[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 164 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48280-48281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18521]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments on Certain Products Exclusions Related to 
COVID-19: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology 
Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In prior notices, the U.S. Trade Representative modified the 
action in the Section 301 investigation of China's acts, policies, and 
practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and 
innovation by excluding from additional duties certain medical-care 
products needed to address the COVID-19 pandemic. These exclusions are 
scheduled to expire on September 30, 2021. In light of developments in 
the production capacity of the United States in the subject products 
and continuing efforts in the battle against COVID-19, USTR is 
requesting public comments on whether to extend particular exclusions 
past September 30, 2021.

DATES: 
    August 27, 2021: The public docket on the web portal at https://comments.USTR.gov will open for parties to submit comments.
    September 27, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET: To be assured of 
consideration, submit written comments on the public docket by this 
time.

ADDRESSES: You must submit all comments through the online portal: 
https://comments.USTR.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Associate General Counsel Philip 
Butler or Assistant General Counsel Edward Marcus at (202) 395-5725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    In the course of this investigation the U.S. Trade Representative 
has imposed additional duties on products of China 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 
(December 18, 2019) and 85 FR 3741 (January 22, 2020).
    For each tranche, the U.S. Trade Representative established a 
process by which U.S. stakeholders could request the exclusion of 
particular products subject to the action. The U.S. Trade 
Representative later established a process by which U.S. stakeholders 
could request the extension of particular exclusions. Additionally, on 
March 25, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative requested public comments 
on possible further modifications to remove Section 301 duties from 
additional medical-care products to address the COVID-19 pandemic. 85 
FR 16987 (March 25, 2020).
    On December 29, 2020, USTR announced the extension of 80 product 
exclusions on medical-care and/or COVID response products; further 
modifications, in the form of 19 product exclusions, to remove Section 
301 duties from additional medical-care and/or COVID response products; 
and that USTR might consider further extensions and/or modifications as 
appropriate. See 85 FR 85831 (the December 29 notice). On March 10, 
2021, USTR announced the extension of these 99 exclusions to September 
30, 2021; and that USTR might consider further extensions and/or 
modifications as appropriate. See 86 FR 13785.

B. Request for Public Comments

    Subsequent to USTR's announcement of the extension of the 99 
exclusions for COVID-19 response products in March, the spread of 
COVID-19 in the United States initially declined, and domestic 
production of certain products covered by these exclusions increased. 
With the recent spread of the Delta variant, COVID-19 cases in the 
United States are increasing again. In light of these changing 
circumstances, including the ability of the United States to obtain 
certain products domestically or from other sources, USTR is requesting 
public comments on whether to extend particular exclusions for COVID-19 
products for up to six months.
    USTR will evaluate each exclusion on a case-by-case basis. The 
evaluation will examine whether it remains appropriate to exclude 
certain products from the additional Section 301 duties in light of 
recent developments including the spread of the Delta variant in the 
United States and increased domestic production of certain products, 
and taking account of the overall impact of these exclusions on the 
goal of obtaining the elimination of China's acts, policies, and 
practices covered in this Section 301 investigation.

C. Procedures To Comment on Particular COVID-19 Exclusions

    The 99 COVID exclusions can be found in the four annexes (A, B, C, 
and D) of the December 29 notice. To submit a comment regarding any 
particular COVID-19 exclusion, a commenter first must register on the 
portal at https://comments.USTR.gov. As noted above, the public docket 
on the portal will be open from August 27, 2021, to September 27, 2021. 
After registration, the commenter may submit a comment form to the 
public docket. Fields on the comment form marked with an asterisk (*) 
are required fields. Fields with a gray (BCI) notation are for business 
confidential information, which will not be publicly available. Fields 
with a green (Public) notation will be publicly available. 
Additionally, parties will be able to upload documents and indicate 
whether the documents are BCI or public. Commenters will be able to 
review the public version of their comments before they are posted.
    Set out below is a summary of the information to be entered on the 
exclusion comment form.

[[Page 48281]]

    <bullet> Contact information, including the full legal name of the 
organization making the comment, whether the commenter is a third party 
(e.g., law firm, trade association, or customs broker) submitting on 
behalf of an organization or industry, and the name of the third party 
organization, if applicable.
    <bullet> The annex (annexes A, B, C, or D) of the December 29 
notice (85 FR 85831) with the exclusion you are commenting on, the 
specific exclusion (number for the exclusion on which you are 
commenting as provided in the annex of the December 29 notice).
    <bullet> Whether you support or oppose extending the exclusion 
beyond September 30, 2021.
    <bullet> Rationale for supporting or opposing an extension.
    Commenters also may provide any other information or data that they 
consider relevant.

D. Submission Instructions

    To be assured of consideration, you must submit your comment when 
the public docket on the portal is open--from August 27, 2021, to 
September 27, 2021. Parties seeking to comment on two or more 
exclusions must submit a separate comment for each exclusion. By 
submitting a comment, the commenter certifies that the information 
provided is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge.

Greta M. Peisch,
General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2021-18521 Filed 8-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F1-P