Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors

AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Institution of investigation and scheduling of public hearing.

SUMMARY:

Following receipt on November 5, 2015 of a request from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Commission has instituted investigation No. TPA-105-001, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors, under section 105(c) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4204(c)), for the purpose of assessing the likely impact of the Agreement on the U.S. economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors and the interests of U.S. consumers. In addition to the United States, the Agreement includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

DATES:

December 22, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public hearing.

December 29, 2015: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and statements.

January 13, 2016: Public hearing.

January 22, 2016: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and statements.

February 15, 2016: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.

May 18, 2016: Anticipated date for transmitting Commission report to the President and Congress.

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 https://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Project Leader Jose Signoret (202-205-3125 or jose.signoret@usitc.gov) or Deputy Project Leader Laura Bloodgood (202-708-4726 or laura.bloodgood@usitc.gov) for information specific to this investigation. 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 william.gearhart@usitc.gov). The media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations (202-205-1819 or margaret.olaughlin@usitc.gov). 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 Internet server ( 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.

Background

On November 5, 2015, the Commission received a letter from the USTR stating that the President notified Congress, also on November 5, 2015, of his intent to enter into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement with the countries of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. As requested by the USTR and as required by section 105(c) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (2015 Act), the Commission will submit to the President and Congress a report assessing the likely impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement on the U.S. economy as a whole and on specific industry sectors and the interests of U.S. consumers. In assessing the likely impact, the Commission will include the impact the agreement will have on the U.S. gross domestic product; exports and imports; aggregate employment and employment opportunities; and the production, employment, and competitive position of industries likely to be significantly affected by the agreement. In preparing its assessment, the Commission will also review available economic assessments regarding the Agreement, including literature concerning any substantially equivalent proposed agreement. The Commission will provide a description of the analytical methods used and conclusions drawn in such literature, and a discussion of areas of consensus and divergence between the Commission's analyses and conclusions and other economic assessments reviewed.

Section 105(c)(2) of the 2015 Act requires that the Commission submit its report to the President and the Congress not later than 105 days after the President enters into the agreement. The USTR requested that the Commission provide the report as soon as possible. Section 105(c)(4) of the 2015 Act requires the President to make the Commission's assessment under section 105(c)(2) available to the public.

Public Hearing

The Commission will hold a public hearing in connection with this investigation at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on January 13, 2016, and continuing on additional days, if necessary. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed with the Secretary no later than 5:15 p.m., December 22, 2015. All pre-hearing briefs and statements must be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., December 29, 2015; and all post-hearing briefs and statements, which should focus on matters raised at the hearing, must be filed not later than 5:15 p.m., January 22, 2016. In order to appear at the hearing, all interested parties and other persons appearing must file a pre-hearing brief or statement that sets forth the information and arguments they intend to present at the hearing. An extension of time for filing requests to appear, pre-hearing and post-hearing statements, and all other written submissions will not be granted unless the Chairman determines that the condition for granting an extension of time in section 201.14(b)(2) of the Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.14(b)(2)) is met. All requests to appear and all pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs and statements should otherwise be filed in accordance with the requirements in the “Written Submissions” section below. In the event that, as of the close of business on December 22, 2015, no witnesses are scheduled to appear at the hearing, the hearing will be canceled. Any person interested in attending the hearing as an observer or nonparticipant should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000 after December 22, 2015, for information concerning whether the hearing will be held.

Written Submissions

In lieu of or in addition to participating in the hearing, interested parties are invited to file written submissions concerning this investigation. All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary. Except in the case of requests to appear at the hearing and pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs and statements, all written submissions should be received not later than 5:15 p.m., February 15, 2016. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures requires 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 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. Any confidential business information received by the Commission in this investigation and used in preparing this report will not be published in a manner that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the information.

Summaries of Written Submissions

The Commission intends to publish summaries of the positions of interested persons in an appendix to its report. Persons wishing to have a summary of their position included in the appendix should include a summary with either their pre-hearing or post-hearing brief or another written submission, or as a separate written submission, and the summary must be clearly marked on its front page as being their “summary of position for inclusion in the appendix to the Commission's report.” 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.