[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1424-1425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-478]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Identification of Countries Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of
1974: Request for Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.
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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 (USTR) to
identify 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. (Section
182 is commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions in the
Trade Act.) In addition, the USTR is required to determine which of
these countries should be identified as priority foreign countries.
Acts, policies or practices which are the basis of a country's
identification as a priority foreign country are normally the subject
of an investigation under the section 301 provisions of the Trade Act.
Section 182 of the Trade Act contains a special rule for the
identification of actions by Canada affecting United States cultural
industries.
USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning
foreign countries' acts, policies, and practices that are relevant to
the decision whether particular trading partners should be identified
under section 182 of the Trade Act.
DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 12:00 noon on Friday,
February 18, 2000.
ADDRESSES: 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20508.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claude Burcky, Director for
Intellectual Property (202) 395-6864; Donna DiPaolo, Deputy Director
for Intellectual Property (202) 395-6864; or Geralyn S. Ritter,
Assistant General Counsel (202) 395-6800, Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 182 of the Trade Act,
the USTR must identify those countries that
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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. Those countries that have the most
onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices and whose acts,
policies or practices have the greatest adverse impact (actual or
potential) on relevant U.S. products are to be identified as priority
foreign countries. Act, policies or practices which are the basis of a
country's designation as a priority foreign country are normally the
subject of an investigation under the section 301 provisions of the
Trade Act.
USTR may not identify a country as a priority foreign country if it
is entering into good faith negotiations, or making significant
progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations, to provide adequate
and effective protection of intellectual property rights.
In identifying countries that deny adequate and effective
protection of intellectual property rights in 2000, USTR will focus
special attention on other countries' compliance with their TRIPS
obligations--many of which came due on January 2000--as well as their
efforts to reduce piracy of optical media (music CDs, Video CDs, CD-
ROMS, and DVDs) and prevent unauthorized government use of computer
software.
Section 182 contains a special rule regarding actions of Canada
affecting United States cultural industries. The USTR is obligated to
identify any act, policy or practice of Canada which 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). Any such act, policy or practice so identified shall
be treated the same as an act, policy or practice which was the basis
for a country's identification as a priority foreign country under
section 182(a)(2) of the Trace Act (i.e., such acts, policies or
practices shall be the subject of a section 301 investigation under the
``Special 301'' procedures), unless the United States has already taken
action pursuant to Article 2106 of the NAFTA.
USTR must make the above-referenced identifications within 30 days
after publication of the National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, i.e., no
later than April 30, 2000.
Requirements for Comments
Comments should include a description of the problems experienced
and the effect of the acts, policies and practices on U.S. industry.
Comments should be as detailed as possible and should provide all
necessary information for assessing the effect of the acts, policies
and practices. Any comments that include quantitive loss claims should
be accompanied by the methodology used in calculating such estimated
losses. Comments must be in English and provided in twenty copies. A
submitter requesting that information contained in a comment 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. Confidential business information must be
clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting color ink at
the top of each page of each copy. A non-confidential version of the
comment must also be provided.
All comments should be sent to Sybia Harrison, Special Assistant to
the Section 301 Committee, Room 100A, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington,
DC 20508, and must be received no later than 12:00 noon on Friday,
February 18, 2000.
Public Inspection of Submissions
Within one business day of receipt, non-confidential submissions
will be placed in a public file, open for inspection at the USTR
Reading Room, in Room 101, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC. An appointment to
review the file may be made by calling Brenda Webb, (202) 395-6186. The
USTR Reading Room is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 12;00 noon
and from 1:00 p.m. to 4;00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Joseph Papovich,
Assistant USTR for Services, Investment and Intellectual Property.
[FR Doc 00-478 Filed 1-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M