[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63271-63273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24720]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments to Compile the Report on 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) will be publishing in 2014 a Report on Technical Barriers to
Trade (TBT Report) identifying and analyzing significant standards-
related barriers to U.S. exports. With this notice, the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting interested persons to submit
written comments to assist it in identifying significant standards-
related barriers to U.S. exports of goods for inclusion in the report.
DATES: Public comments are due not later than November 15, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submissions should be made via the Internet at
www.regulations.gov under the docket number USTR-2013-0034. For
alternatives to on-line submissions please contact Yvonne Jamison at
(202-395-3475) or [email protected]. The public is
strongly encouraged to file submissions electronically rather than by
facsimile or mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the TBT Report or
substantive questions or comments concerning standards-related measures
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should be directed to Jennifer Stradtman, Director, Technical Barriers
to Trade, USTR (202-395-4498).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The TBT Report sets out an inventory of
standards-related non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports. This inventory
facilitates U.S. efforts to reduce or eliminate these barriers. The
report also provides a valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and
strengthening the rules-based trading system. The 2013 and earlier 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 issues to include in the
Report.
Topics on which the TPSC Seeks Information: To assist USTR in the
preparation of the 2014 TBT Report, commenters should submit
information related to standards-related measures (including standards,
technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures). Such
measures should constitute significant foreign trade barriers to U.S.
exports.
TBT Report: On April 1, 2013, USTR released the fourth annual TBT
report. This report serves as a tool to bring greater attention and
focus to resolving standards-related issues 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 standards-related measures
submitted pursuant to this notice in producing this report.
The following information describing standards-related measures may
help commenters to file submissions on particular foreign trade
barriers under the TBT docket.
Standards-related Measures: Broadly, standards-related measures are
documents and procedures that set out specific technical or other
requirements for products or processes as well as procedures to ensure
that these requirements are met. 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. The World Trade
Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade includes
the following definitions for (i) standards, (ii) technical regulation,
and (iii) conformity assessment procedure.
Standard: Document approved by a recognized body, that provides,
for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for
products or related processes and production methods, with which
compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively
with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements
as they apply to a product, process, or production method.
Technical regulation: Document which lays down product
characteristics or their related processes and production methods,
including the applicable administrative provisions, with which
compliance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with
terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements as
they apply to a product, process, or production method.
Conformity assessment procedures: Any procedure used, directly or
indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical
regulations or standards are fulfilled. Standards-related measures can
be applied not only to industrial products, such as machinery or toys,
but to agricultural products as well, such as food nutrition labeling
schemes and food quality or identity requirements.
For further information on standards-related measures and
additional detail on the types of comments that would assist USTR in
identifying and addressing significant trade-restrictive standards-
related measures, please see ``Supporting & Related Materials'' under
dockets USTR--2013-0034 at www.regulations.gov. The previously released
TBT Reports also contain extensive information on standards-related
measures that commenters may find useful in preparing comments in
response to this notice. Those reports are available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/reports-and-publications/2012/technical-barriers-trade-tbt-report.
In responding to this notice, commenters should place particular
emphasis on any practices that raise issues with respect to U.S. trade
agreements, including the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
The TPSC is also interested in receiving new or updated information
pertinent to the barriers covered in the 2013 TBT Report as well as
information on new barriers. If USTR does not include in the 2014 TBT
Report 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 standards-related 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
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, docket
number: USTR-2013-0034
To make a submission, enter this 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 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 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
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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 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.
William Shpiece,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2013-24720 Filed 10-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-F3-P