WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Argentina-Measures Affecting the Importation of Goods, 76165-76166 [2012-30965]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Notices
Headquarters building is accessible by
taxi and privately owned conveyance
(public transportation is not generally
available). However, parking in the
vicinity of the building is extremely
limited. Additional information
regarding this and other IMO SHC
public meetings may be found at:
www.uscg.mil/imo.
Dated: December 18, 2012.
Brian Robinson,
Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating
Committee, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2012–30959 Filed 12–21–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–09–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Dispute No. WTO/DS444]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding
Regarding Argentina—Measures
Affecting the Importation of Goods
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (‘‘USTR’’) is
providing notice that the United States
has requested the establishment of a
dispute settlement panel under the
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the
World Trade Organization (‘‘WTO
Agreement’’). That request may be
found at www.wto.org contained in a
document designated as WT/DS444/10.
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 settlement proceedings,
comments should be submitted on or
before January 18, 2013 to be assured of
timely consideration by USTR.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be
submitted electronically to
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR–2012–0023. If you are unable to
provide submissions by
www.regulations.gov, please contact
Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395–9483 to
arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
If (as explained below) the comment
contains confidential information, then
the comment should be submitted by
fax only to Sandy McKinzy at (202)
395–3640.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Greta Milligan Peisch, Assistant General
Counsel, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street
NW., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395–
3150.
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
06:31 Dec 22, 2012
Jkt 229001
Section
127(b) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (‘‘URAA’’) (19 U.S.C.
3537(b)(1)) requires that notice and
opportunity for comment be provided
after the United States submits or
receives a request for the establishment
of a WTO dispute settlement panel.
Consistent with this obligation, USTR is
providing notice that a dispute
settlement panel has been requested
pursuant to the WTO Dispute
Settlement Understanding (‘‘DSU’’). The
panel will hold its meetings in Geneva,
Switzerland.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Major Issues Raised by the United
States
The United States has requested the
establishment of a panel to consider
certain measures imposed by Argentina
on the importation of goods into
Argentina. In particular, Argentina
subjects the importation of all goods to
approval of a non-automatic import
´
license through the Declaracion Jurada
´
Anticipada de Importacion (‘‘DJAI’’)
system. Argentina subjects the
importation of certain categories goods
into Argentina to other, productspecific, non-automatic import licenses,
´
or Licencias No Automaticas de
´
Importacion, in the form of Certificados
´
de Importacion (‘‘CIs’’). The legal
instruments through which Argentina
maintains these measures are set out in
the annexes to the panel request. The
issuance of CIs and approval of DJAIs
are systematically delayed or denied by
Argentine authorities on nontransparent grounds.
In addition, Argentina often requires
imports to undertake certain
commitments including to limit
imports, to balance imports with
exports, to make or increase investments
in production facilities in Argentina, to
increase the local content of products
manufactured in Argentina (and thereby
discriminate against imported
products), to refrain from transferring
revenue or other funds abroad and/or to
control the price of imported goods. The
Argentine authorities often make the
issuance of CIs and the approval of
DJAIs conditional upon the importers
undertaking to comply with the abovementioned trade-restrictive
commitments.
Through these measures, Argentina
appears to have acted inconsistently
with its obligations under the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(‘‘GATT 1994’’) and the Agreement on
Import Licensing Procedures (‘‘Import
Licensing Agreement’’). Specifically, by
adopting and maintaining these
measures, Argentina appears to have
acted inconsistently with Articles III:4,
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
76165
X:1, X:3(a) and XI:1 of the GATT 1994,
and Articles 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.6, 3.2, 3.3,
3.5(f), 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 of the Import
Licensing Agreement.
Public Comment: Requirements for
Submissions
Interested persons are invited to
submit written comments concerning
the issues raised in this dispute. Persons
may submit public comments
electronically to www.regulations.gov
docket number USTR–2012–0023. If you
are unable to provide submissions by
www.regulations.gov, please contact
Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395–9483 to
arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
To submit comments via
www.regulations.gov, enter docket
number USTR–2012–0023 on the home
page and click ‘‘search’’. The site will
provide a search-results page listing all
documents associated with this docket.
Find a reference to this notice by
selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document
Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link
entitled ‘‘Submit a Comment.’’ (For
further information on using the
www.regulations.gov Web site, please
consult the resources provided on the
Web site by clicking on ‘‘How to Use
This Site’’ on the left side of the home
page.)
The www.regulations.gov site
provides the option of providing
comments by filling in a ‘‘Type
Comments’’ field, or by attaching a
document using an ‘‘upload file’’ field.
It is expected that most comments will
be provided in an attached document. If
a document is attached, it is sufficient
to type ‘‘See attached’’ in the ‘‘Type
Comments’’ field.
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
submitter. Confidential business
information must be clearly designated
as such and the submission must be
marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’
at the top and bottom of the cover page
and each succeeding page. Any
comment containing business
confidential information must be
submitted by fax to Sandy McKinzy at
(202) 395–3640. A non-confidential
summary of the confidential
information must be submitted to
www.regulations.gov. The nonconfidential summary will be placed in
the docket and open to public
inspection.
E:\FR\FM\26DEN1.SGM
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76166
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Notices
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) Must provide a non-confidential
summary of the information or advice.
Any comment containing confidential
information must be submitted by fax. A
non-confidential summary of the
confidential information must be
submitted to www.regulations.gov. The
non-confidential summary will be
placed in the docket and open to public
inspection.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a
docket on this dispute settlement
proceeding accessible to the public at
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR–2012–0023. 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, any nonconfidential submissions, or nonconfidential summaries of submissions,
received from other participants in the
dispute, will be made available to the
public on USTR’s Web site at
www.ustr.gov, and the report of the
panel, and, if applicable, the report of
the Appellate Body, will be available on
the Web site of the World Trade
Organization, www.wto.org. Comments
open to public inspection may be
viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web
site.
Juan Millan,
Acting Assistant United States Trade
Representative for Monitoring and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012–30965 Filed 12–21–12; 8:45 am]
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BILLING CODE 3290–F3–P
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–1998–3637; FMCSA–
2000–7363; FMCSA–2000–8203; FMCSA–
2002–12294; FMCSA–2006–24783 FMCSA–
2006–26066]
Qualification of Drivers; Exemption
Applications; Vision
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of renewal of
exemptions; request for comments.
AGENCY:
FMCSA announces its
decision to renew the exemptions from
the vision requirement in the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 8
individuals. FMCSA has statutory
authority to exempt individuals from
the vision requirement if the
exemptions granted will not
compromise safety. The Agency has
concluded that granting these
exemption renewals will provide a level
of safety that is equivalent to or greater
than the level of safety maintained
without the exemptions for these
commercial motor vehicle (CMV)
drivers.
DATES: This decision is effective January
13, 2013. Comments must be received
on or before January 25, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
bearing the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) numbers: Docket No.
[FMCSA–1998–3637; FMCSA–2000–
7363; FMCSA–2000–8203; FMCSA–
2002–12294; FMCSA–2006–24783
FMCSA–2006–26066], using any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal Holidays.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
Instructions: Each submission must
include the Agency name and the
docket number for this notice. Note that
DOT posts all comments received
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information included in a
comment. Please see the Privacy Act
heading below.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00199
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments, go to https://
www.regulations.gov at any time or
Room W12–140 on the ground level of
the West Building, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE. Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) is available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. If you want
acknowledgment that we received your
comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting
comments on-line.
Privacy Act: Anyone may search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or of the person signing the
comment, if submitted on behalf of an
association, business, labor union, etc.).
You may review DOT’s Privacy Act
Statement for the FDMS published in
the Federal Register on January 17,
2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit
https://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/
E8-785.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elaine M. Papp, Chief, Medical
Programs Division, 202–366–4001,
fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA,
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W64–
224, Washington, DC 20590–0001.
Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315,
FMCSA may renew an exemption from
the vision requirements in 49 CFR
391.41(b)(10), which applies to drivers
of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a
two-year period if it finds ‘‘such
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety that is equivalent to or greater
than the level that would be achieved
absent such exemption.’’ The
procedures for requesting an exemption
(including renewals) are set out in 49
CFR part 381.
Exemption Decision
This notice addresses 8 individuals
who have requested renewal of their
exemptions in accordance with FMCSA
procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these
8 applications for renewal on their
merits and decided to extend each
exemption for a renewable two-year
period. They are:
David S. Brumfield (KY)
E:\FR\FM\26DEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76165-76166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30965]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Dispute No. WTO/DS444]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Argentina--Measures
Affecting the Importation of Goods
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 the United States has requested the
establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO
Agreement''). That request may be found at www.wto.org contained in a
document designated as WT/DS444/10. 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 settlement proceedings, comments should be
submitted on or before January 18, 2013 to be assured of timely
consideration by USTR.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted electronically to
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0023. If you are unable to
provide submissions by www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential
information, then the comment should be submitted by fax only to Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395-3640.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greta Milligan Peisch, Assistant
General Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600
17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 127(b) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (``URAA'') (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)) requires that notice
and opportunity for comment be provided after the United States submits
or receives a request for the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement
panel. Consistent with this obligation, USTR is providing notice that a
dispute settlement panel has been requested pursuant to the WTO Dispute
Settlement Understanding (``DSU''). The panel will hold its meetings in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Major Issues Raised by the United States
The United States has requested the establishment of a panel to
consider certain measures imposed by Argentina on the importation of
goods into Argentina. In particular, Argentina subjects the importation
of all goods to approval of a non-automatic import license through the
Declaraci[oacute]n Jurada Anticipada de Importaci[oacute]n (``DJAI'')
system. Argentina subjects the importation of certain categories goods
into Argentina to other, product-specific, non-automatic import
licenses, or Licencias No Autom[aacute]ticas de Importaci[oacute]n, in
the form of Certificados de Importaci[oacute]n (``CIs''). The legal
instruments through which Argentina maintains these measures are set
out in the annexes to the panel request. The issuance of CIs and
approval of DJAIs are systematically delayed or denied by Argentine
authorities on non-transparent grounds.
In addition, Argentina often requires imports to undertake certain
commitments including to limit imports, to balance imports with
exports, to make or increase investments in production facilities in
Argentina, to increase the local content of products manufactured in
Argentina (and thereby discriminate against imported products), to
refrain from transferring revenue or other funds abroad and/or to
control the price of imported goods. The Argentine authorities often
make the issuance of CIs and the approval of DJAIs conditional upon the
importers undertaking to comply with the above-mentioned trade-
restrictive commitments.
Through these measures, Argentina appears to have acted
inconsistently with its obligations under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (``GATT 1994'') and the Agreement on Import Licensing
Procedures (``Import Licensing Agreement''). Specifically, by adopting
and maintaining these measures, Argentina appears to have acted
inconsistently with Articles III:4, X:1, X:3(a) and XI:1 of the GATT
1994, and Articles 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.6, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5(f), 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
and 5.4 of the Import Licensing Agreement.
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the issues raised in this dispute. Persons may submit public
comments electronically to www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2012-
0023. If you are unable to provide submissions by www.regulations.gov,
please contact Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an
alternative method of transmission.
To submit comments via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number
USTR-2012-0023 on the home page and click ``search''. The site will
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting ``Notice''
under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-results page,
and click on the link entitled ``Submit a Comment.'' (For further
information on using the www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult
the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This
Site'' on the left side of the home page.)
The www.regulations.gov site provides the option of providing
comments by filling in a ``Type Comments'' field, or by attaching a
document using an ``upload file'' field. It is expected that most
comments will be provided in an attached document. If a document is
attached, it is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type
Comments'' field.
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 submitter.
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment
containing business confidential information must be submitted by fax
to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-3640. A non-confidential summary of the
confidential information must be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The
non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket and open to
public inspection.
[[Page 76166]]
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) Must provide a non-confidential summary of the information or
advice.
Any comment containing confidential information must be submitted
by fax. A non-confidential summary of the confidential information must
be submitted to www.regulations.gov. The non-confidential summary will
be placed in the docket and open to public inspection.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a docket on this dispute settlement
proceeding accessible to the public at www.regulations.gov, docket
number USTR-2012-0023. 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, any non-confidential
submissions, or non-confidential summaries of submissions, received
from other participants in the dispute, will be made available to the
public on USTR's Web site at www.ustr.gov, and the report of the panel,
and, if applicable, the report of the Appellate Body, will be available
on the Web site of the World Trade Organization, www.wto.org. Comments
open to public inspection may be viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web
site.
Juan Millan,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-30965 Filed 12-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P