2015-09640. Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act: Impact on U.S. Industries and Consumers and on Beneficiary Countries, 22nd Report

AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Notice of opportunity to submit information in connection with the 22nd report.

SUMMARY:

The Commission is inviting the public to submit information in writing in connection with the preparation of its 22nd report under section 215 of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2704), which requires the Commission to report biennially to the Congress and the President by September 30 of each reporting year on the economic impact of the Act on U.S. industries and U.S. consumers and on the economy of the beneficiary countries. The report is being prepared under Commission investigation No. 332-227, Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act: Impact on U.S. Industries and Consumers and on Beneficiary Countries. The report will cover trade during calendar years 2013 and 2014, and will be transmitted to the Congress and the President by September 30, 2015.

DATES:

June 1, 2015: Deadline for filing written submissions.

September 30, 2015: Transmittal of Commission report to Congress and the President.

ADDRESSES:

All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC. All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://www.usitc.gov/​secretary/​edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Justino De La Cruz (202-205-3252 or [e-mail]) or Wen Jin Yuan (202-205-2383 or [e-mail]) Country and Regional Analysis Division, Office of Economics, U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20436. For information on the legal aspects of this investigation, contact William Gearhart of the Commission's Office of the General Counsel (202-205-3091 or [e-mail]). The media should contact Peg O'Laughlin, Public Affairs Officer (202-205-1819 or [e-mail]). Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its Web site at http://www.usitc.gov. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background: Section 215(a)(1) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) (19 U.S.C. 2704(a)(1)) requires that the Commission submit biennial reports to the Congress and the President regarding the economic impact of the Act on U.S. industries and consumers, and on the economy of the beneficiary countries. Section 215(b)(1) requires that the reports include, but not be limited to, an assessment regarding:

(A) The actual effect, during the period covered by the report, of [CBERA] on the United States economy generally, as well as on those specific domestic industries which produce articles that are like, or directly competitive with, articles being imported into the United States from beneficiary countries; and

(B) the probable future effect which this Act will have on the United States economy generally, as well as on such domestic industries, before the provisions of this Act terminate.

The report will cover trade with Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. The President designated Curaçao as a beneficiary country for purposes of CBERA and CBTPA on December 31, 2013.

Notice of institution of the investigation was published in the Federal Register of May 14, 1986 (51 FR 17678). The Commission plans to transmit the 22nd report, covering calendar years 2013 and 2014, by September 30, 2015.

Written Submissions: Interested parties are invited to submit information in writing concerning this report. All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, and should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., June 1, 2015. All written submissions must conform to the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures require that interested parties file documents electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. In the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the confidential information must be deleted (see the following paragraph for further information regarding confidential business information). Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Secretary (202-205-2000).

Any submissions that contain confidential business information (CBI) must also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages be clearly marked as to whether they are the “confidential” or “non-confidential” version, and that the confidential business information be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be made available for inspection by interested parties.

The Commission intends to publish only a public report in this investigation. Accordingly, any CBI received by the Commission in this investigation will not be published in a manner that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information. The report will be made available to the public on the Commission's Web site.

Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish, in an appendix to the report, summaries of positions provided by interested persons in their written submissions. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position included in the appendix should include a summary with their written submission. The summary may not exceed 500 words, should be in MSWord format or a format that can be easily converted to MSWord, and should not include any confidential business information. The summary will be published as provided if it meets these requirements and is germane to the subject matter of the investigation. In the appendix the Commission will identify the name of the organization furnishing the summary, and will include a link to the Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) where the full written submission can be found.

Issued: April 21, 2015.

By order of the Commission.

Lisa R. Barton,

Secretary to the Commission.