The investigation, Economywide Simulation Modeling: Technical Analysis of the Doha Round, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received May 25, 2005.

In the letter, the USTR noted that the Administration is conducting an environmental review of a proposed trade agreement for the Doha Round. He requested that, as a contribution to the ongoing environmental review process, the Commission provide information that could contribute to the estimation and examination of the economic effects of the trade agreement so as to assist the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TSPC) in its environmental review of the proposed agreement.

As requested, the ITC, an independent, factfinding, federal agency, will quantify the expected changes in production, consumption, trade, and prices that may be associated with the Doha Round, with regional and sectoral aggregations appropriate to illustrate those changes. The Commission will also provide those estimates for scenarios, to the extent possible, that reflect a range of possible outcomes with respect to market access for all products and trade-distorting domestic assistance programs and export subsidies related to agriculture, to be informed by the "July package" agreed to by the WTO's General Council on August 1, 2004.

The ITC will submit its report, which will be confidential, to USTR by March 27, 2006.

The ITC will not hold a hearing in connection with this investigation, but it welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions (one original and 14 copies) should be submitted at the earliest practical date but no later than 5:15 p.m. on November 30, 2005. All written submissions except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.

Further information on the scope of the investigation and appropriate submissions is available in the ITC's notice of investigation, dated June 29, 2005, which can be downloaded from the ITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or 202-205-1816.

ITC 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 Senate Committee on Finance or the House Committee on Ways and Means. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the ITC submits its findings and analyses to the requestor. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless, like this one, they are classified by the requestor for national security reasons.