Determination Regarding Waiver of Discriminatory Purchasing Requirements With Respect to Goods and Services of a New Member State of the European Union (Republic of Croatia), 60368-60369 [2013-23857]
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60368
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2013 / Notices
(19 U.S.C. 3703); and (2) section 502 of
the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2462).
Section 104 of AGOA includes
requirements that the country has
established or is making substantial
progress toward establishing, inter alia:
a market-based economy; the rule of
law, political pluralism, and the right to
due process; the elimination of barriers
to U.S. trade and investment; economic
policies to reduce poverty; a system to
combat corruption and bribery; and
protection of internationally recognized
worker rights. In addition, the country
may not engage in activities that
undermine U.S. national security or
foreign policy interests or engage in
gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights. Please see
section 104 of AGOA and section 502 of
the 1974 Act for a complete list of the
AGOA eligibility criteria.
Section 506A of the 1974 Act requires
that, if the President determines that a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country
is not meeting the eligibility
requirements, he must terminate the
designation of the country as a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country. For 2013, 39 countries were
designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan
African countries. These countries, as
well as the countries currently
designated as ineligible, are listed
below. Section 506A of the 1974 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.
The Subcommittee is seeking public
comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for 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 2013:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
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Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Chad
Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
Republic of Congo
Republic of Cote d’Ivoire
Republic of Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Liberia
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mauritius
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
Republic of South Sudan
Kingdom of Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Togo
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
The following sub-Saharan African
countries were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries in 2013:
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Mali
Somalia
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe
Requirements for Submissions:
Comments must be submitted in
English. To ensure the most timely and
expeditious receipt and consideration of
petitions, USTR has arranged to accept
on-line submissions via https://
www.regulations.gov. To submit
petitions via this site, enter docket
number USTR–2013–0035 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 on
search-results page and click on the link
entitled ‘‘Submit a Comment.’’ (For
further information on using the
https://www.regulations,gov Web site,
please consult the resources provided
on the Web site by clicking on ‘‘Help’’
at the top of the home page.)
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The https://www.regulations.gov Web
site provides the option of making
submissions by filling in a ‘‘Type
Comment’’ field, or by attaching a
document. USTR prefers comments to
be submitted as attachments. When
doing this, it is sufficient to type ‘‘See
attached’’ in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field.
Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or
Adobe Acrobat (pdf) are preferred.
Persons wishing to file comments
containing business confidential
information must submit both a
business confidential version and a
public version. Persons submitting
business confidential information
should write ‘‘See attached BC
comments’’ in the ‘‘Type Comment’’
field. Any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly
marked BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL on
the top of that page. Persons submitting
a business confidential comment must
also submit a separate public version of
that comment with the business
confidential information deleted.
Persons should write ‘‘See attached
public version’’ in the ‘‘Type Comment’’
field of the public submission.
Submissions should not attach separate
cover letters; rather, information that
might appear in the cover letter should
be included in the comments you
submit. Similarly, to the extent possible,
please include any exhibits, annexes, or
other attachments to a submission in the
same file as the submission itself and
not as separate files.
Public versions of all documents
relating to this review will be available
for review no later than two weeks after
the due date at www.regulations.gov,
docket number USTR–2013–0035.
Douglas Bell,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2013–23863 Filed 9–30–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F3–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Determination Regarding Waiver of
Discriminatory Purchasing
Requirements With Respect to Goods
and Services of a New Member State
of the European Union (Republic of
Croatia)
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Determination Regarding
Waiver of Discriminatory Purchasing
Requirements under the Trade
Agreements Act of 1979.
AGENCY:
DATES:
Effective Date: September 30,
2013.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2013 / Notices
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott J. Pietan, Director of International
Procurement Policy, Office of the
United States Trade Representative,
(202) 395–9646.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
European Union (‘‘EU’’) is a party to the
World Trade Organization (‘‘WTO’’)
Agreement on Government Procurement
(‘‘GPA’’) and has assumed rights and
obligations under the GPA on behalf of
its Member States. On July 1, 2013, the
Republic of Croatia acceded to the EU.
In light of that accession, the EU has
committed to assume rights and
obligations on behalf of the new
Member State under the GPA. On June
27, 2013 the WTO Committee on
Government Procurement approved the
application of the GPA to the Republic
of Croatia. The United States, which is
also a party to the GPA, has agreed to
waive discriminatory purchasing
requirements for eligible products and
suppliers of the Republic of Croatia,
beginning on September 30, 2013.
Section 1–201 of Executive Order
12260 of December 31, 1980 delegated
the functions of the President under
sections 301 and 302 of the Trade
Agreements Act of 1979 (‘‘the Trade
Agreements Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2511,
2512) to the United States Trade
Representative.
Determination: In conformity with
sections 301 and 302 of the Trade
Agreements Act, and in order to carry
out U.S. obligations under the GPA, I
hereby determine that:
1. The European Union, including the
Republic of Croatia, is an
instrumentality that: (A) is a party to the
GPA; and (B) will provide appropriate
reciprocal competitive government
procurement opportunities to United
States products and services and
suppliers of such products and services.
In accordance with section 301(b)(1) of
the Trade Agreements Act, the European
Union is so designated for purposes of
section 301(a) of the Trade Agreements
Act.
2. Accordingly, beginning on
September 30, 2013, with respect to
eligible products (namely, those goods
and services covered under the GPA for
procurement by the United States) of the
Republic of Croatia and suppliers of
such products, the application of any
law, regulation, procedure, or practice
regarding government procurement that
would, if applied to such products and
suppliers, result in treatment less
favorable than that accorded—
(A) To United States products and
suppliers of such products, or
(B) To eligible products of another
foreign country or instrumentality
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14:45 Sep 30, 2013
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which is a party to the GPA and
suppliers of such products, shall be
waived. This waiver shall be applied by
all entities listed in United States
Annexes 1 and 3 of GPA Appendix 1.
3. The Trade Representative may
modify or withdraw the designation in
paragraph 1 and the waiver in paragraph
2.
4. This notice shall not affect the
treatment to be accorded to eligible
products of any country that was a
Member State of the European Union
before September 30, 2013.
Dated: September 17, 2013.
Mike Froman,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2013–23857 Filed 9–30–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F3–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Discretionary Funding Opportunity
Federal Transit Administration
(FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability
(NOFA): Solicitation of Project
Proposals for Innovative Safety,
Resiliency, and All-Hazards Emergency
Response and Recovery Research
Demonstrations.
AGENCY:
The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) announces the
availability of $29,000,000 in Research,
Development, Demonstration, and
Deployment Program funds for
innovative safety, resiliency, and allhazards emergency response and
recovery research demonstration
projects of national significance.
This NOFA makes funds available for
cooperative agreements to engage in the
demonstration of innovative
technologies, methods, practices and
techniques in three areas: (1)
Operational safety, (2) infrastructure or
equipment resiliency and (3) all-hazards
emergency response and recovery
methods. Eligible applicants include
providers of public transportation; State
and local governmental entities;
departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities of the Government
including Federal laboratories; private
or non-profit organizations; institutions
of higher education; and technical and
community colleges.
This notice solicits competitive
proposals addressing priorities
established by FTA for these research
areas, provides instructions for
submitting proposals, and describes
criteria FTA will use to identify
meritorious proposals for funding. This
SUMMARY:
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Sfmt 4703
60369
NOFA is also available on the FTA Web
site at: www.fta.dot.gov. FTA will
announce final selections on the Web
site and in the Federal Register.
Additionally, a synopsis of this funding
opportunity will appear on the
government-wide electronic grants Web
site www.grants.gov (GRANTS.GOV).
DATES: Complete proposals must be
submitted electronically through the
(GRANTS.GOV) ‘‘APPLY’’ function by
December 2, 2013. Prospective
applicants should initiate the process by
registering on the GRANTS.GOV Web
site promptly to ensure completion of
the application process before the
submission deadline. Instructions for
applying can be found on FTA’s Web
site at https://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/
13077.html and in the ‘‘FIND’’ module
of GRANTS.GOV. Mail and fax
submissions will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
specific information regarding the three
areas of research targeted within this
NOFA contact the following program
specialists in FTA’s Office of Research,
Demonstration, and Innovation (TRI):
For operational safety questions,
contact Roy Chen, Office of Technology,
email: royweishun.chen@dot.gov.
For infrastructure or equipment
resiliency questions, please contact
Terrell Williams, Office of Technology,
email: terrell.williams@dot.gov.
For all-hazards emergency response
and recovery questions contact Patrick
Centolanzi, Office of Technology, email:
patrick.centolanzi@dot.gov.
For general program information on
this opportunity, contact Matthew Lesh,
email: matthew.lesh@dot.gov. A TDD is
available at 1–800–877–8339 (TDD/
FIRS).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
A. Authority
B. Purpose
C. Program Information
D. Proposal Submission Process
E. Proposal Information
F. Proposal Content
G. Evaluation Criteria
H. Review and Selection Process
I. Award Information
J. Award Administration
K. Technical Assistance
Appendix A: Registration in GRANTS.GOV
A. Authority
The Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012,
Public Law 112–55, made $25,000,000
available to carry out innovative
research and demonstrations of national
significance under 49 U.S.C. 5312. Of
that amount, this NOFA makes $20.8
million available for innovative safety,
E:\FR\FM\01OCN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60368-60369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23857]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Determination Regarding Waiver of Discriminatory Purchasing
Requirements With Respect to Goods and Services of a New Member State
of the European Union (Republic of Croatia)
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Determination Regarding Waiver of Discriminatory Purchasing
Requirements under the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DATES: Effective Date: September 30, 2013.
[[Page 60369]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott J. Pietan, Director of
International Procurement Policy, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, (202) 395-9646.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The European Union (``EU'') is a party to
the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') Agreement on Government
Procurement (``GPA'') and has assumed rights and obligations under the
GPA on behalf of its Member States. On July 1, 2013, the Republic of
Croatia acceded to the EU. In light of that accession, the EU has
committed to assume rights and obligations on behalf of the new Member
State under the GPA. On June 27, 2013 the WTO Committee on Government
Procurement approved the application of the GPA to the Republic of
Croatia. The United States, which is also a party to the GPA, has
agreed to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements for eligible
products and suppliers of the Republic of Croatia, beginning on
September 30, 2013.
Section 1-201 of Executive Order 12260 of December 31, 1980
delegated the functions of the President under sections 301 and 302 of
the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (``the Trade Agreements Act'') (19
U.S.C. 2511, 2512) to the United States Trade Representative.
Determination: In conformity with sections 301 and 302 of the Trade
Agreements Act, and in order to carry out U.S. obligations under the
GPA, I hereby determine that:
1. The European Union, including the Republic of Croatia, is an
instrumentality that: (A) is a party to the GPA; and (B) will provide
appropriate reciprocal competitive government procurement opportunities
to United States products and services and suppliers of such products
and services. In accordance with section 301(b)(1) of the Trade
Agreements Act, the European Union is so designated for purposes of
section 301(a) of the Trade Agreements Act.
2. Accordingly, beginning on September 30, 2013, with respect to
eligible products (namely, those goods and services covered under the
GPA for procurement by the United States) of the Republic of Croatia
and suppliers of such products, the application of any law, regulation,
procedure, or practice regarding government procurement that would, if
applied to such products and suppliers, result in treatment less
favorable than that accorded--
(A) To United States products and suppliers of such products, or
(B) To eligible products of another foreign country or
instrumentality which is a party to the GPA and suppliers of such
products, shall be waived. This waiver shall be applied by all entities
listed in United States Annexes 1 and 3 of GPA Appendix 1.
3. The Trade Representative may modify or withdraw the designation
in paragraph 1 and the waiver in paragraph 2.
4. This notice shall not affect the treatment to be accorded to
eligible products of any country that was a Member State of the
European Union before September 30, 2013.
Dated: September 17, 2013.
Mike Froman,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2013-23857 Filed 9-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P
