Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of Reviews and Request for Public Comments, 45079-45080 [E6-12870]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 8, 2006 / Notices
contact the Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC 20555 (301–415–1969).
In addition, distribution of this meeting
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Dated: August 3, 2006.
R. Michelle Schroll,
Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06–6786 Filed 8–4–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–M
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Initiation of Reviews and
Request for Public Comments
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Initiation of Reviews and
Request for Comments on the Eligibility
of Certain GSP Beneficiaries and
Existing Competitive Need Limitation
(CNL) Waivers.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Legislation authorizing the
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) program expires on December 31,
2006. In connection with Congress’
consideration of reauthorization of the
program, the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) requested public
comments on October 6, 2005, relating
to whether the Administration’s
operation of the program should be
changed so that benefits are not focused
on trade from a few countries and that
developing countries that traditionally
have not been major traders under the
program receive benefits. Based on
information obtained thus far, the TPSC
has decided to initiate a further review
and request additional comments to
determine whether major beneficiaries
of the program have expanded exports
or have progressed in their economic
development within the meaning of the
statute to the extent that their eligibility
should be limited, suspended, or
withdrawn, pursuant to section 502(d)
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2462(d)). For the purpose of identifying
beneficiary countries that are subject to
this review and on which we are
seeking comments, the TPSC looked at
a country’s total volume of trade under
the GSP program, the World Bank’s
classification of the country’s level of
income, and the country’s share of
world goods exports. The TPSC is also
conducting a review of existing
competitive need limitation (CNL)
waivers and requesting comments on
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:06 Aug 07, 2006
Jkt 208001
whether any waivers should be
terminated, pursuant to section
503(d)(5) of the Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(d)(5)), because they are no longer
warranted due to changed
circumstances. All public comments
must be received by September 5, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by
electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0052@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 is seeking written
comments on whether to limit, suspend,
or withdraw the eligibility of those GSP
beneficiary countries for which the total
value of U.S. imports under GSP
exceeded $100 million in 2005, and (a)
which the World Bank classified as an
upper-middle-income economy in 2005;
or (b) that accounted for more than 0.25
percent of world goods exports in 2005,
as reported by the World Trade
Organization. Thus, the TPSC is seeking
comments on the eligibility status of the
following GSP beneficiary developing
countries: Argentina, Brazil, Croatia,
India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
Philippines, Romania, Russia, South
Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and
Venezuela. The TPSC is also seeking
comments on whether any of the 83
existing competitive need limitation
(CNL) waivers are no longer warranted
due to changed circumstances.
Country Eligibility Review
The GSP statute authorizes the
President to withdraw, suspend, or limit
the application of duty-free treatment
with respect to any country based on
statutory eligibility criteria. See section
502(d) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(d)).
These criteria include: (1) The effect
such action will have on furthering the
economic development of developing
countries through the expansion of their
exports; (2) the extent of the beneficiary
developing country’s competitiveness
with respect to eligible articles; and (3)
a country’s level of economic
development, including its per capita
gross national product, the living
standards of its inhabitants, and any
other economic factors which the
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
45079
President deems appropriate. The GSP
Subcommittee is seeking comments on
whether the eligibility of any of these
beneficiaries should be limited,
suspended, or withdrawn based on the
statutory eligibility criteria enumerated
in sections 501(1) and (4) and section
502(c)(2) of the Act.
CNL Waiver Review
Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Act sets
out the two competitive need
limitations (CNLs) applicable to eligible
articles from beneficiary developing
countries (other than sub-Saharan
African and least-developed
beneficiaries). When the President
determines that a beneficiary
developing country exported to the
United States during a calendar year
either (1) A quantity of a GSP-eligible
article having a value in excess of the
applicable amount for that year ($120
million for 2005), or (2) a quantity of a
GSP-eligible article having a value equal
to or greater than 50 percent of the value
of total U.S. imports of the article from
all countries (the ‘‘50 percent CNL’’), the
President must terminate GSP duty-free
treatment for that article from that
beneficiary developing country by no
later than July 1 of the next calendar
year.
Under section 503(d) of the 1974 Act,
the President may waive the application
of section 503(c)(2) if the President (1)
Receives the advice of the International
Trade Commission (ITC) on whether
any industry in the United States is
likely to be adversely affected by such
waiver; (2) determines, based on the
considerations in section 501 and 502(c)
of the Act and the advice of the ITC that
such waiver is in the national economic
interest of the United States; and (3)
publishes the determination in the
Federal Register. CNL waivers were first
authorized by Congress in 1984.
Nineteen GSP beneficiaries currently
benefit from 83 CNL waivers. Under
section 503(d)(5) of the Act, a waiver
may be terminated if the President
determines that it is no longer
warranted due to changed
circumstances. The GSP Subcommittee
is seeking comments on whether any of
the 83 existing waivers should be
terminated pursuant to this provision of
the statute. For a list of existing CNL
waivers, see ‘‘CNL Waivers’’, https://
www.ustr.gov/TradelDevelopment/
PreferencelPrograms/GSP/
SectionlIndex.html.
Requirements for Submission
In order to facilitate prompt
processing of submissions, USTR
strongly urges and prefers electronic
e-mail submissions only in response to
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
45080
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 8, 2006 / Notices
this notice. Hand-delivered submissions
will not be accepted. These 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 font. E-mail submissions
should use the following subject line:
‘‘2006 GSP Eligibility and CNL Waiver
Review’’. Comments on CNL waivers
should include the 8-digit tariff number
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). Documents
must be submitted in English in one of
the following formats: MSWord (.DOC),
WordPerfect (.WPD), or text (.TXT) files.
Documents may not be submitted as
electronic image files or contain
imbedded images (for example, ‘‘.JPG’’,
‘‘.TIF’’, ‘‘.PDF’’, ‘‘.BMP’’, or ‘‘.GIF’’).
Supporting documentation submitted as
spreadsheets are acceptable as Excel
files, formatted for printing on 81⁄2 × 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.
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 submission must be clearly
marked ‘‘Business Confidential’’ at the
top and bottom of each page of the
document. The non-confidential version
must also be clearly marked at the top
and bottom of each page (either ‘‘Public
Version’’ or ‘‘Non-Confidential’’).
Documents that are submitted without
any marking 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 characters ‘‘P-’’. The ‘‘ P-’’ or
‘‘BC-’’ should be followed by the name
of the party (government, company,
union, association, etc.) making the
submission.
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 e-mail address and other
identifying information.
The e-mail address for these
submissions is
FR0052@USTR.EOP.GOV. Documents
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:06 Aug 07, 2006
Jkt 208001
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 review approximately two weeks
after the due date 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.
Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program,
Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade
Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E6–12870 Filed 8–7–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W6–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Request for Public Comments
on the Possible Withdrawal or
Suspension of GSP Benefits With
Respect to Romania
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public
comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: As part of an ongoing country
practice review, the GSP Subcommittee
of the Trade Policy Staff Committee
(TPSC) is considering whether to
recommend that duty-free treatment
accorded to imports from Romania
under the U.S. GSP program be
withdrawn or suspended on the grounds
that Romania 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. In addition, Romania
adopted Veterinary Order 95 which
includes requirements that: (1)
Individual U.S. poultry plants must be
approved for export to the EU; and (2)
U.S. poultry producers must abide by
EU welfare rules for slaughter. There are
no EU-approved poultry facilities in the
United States.
The GSP Subcommittee is seeking
public comments on whether, in view of
the information provided in the
petition, implementation of this new
measure, and any additional
information pertaining to the eligibility
criteria set forth in the statute, Romania
no longer meets one or more statutory
criteria for GSP eligibility. All public
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
comments must be received by
Thursday, September 7, 2006.
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
program is authorized pursuant to Title
V of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(‘‘the Trade Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2461 et
seq.). The GSP program grants duty-free
treatment to designated eligible articles
that are imported from designated
beneficiary developing countries. Once
granted, GSP benefits may be
withdrawn, suspended, or limited by
the President with respect to any
country. (19 U.S.C. 2462(d)(1)). Romania
is a designated beneficiary developing
country under the GSP program.
Possible Withdrawal or Suspension of
GSP Benefits for Romania
In 2002, the GSP Subcommittee
received a petition from the Distilled
Spirits Council of the United States and
the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
requesting that Romania’s eligibility for
GSP benefits be terminated because
Romania granted tariff preferences to EU
distilled spirits and certain
pharmaceuticals which have, or are
likely to have, a significant adverse
effect on United States commerce. These
petitions were accepted for review in
the 2005 Annual Review. On June 2,
2006, Romania adopted Veterinary
Order 95. This Order affects all poultry
meat shipments loaded for shipment to
Romania after June 7, 2006, and
includes requirements that: (1)
Individual U.S. poultry plants must be
approved for export to the EU; and (2)
U.S. poultry producers must abide by
EU welfare rules for slaughter. Romania
will allow poultry certified under
previous regulations until August 5,
2006.
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
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45079-45080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12870]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of Reviews
and Request for Public Comments
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Initiation of Reviews and Request for Comments on the
Eligibility of Certain GSP Beneficiaries and Existing Competitive Need
Limitation (CNL) Waivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Legislation authorizing the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) program expires on December 31, 2006. In connection with
Congress' consideration of reauthorization of the program, the Trade
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) requested public comments on October 6,
2005, relating to whether the Administration's operation of the program
should be changed so that benefits are not focused on trade from a few
countries and that developing countries that traditionally have not
been major traders under the program receive benefits. Based on
information obtained thus far, the TPSC has decided to initiate a
further review and request additional comments to determine whether
major beneficiaries of the program have expanded exports or have
progressed in their economic development within the meaning of the
statute to the extent that their eligibility should be limited,
suspended, or withdrawn, pursuant to section 502(d) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462(d)). For the purpose of identifying beneficiary
countries that are subject to this review and on which we are seeking
comments, the TPSC looked at a country's total volume of trade under
the GSP program, the World Bank's classification of the country's level
of income, and the country's share of world goods exports. The TPSC is
also conducting a review of existing competitive need limitation (CNL)
waivers and requesting comments on whether any waivers should be
terminated, pursuant to section 503(d)(5) of the Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(d)(5)), because they are no longer warranted due to changed
circumstances. All public comments must be received by September 5,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0052@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 is seeking written
comments on whether to limit, suspend, or withdraw the eligibility of
those GSP beneficiary countries for which the total value of U.S.
imports under GSP exceeded $100 million in 2005, and (a) which the
World Bank classified as an upper-middle-income economy in 2005; or (b)
that accounted for more than 0.25 percent of world goods exports in
2005, as reported by the World Trade Organization. Thus, the TPSC is
seeking comments on the eligibility status of the following GSP
beneficiary developing countries: Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, India,
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa,
Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela. The TPSC is also seeking comments on
whether any of the 83 existing competitive need limitation (CNL)
waivers are no longer warranted due to changed circumstances.
Country Eligibility Review
The GSP statute authorizes the President to withdraw, suspend, or
limit the application of duty-free treatment with respect to any
country based on statutory eligibility criteria. See section 502(d) of
the Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(d)). These criteria include: (1) The effect
such action will have on furthering the economic development of
developing countries through the expansion of their exports; (2) the
extent of the beneficiary developing country's competitiveness with
respect to eligible articles; and (3) a country's level of economic
development, including its per capita gross national product, the
living standards of its inhabitants, and any other economic factors
which the President deems appropriate. The GSP Subcommittee is seeking
comments on whether the eligibility of any of these beneficiaries
should be limited, suspended, or withdrawn based on the statutory
eligibility criteria enumerated in sections 501(1) and (4) and section
502(c)(2) of the Act.
CNL Waiver Review
Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Act sets out the two competitive need
limitations (CNLs) applicable to eligible articles from beneficiary
developing countries (other than sub-Saharan African and least-
developed beneficiaries). When the President determines that a
beneficiary developing country exported to the United States during a
calendar year either (1) A quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a
value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($120 million
for 2005), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a value
equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. imports
of the article from all countries (the ``50 percent CNL''), the
President must terminate GSP duty-free treatment for that article from
that beneficiary developing country by no later than July 1 of the next
calendar year.
Under section 503(d) of the 1974 Act, the President may waive the
application of section 503(c)(2) if the President (1) Receives the
advice of the International Trade Commission (ITC) on whether any
industry in the United States is likely to be adversely affected by
such waiver; (2) determines, based on the considerations in section 501
and 502(c) of the Act and the advice of the ITC that such waiver is in
the national economic interest of the United States; and (3) publishes
the determination in the Federal Register. CNL waivers were first
authorized by Congress in 1984. Nineteen GSP beneficiaries currently
benefit from 83 CNL waivers. Under section 503(d)(5) of the Act, a
waiver may be terminated if the President determines that it is no
longer warranted due to changed circumstances. The GSP Subcommittee is
seeking comments on whether any of the 83 existing waivers should be
terminated pursuant to this provision of the statute. For a list of
existing CNL waivers, see ``CNL Waivers'', https://www.ustr.gov/Trade_
Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/Section_Index.html.
Requirements for Submission
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR
strongly urges and prefers electronic e-mail submissions only in
response to
[[Page 45080]]
this notice. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. These
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 font. E-mail submissions
should use the following subject line: ``2006 GSP Eligibility and CNL
Waiver Review''. Comments on CNL waivers should include the 8-digit
tariff number of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Documents must be submitted in English in one of the following
formats: MSWord (.DOC), WordPerfect (.WPD), or text (.TXT) files.
Documents may not be submitted as electronic image files or contain
imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``.TIF'', ``.PDF'', ``.BMP'',
or ``.GIF''). Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets are
acceptable as Excel files, formatted for printing 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.
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
submission must be clearly marked ``Business Confidential'' at the top
and bottom of each page of the document. The non-confidential version
must also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each page (either
``Public Version'' or ``Non-Confidential''). Documents that are
submitted without any marking 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
characters ``P-''. The `` P-'' or ``BC-'' should be followed by the
name of the party (government, company, union, association, etc.)
making the submission.
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 e-mail
address and other identifying information.
The e-mail address for these submissions is FR0052@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 review approximately two weeks after the due date 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.
Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of
the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E6-12870 Filed 8-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P