2018-16919. Extension of Public Comment Period Concerning Proposed Modification of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation

AGENCY:

Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION:

Extension of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

In a notice published on July 17, 2018 (83 FR 33608), the U.S. Trade Representative (Trade Representative) proposed a modification of the action taken in this investigation in the form of an additional 10 percent ad valorem duty on products of China with an annual trade value of approximately $200 billion. The July 17th notice sought public comment and provided notice of a public hearing regarding this proposed modification of the action in the investigation. On August 1, 2018, the Trade Representative announced that the President had directed the Trade Representative to consider raising the level of the additional duty in the proposed supplemental action from 10 percent to 25 percent. In light of this possible increase in the rate of additional duty, the Trade Representative is extending certain comment periods set out in the July 17th notice.

DATES:

To be assured of consideration, you must submit comments and responses in accordance with the following schedule:

August 13, 2018: The due date for filing requests to appear and a summary of expected testimony at the public hearing and for filing pre-hearing submissions is extended from July 27 to August 13, 2018.

September 6, 2018: The due date for submission of written comments is extended from August 17 to September 6, 2018.

August 20-23, 2018: The scheduled start date of the Section 301 hearing (August 20) has not changed. The Section 301 Committee may extend the length of the hearing depending on the number of additional interested persons who request to appear. The Section 301 Committee will convene the 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 August 20, 2018.

September 6, 2018: The due date for submission of post-hearing rebuttal comments is extended from August 30 to September 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in sections E and F of the July 17th notice. The docket number—USTR-2018-0026—has not changed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For questions about the ongoing investigation or proposed action, contact Arthur Tsao, Assistant General Counsel, or Justin Hoffmann, Director of Industrial Goods, at [phone]. For questions on customs classification of products, contact [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

In the July 17th notice, the Trade Representative proposed modifying the action in this investigation by maintaining the original $34 billion action and the proposed $16 billion action, and by taking a further, supplemental action. In particular, the Trade Representative proposed a supplemental action of an additional 10 percent ad valorem duty on products of China covered in a list of 6,031 tariff subheadings in the Annex to the July 17th notice.

On August 1, 2018, the Trade Representative announced that the President directed the Trade Representative to consider increasing the proposed level of the additional duty from 10 percent to 25 percent. This additional 25 percent duty would be applied to the proposed list of products in the Annex to the July 17th notice. The possible increase in the proposed rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the Administration with additional options to obtain the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices covered in the investigation.

B. Request for Public Comments and Hearing Participation

Subject to the modified due dates set out above, the procedures for submission of public comments and requests to participate in the public hearing set out in sections E and F of the July 17th notice continue to apply. Interested persons are invited to include comments in their written submissions and oral testimony on the possible imposition of a 25 percent additional duty. In the event an interested person already has provided written comments and wishes to provide further comments in light of the possible increase in the rate of additional duty, the submitter may file a supplemental comment.

Robert E. Lighthizer,

United States Trade Representative.