Notice2024-19694
Request for Comments on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report
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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
September 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Trade Representative, Office of United States
Abstract
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), publishes the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report) each year. USTR invites comments to assist it and the TPSC in identifying significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce for inclusion in the NTE Report. USTR also will consider responses to this notice as part of the annual review of the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements regarding telecommunications products and services that are in force with respect to the United States.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71775-71777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19694]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2024-0015]
Request for Comments on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for
the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR),
through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), publishes the National
Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report) each year.
USTR invites comments to assist it and the TPSC in identifying
significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of
goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic
commerce for inclusion in the NTE Report. USTR also will consider
responses to this notice as part of the annual review of the operation
and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements regarding
telecommunications products and services that are in force with respect
to the United States.
DATES: October 17, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Deadline for submission of
comments.
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 comments are in
sections IV and V below. The docket number is USTR-2024-0015. For
alternatives to online submissions, please contact Laura Buffo, Chair
of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3d7b524f58545a53694f5c59587f5c4f4f54584f4e6f584d524f497d484e494f1358524d135a524b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="40062f322529272e143221242502213232292532331225302f323400353334326e252f306e272f36">[email protected]</span></a> or 202.395.3475 in advance of
the deadline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#21674e534448464f755340454463405353484453527344514e535561545255530f444e510f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e1a78e938488868fb593808584a380939388849392b384918e9395a194929593cf848e91cf868e97">[email protected]</span></a> or
202.395.3475.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 71776]]
I. Background
Section 181 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2241),
requires USTR annually to publish the NTE Report, which sets out an
inventory of significant foreign barriers to, or distortions of, U.S.
exports of goods and services, including agricultural commodities and
U.S. intellectual property; foreign direct investment by U.S. persons,
especially if such investment has implications for trade in goods or
services; and U.S. electronic commerce. The inventory facilitates U.S.
negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers and is a
valuable tool in enforcing U.S. trade laws and agreements and
strengthening the rules-based trading system. You can find the 2024 NTE
Report on USTR's website at <a href="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20NTE%20Report_1.pdf">https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20NTE%20Report_1.pdf</a>. To ensure compliance with the statutory
mandate for the NTE Report and the Administration's commitment to focus
on significant foreign trade barriers, USTR will take into account
comments in response to this notice when deciding which significant
barriers to include in the NTE Report.
II. Topics on Which the TPSC Seeks Information
To assist USTR in preparing the NTE Report, commenters should
submit information related to one or more of the following categories
of foreign trade barriers:
1. Import policies. Examples may include tariffs and other import
charges; quantitative restrictions; import licensing; customs barriers,
preshipment inspection, and trade facilitation or customs valuation
practices; and, other market access barriers.
2. Technical barriers to trade. Examples may include unnecessarily
trade restrictive or discriminatory standards, conformity assessment
procedures, or technical regulations, including unnecessary or
discriminatory technical regulations or standards for
telecommunications products.
3. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Examples may include
measures relating to food safety, or animal and plant life or health
that are unnecessarily trade restrictive, discriminatory, or not based
on scientific evidence.
4. Government procurement. Examples may include closed bidding and
bidding processes that lack transparency.
5. Intellectual property protection. Examples may include
inadequate patent, copyright, and trademark regimes; trade secret
theft; and, inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights.
6. Services. Examples may include prohibitions or restrictions on
foreign participation in the market, discriminatory licensing
requirements or standards, local-presence requirements, and
unreasonable restrictions on what services may be offered.
7. Electronic commerce/digital trade. Examples may include
restrictions on the supply of internet-enabled services, and other
restrictive technology requirements.
8. Investment. Examples include limitations on foreign equity
participation and on access to foreign government-funded research and
development programs, technology transfer requirements and export
performance requirements, and restrictions on repatriation of earnings,
capital, fees and royalties.
9. Subsidies. Examples may include subsidies contingent upon export
performance, and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S.
exports in third country markets.
10. Competition. Examples may include government-tolerated
anticompetitive conduct that restricts the sale or purchase of U.S.
goods or services in the foreign country's markets.
11. State-owned enterprises. Examples may include actions by state-
owned enterprises (SOEs) and by governments with respect to SOEs
involved in the manufacture or production of non-agricultural goods or
in the supply of services that constitute significant barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. investments,
or U.S. electronic commerce, which may negatively affect U.S. firms and
workers. These actions include subsidies and non-commercial advantages
provided to and from SOEs; and practices with respect to SOEs that
discriminate against U.S. goods or services, or actions by SOEs that
are inconsistent with commercial considerations in the purchase and
sale of goods and services.
12. Labor. Examples may include concerns with failures by a
government to protect internationally recognized worker rights or to
eliminate discrimination in respect of employment or occupation, in
cases where these failures influence trade flows or investment
decisions in ways that constitute significant barriers to, or
distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. investment, or
U.S. electronic commerce, which may negatively affect U.S. firms and
workers. Internationally recognized worker rights include: the right of
association; the right to organize and bargain collectively; a
prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; a
minimum age for the employment of children, and a prohibition on the
worst forms of child labor; and, acceptable conditions of work with
respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and
health.
13. Environment. Examples may include concerns with a government's
levels of environmental protection, unsustainable stewardship of
natural resources, and harmful environmental practices that constitute
significant barriers to, or distortions of, U.S. exports of goods and
services, U.S. investment, or U.S. electronic commerce, which may
negatively affect U.S. firms or workers.
14. Other barriers. Examples may include significant barriers or
distortions that are not covered in any other category above or that
encompass more than one category, such as bribery and corruption, or
that affect a single sector.
Please provide, if available, the titles of relevant laws or
measures and a description of the concerns with which the laws or
measures relate to the significant foreign barriers or distortions
identified. Commenters should place particular emphasis on any
practices that may violate U.S. trade agreements. USTR also is
interested in receiving new or updated information pertinent to the
barriers covered in the 2024 NTE Report as well as information on new
barriers. If USTR does not include in the 2025 NTE Report information
that it receives pursuant to this notice, it will maintain the
information for potential use in future discussions or negotiations
with trading partners.
Commenters should submit information related to one or more of the
following export markets to be covered in the report: Algeria, Angola,
the Arab League, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia,
Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,
Ethiopia, the European Union, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Laos,
Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway,
Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom,
Uruguay, and Vietnam. Commenters
[[Page 71777]]
may submit information related to significant barriers or distortions
in export markets other than those listed in this paragraph.
In addition, Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (Section 1377) requires USTR annually to
review the operation and effectiveness of U.S. telecommunications trade
agreements that are in force with respect to the United States. The
purpose of the review is to determine whether any foreign government
that is a party to one of those agreements is failing to comply with
that government's obligations or is otherwise denying, within the
context of a relevant agreement, ``mutually advantageous market
opportunities'' to U.S. telecommunications products or services
suppliers. USTR will consider responses to this notice in the review
called for in Section 1377 and highlight both ongoing and emerging
barriers to U.S. telecommunications services and goods exports in the
2025 NTE Report.
III. Estimate of Increase in Exports
To the extent possible, each comment should include an estimate of
the potential increase in exports of goods or services of the United
States, U.S. foreign direct investment, or U.S. electronic commerce
that would result from removing any significant foreign trade barrier
the comment identifies, as well as a description of the methodology the
commenter used to derive the estimate. Commenters should express
estimates within the following value ranges: less than $25 million; $25
million to $100 million; $100 million to $500 million; and over $500
million.
IV. Requirements for Submissions
To be assured of consideration, submit your written comments by the
October 17, 2024 11:59 p.m. ET deadline. All submissions must be in
English. USTR strongly encourages submissions via <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>.
To submit via <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, use Docket Number USTR-2024-0015 in
the `search for' field 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 by selecting `notice'
under `document type' in the `refine documents results' section on the
left side of the screen and click on the link entitled `comment.'
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> allows users to make submissions 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 note ``see attached comments with respect to (name of
country)'' in the `comment' field on the online submission form. The
first page of the submission must identify `Comments Regarding Foreign
Trade Barriers to U.S. Exports for 2025 Reporting--[name of country or
countries discussed].' Commenters providing information on more than
one country should provide a separate attachment for each country as
part of the same submission. USTR strongly encourages commenters to
provide only one submission. 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.
You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the
submission procedure at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. The tracking number is
confirmation that <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> received your submission. Keep the
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical
assistance for <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>.
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. USTR may not consider
submissions that you do not make in accordance with these instructions.
If you are unable to provide submissions as requested, please
contact Laura Buffo, Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, in
advance of the deadline at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0d4b627f68646a63597f6c69684f6c7f7f64687f7e5f687d627f794d787e797f2368627d236a627b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d294bda0b7bbb5bc86a0b3b6b790b3a0a0bbb7a0a180b7a2bda0a692a7a1a6a0fcb7bda2fcb5bda4">[email protected]</span></a> or
202.395.3475 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. USTR
will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
General information concerning USTR is available at <a href="https://www.ustr.gov">https://www.ustr.gov</a>.
V. Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions
If you ask USTR to treat information you submit as BCI, you must
certify that the information is business confidential and you would not
customarily release it to the public. 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' on
the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must
submit a public version that will be placed 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.
VI. Public Viewing of Review Submissions
USTR will post written submissions in the docket for public
inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view comments on
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> by entering Docket Number USTR-2024-0015 in the search
field on the home page.
Laura Buffo,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2024-19694 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F4-P
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