[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6137-6138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02103]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 332-552]
Overview of Cuban Imports of Goods and Services and Effects of
U.S. Restrictions
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Institution of investigation and scheduling of hearing.
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SUMMARY: Following receipt on December 17, 2014, of a request from the
Senate Committee on Finance (Committee) under section 332(g) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)), the U.S. International Trade
Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-552, Overview
of Cuban Imports of Goods and Services and Effects of U.S.
Restrictions.
DATES:
March 10, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the
public hearing.
March 12, 2015: Deadline for filing prehearing briefs and
statements.
March 24, 2015: Public hearing.
March 31, 2015: Deadline for filing posthearing briefs and
statements.
April 15, 2015: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
September 15, 2015: Transmittal of Commission report to the
Committee.
ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission
Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade
Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic
docket (EDIS) at http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project leader Heidi Colby-Oizumi
(202-205-3391 or [email protected]) or deputy project leader Alissa
Tafti (202-205-3244 or [email protected]) for information specific
to this investigation. For information on the legal aspects of this
investigation, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of
the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [email protected]). The
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations
(202-205-1819 or [email protected]). Hearing-impaired
individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons with mobility
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the
Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.
Background: As requested by the Committee, the Commission will
conduct an investigation and provide a report that provides an overview
of recent and current trends in Cuban imports of goods and services,
including from the United States, and an analysis of U.S. restrictions
affecting such purchases, including restrictions on U.S. citizen travel
to Cuba. The Committee asked that the report, to the extent possible,
include the following:
1. An overview of Cuba's imports of goods and services from, to the
extent possible, 2005 to the present, including identification of major
supplying countries, products, and market segments;
2. a description of how U.S. restrictions on trade, including those
relating to export financing terms and travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens,
affect Cuban imports of U.S. goods and services; and
3. for sectors where the impact is likely to be significant, a
qualitative and, to the extent possible, quantitative estimate of U.S.
exports of goods and services to Cuba, in the event that statutory,
regulatory, or other trade restrictions on U.S. exports of goods and
services as well as travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens are lifted.
The Committee also asked that the report include, to the extent
possible, state-specific analysis of the impacts described above. The
Committee asked that the Commission deliver its report no later than
September 15, 2015. The Committee also stated that it intends to make
the Commission's report public and asked that the report not include
any confidential business information.
Public Hearing: The Commission will hold a public hearing in
connection with this investigation at the U.S. International Trade
Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC, beginning at
9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. Requests to appear at
[[Page 6138]]
the public hearing should be filed with the Secretary not later than
5:15 p.m., March 10, 2015, in accordance with the requirements in the
``Submissions'' section below. All prehearing briefs and statements
should be filed with the Secretary not later than 5:15 p.m., March 12,
2015; and all posthearing briefs and statements responding to matters
raised at the hearing should be filed with the Secretary not later than
5:15 p.m., March 31, 2015. All hearing-related briefs and statements
should be filed in accordance with the requirements for filing written
submissions set out below. In the event that, as of the close of
business on March 10, 2015, no witnesses are scheduled to appear at the
hearing, the hearing will be canceled. Any person interested in
attending the hearing as an observer or nonparticipant may call the
Office of the Secretary (202-205-2000) after March 5, 2015, for
information concerning whether the hearing will be held.
Written Submissions: In lieu of, or in addition to, participating
in the hearing, interested parties are invited to file written
submissions concerning this investigation. All written submissions
should be addressed to the Secretary, and all such submissions (other
than prehearing and posthearing briefs and statements) should be
received not later than 5:15 p.m., April 15, 2015. All written
submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section
201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures require that
interested parties file documents electronically on or before the
filing deadline and submit eight (8) true paper copies by 12:00 p.m.
eastern time on the next business day. In the event that confidential
treatment of a document is requested, interested parties must file, at
the same time as the eight paper copies, at least four (4) additional
true paper copies in which the confidential information must be deleted
(see the following paragraph for further information regarding
confidential business information). Persons with questions regarding
electronic filing should contact the Secretary (202-205-2000).
Any submissions that contain confidential business information must
also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's
Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the
rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages
be clearly marked as to whether they are the ``confidential'' or
``nonconfidential'' version, and that the confidential business
information be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written
submissions, except for confidential business information, will be made
available for inspection by interested parties.
In the request letter, the Committee stated that it intends to make
the Commission's report available to the public in its entirety, and
asked that the Commission not include any confidential business
information in the report it sends to the Committee. Any confidential
business information received by the Commission in this investigation
and used in preparing this report will not be published in a manner
that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.
Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish
summaries of the positions of interested persons in an appendix to its
report. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position included in
the appendix should include a summary with their written submission.
The summary may not exceed 500 words, should be in MSWord format or a
format that can be easily converted to MSWord, and should not include
any confidential business information. The summary will be published as
provided if it meets these requirements and is germane to the subject
matter of the investigation. In the appendix the Commission will
identify the name of the organization furnishing the summary, and will
include a link to the Commission's Electronic Document Information
System (EDIS) where the full written submission can be found.
By order of the Commission.
Issued: January 29, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-02103 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P