May 10 -- Today's notice extends the deadline for written comments to June 23, 2022.
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-10033
Apr 6 -- The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Commerce Department, requests public comments regarding how to advance supply chain resilience and security in key sectors: Semiconductors; solar photovoltaics; critical minerals and materials including rare earth magnets, lithium-ion batteries, and material inputs to semiconductors; and pharmaceuticals to inform the work of the United States-European Union (EU) Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Secure Supply Chains Working Group. The Working Group is tasked with increasing transparency of supply and demand, mapping respective existing sectoral capabilities, exchanging information on policy measures and research and development priorities, and cooperating on strategies to promote supply chain resilience and diversification. The due date for filing comments is May 23, 2022.
On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council at the U.S.-EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium. Together, the United States and the European Union account for a quarter of global trade and almost half of global gross domestic product, with U.S.-EU two-way trade in goods and services amounting to $1.1 trillion in 2019. In support of the continuing growth of U.S.-EU trade and cooperation, the TTC serves as a forum for the United States and the European Union to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic, and technology issues, and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations based on shared democratic values.
The main goals of the TTC are to expand and deepen bilateral trade and investment; avoid new technical barriers to trade; cooperate on key policies regarding technology, digital issues and supply chains; support collaborative research; cooperate on the development of compatible and international standards; cooperate on regulatory policy and enforcement; and promote innovation and leadership by U.S. and EU firms. The TTC's ten working groups provide a framework for tackling challenges and advancing work aligned with some of our shared trade and technology priorities. These include cooperation on technology standards; global trade challenges and supply chain security; climate and clean technology; Information and Communications Technology (ICT) security and competitiveness; data governance and technology platforms; the misuse of technology threatening security and human rights; export controls; investment screening; and access to, and use of, digital technologies by small and medium enterprises.
On September 29, 2021, the U.S.-EU TTC met for the first time. The United States and the European Union reaffirmed the TTC's objectives to coordinate approaches to key global technology, economic, and trade issues; to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations; and base policies on shared democratic values. Under the TTC's Secure Supply Chains Working Group, the United States and the European Union seek to maintain close cooperation on resilient and trusted supply chains that will foster common economic and security goals and strengthen capacities to respond decisively to international disasters and emergencies.
With regard to semiconductors, on September 29, 2021, the United States and the European Union released a statement as part of the TTC, which affirmed the importance of promoting transparency in the semiconductor supply chain in partnership with industry and all relevant stakeholders, jointly identifying gaps and vulnerabilities, mapping capacity in the semiconductor value chain, strengthening our domestic semiconductor ecosystems, avoiding a subsidy race to the bottom, and reducing strategic dependencies throughout the supply chain through diversification and increased investment.
Alongside the dedicated track on semiconductors, the Secure Supply Chains Working Group's initial focus is on solar photovoltaics, critical minerals and materials, and pharmaceuticals. In connection with these sectors, the Secure Supply Chains Working Group seeks to:
a. Increase visibility and transparency of supply and demand;
b. map respective existing sectoral capabilities;
c. exchange information on policy measures and research and development priorities; and
d. cooperate on strategies to promote supply chain resilience, security, and diversification.
BIS welcomes public comments on how best to achieve the four primary tasks of the Secure Supply Chains Working Group described above. While BIS invites input from all interested parties, it is particularly interested in obtaining information from foreign and domestic entities that actively participate in semiconductors, solar photovoltaics, critical minerals and materials, and pharmaceuticals supply chains.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-07211