An official website of the United States government. 
News Release 10-052
Inv. No(s). 332-516, 332-517
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched investigations to assess the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment for imports of certain environmental goods and examine U.S. international trade in such products and the competitive conditions facing U.S. environmental goods industries.
The two investigations, Certain Environmental Goods: Probable Economic Effect of Duty-Free Treatment for U.S. Imports and Certain Environmental Goods: U.S. International Trade and Competitive Conditions, were requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on April 16, 2010.
With respect to the first investigation, as requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will update previously provided advice to the President on the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment for imports of certain environmental goods (listed in Annex III of the World Trade Organization (WTO) document TN/TE/19) on U.S. imports, industries in the United States producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers. The USITC will submit its first report, which will be confidential, to the USTR by October 18, 2010.
The USITC will not hold a public hearing in connection with the first investigation, but it welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions (one original and 14 copies) should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436, and should be submitted at the earliest practical date but no later than 5:15 p.m. on July 7, 2010.
With respect to the second investigation, as requested, the USITC will provide an overview of the current state of global environmental goods trade; develop industry, trade, and market information for the items listed in Annex III of the WTO document TN/TE/19; and prepare several case studies on the competitive conditions for selected U.S. environmental goods industries that are of significant export or commercial interest to the United States. The USITC will submit its second report, which will be confidential, to the USTR by February 16, 2011.
The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with its second investigation at 9:30 a.m. on September 28, 2010. The hearing will focus on the competitive conditions of U.S. environmental goods industries. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on September 7, 2010, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. For further information, call 202-205-2000.
The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record for its second investigation. Written submissions (one original and 14 copies) should be addressed to the Secretary at the above address and should be submitted at the earliest practical date but no later than 5:15 p.m. on October 6, 2010. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.
Further information on the scope of these investigations and appropriate submissions is available in the USITC's notice of investigation, dated May 14, 2010, which can be obtained from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subject investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigations reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.
-- 30 --