90 FR 153 pgs. 38877-38879 - Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 153Pages: 38877 - 38879
Pages: 38877, 38878, 38879Docket number: [Docket Number USTR-2025-0010]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-15294 Filed 8-11-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Trade Representative, Office of United States
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2025-0010]
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments
AGENCY:
Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION:
Request for comments and notice of public hearing.
SUMMARY:
[top] The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is seeking public comments in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on Russia's implementation of its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This notice includes the schedule for the
DATES:
October 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EDT: Deadline for submission of pre-hearing written comments, requests to testify, and written testimony, regarding the Russia WTO implementation report.
October 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. EDT: USTR will convene a public hearing to receive oral testimony related to the Russia WTO implementation report, at USTR's building located at 1724 F Street NW, Rooms 1 & 2, Washington, DC. Please be sure to bring required identification if you wish to attend or participate in the hearing.
ADDRESSES:
USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov ( Regulations.gov ). Follow the instructions for submitting comments in sections III and IV below, using docket number USTR-2025-0010. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact Silvia Savich, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Russia and Eurasia, in advance of the relevant deadline at Silvia.Savich@ustr.eop.gov or 202.395.2256.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Silvia Savich, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Russia and Eurasia, at Silvia.Savich@ustr.eop.gov or 202.395.2256.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Russia became a Member of the WTO on August 22, 2012, and on December 21, 2012, following termination of the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and the extension of permanent normal trade relations to the products of Russia, the United States and Russia filed letters with the WTO withdrawing their notices of non-application and consenting to have the WTO Agreement apply between them. In accordance with Section 201(a) of the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-208), USTR is required to submit annually a report to Congress on the extent to which Russia is implementing the WTO Agreement, including the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The report also must assess Russia's progress on acceding to and implementing the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). In addition, to the extent that USTR finds that Russia is not implementing fully any WTO agreement or is not making adequate progress in acceding to the ITA or the GPA, USTR must describe in the report the actions it plans to take to encourage Russia to improve its implementation and/or increase its accession efforts. In accordance with Section 201(a), and to assist it in preparing this year's report, USTR is soliciting public comments. You can find last year's report on USTR's website at: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20Report%20on%20the%20Implementation%20and%20Enforcement%20of%20Russia%E2%80%99s%20WTO%20Commitments%20final.pdf .
The terms of Russia's accession to the WTO are contained in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO (including its annexes) (Protocol). The Report of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation (Working Party Report) provides detail and context to the commitments listed in the Protocol. You can find the Protocol and Working Party Report on USTR's website at https://ustr.gov/node/5887 or on the WTO website at http://docsonline.wto.org (document symbols: WT/ACC/RUS/70, WT/MIN(11)/2, WT/MIN(11)/24, WT/L/839, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.1, WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1, WT/ACC/RUS/70/Add.2, and WT/MIN(11)/2/Add.1.)
II. Hearing Participation
USTR will convene a public hearing to receive oral testimony related to Russia's implementation of its WTO commitments on October 15, 2025.
To ensure participation, you must submit requests to present oral testimony at the hearing and written testimony before midnight on October 1, 2025, via Regulations.gov , using Docket Number USTR-2025-0010. Instructions for submission are in Sections III and IV below. Remarks at the hearing will be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions. Because the hearing will be public, testimony should not include any business confidential information (BCI).
Small businesses (generally defined by the Small Business Administration as firms with fewer than 500 employees) or organizations representing small business members that submit comments should self-identify as such, so that we may be aware of issues of particular interest to small businesses.
Written comments and/or oral testimony should address Russia's implementation of the commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas:
a. Import regulation ( e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses).
b. Export regulation.
c. Subsidies.
d. Standards and technical regulations.
e. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
f. Trade-related investment measures (including local content requirements).
g. Taxes and charges levied on imports and exports.
h. Other internal policies affecting trade (including national treatment/MFN, subsidy commitments, and state-owned, controlled, and trading enterprises).
i. Intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement).
j. Services.
k. Government procurement.
l. Rule of law issues ( e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform administration of laws and regulations).
m. Trade facilitation.
n. Other WTO commitments.
III. Procedures for Written Submissions
To be assured of consideration, submit your pre-hearing written comments, requests to testify, and written testimony by the October 1, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EDT deadline. All submissions must be in English. USTR strongly encourages submissions via Regulations.gov , using Docket Number USTR-2025-0010.
To make a submission via Regulations.gov , enter Docket Number USTR-2025-0010 in the `search for' field on the home page and click `search.' The site will provide a search results page listing all documents associated with this docket. 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' in the `refine documents results' section on the left side of the screen and click the `comment' link.
Regulations.gov allows users to make submissions by filling in a `type comment' field, or by attaching a document using the `upload file' field. USTR prefers that you provide submissions in an attached document and note `see attached' in the comment field on the online submission form. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If you use an application other than those two, please indicate the name of the application in the `type comment' field.
[top] At the beginning of your submission or on the first page (if an attachment),
For further information on using Regulations.gov , please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on `How to Use Regulations.gov ' on the bottom of the home page. USTR may not consider submissions that you do not make in accordance with these instructions.
If you are unable to provide submissions as requested, please contact Silvia Savich, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Russia and Eurasia, in advance of the deadline at Silvia.Savich@ustr.eop.gov or 202.395.2256, to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions. USTR may not consider submissions that you do not make in accordance with these instructions.
General information concerning USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.
IV. Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions
If you ask USTR to treat information you submit as BCI, you must certify that the information is business confidential and you would not customarily release it to the public. For any comments submitted electronically containing BCI, the file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI.' You must clearly mark any page containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' at the top of that page. Filers of submissions containing BCI also must submit a public version of their submission that will be placed in the docket for public inspection. The file name of the public version should begin with the character `P.' Follow the `BCI' and `P' with the name of the individual or organization submitting the comments.
V. Public Viewing of Review Submissions
USTR will post written submissions in the docket for public inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view submissions at Regulations.gov by entering Docket Number USTR-2025-0010 in the search field on the home page.
Edward Marcus,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2025-15294 Filed 8-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F4-P