[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82130-82132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32868]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding China--Subsidies on
Wind Power Equipment
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative
(``USTR'') is providing notice that on December 22, 2010, in accordance
with the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
(``WTO Agreement''), the United States requested consultations
regarding certain subsidies provided by the People's Republic of China
(China) on wind power equipment. The consultation request addresses a
measure of China entitled the ``Provisional Measures on Administration
of Special Fund for Industrialization of Wind Power Equipment'' (``Wind
Power Equipment Fund''). The Wind Power Equipment Fund provides grants
that appear to be contingent on the use of domestic over imported wind
power equipment, and thus appears to be a prohibited subsidy that is
inconsistent with China's obligations under Article 3 of the Agreement
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (``SCM Agreement''). In
addition, as it appears that China has neither made available a
translation of the measure into a WTO official language nor notified it
to the WTO, China appears to have failed to comply with its
transparency obligations under the WTO Agreement. USTR invites written
comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.
DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be
submitted on or before January 31, 2011, to be assured of timely
consideration by USTR.
ADDRESSES: Non-confidential comments (as explained below) should be
submitted electronically via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2010-0036. If you are unable to
provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact
[[Page 82131]]
Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission. If (as explained below) the comments contain confidential
information, the person wishing to submit such comments should contact
Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Garfinkel, Chief Counsel for
China Trade, (202) 395-3150, Joseph Rieras, Assistant General Counsel,
(202) 395-3150, Terry McCartin, Deputy Assistant USTR for China
Affairs, (202) 395-3900, or Jean Kemp, Director, Steel Trade Policy,
(202) 395-5656 for questions concerning the issues in the dispute; or
Sandy McKinzy, Legal Technician, (202) 395-9483, for questions
concerning procedures for filing submissions in response to this
notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is providing notice that the United
States has requested consultations with the Government of China
pursuant to the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes (``DSU''). If the consultations should fail to
resolve the matter and a dispute settlement panel is established
pursuant to the DSU, such panel, which would hold its meetings in
Geneva, Switzerland, would be expected to issue a report on its
findings and recommendations within nine months after it is
established.
The request for consultations follows from the decision of the
United States Trade Representative (``Trade Representative'') to
initiate an investigation under Section 302 of the Trade Act of 1974,
as amended (``Trade Act'') in response to a petition filed by the
United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied
Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO CLC
(``USW''). See Initiation of Section 302 Investigation and Request for
Public Comment: China--Acts, Policies and Practices Affecting Trade and
Investment in Green Technology, 75 FR 64776 (Oct. 20, 2010). In light
of the number and diversity of the acts, policies, and practices
covered by the petition, and after consulting with the petitioner, the
Trade Representative decided, pursuant to Section 303(b) of the Trade
Act, to delay for up to 90 days the request for consultations with the
Government of China for the purpose of verifying and improving the
petition. Id. at 64777.
Since the initiation of the investigation on October 15, 2010, USTR
has sought information and advice from the petitioner and the
appropriate committees established pursuant to section 135 of the Trade
Act, has taken account of the public comments submitted in response to
the October 20, 2010 notice, and has conducted its own research and
worked with other agencies in order to verify and improve the various
claims set out in the USW petition. As a result of those efforts, USTR
has verified and improved claims involving subsidies provided by China
on wind power equipment under its Wind Power Equipment Fund. In
particular, USTR has verified that China's Wind Power Equipment Fund
provides grants that appear to be contingent on the use of domestic
over imported wind power equipment, and thus appears to be a prohibited
subsidy that is inconsistent with China's obligations under Article 3
of the SCM Agreement. In addition, as it appears that China has neither
made available a translation of the measure into a WTO official
language nor notified it to the WTO, China appears to have failed to
comply with its transparency obligations under the WTO Agreement. In
particular, China appears to have failed to comply with its obligations
under Article XVI:1 of the GATT 1994, Article 25 of the SCM Agreement,
and Part I, Paragraph 1.2, of the Protocol on the Accession of the
People's Republic of China (to the extent that it incorporates
paragraph 334 of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of
China).
Accordingly, on December 22, 2010, the United States requested
consultations under the DSU regarding China's Wind Power Equipment
Fund, on the bases described above. The consultation request will be
published on the WTO Web site, http://www.wto.org, under ``Disputes.''
Since the initiation of the investigation on October 15, 2010, USTR
has not been able to verify and improve claims with respect to the
remaining acts, policies, and practices covered in the USW petition.
Those matters are not included in the request for consultations and are
not being continued in the investigation under Section 302(b). However,
the Trade Representative continues to have serious concerns with these
acts, policies and practices and their effects on U.S. workers and
businesses, and will continue to work with the petitioner and other
stakeholders to develop additional information and effective means for
addressing these matters.
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the issues raised in the consultation request. Interested
persons may submit public comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2010-0036. If you are unable to
provide submissions by http://www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
To submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket
number USTR-2010-0036 on the home page and click ``Search.'' The site
will provide a search-results page listing all documents associated
with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting
``Notice'' under ``Document Type.'' Click on the reference to this
notice, and then click ``Submit Comment.'' The http://www.regulations.gov site provides the option of submitting comments by
filling in a ``Type Comment & Upload File'' field, or by attaching a
document. Given the detailed nature of the comments sought by USTR,
interested persons are requested to provide their comments in an
attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type
``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment & Upload File'' field.
A submitter requesting that information contained in a comment be
treated as confidential business information must certify that such
information is business confidential and would not customarily be
released to the public by the submitter. Confidential business
information must be clearly designated as such and the submission must
be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the cover
page and each succeeding page.
USTR may determine that information or advice, other than business
confidential information, is nonetheless confidential. If the submitter
believes that information or advice may qualify as such, the
submitter--
1. Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
2. Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE'' at
the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
3. Must provide a non-confidential summary of the information or
advice.
Any comment containing information that is business confidential or
submitted in confidence must be submitted by fax to Sandy McKinzy at
(202) 395-3640. A non-confidential summary must be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. The non-confidential summary will be placed in the
docket and open to public inspection.
[[Page 82132]]
USTR will maintain a docket on this dispute settlement proceeding
accessible to the public. Comments submitted in response to this notice
will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection pursuant to
15 CFR 2006.13, except confidential business information exempt from
public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15 or information that
USTR determines to be confidential. Comments open to public inspection
may be viewed on http://www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. USTR-
2010-0036.
If a dispute settlement panel is convened and in the event of an
appeal from such a panel, the U.S. submissions, as well as any non-
confidential submissions (or non-confidential summaries of submissions)
received from other participants in the dispute, will be made available
to the public on USTR's Web site at http://www.ustr.gov. The report of
the panel, and, if applicable, the report of the Appellate Body, will
be available on the Web site of the World Trade Organization, http://www.wto.org.
Bradford Ward,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-32868 Filed 12-28-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W1-P