26334 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 88 / Friday, May 6, 2011 / Notices 

VACS–D at http://www.state.gov/ 

documents/organization/100305.pdf for 

additional information. Persons who 

cannot participate in the meeting but 

who wish to comment on the draft 

Federal implementing legislation are 

welcome to do so by e-mail to Keith 

Loken at lokenk@state.gov. A member of 

the public needing reasonable 

accommodation should advise the 

contact persons identified above not 

later than June 8th. Requests made after 

that date will be considered, but might 

not be able to be fulfilled. If you are 

unable to attend the public meeting in 

person and would like to participate by 

teleconferencing, please contact Tricia 

Smeltzer or Niesha Toms at 202–776– 

8420 to receive the conference call-in 

number and the relevant information. 

Dated: April 28, 2011. 

Keith Loken, 

Assistant Legal Adviser, Office of Private 

International Law, Office of the Legal Adviser, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2011–11120 Filed 5–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice: 7399] 

Overseas Security Advisory Council 

(OSAC) Meeting Notice 

Closed Meeting 

The Department of State announces a 

meeting of the U.S. State Department— 

Overseas Security Advisory Council on 

June 7 and 8. Pursuant to Section 10(d) 

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(5 U.S.C. Appendix), 5 U.S.C. 

552b(c)(4), and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(7)(E), it 

has been determined that the meeting 

will be closed to the public. The 

meeting will focus on an examination of 

corporate security policies and 

procedures and will involve extensive 

discussion of trade secrets and 

proprietary commercial information that 

is privileged and confidential, and will 

discuss law enforcement investigative 

techniques and procedures. The agenda 

will include updated committee reports, 

a global threat overview, and other 

matters relating to private sector 

security policies and protective 

programs and the protection of U.S. 

business information overseas. 

For more information, contact Marsha 

Thurman, Overseas Security Advisory 

Council, U.S. Department of State, 

Washington, DC 20522–2008, phone: 

571–345–2214. 

Dated: April 20, 2011. 

Jeffrey W. Culver, 

Director of the Diplomatic Security Service, 

U.S. Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2011–11123 Filed 5–5–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–24–P 

OFFICE OF THE TRADE 

REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Comments on Possible 

Negotiations in the World Trade 

Organization To Expand the 

Information Technology Agreement, 

Including Its Product Coverage 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy 

Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting 

comments from the public on whether 

the United States should undertake 

negotiations to expand the Information 

Technology Agreement (ITA) and, if so: 

(1) Which additional information and 

communications technology (ICT) 

products the United States should seek 

to include and provide duty-free 

treatment under the ITA, including both 

products that existed when the ITA was 

concluded in 1996 but that were not 

covered under the agreement as well as 

products that have been developed 

since then; and (2) which U.S. trading 

partners that are significant producers 

or consumers of ICT products that are 

not currently participants in the ITA the 

United States should seek to have join 

the ITA. The TPSC will consider public 

comments in formulating U.S. positions 

and objectives regarding possible 

negotiations to expand the ITA. 

DATES: Public comments are due by 

noon, June 13, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Pietan (Director for Industrial 

Trade Policy) or Mary Thornton 

(Director for Tariff Affairs), Office of 

Small Business, Market Access, and 

Industrial Competitiveness, Office of the 

United States Trade Representative 

(USTR), 600 17th St., NW., Washington, 

DC 20508, telephone (202) 395–5656, 

Fax (202) 395–9674. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Any 

amendments to the ITA resulting from 

negotiations to expand the agreement 

will be subject to approval by its current 

participants. 

Background Information 

In December 1996, United States and 

36 other countries and separate customs 

territories reached agreement to 

eliminate tariffs on a wide range of ICT 

products. The resulting agreement, the 

Ministerial Declaration on Trade in 

Information Technology Products (also 

termed the Information Technology 

Agreement, or ITA) was implemented 

under the auspices of the World Trade 

Organization (WTO). The number of 

ITA participants has since grown to 73, 

reflecting a significant increase in 

participation by developing countries, 

and currently representing 

approximately 97 percent of world trade 

in ITA products. However, many 

countries still remain outside of the 

agreement. Current participants include: 

Albania; Australia; Bahrain; Canada; 

China; Chinese Taipei; Costa Rica; 

Croatia; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El 

Salvador; European Union (on behalf of 

its 27 Member States); Georgia; 

Guatemala; Honduras; Hong Kong; 

Iceland; India; Indonesia; Israel; Japan; 

Jordan; Korea; Kuwait; Kyrgyz Republic; 

Macao; Malaysia; Mauritius; Moldova; 

Morocco; New Zealand; Nicaragua; 

Norway; Oman; Panama; Peru; 

Philippines; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; 

Switzerland and Liechtenstein; 

Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; United Arab 

Emirates; United States; and Vietnam. 

Any WTO Member or any State or 

separate customs territory in the process 

of acceding to the WTO may become a 

participant in the ITA. 

The ITA requires participants to 

eliminate import duties on covered 

products. The elimination of duties 

under the agreement has helped to 

generate substantial growth in ICT trade. 

Industry sources estimate that global 

trade in products currently covered 

under the ITA grew from $1.2 trillion in 

1996 to $4.0 trillion in 2008. 

The ITA currently covers computers 

and computer equipment, 

semiconductors and integrated circuits, 

computer software products, 

telecommunications equipment, 

semiconductor manufacturing 

equipment, and computer-based 

analytical instruments. The list of 

covered products has not been 

expanded since the ITA was concluded 

in 1996. Detailed information on the 

ITA, including the text of the agreement 

and its annexes specifying the products 

the agreement covers, can be found 

online at: http://www.wto.org/english/ 

tratop_e/inftec_e/inftec_e.htm. 

Comments From the Public 

The TPSC, led by USTR, is 

considering a proposal by industry 

stakeholders to expand the scope of the 

ITA significantly to provide duty-free 

treatment for a broader range of 

products and encourage wider 

participation in the agreement. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES