USTR Airbus Investigation Preliminary_Product_List

15028
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 71 / Friday, April 12, 2019 / Notices
least seven days before the exemption
becomes effective).
An original and 10 copies of all
pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD
36233, must be filed with the Surface
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20423–0001. In
addition, one copy of each pleading
must be served on HR’s representative,
Barry W. Bridgforth, Jr., Bridgforth,
Buntin & Emerson, PLLC, 5293 Getwell
Road, Southaven, MS 38672.
According to HR, this action is
categorically excluded from
environmental review under 49 CFR
1105.6(c) and from historic reporting
requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b).
Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: April 8, 2019.
By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Acting
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2019–07310 Filed 4–11–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR–2019–0003]
Initiation of Investigation; Notice of
Hearing and Request for Public
Comments: Enforcement of U.S. WTO
Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION : Notice of initiation of
investigation, hearing, and request for
comments.
AGENCY :
The United States Trade
Representative (Trade Representative) is
initiating an investigation to enforce
U.S. rights in the World Trade
Organization (WTO) dispute against the
European Union (EU) and certain EU
member States addressed to EU
subsidies on large civil aircraft. The
Trade Representative proposes
determinations that the EU and certain
member States have denied U.S. rights
under the WTO Agreement and have
failed to implement WTO Dispute
Settlement Body recommendations. The
Trade Representative proposes to take
action in the form of additional duties
on products of the EU or certain
member States, to be drawn from the
preliminary list annexed to this Notice.
The interagency Section 301 Committee
is seeking public comments and will
hold a public hearing in connection
with the proposed determinations.
DATES : To be assured of consideration,
the following schedule applies:
SUMMARY :
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:18 Apr 11, 2019
Jkt 247001
May 6, 2019: Due date for submission
of requests to appear at the public
hearing and summary of testimony.
May 15, 2019: 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.
May 28, 2019: Due date for
submission of written comments,
including post-hearing rebuttal
comments.
ADDRESSES : You should submit written
comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments in
sections E and F below. The docket
number is USTR–2019–0003. For issues
with on-line submissions, please contact
the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) Section 301 line
at (202) 395–5725.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT : For
questions about this investigation or
proposed determinations, contact
Megan Grimball, Assistant General
Counsel, at (202) 395–5725. For
questions on customs classification of
products identified in the Annex to this
Notice, contact Traderemedy@
cbp.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
A. Dispute Settlement Proceedings
On October 6, 2004, the United States
requested WTO dispute settlement
consultations with the European
Communities (now the EU), France,
Germany, Spain, and the United
Kingdom (certain member States)
concerning certain subsidies granted by
the EU and certain member States to the
EU large civil aircraft domestic industry,
on the basis that the subsidies appeared
to be inconsistent with their obligations
under the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the
Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures (SCM
Agreement).
Further information on this dispute—
EC and Certain member States—
Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil
Aircraft (DS316), including the original
panel and appellate reports and the
compliance panel and appellate reports
adopted by the DSB, is publicly
available on the WTO website,
including at the following page: https://
www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/
cases_e/ds316_e.htm.
On May 31, 2005, the United States
requested the establishment of a dispute
settlement panel. USTR provided notice
of the establishment of the panel and
PO 00000
Frm 00118
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
invited comments from the public
concerning the issues raised in the
dispute. See 70 FR 35496.
In May 2011, a WTO panel report, as
amended by an Appellate Body report,
confirmed that EU and certain member
State subsidies on the manufacture of
large civil aircraft breached the EU’s
obligations under the SCM Agreement.
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)
adopted the reports on June 1, 2011, and
recommended that the EU and certain
member States bring the WTO-
inconsistent measures into compliance
with WTO rules. The EU and certain
member States had until December 1,
2011, to bring the measures into
compliance.
On December 1, 2011, the EU asserted
that it had implemented the DSB
recommendations. The United States
did not agree, and requested
authorization from the DSB to impose
countermeasures commensurate with
the adverse effects of the WTO-
inconsistent measures. The EU referred
the matter to arbitration to assess the
proper level of any countermeasures.
In early 2012, the United States and
the EU entered into a procedural
agreement pursuant to which the
arbitration would be suspended until
after WTO compliance panel and any
appellate proceedings determined
whether the EU had implemented the
DSB recommendations. On May 28,
2018, the DSB adopted compliance
panel and Appellate Body reports
confirming that launch aid to the Airbus
A380 and A350 XWB aircraft continued
to cause WTO-inconsistent adverse
effects to U.S. interests.
At the request of the United States,
and in accordance with the procedural
agreement, on July 13, 2018, the WTO
Arbitrator resumed its work in
determining the level of
countermeasures to be authorized as a
result of the WTO inconsistencies.
USTR anticipates that the WTO
Arbitrator will issue its report regarding
the level of countermeasures in the
summer of 2019.
B. Initiation of Investigation
Section 302(b) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended, authorizes the Trade
Representative to initiate an
investigation to determine whether
conduct is actionable under section 301
of the Trade Act. Actionable conduct
under section 301(a) includes, inter alia,
the denial of rights of the United States
under any trade agreement.
In order to enforce U.S. WTO rights in
connection with the Large Civil Aircraft
dispute, the Trade Representative is
initiating a section 301 investigation of
the subsidies provided by the EU and
E:\FR\FM\12APN1.SGM
12APN1