Notice2022-18570
Request for Written Comments Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments
Primary source
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Published
August 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Trade Representative, Office of United States
Abstract
The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites interested persons to submit written comments to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Due to the COVID-19 situation, the TPSC will foster public participation via written questions and written responses relating to the written comments received by the TPSC rather than an in-person hearing. This notice includes the schedule for submission of comments, questions and responses.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 166 (Monday, August 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52835-52837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18570]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2022-0012]
Request for Written Comments Concerning China's Compliance With
WTO Commitments
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written comments.
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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) invites
interested persons to submit written comments to assist the Office of
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its
annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the
commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO). Due to the COVID-19 situation, the TPSC will foster
public participation via written questions and written responses
relating to the written comments received by the TPSC rather than an
in-person hearing. This notice includes the schedule for submission of
comments, questions and responses.
DATES:
September 28, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for submission of
written comments.
October 12, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for the TPSC to pose
written questions on written comments.
October 26, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for submission of
commenters' responses to written questions from the TPSC.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
(<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>) The instructions for submitting written submissions
are in sections III and IV below. The docket number is USTR-2022-0012.
For alternatives to online submissions, contact Spencer Smith at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#643714010a0701164a284a37090d100c5624111710164a010b144a030b12"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c192b1a4afa2a4b3ef8def92aca8b5a9f381b4b2b5b3efa4aeb1efa6aeb7">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 395-2974 before transmitting a
submission and in advance of the relevant deadline.
[[Page 52836]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Smith at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dd8eadb8b3beb8aff391f38eb0b4a9b5ef9da8aea9aff3b8b2adf3bab2ab"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d685a6b3b8b5b3a4f89af885bbbfa2bee496a3a5a2a4f8b3b9a6f8b1b9a0">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 395-2974 for procedural
questions concerning written submissions. Direct all other questions to
Alex Martin at (202) 395-3900 or Arthur Tsao at (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
China became a Member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. In
accordance with section 421 of the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000
(Pub. L. 106-286) (22 U.S.C. 6951), USTR is required to submit, on or
about December 11 of each year, a report to Congress on China's
compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to
the WTO, including both multilateral commitments and any bilateral
commitments made to the United States. In accordance with section 421,
and to assist it in preparing this year's report, the TPSC is
soliciting public comments. You can find last year's report on USTR's
website at <a href="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Reports/2021USTR%20ReportCongressChinaWTO.pdf">https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Reports/2021USTR%20ReportCongressChinaWTO.pdf</a>.
The terms of China's accession to the WTO are contained in the
Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (including
its annexes) (Protocol), the Report of the Working Party on the
Accession of China (Working Party Report), and the WTO agreements. You
can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on the WTO website at
<a href="http://docsonline.wto.org">http://docsonline.wto.org</a> (document symbols: WT/L/432, WT/MIN(01)/3,
WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.1, WT/MIN(01)/3/Add.2).
II. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information
The TPSC invites written comments on China's compliance with
commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO,
including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas:
a. Trading rights.
b. Import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas,
import licenses).
c. Export regulation.
d. Internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards
and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures,
government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and
charges levied on imports and exports).
e. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property
rights enforcement).
f. Services.
g. Rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform
administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform.
h. Other WTO commitments.
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. In addition, given the United
States' view that China should be held accountable as a full
participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system,
USTR requests that interested persons specifically identify unresolved
compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR.
III. Public Participation
Due to the COVID-19 situation, the TPSC will foster public
participation via written submissions rather than an in-person hearing
on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its
accession to the WTO. In accordance with the schedule set out in the
Dates section above, USTR invites written comments from the public. The
TPSC will review the written comments and may pose written clarifying
questions to the commenters. The TPSC will post the written questions
on the public docket, other than questions that include properly
designated business confidential information (BCI). USTR will send
questions that include properly designated BCI to the relevant
commenters by email and will not post these questions on the public
docket. Written responses to questions that contain BCI must follow the
procedures in section IV below.
IV. Requirements for Submissions
Persons submitting written comments must do so in English and must
identify on the first page of the submission `Comments Regarding
China's WTO Compliance.' The submission deadline is September 28, 2022
at 11:59 p.m. EDT. 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-2022-0012 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'. 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 <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> on
the bottom 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 the `upload file'
field. USTR prefers that you provide submissions in an attached
document and, in such cases, that you write `see attached' in the `type
comment' field, on the online submission form. 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. At the beginning of the
submission, include the following text: (1) 2022 China WTO Compliance
Report; (2) your organization's name; and (3) whether the document is a
comment or an answer to a TPSC question.
An interested party requesting that USTR treat information
contained in a submission as BCI must certify that the information is
business confidential. For any comments submitted electronically
containing BCI, the file name of the business confidential version
should begin with the characters `BCI. You must clearly mark any page
containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' at 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 submissions 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#3f6c4f5a515c5a4d1173116c52564b570d7f4a4c4b4d115a504f11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="316241545f5254431f7d1f625c5845590371444245431f545e411f565e47">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 395-2974 in
advance of the relevant deadline.
USTR will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except
properly designated BCI. You can view comments at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> by
entering docket number USTR-2022-0012 in the search field on the home
page. General information concerning
[[Page 52837]]
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. 2022-18570 Filed 8-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F2-P
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