related
measures (including standards, technical regulations, and conformity
assessment procedures). Such measures should constitute significant
foreign trade barriers to U.S. exports.
SPS and TBT Reports: On April 2, 2012, USTR released two reports
focusing on foreign trade barriers--one on SPS measures (SPS Report)
and the other on standards-related measures (TBT report). USTR also
released SPS and TBT Reports in 2011 and 2010. These reports serve as
tools to bring greater attention and focus to resolving SPS and
standards-related measures that may be inconsistent with international
trade agreements to which the United States is a party or that
otherwise act as significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. USTR
plans to use comments on SPS and standards-related measures submitted
pursuant to this notice in producing these two reports.
The following information describing SPS and standards-related
measures may help commenters to file submissions on particular foreign
trade barriers under the appropriate docket.
SPS Measures: Generally, SPS measures are measures applied to
protect the life or health of humans, animals, and plants from risks
arising from additives, contaminants, pests, toxins, diseases, or
disease-carrying and causing organisms. SPS measures can take such
forms as specific product or processing standards, requirements for
products to be produced in disease-free areas, quarantine regulations,
certification or inspection procedures, sampling and testing
requirements, health-related labeling measures, maximum permissible
pesticide residue
[[Page 65761]]
levels, and prohibitions on certain food additives.
Standards-related Measures: Standards-related measures comprise
standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures,
such as mandatory process or design standards, labeling or registration
requirements, and testing or certification procedures. Standards-
related measures can be applied not only to industrial products but to
agricultural products as well, such as food nutrition labeling schemes
and food quality or identity requirements.
For further information on SPS and standards-related measures and
additional detail on the types of comments that would assist USTR in
identifying and addressing significant trade-restrictive SPS and
standards-related measures, please see ``Supporting & Related
Materials'' under dockets USTR-2012-0032 and USTR-2012-0033 at
www.regulations.gov. The previously released SPS and TBT Reports also
contain extensive information on SPS and standards-related measures
that commenters may find useful in preparing comments in response to
this notice.
In responding to this notice with respect to the two reports,
commenters should place particular emphasis on any practices that may
violate U.S. trade agreements. The TPSC is also interested in receiving
new or updated information pertinent to the barriers covered in the
2012 SPS and TBT Reports as well as information on new barriers. If
USTR does not include in the 2013 SPS or TBT Reports information that
USTR receives pursuant to this notice, USTR will maintain the
information for potential use in future discussions or negotiations
with trading partners.
Estimate of Increase in Exports: Each comment should include an
estimate of the potential increase in U.S. exports that would result
from removing any foreign trade barrier the comment identifies, as well
as a description of the methodology the commenter used to derive the
estimate. Estimates should be expressed within the following value
ranges: Less than $5 million; $5 to $25 million; $25 million to $50
million; $50 million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; or
over $500 million. These estimates will help USTR conduct comparative
analyses of a barrier's effect over a range of industries.
Requirements for Submissions: Commenters providing information on
SPS or standards-related measures in more than one country should,
whenever possible, provide a separate submission for each country.
In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of
comments, USTR strongly encourages commenters to make on-line
submissions, using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Comments
should be submitted under one of the following dockets (depending on
the subject of the comment):
SPS Measures: USTR-2012-0032.
Standards-related Measures: USTR-2012-0033.
To find these dockets, enter the pertinent docket number in the
``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the http://www.regulations.gov home
page and click ``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page
listing all documents associated with that docket number. Find a
reference to this notice by selecting ``Notices'' under ``Document
Type'' on the search-results page, and click on the link entitled
``Submit a Comment.'' (For further information on using the
www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on
the Web site by clicking on the ``Help'' tab.)
The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of
making submissions by filling in a comments field, or by attaching a
document. USTR prefers submissions to be provided in an attached
document. If a document is attached, please identify the name of the
country to which the submission pertains in the ``Comments'' field. For
example: ``See attached comment on SPS measures for (name of country)''
or ``See attached comment on standards-related measures for (name of
country)''. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe
Acrobat (.pdf).
For any comments submitted electronically containing business
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC''. The top of any page
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL''. Any person filing comments that contain
business confidential information must also file in a separate
submission a public version of the comments. The file name of the
public version of the comments should begin with the character ``P''.
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments. If a comment contains no business
confidential information, the file name should begin with the character
``P'', 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.
Public Inspection of Submissions
Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection
except confidential business information exempt from public inspection.
Comments may be viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site by
entering the relevant docket number in the search field on the home
page.
Douglas M. Bell,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2012-26537 Filed 10-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P