[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16987-16988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06285]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2020-0014]
Request for Comments on Additional Modifications to the 301
Action To Address COVID-19: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices
Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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[[Page 16988]]
SUMMARY: In prior notices, the U.S. Trade Representative has modified
the action in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies,
and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property,
and innovation by removing additional duties from medical-care products
needed to address the COVID-19 outbreak. In light of ongoing
developments, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is
requesting public comments on possible further modifications to remove
duties from additional medical-care products.
DATES: The docket for comments will remain open at least until June 25,
2020, and may be extended as appropriate. To facilitate timely
consideration of possible modifications, interested parties should
submit comments as promptly as possible. To be assured of
consideration, any responses to comments should be submitted within
three business days after a comment is posted in the docket.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov
(Regulations.gov). Follow the instructions for submitting requests for
exclusion and responses to requests in Section C below. The docket
number is USTR-2020-0014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
contact Associate General Counsels Philip Butler or Megan Grimball at
(202) 395-5725.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
At the direction of the President, the U.S. Trade Representative
has imposed duties on products of China in order to obtain the
elimination of the unfair and damaging acts, policies, and practices
identified in this investigation. The duties have been imposed in four
tranches. See 83 FR 28719 (June 20, 2018), 83 FR 40823 (August 16,
2018), 83 FR 47974 (September 21, 2018), as modified by 83 FR 49153
(September 28, 2018), and 84 FR 43304 (August 20, 2019), as modified by
84 FR 69447 and 85 FR 3741.
For each tranche, the U.S. Trade Representative established a
process by which U.S. stakeholders could request exclusion of
particular products classified within an eight-digit Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading covered by the action.
See 83 FR 32181 (July 11, 2018), 83 FR 47236 (September 18, 2018), 84
FR 29576 (June 24, 2019), and 84 FR 57144 (October 24, 2019). The
exclusion processes for tranches 3 and 4 are still in process, and are
not affected by this notice.
Throughout the exclusion process, USTR assessed medical necessity
in granting exclusions, consistent with its published criteria. In
addition, the U.S. Trade Representative, in consultation with the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), prioritized the review
of exclusion requests addressed to medical-care products related to the
U.S. response to COVID-19, and granted approximately 200 separate
exclusions on March 5, 2020. See 85 FR 13970 (March 10, 2020), 85 FR
15015 (March 16, 2020), and 85 FR 15244 (March 17, 2020). The
exclusions covered personal protective equipment products and other
medical-care related products.
B. Request for Public Comments
In order to reflect developments in the efforts to respond to the
COVID-19 outbreak, USTR is requesting public comments on possible
further modifications to remove duties from additional medical-care
products. USTR invites comments from interested persons with respect to
whether a particular product covered by the action in this
investigation is needed to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. The docket
for comments will remain open at least until June 25, 2020, and may be
extended as appropriate. To facilitate timely consideration of possible
modifications, interested persons should submit comments as promptly as
possible. Interested persons may also submit responses to comments. To
be assured of consideration, any responses to comments should be
submitted within three business days after a comment is posted in the
docket. USTR will review comments on a rolling basis.
Each comment specifically must identify the particular product of
concern and explain precisely how the product relates to the response
to the COVID-19 outbreak. For example, the comment may address whether
a product is directly used to treat COVID-19 or to limit the outbreak,
and/or whether the product is used in the production of needed medical-
care products.
Comments may be submitted regarding any product covered by the
action in the investigation, regardless of whether the product is
subject to a pending or denied exclusion request.
In order to facilitate timely consideration of possible
modifications, commenters should define the product of concern as
precisely as possible. All comments must include the following
information, to the extent possible: The ten-digit subheading of the
HTSUS applicable to the product, and the identity of the particular
product in terms of its functionality and physical characteristics
(e.g., dimensions, material composition, or other characteristics).
Commenters may provide information concerning the producer, importer,
ultimate consumer, or trademarks or tradenames, but this is less
helpful.
C. Submission Instructions
All submissions must be in English and sent electronically via
Regulations.gov. To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter
docket number USTR-2020-0014 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 titled `comment now!' For further information on using the
www.regulations.gov website, please consult the resources provided on
the website by clicking on `How to Use Regulations.gov' on the bottom
of the home page. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
The Regulations.gov website allows users to submit comments by
filling in a `comment' field or by attaching a document using an
`upload file' field. USTR prefers that you submit comments in an
attached document. If you attach a document, it is sufficient to type
`see attached' in the `comment' field. USTR prefers submissions in
Microsoft Word (.doc) or searchable Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If you use an
application other than those two, please indicate the name of the
application in the `comment' field.
File names should reflect 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 comment itself, rather than
submitting them as separate files.
You can view submissions on the Regulations.gov website by entering
docket number USTR-2020-0014 in the search field on the home page.
Joseph Barloon,
General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2020-06285 Filed 3-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F0-P