Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review To Consider the Designation of East Timor as a Least Developed Beneficiary Developing Country Under the GSP, 43543-43545 [E6-12297]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 147 / Tuesday, August 1, 2006 / Notices
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cornelius F. Holden,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 06–6597 Filed 7–31–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Notice of Difficulty in Receiving
Petitions for the 2006 Annual GSP
Product and Country Practices Review
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of difficulty in receiving
petitions for the 2006 Annual GSP
Product and Country Practices Review.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice identifies those
petitions that the Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR)
received by the deadline of July 20,
2006, for consideration in the 2006
Annual Review. Because of technical
difficulties in receiving petitions, USTR
requests parties who submitted petitions
prior to July 20, 2006, to review the list
of petitioners included in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION and to
notify the USTR of any petitions that
were submitted to the GSP
Subcommittee by 5 p.m., July 20, 2006,
but not included in that list.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The
GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, Office of the United
States Trade Representative, 1724 F
Street, NW., Room F–220, Washington,
DC 20508. The telephone number is
(202) 395–6971, the facsimile number is
(202) 395–9481, and the e-mail address
is FR0618@USTR.EOP.GOV.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June
29, 2006, USTR published a request for
petitions for the 2006 Annual GSP
Product and Country Practices Review
(71 FR 37129, June 29, 2006). Because
of technical problems, USTR may not
have received all the petitions which
were submitted. We did receive
petitions from the following parties:
ANFACER (Brazilian Association of
Ceramic Tile Manufacturers), The Home
Depot, the International Intellectual
Property Association (IIPA), AFL–CIO,
and R&J Trading International
Company, Inc. Parties that can verify
submission of a petition not included in
this list should call the GSP
Subcommittee at (202) 395–6971 and
then resubmit the petition to
FR0618@USTR.EOP.GOV. Parties must
also include proof that the petition was
transmitted by e-mail to the GSP
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Subcommittee by the July 20, 2006,
deadline. Such documentation may
include a copy of the original e-mail
transmitting the petition, indicating the
original date and time, from a ‘‘sent
message’’ folder. The deadline for resubmitting any petitions meeting these
criteria is 5 p.m., August 11, 2006.
Public Review: Public versions of all
documents relating to the 2006 Annual
Review will be available for
examination on or before August 21,
2006, by appointment, in the USTR
public reading room, 1724 F Street,
NW., Washington, DC. Appointments
may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon
and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday, by calling (202) 395–6186.
Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review
in order to make a recommendation to
the President as to whether East Timor
meets the eligibility criteria of the GSP
statute, as set out below. After
considering the eligibility criteria, the
President is authorized to designate East
Timor as a least developed beneficiary
developing country for purposes of the
GSP.
Interested parties are invited to
submit comments regarding the
eligibility of East Timor for designation
as a least developed beneficiary
developing country. Documents should
be submitted in accordance with the
instructions below to be considered in
this review.
Marideth Sandler,
Executive Director GSP, Chairman, GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee.
[FR Doc. E6–12313 Filed 7–31–06; 8:45 am]
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP program
are available to any country that the
President designates as a GSP
‘‘beneficiary developing country.’’
Additional trade benefits under the GSP
are available to any country that the
President designates as a GSP ‘‘leastdeveloped beneficiary developing
country.’’ In designating countries as
GSP beneficiary developing countries,
the President must consider the criteria
in sections 502(b)(2) and 502(c) of the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19
U.S.C. 2462(b)(2), 2462(c)) (‘‘the Act’’).
Section 502(b)(2) provides that a
country is ineligible for designation if:
1. Such country is a Communist
country, unless—
(a) The products of such country
receive nondiscriminatory treatment, (b)
Such country is a WTO Member (as
such term is defined in section 2(10) of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19
U.S.C. 3501(10)) and a member of the
International Monetary Fund, and (c)
Such country is not dominated or
controlled by international communism.
2. Such country is a party to an
arrangement of countries and
participates in any action pursuant to
such arrangement, the effect of which
is—
(a) To withhold supplies of vital
commodity resources from international
trade or to raise the price of such
commodities to an unreasonable level,
and (b) To cause serious disruption of
the world economy.
3. Such country affords preferential
treatment to the products of a developed
country, other than the United States,
which has, or is likely to have, a
significant adverse effect on United
States commerce.
4. Such country—
(a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or
otherwise seized ownership or control
of property, including patents,
trademarks, or copyrights, owned by a
BILLING CODE 3190–W6–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Initiation of a Review To
Consider the Designation of East
Timor as a Least Developed
Beneficiary Developing Country Under
the GSP
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public
comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
initiation of a review to consider the
designation of East Timor as a least
developed beneficiary developing
country under the GSP program and
solicits public comment relating to the
designation criteria. Comments are due
on August 25, 2006, in accordance with
the requirements for submissions,
explained below.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by
electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0618@ustr.eop.gov. For assistance or
if unable to submit comments by e-mail,
contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office of
the United States Trade Representative;
USTR Annex, Room F–220; 1724 F
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508
(Tel. 202–395–6971).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office
of the United States Trade
Representative; USTR Annex, Room F–
220; 1724 F Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20508 (Telephone: 202–395–6971,
Facsimile: 202–395–9481).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 147 / Tuesday, August 1, 2006 / Notices
United States citizen or by a
corporation, partnership, or association
which is 50 percent or more beneficially
owned by United States citizens, (b) Has
taken steps to repudiate or nullify an
existing contract or agreement with a
United States citizen or a corporation,
partnership, or association which is 50
percent or more beneficially owned by
United States citizens, the effect of
which is to nationalize, expropriate, or
otherwise seize ownership or control of
property, including patents, trademarks,
or copyrights, so owned, or (c) Has
imposed or enforced taxes or other
exactions, restrictive maintenance or
operational conditions, or other
measures with respect to property,
including patents, trademarks, or
copyrights, so owned, the effect of
which is to nationalize, expropriate, or
otherwise seize ownership or control of
such property, unless the President
determines that—
(i) Prompt, adequate, and effective
compensation has been or is being made
to the citizen, corporation, partnership,
or association referred to above, (ii)
Good faith negotiations to provide
prompt, adequate, and effective
compensation under the applicable
provisions of international law are in
progress, or the country is otherwise
taking steps to discharge its obligations
under international law with respect to
such citizen, corporation, partnership,
or association, or (iii) A dispute
involving such citizen, corporation,
partnership, or association over
compensation for such a seizure has
been submitted to arbitration under the
provisions of the Convention for the
Settlement of Investment Disputes, or in
another mutually agreed upon forum,
and the President promptly furnishes a
copy of such determination to the
Senate and House of Representatives.
5. Such country fails to act in good
faith in recognizing as binding or in
enforcing arbitral awards in favor of
United States citizens or a corporation,
partnership, or association which is 50
percent or more beneficially owned by
United States citizens, which have been
made by arbitrators appointed for each
case or by permanent arbitral bodies to
which the parties involved have
submitted their dispute.
6. Such country aids or abets, by
granting sanctuary from prosecution to,
any individual or group which has
committed an act of international
terrorism or the Secretary of State makes
a determination with respect to such
country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the
Export Administration Act of 1979 (50
U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or
such country has not taken steps to
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support the efforts of the United States
to combat terrorism.
7. Such country has not taken or is
not taking steps to afford internationally
recognized worker rights to workers in
the country (including any designated
zone in that country).
8. Such country has not implemented
its commitments to eliminate the worst
forms of child labor.
Section 502(c) provides that, in
determining whether to designate any
country as a GSP beneficiary developing
country, the President shall take into
account:
1. An expression by such country of
its desire to be so designated;
2. The level of economic development
of such country, including its per capita
gross national product, the living
standards of its inhabitants, and any
other economic factors which the
President deems appropriate;
3. Whether or not other major
developed countries are extending
generalized preferential tariff treatment
to such country;
4. The extent to which such country
has assured the United States that it will
provide equitable and reasonable access
to the markets and basic commodity
resources of such country and the extent
to which such country has assured the
United States that it will refrain from
engaging in unreasonable export
practices;
5. The extent to which such country
is providing adequate and effective
protection of intellectual property
rights;
6. The extent to which such country
has taken action to—
(a) Reduce trade distorting investment
practices and policies (including export
performance requirements); and (b)
Reduce or eliminate barriers to trade in
services; and
7. Whether or not such country has
taken or is taking steps to afford to
workers in that country (including any
designated zone in that country)
internationally recognized worker
rights. Note that the Trade Act of 2002
amended paragraph (D) of the definition
of the term ‘‘internationally recognized
worker rights,’’ which now includes: (A)
The right of association; (B) the right to
organize and bargain collectively; (C) a
prohibition on the use of any form of
forced or compulsory labor; (D) a
minimum age for the employment of
children and a prohibition on the worst
forms of child labor as defined in
paragraph (6) of section 507(4) of the
Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of
work with respect to minimum wages,
hours of work, and occupational safety
and health.
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To designate a country as a leastdeveloped beneficiary developing
country, the President must consider the
criteria in section 502(c), as well as the
criteria in section 501 of the Act.
Section 501 provides that, in extending
preferences under the GSP, the
President shall have due regard for:
1. The effect such action will have on
furthering the economic development of
developing countries through the
expansion of their exports.
2. The extent to which other major
developed countries are undertaking a
comparable effort to assist developing
countries by granting generalized
preferences with respect to imports of
products of such countries.
3. The anticipated impact of such
action on United States producers of
like or directly competitive products.
4. The extent of the beneficiary
developing country’s competitiveness
with respect to eligible articles.
Requirements for Submissions
All submissions must conform to the
GSP regulations set forth at 15 CFR Part
2007, except as modified below.
Comments must be submitted, in
English, to the Chairman of the GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) as soon as possible,
but not later than 5 p.m., August 25,
2006.
In order to facilitate prompt
consideration of submissions, USTR
strongly prefers electronic e-mail
submissions in response to this notice.
Hand-delivered submissions will not be
accepted. E-mail submissions should be
single-copy transmissions in English
with the total submission, including
attachments, not to exceed 30 singlespaced standard letter-size pages using
12-point type. The e-mail transmission
should use the following subject line:
‘‘East Timor GSP Eligibility Review’’.
Documents must be submitted as either
MSWord (‘‘.doc’’), WordPerfect
(‘‘.wpd’’), or text (‘‘.txt’’) files.
Documents submitted as electronic
image files or containing imbedded
images (for example, ‘‘.jpg’’, ‘‘.pdf’’,
‘‘.bmp’’, ‘‘.tif’’, or ‘‘.gif’’) will not be
accepted. Spreadsheets submitted as
supporting documentation are
acceptable as Excel files, pre-formatted
for printing only on 81⁄2 x 11 inch paper.
To the extent possible, any data
attachments to the submission should
be included in the same file as the
submission itself, and not as separate
files.
Submissions in response to this notice
will be subject to public inspection by
appointment with the staff of the USTR
Public Reading Room except for
information granted ‘‘business
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 147 / Tuesday, August 1, 2006 / Notices
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
confidential’’ status pursuant to 15 CFR
2003.6.
If the submission contains business
confidential information, a nonconfidential version of the submission
must also be submitted that indicates
where confidential information was
redacted by inserting asterisks where
material was deleted. In addition, the
confidential version must be clearly
marked ‘‘Business Confidential’’ at the
top and bottom of each page of the
document. The non-confidential version
must be clearly marked ‘‘Public’’ or
‘‘Non-Confidential’’ at the top and
bottom of each page. Documents that are
submitted without any marking might
not be accepted or will be considered
public documents.
For any document containing
business confidential information
submitted as an electronic attached file
to an e-mail transmission, the file name
of the business confidential version
should begin with the characters
‘‘BC–’’, and the file name of the public
version should begin with the character
‘‘P–’’. The ‘‘BC–’’ or ‘‘P–’’ should be
followed by the name of the party
(government, company, union,
association, etc.) which is submitting
the comments.
E-mail submissions should not
include separate cover letters or
messages in the message area of the email; information that might appear in
any cover letter should be included
directly in the attached file containing
the submission itself, including the
sender’s identifying information with
telephone number, fax number, and email address. The e-mail address for
these submissions is
FR0618@ustr.eop.gov. Documents not
submitted in accordance with these
instructions might not be considered in
this review. If unable to provide
submissions by e-mail, please contact
the GSP Subcommittee to arrange for an
alternative method of transmission.
Public versions of all documents
relating to this review will be available
for public review approximately three
weeks after the due date by appointment
in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724
F Street, NW., Washington, DC.
Availability of documents may be
ascertained, and appointments may be
made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m.
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, by
calling 202–395–6186.
Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program,
Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade
Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E6–12297 Filed 7–31–06; 8:45 am]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–54216; File No. SR–CBOE–
2006–58]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
Chicago Board Options Exchange,
Incorporated; Notice of Filing of a
Proposed Rule Change and
Amendment No. 1 Thereto Regarding
DPM and E–DPM Membership
Ownership Requirements and the
Ultimate Matching Algorithm
July 26, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on June 14,
2006, the Chicago Board Options
Exchange, Incorporated (‘‘CBOE’’ or the
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I, II, and
III below, which Items have been
substantially prepared by the Exchange.
The CBOE filed Amendment No. 1 to
the proposed rule change on July 18,
2006.3 The Commission is publishing
this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested
persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
CBOE proposes to amend CBOE Rules
relating to membership ownership
requirements. CBOE also proposes to
amend the provisions of CBOE Rules
6.45A and 6.45B which provide that a
DPM or Lead Market Maker (‘‘LMM’’)
utilizing more than one membership in
the trading crowd where a class is
traded will count as two market
participants for purposes of Component
A of the Ultimate Matching Algorithm
(‘‘UMA’’). The text of the proposed rule
change is available on the Exchange’s
Web site (https://www.cboe.com), at the
Office of the Secretary, CBOE and at the
Commission’s Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of those
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 Amendment No. 1 replaced and superseded the
original filing in its entirety.
PO 00000
43545
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
CBOE Rules 8.85 and 8.92 require that
a DPM organization and e-DPM
organization, respectively, own a certain
number of Exchange memberships.
Specifically, with respect to DPM
organizations, CBOE Rule 8.85 requires
that each DPM organization own one
Exchange membership for each trading
location at which the organization
serves as a DPM. CBOE Rule 8.92
requires that until July 12, 2007, each
e-DPM organization is required to own
one Exchange membership for every 30
products allocated to the e-DPM, or
lease one Exchange membership for
every 20 products allocated to the
e-DPM.4
CBOE proposes to modify these
membership ownership requirements in
connection with the Exchange’s
determination to apply a specific
‘‘appointment cost’’ to each options
class allocated to a DPM organization or
an e-DPM organization. With respect to
DPM organizations, CBOE Rule 8.85, as
proposed to be amended, would require
that each DPM organization own one
Exchange membership, and own or
lease such additional Exchange
memberships as may be necessary based
on the aggregate ‘‘appointment cost’’ for
the classes allocated to the DPM
organization. Each membership owned
or leased by the DPM organization
would have an appointment credit of
1.0. The appointment costs for the
Hybrid 2.0 Option Classes and the NonHybrid Classes allocated to the DPM
organization would be the same as the
appointment costs set forth in CBOE
Rule 8.3. The appointment cost for
Hybrid Option Classes would be .01 per
class.
For example, if the DPM organization
has been allocated such number of
options classes that its aggregate
appointment cost is 1.6, the DPM
organization would be required to own
at least one Exchange membership, and
own or lease one additional Exchange
membership. As it currently does for
purposes of Remote Market Maker
(‘‘RMMs’’) and Market-Maker
1 15
2 17
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4 After July 12, 2007, each e-DPM organization is
required to own one Exchange membership for
every 30 products allocated to the e-DPM.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43543-43545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12297]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review
To Consider the Designation of East Timor as a Least Developed
Beneficiary Developing Country Under the GSP
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider
the designation of East Timor as a least developed beneficiary
developing country under the GSP program and solicits public comment
relating to the designation criteria. Comments are due on August 25,
2006, in accordance with the requirements for submissions, explained
below.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0618@ustr.eop.gov. For assistance or if unable to submit comments by
e-mail, contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United States Trade
Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724 F Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20508 (Tel. 202-395-6971).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office
of the United States Trade Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724
F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508 (Telephone: 202-395-6971,
Facsimile: 202-395-9481).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review in order to make a
recommendation to the President as to whether East Timor meets the
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute, as set out below. After
considering the eligibility criteria, the President is authorized to
designate East Timor as a least developed beneficiary developing
country for purposes of the GSP.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments regarding the
eligibility of East Timor for designation as a least developed
beneficiary developing country. Documents should be submitted in
accordance with the instructions below to be considered in this review.
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP program are available to any country
that the President designates as a GSP ``beneficiary developing
country.'' Additional trade benefits under the GSP are available to any
country that the President designates as a GSP ``least-developed
beneficiary developing country.'' In designating countries as GSP
beneficiary developing countries, the President must consider the
criteria in sections 502(b)(2) and 502(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(b)(2), 2462(c)) (``the Act''). Section
502(b)(2) provides that a country is ineligible for designation if:
1. Such country is a Communist country, unless--
(a) The products of such country receive nondiscriminatory
treatment, (b) Such country is a WTO Member (as such term is defined in
section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19 U.S.C. 3501(10))
and a member of the International Monetary Fund, and (c) Such country
is not dominated or controlled by international communism.
2. Such country is a party to an arrangement of countries and
participates in any action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect of
which is--
(a) To withhold supplies of vital commodity resources from
international trade or to raise the price of such commodities to an
unreasonable level, and (b) To cause serious disruption of the world
economy.
3. Such country affords preferential treatment to the products of a
developed country, other than the United States, which has, or is
likely to have, a significant adverse effect on United States commerce.
4. Such country--
(a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise seized ownership
or control of property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights,
owned by a
[[Page 43544]]
United States citizen or by a corporation, partnership, or association
which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United States
citizens, (b) Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify an existing
contract or agreement with a United States citizen or a corporation,
partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more beneficially
owned by United States citizens, the effect of which is to nationalize,
expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of property,
including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, or (c) Has
imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive maintenance
or operational conditions, or other measures with respect to property,
including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, the effect of
which is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or
control of such property, unless the President determines that--
(i) Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is
being made to the citizen, corporation, partnership, or association
referred to above, (ii) Good faith negotiations to provide prompt,
adequate, and effective compensation under the applicable provisions of
international law are in progress, or the country is otherwise taking
steps to discharge its obligations under international law with respect
to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or (iii) A
dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or
association over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and
the President promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the
Senate and House of Representatives.
5. Such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their
dispute.
6. Such country aids or abets, by granting sanctuary from
prosecution to, any individual or group which has committed an act of
international terrorism or the Secretary of State makes a determination
with respect to such country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or
such country has not taken steps to support the efforts of the United
States to combat terrorism.
7. Such country has not taken or is not taking steps to afford
internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country
(including any designated zone in that country).
8. Such country has not implemented its commitments to eliminate
the worst forms of child labor.
Section 502(c) provides that, in determining whether to designate
any country as a GSP beneficiary developing country, the President
shall take into account:
1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
2. The level of economic development of such country, including its
per capita gross national product, the living standards of its
inhabitants, and any other economic factors which the President deems
appropriate;
3. Whether or not other major developed countries are extending
generalized preferential tariff treatment to such country;
4. The extent to which such country has assured the United States
that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and
basic commodity resources of such country and the extent to which such
country has assured the United States that it will refrain from
engaging in unreasonable export practices;
5. The extent to which such country is providing adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights;
6. The extent to which such country has taken action to--
(a) Reduce trade distorting investment practices and policies
(including export performance requirements); and (b) Reduce or
eliminate barriers to trade in services; and
7. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in
that country) internationally recognized worker rights. Note that the
Trade Act of 2002 amended paragraph (D) of the definition of the term
``internationally recognized worker rights,'' which now includes: (A)
The right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain
collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or
compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children and
a prohibition on the worst forms of child labor as defined in paragraph
(6) of section 507(4) of the Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of work
with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety
and health.
To designate a country as a least-developed beneficiary developing
country, the President must consider the criteria in section 502(c), as
well as the criteria in section 501 of the Act. Section 501 provides
that, in extending preferences under the GSP, the President shall have
due regard for:
1. The effect such action will have on furthering the economic
development of developing countries through the expansion of their
exports.
2. The extent to which other major developed countries are
undertaking a comparable effort to assist developing countries by
granting generalized preferences with respect to imports of products of
such countries.
3. The anticipated impact of such action on United States producers
of like or directly competitive products.
4. The extent of the beneficiary developing country's
competitiveness with respect to eligible articles.
Requirements for Submissions
All submissions must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15
CFR Part 2007, except as modified below. Comments must be submitted, in
English, to the Chairman of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as possible, but not later than 5 p.m.,
August 25, 2006.
In order to facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR
strongly prefers electronic e-mail submissions in response to this
notice. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. E-mail
submissions should be single-copy transmissions in English with the
total submission, including attachments, not to exceed 30 single-spaced
standard letter-size pages using 12-point type. The e-mail transmission
should use the following subject line: ``East Timor GSP Eligibility
Review''. Documents must be submitted as either MSWord (``.doc''),
WordPerfect (``.wpd''), or text (``.txt'') files. Documents submitted
as electronic image files or containing imbedded images (for example,
``.jpg'', ``.pdf'', ``.bmp'', ``.tif'', or ``.gif'') will not be
accepted. Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation are
acceptable as Excel files, pre-formatted for printing only on 8\1/2\ x
11 inch paper. To the extent possible, any data attachments to the
submission should be included in the same file as the submission
itself, and not as separate files.
Submissions in response to this notice will be subject to public
inspection by appointment with the staff of the USTR Public Reading
Room except for information granted ``business
[[Page 43545]]
confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6.
If the submission contains business confidential information, a
non-confidential version of the submission must also be submitted that
indicates where confidential information was redacted by inserting
asterisks where material was deleted. In addition, the confidential
version must be clearly marked ``Business Confidential'' at the top and
bottom of each page of the document. The non-confidential version must
be clearly marked ``Public'' or ``Non-Confidential'' at the top and
bottom of each page. Documents that are submitted without any marking
might not be accepted or will be considered public documents.
For any document containing business confidential information
submitted as an electronic attached file to an e-mail transmission, the
file name of the business confidential version should begin with the
characters ``BC-'', and the file name of the public version should
begin with the character ``P-''. The ``BC-'' or ``P-'' should be
followed by the name of the party (government, company, union,
association, etc.) which is submitting the comments.
E-mail submissions should not include separate cover letters or
messages in the message area of the e-mail; information that might
appear in any cover letter should be included directly in the attached
file containing the submission itself, including the sender's
identifying information with telephone number, fax number, and e-mail
address. The e-mail address for these submissions is
FR0618@ustr.eop.gov. Documents not submitted in accordance with these
instructions might not be considered in this review. If unable to
provide submissions by e-mail, please contact the GSP Subcommittee to
arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be
available for public review approximately three weeks after the due
date by appointment in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724 F Street,
NW., Washington, DC. Availability of documents may be ascertained, and
appointments may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, by calling 202-395-6186.
Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of
the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E6-12297 Filed 7-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P
