Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review To Consider the Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a Beneficiary Developing Country Under the GSP, 54637-54639 [E8-22103]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 184 / Monday, September 22, 2008 / Notices
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Country
Fiscal Year 2009 Tariff-Rate Quota
Allocations for Raw Cane Sugar,
Refined and Specialty Sugar, and
Sugar-Containing Products
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY: The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) is
providing notice of country-by-country
allocations of the FY 2009 in-quota
quantity of the tariff-rate quota for
imported raw cane sugar, refined and
specialty sugar, and sugar-containing
products.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
September 22, 2008.
Inquiries may be mailed or
delivered to Leslie O’Connor, Director of
Agricultural Affairs, Office of
Agricultural Affairs, Office of the United
States Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leslie O’Connor, Office of Agricultural
Affairs, telephone: 202–395–6127 or
facsimile: 202–395–4579.
Pursuant
to Additional U.S. Note 5 to chapter 17
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTS), the United
States maintains a tariff-rate quota for
imports of raw cane sugar and refined
sugar. Pursuant to Additional U.S. Note
8 to chapter 17 of the HTS, the United
States maintains a tariff-rate quota for
imports of sugar-containing products.
Section 404(d)(3) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.
3601(d)(3)) authorizes the President to
allocate the in-quota quantity of a tariffrate quota for any agricultural product
among supplying countries or customs
areas. The President delegated this
authority to the United States Trade
Representative under Presidential
Proclamation 6763 (60 FR 1007).
On September 9, 2008, the Secretary
of Agriculture announced the sugar
program provisions for fiscal year (FY)
2009 (Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30,
2009). The Secretary of Agriculture
announced an in-quota quantity of the
tariff-rate quota for raw cane sugar for
FY 2009 of 1,117,195 metric tons* raw
value, which is the minimum amount to
which the United States is committed
under the World Trade Organization
(WTO) Uruguay Round Agreements.
USTR is allocating this quantity
(1,117,195 metric tons* raw value) to
the following countries:
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Sep 19, 2008
Jkt 214001
FY 2009 Raw
Cane Sugar
Allocations
(metric tons
raw value)
Argentina ..............................
Australia ................................
Barbados ..............................
Belize ....................................
Bolivia ...................................
Brazil .....................................
Colombia ...............................
Congo ...................................
Costa Rica ............................
Cote d’Ivoire .........................
Dominican Republic ..............
Ecuador ................................
El Salvador ...........................
Fiji .........................................
Gabon ...................................
Guatemala ............................
Guyana .................................
Haiti .......................................
Honduras ..............................
India ......................................
Jamaica ................................
Madagascar ..........................
Malawi ...................................
Mauritius ...............................
Mexico ..................................
Mozambique .........................
Nicaragua .............................
Panama ................................
Papua New Guinea ..............
Paraguay ..............................
Peru ......................................
Philippines ............................
South Africa ..........................
St. Kitts & Nevis ...................
Swaziland .............................
Taiwan ..................................
Thailand ................................
Trinidad & Tobago ................
Uruguay ................................
Zimbabwe .............................
45,281
87,402
7,371
11,583
8,424
152,691
25,273
7,258
15,796
7,258
185,335
11,583
27,379
9,477
7,258
50,546
12,636
7,258
10,530
8,424
11,583
7,258
10,530
12,636
7,258
13,690
22,114
30,538
7,258
7,258
43,175
142,160
24,220
7,258
16,849
12,636
14,743
7,371
7,258
12,636
These allocations are based on the
countries’ historical shipments to the
United States. The allocations of the raw
cane sugar tariff-rate quota to countries
that are net importers of sugar are
conditioned on receipt of the
appropriate verifications of origin, and
certificates for quota eligibility must
accompany imports from any country
for which an allocation has been
provided.
On September 9, 2008, the Secretary
of Agriculture established the FY 2009
refined sugar tariff-rate quota at 94,575
metric tons raw value for which the
sucrose content, by weight in the dry
state, must have a polarimeter reading of
99.5 degrees or more. This amount
includes the minimum level to which
the United States is committed under
the WTO Uruguay Round Agreement
(22,000 metric tons raw value of which
1,656 metric tons raw value is specialty
sugar) and an additional 72,575 metric
tons raw value for specialty sugars.
USTR is allocating a total of 10,300
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
54637
metric tons raw value of refined sugar
to Canada, 2,954 metric tons raw value
of refined sugar to Mexico, and 7,090
metric tons raw value of refined sugar
to be administered on a first-come, firstserved basis. The 74,231 metric tons raw
value specialty sugar TRQ, which
includes the additional 72,575 metric
tons raw value of specialty sugar and
the specialty sugar allocation of 1,656
metric tons raw value included in the
22,000 metric tons raw value WTO
minimum, will be administered on a
first-come, first-served basis in five
tranches. The first tranche of 1,656
metric tons raw value will open October
23, 2008. All types of specialty sugars
are eligible for entry under this tranche.
The second tranche of 25,682 metric
tons raw value will open on November
10, 2008. The third, fourth, and fifth
tranches of 15,631 metric tons raw value
each will open on January 14, 2009;
May 19, 2009 and August 24, 2009
respectively. The second, third, fourth
and fifth tranches will be reserved for
organic sugar and other specialty sugars
not currently produced commercially in
the United States or reasonably
available from domestic sources.
With respect to the tariff-rate quota of
64,709 metric tons for certain sugarcontaining products maintained under
Additional U.S. Note 8 to Chapter 17 to
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States, USTR is allocating 59,250
metric tons to Canada. The remainder of
the sugar-containing products tariff-rate
quota is available for other countries on
a first-come, first-served basis.
*Conversion factor: 1 metric ton =
1.10231125 short tons.
Susan C. Schwab,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. E8–22095 Filed 9–19–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W8–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Initiation of a Review To
Consider the Designation of the
Republic of Kosovo as a 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
designating the Republic of Kosovo as a
beneficiary developing country (BDC)
for purposes of the GSP program, and
solicits public comments on whether
Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
22SEN1
54638
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 184 / Monday, September 22, 2008 / Notices
for designation as a BDC. Comments are
due by Friday, October 17, 2008, and
must be submitted in accordance with
the requirements set out below.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by
electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0711@USTR.EOP.GOV. (Note: the
digit before the number in the e-mail
address is the number zero, not a letter.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
assistance, contact Regina Teeter,
USTR’s GSP Office at 202–395–6971.
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 Kosovo
meets the eligibility criteria of the GSP
statute. After considering the
recommendation, the President is
authorized to, and may, designate
Kosovo as a BDC for purposes of the
GSP program.
Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on whether Kosovo
meets the eligibility criteria set forth
below and in section 502(c) of the Trade
Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C.
2462(c)) (the ‘‘Act’’).
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP program
are available to any country that the
President designates as a GSP
‘‘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,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Sep 19, 2008
Jkt 214001
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
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
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
22SEN1
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
Frm 00086
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
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 184 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54637-54639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22103]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review
To Consider the Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a 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
designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country
(BDC) for purposes of the GSP program, and solicits public comments on
whether Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria
[[Page 54638]]
for designation as a BDC. Comments are due by Friday, October 17, 2008,
and must be submitted in accordance with the requirements set out
below.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
FR0711@USTR.EOP.GOV. (Note: the digit before the number in the e-mail
address is the number zero, not a letter.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For assistance, contact Regina Teeter,
USTR's GSP Office at 202-395-6971.
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 Kosovo meets the
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute. After considering the
recommendation, the President is authorized to, and may, designate
Kosovo as a BDC for purposes of the GSP program.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on whether Kosovo
meets the eligibility criteria set forth below and in section 502(c) of
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)) (the ``Act'').
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP program are available to any country
that the President designates as a GSP ``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 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
[[Page 54639]]
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 8\1/2\ 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 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
