Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 54639-54640 [E8-22044]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 184 / Monday, September 22, 2008 / Notices
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
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.
Requirements for Submissions
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., Friday,
October 17, 2008.
In order to facilitate prompt
processing of submissions, USTR
strongly recommends that comments be
set out in digital files attached to e-mails
transmitted to the following address:
FR0711@ustr.eop.gov (Note: The digit
before the number in the e-mail address
is the number zero, not a letter). For
security reasons, hand-delivered
submissions will not be accepted. If you
are unable to provide comments by
e-mail, please contact Regina Teeter,
USTR’s GSP Office at (202) 395–6971 to
arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
Comments should be provided in a
single copy and must not exceed 30
single-spaced standard letter-size pages
in 12-point type or a digital file size of
three megabytes. E-mails should include
the following subject line: ‘‘Designation
of the Republic of Kosovo as a GSP
Beneficiary Country.’’ The transmittal
message or cover letter accompanying a
submission must be set out exclusively
in the digital file attached to the e-mail
transmission—not in the message
portion of e-mail—and must include the
sender’s name, organization name,
address, telephone number and e-mail
address.
Digital files must be submitted in one
of the following formats: WordPerfect
(.WPD), Adobe (.PDF), MSWord (.DOC),
or text (.TXT) files. Comments may not
be submitted as electronic image files or
contain embedded images, e.g., ‘‘.JPG’’,
‘‘.TIF’’, ‘‘.BMP’’, or ‘‘.GIF’’. Spreadsheet
data may be submitted as Excel files,
formatted for printing on 81⁄2 x 11 inch
paper. To the extent possible, any data
accompanying the submission should be
set out in the same file as the
submission itself, and not in a separate
file.
If a submission contains business
confidential information that the
submitter wishes to protect from public
disclosure, the confidential submission
must be marked ‘‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom
of each page. In addition, the
submission must be accompanied by a
non-confidential version that indicates,
with asterisks, where confidential
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Sep 19, 2008
Jkt 214001
information was redacted or deleted.
The top and bottom of each page of the
non-confidential version must be
marked either ‘‘PUBLIC VERSION’’ or
‘‘NON–CONFIDENTIAL’’. Business
confidential comments that are
submitted without the required
markings or that are not accompanied
by a properly marked non-confidential
version as set forth above may not be
accepted or may be treated as public
documents.
The digital file name assigned to any
business confidential version of a
submission 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
person (government, company, union,
association, etc.) making the
submission.
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. E8–22103 Filed 9–19–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W8–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments on
Annual Review of Country Eligibility
for Benefits Under the African Growth
and Opportunity Act
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for
Comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The African Growth and
Opportunity Act Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (the ‘‘Subcommittee’’) is
requesting written public comments for
the annual review of the eligibility of
sub-Saharan African countries to receive
the benefits of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA). The
Subcommittee will consider these
comments in developing
recommendations on AGOA country
eligibility for the President. Comments
received related to the child labor
criteria may also be considered by the
Secretary of Labor for the preparation of
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
54639
the Department of Labor’s report on
child labor as required under section
412(c) of the Trade and Development
Act of 2000. This notice identifies the
eligibility criteria that must be
considered under AGOA, and lists those
sub-Saharan African countries that are
currently eligible for the benefits of the
AGOA, and those that are currently
ineligible for such benefits.
DATES: Public comments are due at the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) by noon, Monday, October 20,
2008.
ADDRESSES: USTR prefers submission by
electronic mail: FR0811@ustr.eop.gov. If
you are unable to make a submission by
e-mail, submissions should be made by
facsimile to: Gloria Blue, Executive
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee,
at (202) 395–6143. The public is
strongly encouraged to submit
documents electronically rather than by
facsimile. See requirements for
submissions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
procedural questions, please contact
Gloria Blue, Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,
Room F516, Washington, DC. 20508, at
(202) 395–3475. All other questions
should be directed to Constance
Hamilton, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Africa, Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395–
9514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
AGOA (Title I of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, Public Law
106–200) (19 U.S.C. 3721 et seq.), as
amended, authorizes the President to
designate sub-Saharan African countries
as beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries eligible for duty-free treatment
for certain additional products under
the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ‘‘1974
Act’’)), as well as for the preferential
treatment the AGOA provides for
certain textile and apparel articles.
The President may designate a
country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for both the
additional GSP benefits and the textile
and apparel benefits of the AGOA for
countries meeting certain statutory
requirements intended to prevent
unlawful transshipment of such articles,
if he determines that the country meets
the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1)
Section 104 of the AGOA; and (2)
section 502 of the 1974 Act. For 2008,
41 countries have been designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries. These countries, as well as
the 7 countries currently ineligible, are
listed below. Section 506A of the 1974
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
22SEN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
54640
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 184 / Monday, September 22, 2008 / Notices
Act provides that the President shall
monitor and review annually the
progress of each sub-Saharan African
country in meeting the foregoing
eligibility criteria in order to determine
whether each beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country should continue to be
eligible, and whether each sub-Saharan
African country that is currently not a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country, should be designated as such a
country. Section 506A of the 1974 Act
requires that, if the President
determines that a beneficiary subSaharan African country is not making
continual progress in meeting the
eligibility requirements, he must
terminate the designation of the country
as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country.
The Subcommittee is seeking public
comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for the AGOA’s benefits. The
Subcommittee will consider any such
comments in developing
recommendations on country eligibility
for the President. Comments related to
the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in
making the findings required under
section 504 of the 1974 Act.
The following sub-Saharan African
countries were designated as beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries in 2008:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Chad
Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Republic of Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Liberia
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Republic of Mauritius
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Sep 19, 2008
Jkt 214001
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
Republic of Togo
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
The following sub-Saharan African
countries were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries in 2007:
Central African Republic
Republic of Cote d’Ivoire
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Somalia
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe
Requirements for Submissions:
Comments must be submitted in
English. In order to facilitate the prompt
processing of submissions, USTR
strongly recommends that comments be
set out in digital files attached to e-mails
transmitted to the following address:
FR0811@ustr.eop.gov. If you are unable
to provide comments by e-mail,
submissions should be made by
facsimile as set forth above. Persons
making submissions by e-mail should
use the following subject line: ‘‘2008
AGOA Annual Country Review.’’ Digital
files must be submitted in one of the
following formats: WordPerfect (.WPD),
Adobe (.PDF), MSWord (.DOC), or text
(.TXT) files. Comments may not be
submitted as electronic image files or
contain embedded images, e.g., ‘‘.JPG’’,
‘‘.TIF’’, ‘‘.BMP’’, or ‘‘.GIF’’. Spreadsheet
data may be submitted as Excel files,
formatted for printing on 81⁄2 x 11 inch
paper. To the extent possible, any data
accompanying the submission should be
included in the same file as the
submission itself, and not in a separate
file. The transmittal message or cover
letter accompanying a submission must
be set out exclusively in the digital file
attached to the e-mail transmission—not
in the message portion of the e-mail—
and must include the sender’s name,
organization name, address, telephone
and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
If the submission contains business
confidential information that the
submitter wishes to protect from public
disclosure, the confidential version
must be marked ‘‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom
of each page. In addition, the
submission must be accompanied by a
non-confidential version that indicates,
with asterisks, where confidential
information was redacted or deleted.
The top and bottom of each page of the
non-confidential version must be
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
marked either ‘‘PUBLIC VERSION’’ or
‘‘NON-CONFIDENTIAL’’. Business
confidential comments that are
submitted without the required
markings or are not accompanied by a
properly marked non-confidential
version as set forth above may not be
accepted or may be treated as public
documents.
The digital file name assigned to any
business confidential version of a
submission 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
submitter.
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 Monday
through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon
and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., by calling (202)
395–6186. Appointments must be
scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E8–22044 Filed 9–19–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W8–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. WTO/DS375]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding
Regarding European Communities—
Tariff Treatment of Certain Information
Technology Products
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (‘‘USTR’’) is
providing notice that on August 18,
2008, in accordance with the World
Trade Organization (‘‘WTO’’)
Understanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes
(‘‘DSU’’), the United States, jointly with
Japan and the Separate Customs
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen
and Matsu, requested the establishment
of a dispute settlement panel regarding
the tariff treatment accorded by the
European Communities (‘‘EC’’) and its
member States to set-top boxes with a
communication function, flat panel
displays, and certain multifunctional
digital machines. That request may be
found at www.wto.org contained in a
document designated as WT/DS375/8.
USTR invites written comments from
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
22SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 184 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54639-54640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22044]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country
Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (the ``Subcommittee'')
is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the
eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Subcommittee will
consider these comments in developing recommendations on AGOA country
eligibility for the President. Comments received related to the child
labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor for the
preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor as
required under section 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000.
This notice identifies the eligibility criteria that must be considered
under AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan African countries that are
currently eligible for the benefits of the AGOA, and those that are
currently ineligible for such benefits.
DATES: Public comments are due at the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) by noon, Monday, October 20, 2008.
ADDRESSES: USTR prefers submission by electronic mail:
FR0811@ustr.eop.gov. If you are unable to make a submission by e-mail,
submissions should be made by facsimile to: Gloria Blue, Executive
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143. The public
is strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than
by facsimile. See requirements for submissions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please
contact Gloria Blue, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Room F516, Washington, DC. 20508, at (202) 395-3475. All
other questions should be directed to Constance Hamilton, Deputy
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative, at (202) 395-9514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AGOA (Title I of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, Public Law 106-200) (19 U.S.C. 3721 et seq.),
as amended, authorizes the President to designate sub-Saharan African
countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries eligible for
duty-free treatment for certain additional products under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ``1974 Act'')), as well as for the
preferential treatment the AGOA provides for certain textile and
apparel articles.
The President may designate a country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for both the additional GSP benefits and the
textile and apparel benefits of the AGOA for countries meeting certain
statutory requirements intended to prevent unlawful transshipment of
such articles, if he determines that the country meets the eligibility
criteria set forth in: (1) Section 104 of the AGOA; and (2) section 502
of the 1974 Act. For 2008, 41 countries have been designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. These countries, as well as
the 7 countries currently ineligible, are listed below. Section 506A of
the 1974
[[Page 54640]]
Act provides that the President shall monitor and review annually the
progress of each sub-Saharan African country in meeting the foregoing
eligibility criteria in order to determine whether each beneficiary
sub-Saharan African country should continue to be eligible, and whether
each sub-Saharan African country that is currently not a beneficiary
sub-Saharan African country, should be designated as such a country.
Section 506A of the 1974 Act requires that, if the President determines
that a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country is not making continual
progress in meeting the eligibility requirements, he must terminate the
designation of the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country.
The Subcommittee is seeking public comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for the AGOA's benefits. The Subcommittee will consider any
such comments in developing recommendations on country eligibility for
the President. Comments related to the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in making the findings required
under section 504 of the 1974 Act.
The following sub-Saharan African countries were designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2008:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Chad
Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Republic of Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Liberia
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Republic of Mauritius
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
Republic of Togo
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
The following sub-Saharan African countries were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2007:
Central African Republic
Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Somalia
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe
Requirements for Submissions: Comments must be submitted in
English. In order to facilitate the prompt processing of submissions,
USTR strongly recommends that comments be set out in digital files
attached to e-mails transmitted to the following address:
FR0811@ustr.eop.gov. If you are unable to provide comments by e-mail,
submissions should be made by facsimile as set forth above. Persons
making submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line:
``2008 AGOA Annual Country Review.'' Digital files must be submitted in
one of the following formats: WordPerfect (.WPD), Adobe (.PDF), MSWord
(.DOC), or text (.TXT) files. Comments may not be submitted as
electronic image files or contain embedded images, e.g., ``.JPG'',
``.TIF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF''. Spreadsheet data may be submitted as
Excel files, formatted for printing on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. To the
extent possible, any data accompanying the submission should be
included in the same file as the submission itself, and not in a
separate file. The transmittal message or cover letter accompanying a
submission must be set out exclusively in the digital file attached to
the e-mail transmission--not in the message portion of the e-mail--and
must include the sender's name, organization name, address, telephone
and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
If the submission contains business confidential information that
the submitter wishes to protect from public disclosure, the
confidential version must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the
top and bottom of each page. In addition, the submission must be
accompanied by a non-confidential version that indicates, with
asterisks, where confidential information was redacted or deleted. The
top and bottom of each page of the non-confidential version must be
marked either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''. Business
confidential comments that are submitted without the required markings
or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-confidential version as
set forth above may not be accepted or may be treated as public
documents.
The digital file name assigned to any business confidential version
of a submission 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 submitter.
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 Monday through Friday, from 10
a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., by calling (202) 395-6186.
Appointments must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E8-22044 Filed 9-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P
