Notice2022-12248
Request for Comments on Proposed U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 7, 2022
Issuing agencies
Trade Representative, Office of United States
Abstract
On June 1, 2022, the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), respectively, launched the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st- Century Trade. The purpose of this trade initiative is to develop concrete ways to deepen the trade relationship between the United States and Taiwan, beginning with the two sides working under the auspices of AIT and TECRO to develop a roadmap for negotiations for reaching agreements in several specified trade areas, which are identified below. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will lead the U.S. side as AIT's designated representative. Accordingly, USTR is seeking public comments on matters relevant to the specified trade areas, including U.S. interests and priorities, in order to develop negotiating objectives and positions. You can provide comments in writing.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34745-34746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12248]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2022-0005]
Request for Comments on Proposed U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-
Century Trade
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On June 1, 2022, the United States and Taiwan, under the
auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei
Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States
(TECRO), respectively, launched the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-
Century Trade. The purpose of this trade initiative is to develop
concrete ways to deepen the trade relationship between the United
States and Taiwan, beginning with the two sides working under the
auspices of AIT and TECRO to develop a roadmap for negotiations for
reaching agreements in several specified trade areas, which are
identified below. The Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) will lead the U.S. side as AIT's designated representative.
Accordingly, USTR is seeking public comments on matters relevant to the
specified trade areas, including U.S. interests and priorities, in
order to develop negotiating objectives and positions. You can provide
comments in writing.
DATES: The deadline for the submission of written comments is July 8,
2022.
ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>).
Follow the instructions for submissions in parts II and III below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning
written comments, please contact Spencer Smith at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dd8eadb8b3beb8aff391f38eb0b4a9b5ef9da8aea9aff3b8b2adf3bab2ab"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="92c1e2f7fcf1f7e0bcdebcc1fffbe6faa0d2e7e1e6e0bcf7fde2bcf5fde4">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 395-2974 in advance of the
deadline and before transmitting a comment. Direct all other questions
to Jing Jing Zhang, Deputy Director for China Affairs, at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d78ebeadbfbef98dbfb6b9b097a2a4a3a5f9b2b8a7f9b0b8a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8bd2e2f1e3e2a5d1e3eae5eccbfef8fff9a5eee4fba5ece4fd">[email protected]</span></a>, or (202) 395-9534.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 1, 2022, USTR announced that the United States and Taiwan,
under the auspices of AIT and TECRO, had decided to launch the U.S.-
Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The purpose of this trade
initiative is to develop concrete ways to deepen the trade relationship
between the United States and Taiwan, beginning with the two sides
working under the auspices of AIT and TECRO to develop an ambitious
roadmap for negotiations for reaching one or more agreements with high-
standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes in several
specified trade areas, which include:
Trade facilitation. The United States and Taiwan seek to harness
best practices with respect to facilitating trade, including
accelerated implementation of the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement,
adopting provisions on digitalization of trade facilitation measures,
and ensuring inclusivity in accessing customs procedures. In addition,
the two sides intend to explore negotiating provisions on electronic
payments, risk management, protection of trader information, and
support for small and medium enterprises' (SME) access to technology
used for the clearance of goods.
Regulatory practices. The United States and Taiwan hold shared
values of good governance and respect for the rule of law and believe
in the adoption of provisions supporting sound, transparent regulatory
practices, including timely online accessibility to information about
regulations and regulatory processes, adequate time for public
consultations and consideration of comments, and ensuring that
regulatory decisions are based on high quality information, science,
and evidence. The two sides would also seek to explore the possibility
of provisions on transparency and good governance in services.
Agriculture. The United States and Taiwan intend to explore
provisions to facilitate agricultural trade through science and risk-
based decision making and through the adoption of sound, transparent
regulatory practices.
Anti-corruption. The United States and Taiwan seek to develop
strong anti-corruption standards to prevent and combat bribery and
corruption. The two sides intend to explore negotiating provisions that
preclude the tax deductibility of bribes and establish measures
regarding the recovery of proceeds of corruption and the denial of a
safe haven for foreign public officials who engage in corruption.
Supporting SMEs in trade. The United States and Taiwan aim to
support and enhance U.S.-Taiwan SME trade, by collaborating to identify
and overcome barriers to trade for SMEs, focusing on trade facilitation
for SMEs, sharing and promoting best practices, and working together on
activities to promote and support SMEs, including those owned by under-
represented groups and women entrepreneurs, and those in disadvantaged
communities.
Harnessing the benefits of digital trade. The United States and
Taiwan seek to advance outcomes in digital trade that benefit workers,
consumers, and businesses, including SMEs. Both sides believe in
building consumer trust in the digital economy, promoting access to
information, facilitating use of digital technologies, promoting
resilient and secure digital infrastructure, and addressing
discriminatory and trade-distortive practices in the digital economy.
Promoting worker-centric trade. The United States and Taiwan aim to
work to develop more durable and inclusive trade policies that
demonstrate that trade can be a force for good by creating more
opportunities for people and promoting gender equity across the United
States and Taiwan. The two sides also seek to support the protection of
labor rights, including the elimination of forced labor in global
supply chains.
Supporting the environment and climate action. The United States
and Taiwan seek to deepen their cooperation and joint approaches on
trade and the environment, including promoting decarbonizing our
economies consistent with COP26 outcomes, exchanging information, and
supporting businesses, green jobs, and the growth of low-carbon
economies.
Standards. The United States and Taiwan intend to explore
provisions consistent with their shared view that
[[Page 34746]]
the preparation, adoption, and application of standards, technical
regulations, and conformity assessment procedures should be non-
discriminatory, should not create unnecessary barriers to trade, and
should serve legitimate policy objectives. The two sides also recognize
the important role that international standards can play in supporting
greater regulatory alignment and good regulatory practices and in
promoting resilience in trade.
State-owned enterprises. The United States and Taiwan recognize the
significant distortions that can occur to international trade and
investment from non-market practices of state-owned and state-
controlled enterprises as well as government designated monopolies. The
two sides seek to develop provisions to create a level playing field
for workers and businesses when competing against these entities in the
international marketplace, including by ensuring that these entities
act in a commercial manner, are regulated impartially, and do not
provide or receive trade-distorting non-commercial assistance.
Non-market policies and practices. The United States and Taiwan are
market-oriented economies and understand the harm that can be caused by
trade partners that deploy non-market policies and practices, which
threaten the livelihoods of their people and harm their workers and
businesses. We intend to collaborate on ways to address these harmful
non-market policies and practices.
The United States will build upon high-standard trade commitments
and develop new approaches in trade policy to advance a broad set of
worker-centered priorities and promote durable, broad-based economic
growth for the United States and Taiwan. At this time, the
Administration is not seeking to address tariff barriers.
II. Public Comment
The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites interested parties
to submit comments to assist USTR as it develops negotiating objectives
and positions for the agreements contemplated by the U.S.-Taiwan
Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. In particular, the TPSC invites
interested parties to comment on issues that USTR should address in any
negotiations, including the following:
1. General negotiating objectives for the contemplated agreements.
2. Customs and trade facilitation issues.
3. Transparency and good regulatory practice issues;
4. Agriculture-related matters.
5. Anti-corruption-related matters.
6. Issues of particular relevance to small and medium-sized
enterprises that should be addressed in the negotiations.
7. Digital economy-related matters.
8. Labor-related matters.
9. Environment- and climate-related matters.
10. Matters related to standards, technical regulations, and
conformity assessment procedures.
11. Issues related to state-owned enterprises and designated
monopolies.
12. Matters related to collaboration to address non-market policies
and practices.
13. Other measures or practices that undermine fair market
opportunities for U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.
USTR requests small businesses (generally defined by the Small
Business Administration as firms with fewer than 500 employees) or
organizations representing small business members that submit comments
to self-identify as such, so that we may be aware of issues of
particular interest to small businesses.
III. Submission Instructions
Persons submitting written comments must do so in English and must
identify on the first page of the submission ``Comments Regarding U.S.-
Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.''
The submission deadline is July 6, 2022. USTR strongly encourages
commenters to make online submissions, using <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. To submit
comments via <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, enter docket number USTR-2022-0005 on the
home page and click `search.' The site will provide a search-results
page listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a
reference to this notice and click on the link entitled `Comment Now'
For further information on using <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, please consult the
resources provided on the website by clicking on `How to Use This Site'
on the left side of the home page.
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> allows users to submit comments by filling in a
`type comment' field, or by attaching a document using an `upload file'
field. USTR prefers that you provide comments in an attached document.
USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf). If you use an application other than those two, please indicate
the name of the application in the `type comment' field.
Filers submitting comments containing no business confidential
information (BCI) should name their file using the name of the person
or entity submitting the comments. For any comments submitted
electronically containing BCI, the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI.' Clearly
mark any page containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' on the top of
that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must submit a
public version of their comments that USTR will place in the docket for
public inspection. The file name of the public version should begin
with the character `P.' Follow the `BCI' and `P' 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.
As noted, USTR strongly urges that you file comments through
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>.
You must make any alternative arrangements with Spencer Smith at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b280b1e15181e095537552816120f13493b0e080f09551e140b551c140d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6635160308050314482a48350b0f120e5426131512144803091648010910">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 395-2974 before transmitting a
comment and in advance of the deadline.
USTR will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except
properly designated BCI. You can view comments on the <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>
by entering docket number USTR-2022-0005 in the search field on the
home page. General information concerning USTR is available at <a href="https://www.ustr.gov">https://www.ustr.gov</a>.
William Shpiece,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2022-12248 Filed 6-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F2-P
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