WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding China-Measures Affecting Financial Information Services and Foreign Financial Information Suppliers, 15544-15545 [E8-5885]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 57 / Monday, March 24, 2008 / Notices
advice on radiation protection,
radioactive waste management and
earth sciences in the agency’s licensing
reviews for fuel fabrication and
enrichment facilities, waste disposal
facilities, and facilities related to the
Department of Energy’s Global Nuclear
Energy Partnership.
The ACRS also has some involvement
in security matters related to the
integration of safety and security of
commercial reactors. See NRC Web site
at: https://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/
regulatory/advisory/acrs.html for
additional information about ACRS.
Criteria used to evaluate candidates
include education and experience,
demonstrated skills in nuclear reactor
safety matters, the ability to solve
complex technical problems, and the
ability to work collegially on a board,
panel, or committee. The Commission,
in selecting its Committee members,
considers the need for a specific
expertise to accomplish the work
expected to be before the ACRS. ACRS
Committee members are appointed for
four-year terms and normally serve no
more than three terms. The Commission
looks to fill one vacancy as a result of
this request. For this position, a
candidate must have at least 10 years of
experience in the areas of nuclear
materials and radiation protection.
Candidates with pertinent graduate
level experience will be given
additional consideration. Consistent
with the requirements of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, the
Commission seeks candidates with
diverse backgrounds, so that the
membership on the Committee is fairly
balanced in terms of the points of view
represented and functions to be
performed by the Committee.
Candidates will undergo a thorough
security background check to obtain the
security clearance that is mandatory for
all ACRS members. The security
background check will involve the
completion and submission of
paperwork to NRC. Candidates for
ACRS appointments may be involved in
or have financial interests related to
NRC-regulated aspects of the nuclear
industry. However, because conflict-ofinterest considerations may restrict the
participation of a candidate in ACRS
activities, the degree and nature of any
such restriction on an individual’s
activities as a member will be
considered in the selection process.
Each qualified candidate’s financial
interests must be reconciled with
applicable Federal and NRC rules and
regulations prior to final appointment.
This might require divestiture of
securities or discontinuance of certain
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16:33 Mar 21, 2008
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contracts or grants. Information
regarding these restrictions will be
´
´
provided upon request. A resume
describing the educational and
professional background of the
candidate, including any special
accomplishments, publications, and
professional references should be
provided. Candidates should provide
their current address, telephone
number, and e-mail address. All
candidates will receive careful
consideration. Appointment will be
made without regard to factors such as
race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
age, or disabilities. Candidates must be
citizens of the United States and be able
to devote approximately 100 days per
´
´
year to Committee business. Resumes
will be accepted until April 30, 2008.
Dated: March 18, 2008.
Andrew Bates,
Federal Advisory Committee, Management
Officer.
[FR Doc. E8–5883 Filed 3–21–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
Financial Information Services (DS373)’’
in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to
Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395–3640, with
a confirmation copy sent electronically
to the electronic mail address above, in
accordance with the requirements for
submission set out below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James P. Kelleher, Associate General
Counsel, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,
NW., Washington, DC, (202) 395–3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is
providing notice that the United States
has requested consultations with China
pursuant to the WTO Understanding on
Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes (‘‘DSU’’). If such
consultations should fail to resolve the
matter and a dispute settlement panel is
established pursuant to the DSU, such
panel, which would hold its meetings in
Geneva, Switzerland, would be
expected to issue a report on its findings
and recommendations within nine
months after it is established.
Major Issues Raised by the United
States
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
On March 3, 2008, the United States
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
requested consultations with China
[Docket No. WTO/DS373]
regarding restrictions and requirements
that China imposes on financial
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding
information services and service
Regarding China—Measures Affecting suppliers. China requires foreign
Financial Information Services and
financial information suppliers to
Foreign Financial Information
supply their services through an entity
Suppliers
designated by Xinhua News Agency
(‘‘Xinhua’’). Xinhua has designated one
AGENCY: Office of the United States
of its commercial enterprises as the only
Trade Representative.
available agent. Xinhua, through its
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
organizational structure, including
related entities and affiliates, appears to
SUMMARY: The Office of the United
be not only the regulator but also a
States Trade Representative (USTR) is
providing notice that on March 3, 2008, competitor of foreign financial
information suppliers. For example,
in accordance with the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Xinhua has launched ‘‘Xinhua 08’’, a
financial information supplier that
Organization (WTO Agreement), the
supplies services on a commercial basis
United States requested consultations
and in competition with foreign service
with China regarding restrictions and
suppliers. China also appears to prevent
requirements China imposes on
foreign financial information service
financial information services and
suppliers from establishing any
service suppliers. That request may be
commercial operations in China other
found at https://www.wto.org contained
than limited representative offices.
in a document designated as WT/
China’s measures include the following,
DS373/1. USTR invites written
as well as any amendments and related
comments from the public concerning
or implementing measures:
the issues raised in this dispute.
• Notice Authorizing Xinhua News
DATES: Although USTR will accept any
Agency To Implement Centralized
comments received during the course of
Administration Over the Release of
the dispute, comments should be
Economic Information in the People’s
submitted on or before April 18, 2008 to
Republic of China by Foreign News
be assured of timely consideration by
Agencies and Their Subsidiary
USTR.
Information Institutions (December 31,
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
1995);
• Decision on Establishing
submitted (i) electronically, to
Administrative Permission for the
FR0806@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘China
PO 00000
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 57 / Monday, March 24, 2008 / Notices
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Administrative Examination and
Approval of Items That Must Be
Retained (June 29, 2004);
• Measures for Administering the
Release of News and Information in
China by Foreign News Agencies
(September 10, 2006);
• Notices on the Annual Inspection of
Foreign News Dissemination Entities;
• Catalogue of Industries for Guiding
Foreign Investment (October 31, 2007);
• Decisions of the State Council
Regarding Entrance of Non-Public
Capital Into Cultural Industries (April
13, 2005);
• Several Opinions on Introducing
Foreign Investment Into the Cultural
Sector (July 6, 2005);
• Opinion on Foreign Investment in
Cultural Industries (August 5, 2005);
• Detailed Rules on the Approval and
Control of Resident Representative
Offices of Foreign Enterprises (February
13, 1995);
• Procedures of the State
Administration for Industry and
Commerce for the Registration and
Administration of Resident
Representative Offices of Foreign
Enterprises (March 5, 1983);
• Rules for Internet Information
Services (September 2000); and
• Administrative Rules for Internet
News Information Services (September
25, 2005);
These and other requirements and
restrictions appear to accord less
favorable treatment to foreign financial
information services and service
suppliers than that accorded Chinese
financial information services and
service suppliers which are not affected
by these requirements and restrictions.
China’s measures also appear to impose
requirements on foreign financial
information suppliers that are more
restrictive than those imposed on them
at the time of China’s accession to the
WTO.
USTR believes these measures are
inconsistent with China’s obligations
under Articles XVI, XVII, and XVIII of
the General Agreement on Trade in
Services and Part I.1.2 of the Protocol on
the Accession of the People’s Republic
of China, including paragraph 309 of the
Working Party Report.
Public Comment: Requirements for
Submissions
Interested persons are invited to
submit written comments concerning
the issues raised in the dispute.
Comments should be submitted (i)
electronically, to FR0806@ustr.eop.gov,
with ‘‘China Financial Information
Services (DS373)’’ in the subject line, or
(ii) by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at (202)
395–3640, with a confirmation copy
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16:33 Mar 21, 2008
Jkt 214001
sent electronically to the electronic mail
address above.
USTR encourages the submission of
documents in Adobe PDF format as
attachments to an electronic mail.
Interested persons who make
submissions by electronic mail should
not provide separate cover letters;
information that might appear in a cover
letter should be included in the
submission itself. Similarly, to the
extent possible, any attachments to the
submission should be included in the
same file as the submission itself, and
not as separate files.
Comments must be in English. A
person requesting that information
contained in a comment submitted by
that person be treated as confidential
business information must certify that
such information is business
confidential and would not customarily
be released to the public by the
commenter. Confidential business
information must be clearly designated
as such and ‘‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’’ must be marked at the
top and bottom of the cover page and
each succeeding page. Persons who
submit confidential business
information are encouraged also to
provide a non-confidential summary of
the information.
Information or advice contained in a
comment submitted, other than business
confidential information, may be
determined by USTR to be confidential
in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that
information or advice may qualify as
such, the submitter—
(1) Must clearly so designate the
information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as
‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ at the
top and bottom of the cover page and
each succeeding page; and
(3) Is encouraged to provide a nonconfidential summary of the
information or advice.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the
URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will
maintain a file on this dispute
settlement proceeding, accessible to the
public, in the USTR Reading Room,
which is located at 1724 F Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20508. The public file
will include non-confidential comments
received by USTR from the public with
respect to the dispute; if a dispute
settlement panel is convened or in the
event of an appeal from such a panel,
the U.S. submissions, the submissions,
or non-confidential summaries of
submissions, received from other
participants in the dispute; the report of
the panel; and, if applicable, the report
of the Appellate Body. The USTR
PO 00000
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15545
Reading Room is open to the public, by
appointment only, from 10 a.m. to noon
and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday. An appointment to review the
public file (Docket WTO/DS–373, China
Financial Information Services Dispute)
may be made by calling the USTR
Reading Room at (202) 395–6186.
Daniel Brinza,
Assistant United States Trade Representative
for Monitoring and Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E8–5885 Filed 3–21–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W8–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Proposed Collection: Comment
Request for Review of a Revised
Information Collection: OPM Form
1644 Child Care Provider Information
for the Child Care Subsidy Program for
Federal Employees OMB No. 3206–
0240
Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104–13, May 22, 1995), this notice
announces the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) intends to submit to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for review of a revised
information collection. Approval for the
OPM Form 1644, Child Care Provider
Information for the Child Care Subsidy
Program for Federal Employees, is used
to verify that child care providers are
licensed or regulated by local or State
authorities, as appropriate. Section 630
of Public Law 107–67, passed by
Congress on November 12, 2001,
permits Federal agencies to use
appropriated funds to help their lowerincome employees with their costs for
child care provided by a contractor
licensed or regulated by local or State
authorities, as appropriate. Therefore,
agencies need to verify that child care
providers to whom they make
disbursements in the form of child care
subsidies meet the statutory
requirement.
Approximately 3500 OPM 1644 forms
will be completed annually. We
estimate it will take 10 minutes to
complete the OPM Form 1644. The
annual estimated burden is 333.3 hours.
Comments are particularly invited on:
• Whether this information is
necessary for the proper performance of
functions of OPM, and whether it will
have practical utility;
• Whether our estimates of the public
burden of this collection of information
E:\FR\FM\24MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 57 (Monday, March 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15544-15545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5885]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. WTO/DS373]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding China--Measures
Affecting Financial Information Services and Foreign Financial
Information Suppliers
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is
providing notice that on March 3, 2008, in accordance with the
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO
Agreement), the United States requested consultations with China
regarding restrictions and requirements China imposes on financial
information services and service suppliers. That request may be found
at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS373/1.
USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues
raised in this dispute.
DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the
course of the dispute, comments should be submitted on or before April
18, 2008 to be assured of timely consideration by USTR.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted (i) electronically, to
FR0806@ustr.eop.gov, with ``China Financial Information Services
(DS373)'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at
(202) 395-3640, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the
electronic mail address above, in accordance with the requirements for
submission set out below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James P. Kelleher, Associate General
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC, (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is providing notice that the United
States has requested consultations with China pursuant to the WTO
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes (``DSU''). If such consultations should fail to resolve the
matter and a dispute settlement panel is established pursuant to the
DSU, such panel, which would hold its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland,
would be expected to issue a report on its findings and recommendations
within nine months after it is established.
Major Issues Raised by the United States
On March 3, 2008, the United States requested consultations with
China regarding restrictions and requirements that China imposes on
financial information services and service suppliers. China requires
foreign financial information suppliers to supply their services
through an entity designated by Xinhua News Agency (``Xinhua''). Xinhua
has designated one of its commercial enterprises as the only available
agent. Xinhua, through its organizational structure, including related
entities and affiliates, appears to be not only the regulator but also
a competitor of foreign financial information suppliers. For example,
Xinhua has launched ``Xinhua 08'', a financial information supplier
that supplies services on a commercial basis and in competition with
foreign service suppliers. China also appears to prevent foreign
financial information service suppliers from establishing any
commercial operations in China other than limited representative
offices. China's measures include the following, as well as any
amendments and related or implementing measures:
Notice Authorizing Xinhua News Agency To Implement
Centralized Administration Over the Release of Economic Information in
the People's Republic of China by Foreign News Agencies and Their
Subsidiary Information Institutions (December 31, 1995);
Decision on Establishing Administrative Permission for the
[[Page 15545]]
Administrative Examination and Approval of Items That Must Be Retained
(June 29, 2004);
Measures for Administering the Release of News and
Information in China by Foreign News Agencies (September 10, 2006);
Notices on the Annual Inspection of Foreign News
Dissemination Entities;
Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment
(October 31, 2007);
Decisions of the State Council Regarding Entrance of Non-
Public Capital Into Cultural Industries (April 13, 2005);
Several Opinions on Introducing Foreign Investment Into
the Cultural Sector (July 6, 2005);
Opinion on Foreign Investment in Cultural Industries
(August 5, 2005);
Detailed Rules on the Approval and Control of Resident
Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises (February 13, 1995);
Procedures of the State Administration for Industry and
Commerce for the Registration and Administration of Resident
Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises (March 5, 1983);
Rules for Internet Information Services (September 2000);
and
Administrative Rules for Internet News Information
Services (September 25, 2005);
These and other requirements and restrictions appear to accord less
favorable treatment to foreign financial information services and
service suppliers than that accorded Chinese financial information
services and service suppliers which are not affected by these
requirements and restrictions. China's measures also appear to impose
requirements on foreign financial information suppliers that are more
restrictive than those imposed on them at the time of China's accession
to the WTO.
USTR believes these measures are inconsistent with China's
obligations under Articles XVI, XVII, and XVIII of the General
Agreement on Trade in Services and Part I.1.2 of the Protocol on the
Accession of the People's Republic of China, including paragraph 309 of
the Working Party Report.
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the issues raised in the dispute. Comments should be
submitted (i) electronically, to FR0806@ustr.eop.gov, with ``China
Financial Information Services (DS373)'' in the subject line, or (ii)
by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640, with a confirmation copy
sent electronically to the electronic mail address above.
USTR encourages the submission of documents in Adobe PDF format as
attachments to an electronic mail. Interested persons who make
submissions by electronic mail should not provide separate cover
letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should be
included in the submission itself. Similarly, to the extent possible,
any attachments to the submission should be included in the same file
as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
Comments must be in English. A person requesting that information
contained in a comment submitted by that person be treated as
confidential business information must certify that such information is
business confidential and would not customarily be released to the
public by the commenter. Confidential business information must be
clearly designated as such and ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' must be marked
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page.
Persons who submit confidential business information are encouraged
also to provide a non-confidential summary of the information.
Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
(1) Must clearly so designate the information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE''
at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page; and
(3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the
information or advice.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR
will maintain a file on this dispute settlement proceeding, accessible
to the public, in the USTR Reading Room, which is located at 1724 F
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public file will include non-
confidential comments received by USTR from the public with respect to
the dispute; if a dispute settlement panel is convened or in the event
of an appeal from such a panel, the U.S. submissions, the submissions,
or non-confidential summaries of submissions, received from other
participants in the dispute; the report of the panel; and, if
applicable, the report of the Appellate Body. The USTR Reading Room is
open to the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1
p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment to review the
public file (Docket WTO/DS-373, China Financial Information Services
Dispute) may be made by calling the USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-
6186.
Daniel Brinza,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E8-5885 Filed 3-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P
