WASHINGTON – Beginning at 9:30 AM ET on Monday, May 3, 2021 and continuing Thursday, May 6 through Monday, May 10, the interagency Section 301 Committee will hold hearings to receive public comments regarding proposed tariff actions in the Section 301 investigations of Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The schedule of hearings is as follows:
- Monday, May 3, 9:30 AM EST – Multi-jurisdictional hearing;
- Thursday, May 6,
- 9:30 AM EST – United Kingdom;
- 11:00 AM EST – Italy;
- 1:00 PM EST – Spain;
- 2:30 PM EST – Austria;
- Friday, May 7, 9:30 AM EST – Turkey; and
- Monday, May 10, 9:30 AM EST – India.
Witnesses will present direct testimony, which will be followed by questions from the Section 301 Committee.
The hearings are open to the public and will be live streamed at: ustr.gov/live. The witness lists for the hearing on Monday, May 3 is available here. The live-stream links for the subsequent hearings will be posted on USTR’s website. Transcripts will be available after the hearings conclude.
Background: On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative initiated Section 301 investigations of DSTs adopted or under consideration in ten jurisdictions. In January 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative determined that the DSTs in six of these jurisdictions (Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom) are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, and are therefore actionable under Section 301. On March 31, 2021, USTR issued notices requesting public comments and announcing public hearings on proposed trade actions in in the form of additional tariffs of up to 25 percent on specific products of Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The other four DST investigations (of Brazil, the Czech Republic, the EU, and Indonesia) were terminated because these jurisdictions had not adopted or implemented the DSTs under consideration.
WHO: USTR Staff and the interagency Section 301 Committee.
WHAT: Virtual hearings regarding the proposed tariff actions in the Section 301 investigations of DSTs adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
WHEN: 9:30 AM EST, Monday, May 3; 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM EST, Thursday, May 6; 9:30 AM, Friday, May 7; and 9:30 AM, Monday, May 10.
FURTHER INFO: USTR will post witness lists and links to the public live-streams of these hearings on its website in advance of each of the hearings.
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