Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 40213 

ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan 

applications to: U.S. Small Business 

Administration, Processing And 

Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport 

Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. 

Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance, 

U.S. Small Business Administration, 

409 3rd Street SW., Suite 6050, 

Washington, DC 20416, (202) 205–6734. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice 

of an Administrative declaration for the 

State of CALIFORNIA, dated 07/31/ 

2017, is hereby amended to establish the 

incident closing date as 08/01/2017. 

Incident: Detwiler Fire. 

Incident Period: 07/16/2017 through 

08/01/2017. 

All other information in the original 

declaration remains unchanged. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number 59008) 

Linda E. McMahon, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17915 Filed 8–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket No. USTR–2017–0016] 

Initiation of Section 301 Investigation; 

Hearing; and Request for Public 

Comments: China’s Acts, Policies, and 

Practices Related to Technology 

Transfer, Intellectual Property, and 

Innovation 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice of initiation of 

investigation; hearing; and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The United States Trade 

Representative has initiated an 

investigation pursuant to the Trade Act 

of 1974, as amended (the Trade Act), to 

determine whether acts, policies, and 

practices of the Government of China 

related to technology transfer, 

intellectual property, and innovation are 

actionable under the Trade Act. The 

inter-agency Section 301 Committee is 

holding a public hearing and seeking 

comments in connection with this 

investigation. 

DATES: The United States Trade 

Representative initiated the 

investigation on August 18, 2017. The 

schedule and due dates are as follows: 

To be assured of consideration, 

written comments and requests to 

appear at the hearing must be submitted 

by Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 

11:59 p.m. The request to appear must 

include a summary of testimony. 

Tuesday, October 10, 2017: The 

Section 301 Committee will convene a 

public hearing in the main hearing room 

of the U.S. International Trade 

Commission, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20436, beginning at 

9:30 a.m. If necessary, the hearing may 

continue on the next business day. 

To be assured of consideration, posthearing rebuttal comments must be 

submitted by Friday, October 20, 2017 

at 11:59 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: You should submit written 

comments through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments in 

section II below. For alternatives to online submissions, please contact 

Gwendolyn Diggs at (202) 395–3150 

before transmitting a comment and in 

advance of the relevant deadline. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

procedural questions concerning written 

comments or participating in the public 

hearing, contact Gwendolyn Diggs at 

(202) 395–3150. Direct all other 

questions regarding this notice to 

William Busis, Deputy Assistant U.S. 

Trade Representative for Monitoring 

and Enforcement and Chair of the 

Section 301 Committee, or Katherine 

Linton and Arthur Tsao, Assistant 

General Counsels at (202) 395–3150. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

A. The President’s Memorandum 

On August 14, 2017, the President 

issued a Memorandum (82 FR 39007) to 

the United States Trade Representative 

stating inter alia: 

China has implemented laws, policies, and 

practices and has taken actions related to 

intellectual property, innovation, and 

technology that may encourage or require the 

transfer of American technology and 

intellectual property to enterprises in China 

or that may otherwise negatively affect 

American economic interests. These laws, 

policies, practices, and actions may inhibit 

United States exports, deprive United States 

citizens of fair remuneration for their 

innovations, divert American jobs to workers 

in China, contribute to our trade deficit with 

China, and otherwise undermine American 

manufacturing, services, and innovation. 

The Memorandum included the 

following instruction: 

The United States Trade Representative 

shall determine, consistent with section 

302(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

2412(b)), whether to investigate any of 

China’s laws, policies, practices, or actions 

that may be unreasonable or discriminatory 

and that may be harming American 

intellectual property rights, innovation, or 

technology development. 

Pursuant to the President’s 

Memorandum, on August 18, 2017, the 

United States Trade Representative 

initiated an investigation under section 

302(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2412(b)) to determine whether acts, 

policies, and practices of the 

Government of China related to 

technology transfer, intellectual 

property, and innovation are 

unreasonable or discriminatory and 

burden or restrict U.S. commerce. 

B. The Chinese Government’s Acts, 

Policies and Practices 

The acts, policies and practices of the 

Government of China directed at the 

transfer of U.S. and other foreign 

technologies and intellectual property 

are an important element of China’s 

strategy to become a leader in a number 

of industries, including advancedtechnology industries, as reflected in 

China’s ‘‘Made in China 2025’’ 

industrial plan, and other similar 

industrial policy initiatives. The 

Chinese government’s acts, policies, and 

practices take many forms. The 

investigation initially will consider the 

following specific types of conduct: 

First, the Chinese government 

reportedly uses a variety of tools, 

including opaque and discretionary 

administrative approval processes, joint 

venture requirements, foreign equity 

limitations, procurements, and other 

mechanisms to regulate or intervene in 

U.S. companies’ operations in China, in 

order to require or pressure the transfer 

of technologies and intellectual property 

to Chinese companies. Moreover, many 

U.S. companies report facing vague and 

unwritten rules, as well as local rules 

that diverge from national ones, which 

are applied in a selective and nontransparent manner by Chinese 

government officials to pressure 

technology transfer. 

Second, the Chinese government’s 

acts, policies and practices reportedly 

deprive U.S. companies of the ability to 

set market-based terms in licensing and 

other technology-related negotiations 

with Chinese companies and undermine 

U.S. companies’ control over their 

technology in China. For example, the 

Regulations on Technology Import and 

Export Administration mandate 

particular terms for indemnities and 

ownership of technology improvements 

for imported technology, and other 

measures also impose non-market terms 

in licensing and technology contracts. 

Third, the Chinese government 

reportedly directs and/or unfairly 

facilitates the systematic investment in, 

and/or acquisition of, U.S. companies 

and assets by Chinese companies to 

obtain cutting-edge technologies and 


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40214 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 

intellectual property and generate largescale technology transfer in industries 

deemed important by Chinese 

government industrial plans. 

Fourth, the investigation will consider 

whether the Chinese government is 

conducting or supporting unauthorized 

intrusions into U.S. commercial 

computer networks or cyber-enabled 

theft of intellectual property, trade 

secrets, or confidential business 

information, and whether this conduct 

harms U.S. companies or provides 

competitive advantages to Chinese 

companies or commercial sectors. 

In addition to these four types of 

conduct, interested parties may submit 

for consideration information on other 

acts, policies and practices of China 

relating to technology transfer, 

intellectual property, and innovation 

described in the President’s 

Memorandum that might be included in 

this investigation, and/or might be 

addressed through other applicable 

mechanisms. 

C. Relevant Provisions of the Trade Act 

Section 302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act 

authorizes the United States Trade 

Representative to initiate an 

investigation to determine whether 

conduct is actionable under section 301 

of the Trade Act. 

Actionable conduct under section 

301(b)(1) includes, inter alia, acts, 

policies and practices of a foreign 

country that are unreasonable or 

discriminatory and burden or restrict 

U.S. commerce. Unreasonable actions 

are those that while not necessarily in 

violation of, or inconsistent with, the 

international legal rights of the United 

States are otherwise unfair and 

inequitable. 

Pursuant to section 302(b)(1)(B), the 

United States Trade Representative has 

consulted with appropriate advisory 

committees. The United States Trade 

Representative also has consulted with 

members of the inter-agency Section 301 

Committee. On the date of initiation, the 

United States Trade Representative 

requested consultations with the 

Government of China concerning the 

issues under investigation, pursuant to 

section 303(a)(1) of the Trade Act (19 

U.S.C. 2413(a)(1)). 

Pursuant to section 304(a)(2)(B) of the 

Trade Act, 19 U.S.C. 2414(a)(2)(B), the 

United States Trade Representative 

must determine within 12 months from 

the date of initiation of the investigation 

whether any act, policy, or practice 

described in section 301 of the Trade 

Acts exists and, if that determination is 

affirmative, what action, if any, to take. 

II. Request for Comments and To 

Testify at the Hearing 

A. Topics and Schedule 

The Office of the U.S. Trade 

Representative (USTR) invites written 

comments on: 

1. The acts, policies, and practices of 

the Chinese government described in 

Section I.B above. 

2. Information on other acts, policies 

and practices of China relating to 

technology transfer, intellectual 

property, and innovation as described in 

the President’s Memorandum, which 

might be included in this investigation, 

and/or might be addressed through 

other applicable mechanisms. 

3. The nature and level of burden or 

restriction on U.S. commerce caused by 

the applicable acts, policies and 

practices of the Government of China, 

and/or any economic assessment of that 

burden or restriction. 

4. The determinations required under 

section 304 of the Trade Act, that is, 

whether actionable conduct exists under 

section 301(b) and what action, if any, 

should be taken. 

To be assured of consideration, USTR 

must receive initial written comments 

by 11:59 p.m. on September 28, 2017, in 

accordance with the instructions in 

section II.B below. 

The Section 301 Committee will 

convene a public hearing in the main 

hearing room of the U.S. International 

Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington DC 20436, beginning at 9:30 

a.m. on October 10, 2017. Persons 

wishing to appear at the hearing must 

provide written notification of their 

intention and a summary of the 

proposed testimony by 11:59 p.m. on 

September 28, 2017, in accordance with 

the instructions in section II.B below. 

Remarks at the hearing may be no longer 

than five minutes to allow for possible 

questions from the Section 301 

Committee. The deadline for submission 

of post-hearing rebuttal comments is 

11:59 p.m. on October 20, 2017. 

Indicate in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field 

if you are submitting a request to appear 

at the hearing, and include the name, 

address and telephone number of the 

person presenting the testimony. A 

summary of the testimony should be 

attached by using the ‘‘Upload File’’ 

field. The file name should include the 

name of the person who will be 

presenting the testimony. 

B. Requirements for Submissions 

Persons submitting a notification of 

intent to testify, a summary of 

testimony, or written comments must do 

so in English, and must identify this 

matter (on the reference line of the first 

page of the submission) as ‘‘Section 301 

Investigation: China’s Acts, Policies, 

and Practices Related to Technology 

Transfer, Intellectual Property, and 

Innovation.’’ 

To be assured of consideration, you 

must submit written comments, requests 

to testify, and summaries of testimony 

by 11:59 p.m. on September 28, 2017. 

The deadline for submitting rebuttal 

comments is 11:59 p.m. on October 20, 

2017. 

All submissions must be in English 

and sent electronically via 

www.regulations.gov using docket 

number USTR–2017–0016. You must 

make any alternative arrangements in 

advance of the relevant deadline and 

before transmitting a comment by 

contacting Gwendolyn Diggs at (202) 

395–3150. 

To make a submission via 

www.regulations.gov, enter Docket 

Number USTR–2017–0016 on the home 

page and click ‘‘Search.’’ The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Find the reference to this notice and 

click on the button labeled ‘‘Comment 

Now.’’ For further information on using 

the www.regulations.gov Web site, 

please consult the resources provided 

on the Web site by clicking on ‘‘How to 

Use Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of 

the home page. 

The www.regulations.gov Web site 

allows users to provide comments by 

filling in a ‘‘Type Comment’’ field, or by 

attaching a document using an ‘‘Upload 

File’’ field. USTR prefers that you 

provide submissions as an attached 

document. If a document is attached, it 

is sufficient to type ‘‘see attached’’ in 

the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field. USTR 

prefers submissions in Microsoft Word 

(.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If 

the submission is in another file format, 

please indicate the name of the software 

application in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ 

field. File names should reflect the 

name of the person or entity submitting 

the comments. 

Indicate in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field 

if you are submitting a request to appear 

at the hearing, and include the name, 

address and telephone number of the 

person presenting the testimony. The 

file name should include who will be 

presenting the testimony. 

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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2017 / Notices 40215 

For any comments submitted 

electronically containing business 

confidential information, the file name 

of the business confidential version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘BC’’. 

Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page and the 

submission should clearly indicate, via 

brackets, highlighting, or other means, 

the specific information that is business 

confidential. If you request business 

confidential treatment, you must certify 

that the information is business 

confidential and would not customarily 

be released to the public. Filers of 

submissions containing business 

confidential information also must 

submit a public version of their 

comments. The file name of the public 

version should begin with the character 

‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’ should be 

followed by the name of the person or 

entity submitting the comments or 

rebuttal comments. If these procedures 

are not sufficient to protect business 

confidential information or otherwise 

protect business interests, please contact 

Katherine Linton at 202–395–3150 to 

discuss whether alternative 

arrangements are possible. 

We will post comments in the docket 

for public inspection, except business 

confidential information. You can view 

comments on the https://

www.regulations.gov Web site by 

entering docket number USTR–2017– 

0016 in the search field on the home 

page. 

William L. Busis, 

Chair, Section 301 Committee, Office of the 

United States Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17931 Filed 8–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F7–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0042] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes Mellitus 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from 43 individuals for an 

exemption from the prohibition in the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs) against persons 

with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus 

(ITDM) operating a commercial motor 

vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce. If 

granted, the exemptions would enable 

these individuals with ITDM to operate 

CMVs in interstate commerce. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 25, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 

2017–0042 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Instructions: Each submission must 

include the Agency name and the 

docket number(s) for this notice. Note 

that all comments received will be 

posted without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading below for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov at any time or 

Room W12–140 on the ground level of 

the West Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The 

FDMS is available 24 hours each day 

e.t., 365 days each year. If you want 

acknowledgment that we received your 

comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, 

as described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christine A. Hydock, Chief, Medical 

Programs Division, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W64– 

224, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. If you have questions 

regarding viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may grant an exemption from 

the FMCSRs for a two-year period if it 

finds ‘‘such exemption would likely 

achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to or greater than the level 

that would be achieved absent such 

exemption.’’ The statute also allows the 

Agency to renew exemptions at the end 

of the two-year period. 

The 43 individuals listed in this 

notice have requested an exemption 

from the diabetes prohibition in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(3). Accordingly, the Agency 

will evaluate the qualifications of each 

applicant to determine whether granting 

the exemption will achieve the required 

level of safety mandated by statute. 

The physical qualification standard 

for drivers regarding diabetes found in 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(3) states that a person 

is physically qualified to drive a CMV 

if that person: 

Has no established medical history or 

clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus 

currently requiring insulin for control. 

The Agency established the current 

requirement for diabetes in 1970 

because several risk studies indicated 

that drivers with diabetes had a higher 

rate of crash involvement than the 

general population. 

FMCSA established its diabetes 

exemption program, based on the 

Agency’s July 2000 study entitled ‘‘A 

Report to Congress on the Feasibility of 

a Program to Qualify Individuals with 

Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus to 

Operate in Interstate Commerce as 

Directed by the Transportation Act for 

the 21st Century.’’ The report concluded 

that a safe and practicable protocol to 

allow some drivers with ITDM to 

operate CMVs is feasible. The 

September 3, 2003 (68 FR 52441), 

Federal Register notice in conjunction 

with the November 8, 2005 (70 FR 

67777), Federal Register notice provides 

the current protocol for allowing such 

drivers to operate CMVs in interstate 

commerce. 

FMCSA notes that section 4129 of the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible and 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users requires the Secretary 

to revise its diabetes exemption program 

established on September 3, 2003 (68 FR 


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