[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78133-78135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30312]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
2015 Special 301 Review: Identification of Countries Under
Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974: Request for Public Comment and
Announcement of Public Hearing
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public and
announcement of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C.
2242) requires the United States Trade Representative (Trade
Representative) to identify countries that deny adequate and effective
protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and
equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual
property protection. The provisions of Section 182 are commonly
referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions of the Trade Act. The
Trade Act requires the Trade Representative to determine which, if any,
of these countries to identify as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts,
policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's identification
as a Priority Foreign Country can be subject to the procedures set out
in sections 301-305 of the Trade Act.
In addition, the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' to
assist the Administration in pursuing the goals of 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
with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market access for
persons that rely on intellectual property protection. Trading partners
placed on the Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral
attention concerning the problem areas.
USTR chairs the Special 301 Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (Subcommittee). The Subcommittee reviews information from
many sources, and consults with and makes recommendations to the Trade
Representative on issues arising under Special 301. Written submissions
from interested persons are a key source of information for the Special
301 review process. In 2015, USTR again will conduct a public hearing
as part of the review process as well as offer the opportunity, as
described below, for hearing participants to provide additional
information relevant to the review. At the conclusion of the process,
USTR will publish the results of the review in a ``Special 301''
Report.
USTR is hereby requesting written submissions from the public
concerning foreign countries that deny adequate and effective
protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property
protection. USTR requests that interested parties provide the
information described below in the ``Public Comments'' section, and
identify whether a particular trading partner should be named as a
Priority Foreign Country under Section 182 of the Trade Act or placed
on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. Foreign governments that have
been identified in previous Special 301 Reports or that are nominated
for review in 2015 are considered interested parties, and are invited
to respond to this request for public submissions. Interested parties,
including foreign governments, wishing to submit information to be
considered during the review or testify at the public hearing must
adhere to the procedures and deadlines set forth below.
Dates/Deadlines: The schedule and deadlines for the 2015 Special
301 review are as follows:
Friday, February 6, 2015--Deadline for interested parties, except
foreign governments, to submit written comments, notice of intent to
testify at the Special 301 Public Hearing, and hearing statements.
Friday, February 13, 2015--Deadline for foreign governments to
submit written comments, notice of intent to testify at the Special 301
Public Hearing, and, although not mandatory, any prepared hearing
statements.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015--Public Hearing--The Special 301
Subcommittee will hold a Public Hearing for interested parties,
including representatives of foreign governments, at the offices of the
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. No
later than Friday,
[[Page 78134]]
February 20, 2015, USTR will confirm the date and location of the
hearing and provide the schedule at www.ustr.gov.
Friday, February 27, 2015_Deadline for submitting post-hearing
written comments. Interested parties may provide written comments after
the hearing. To ensure consideration, comments must be received no
later than Friday, February 27, 2015. Please submit additional written
comments electronically via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-
2014-0025.
On or about April 30, 2015--USTR will publish the 2015 Special 301
Report within 30 days of the publication of the National Trade Estimate
(NTE) Report.
Procedures/Addresses: All written comments, notices of intent to
testify at the public hearing, hearing statements and post-hearing
written responses must be in English and submitted electronically via
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0025. Please specify
``2015 Special 301 Review'' in the ``Type Comment'' field.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan F. Wilson, Director for
Intellectual Property and Innovation, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, at [email protected]. Information on the Special
301 annual review is also available at www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
USTR requests that interested persons identify through the process
outlined in this notice those countries whose acts, policies, or
practices 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.
Section 182 further requires the Trade Representative to identify
any act, policy, or practice of Canada that affects cultural
industries, is adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992, and is
actionable under Article 2106 of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). The public is invited to submit views relevant to
this aspect of the review.
Section 182 requires the Trade Representative to identify all such
acts, policies, or practices within 30 days of the publication of the
National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report. In accordance with this statutory
requirement, USTR will publish the annual Special 301 Report on or
about April 30, 2015.
2. Comments From the Public
a. Requirements for Written Comments
To facilitate the review, written comments should be as detailed as
possible and provide all necessary information for identifying and
assessing the effect of the acts, policies, and practices. 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 in the review. USTR also requests that, where relevant,
submissions mention particular regions, provinces, states, or other
subdivisions of a country in which an act, policy, or practice is
believed to warrant special attention. Finally, submissions proposing
countries for review should 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. Comments that include
quantitative loss claims should be accompanied by the methodology used
in calculating such estimated losses.
b. Filing Instructions
Comments must be in English. All comments should be sent
electronically via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0025.
To submit comments, locate the docket (folder) by entering the number
USTR-2014-0025 in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the
www.regulations.gov home page 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!.'' USTR
requests that comments be provided in an attached document, and that
the file be named according to the following protocol, as appropriate:
Commenter Name or Organization_2015 Special 301 Review_Comment or
Notice of Intent to Testify or Hearing Testimony. Please include the
following information in the ``Type Comment'' field: ``2015 Special 301
Review'' and whether the submission is a comment, a request to testify
at the public hearing, or hearing testimony. Please submit documents
prepared in (or compatible with) Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf) formats. If the submission was prepared in a compatible format,
please indicate the name of the relevant 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.
3. Public Hearing
a. Notice of Public Hearing
The Special 301 Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on February
24, 2015, at the offices of the International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street SW., Washington, DC, at which interested parties, including
representatives of foreign governments, may appear. The hearing will be
open to the public. Please consult www.ustr.gov on or after February
20, 2015, to confirm the date and location of the hearing, and to
obtain copies of the hearing. USTR also will post the transcript and
recording of the hearing on the site as soon after the hearing as
possible.
b. Submission of Notice of Intent To Testify and Hearing Statements
Prepared oral testimony before the Special 301 Subcommittee must be
delivered in person, in English, and will be limited to five minutes.
Subcommitte member agencies may ask questions following the prepared
statement.
Interested parties, except foreign governments, wishing to testify
at the hearing must submit a ``Notice of Intent to Testify'' and
``Hearing Statement'' to www.regulations.gov (following the procedures
set forth in ``Filing Instructions'' above). The filing deadline is
Friday, February 7, 2015. The Notice of Intent to Testify must include
the name of the witness, name of the organization (if applicable),
address, telephone number, fax number, and email address. A Hearing
Statement must accompany the Notice of Intent to Testify. There is no
requirement regarding the length of the Hearing Statement; however, the
content of the testimony must be relevant to the Special 301 Review.
All interested foreign governments that wish to testify at the
hearing must submit a ``Notice of Intent to Testify'' to
www.regulations.gov (following the procedures set forth in ``Filing
Instructions'' above). The Notice of Intent to Testify must be filed by
Friday, February 14, 2015, and include the name of the witness, name of
the organization (if applicable), address, telephone number, fax
number, and email address. Although not mandatory, government witnesses
may submit a Hearing Statement when filing the Notice of Intent to
Testify.
[[Page 78135]]
4. Business Confidential Information
A person requesting that information contained in a comment
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business
information must certify that such information is business confidential
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter.
The filenames of both documents should reflect their status--``BCI''
for the business confidential version and ``PUBLIC'' for the public
version. In the document, confidential business information must be
clearly designated as such, the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the cover page and each
succeeding page, and the submission should indicate, via brackets, the
specific information that is confidential. Additionally, the submitter
should write ``Business Confidential'' in the ``Type Comment'' field.
Anyone submitting a comment containing business confidential
information must also submit, as a separate submission, a non-business
confidential version of the submission, indicating where the business
confidential information has been redacted. The non-business
confidential version will be placed in the docket at
www.regulations.gov and be available for public inspection.
5. Inspection of Comments
USTR will maintain a publicly accessible docket for the 2015
Special 301 Review. This public file will include all non-business
confidential comments, notices of intent to testify, and hearing
statements that USTR receives from the public, including foreign
governments, in conjunction with the 2015 Special 301 Review. Comments
will be placed in the docket upon receipt and be open to public
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13. Comments containing confidential
business information are exempt from public inspection in accordance
with 15 CFR 2006.15. However, USTR will require submission of non-
business confidential versions of such documents, as described above,
and will post non-business confidential versions to the public docket.
Comments may be viewed at www.regulations.gov by entering docket number
USTR-2014-0025 in the search field on the home page.
Susan F. Wilson,
Director for Intellectual Property and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2014-30312 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
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