African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under AGOA in Calendar Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and Request for Public Comments, 48951-48953 [2015-20142]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 2015 / Notices
renewal of an existing computer
matching program that we are currently
conducting with IRS.
We will file a report of the
subject matching program with the
Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; the
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the House of
Representatives; and the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). The matching program will be
effective as indicated below.
DATES:
Interested parties may
comment on this notice by either
telefaxing to (410) 966–0869 or writing
to the Executive Director, Office of
Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the
General Counsel, Social Security
Administration, 617 Altmeyer Building,
6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD
21235–6401. All comments received
will be available for public inspection at
this address.
ADDRESSES:
The
Executive Director, Office of Privacy
and Disclosure, Office of the General
Counsel, as shown above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A. General
The Computer Matching and Privacy
Protection Act of 1988 (Public Law
(Pub. L.) 100–503), amended the Privacy
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) by describing the
conditions under which computer
matching involving the Federal
government could be performed and
adding certain protections for persons
applying for, and receiving, Federal
benefits. Section 7201 of the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub.
L. 101–508) further amended the
Privacy Act regarding protections for
such persons.
The Privacy Act, as amended,
regulates the use of computer matching
by Federal agencies when records in a
system of records are matched with
other Federal, State, or local government
records. It requires Federal agencies
involved in computer matching
programs to:
(1) Negotiate written agreements with
the other agency or agencies
participating in the matching programs;
(2) Obtain approval of the matching
agreement by the Data Integrity Boards
of the participating Federal agencies;
(3) Publish notice of the computer
matching program in the Federal
Register;
(4) Furnish detailed reports about
matching programs to Congress and
OMB;
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:50 Aug 13, 2015
Jkt 235001
(5) Notify applicants and beneficiaries
that their records are subject to
matching; and
(6) Verify match findings before
reducing, suspending, terminating, or
denying a person’s benefits or
payments.
B. SSA Computer Matches Subject to
the Privacy Act
We have taken action to ensure that
all of our computer matching programs
comply with the requirements of the
Privacy Act, as amended.
Kirsten J. Moncada,
Executive Director, Office of Privacy and
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel.
Notice of Computer Matching Program,
SSA With the Department of the
Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
A. PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
SSA and IRS
B. PURPOSE OF THE MATCHING PROGRAM
The purpose of this matching program
is to set forth the terms under which IRS
will disclose to us certain return
information for the purpose of
establishing the correct amount of
Medicare Part B (Part B) premium
subsidy adjustments and Medicare
prescription drug coverage premium
increases under sections 1839(i) and
1860D–13(a)(7) of the Social Security
Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i) and
1395w–113(a)(7)), as enacted by section
811 of the Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement, and Modernization Act of
2003 (MMA; Pub. L. 108–173) and
section 3308 of the Affordable Care Act
of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–148).
C. AUTHORITY FOR CONDUCTING THE MATCHING
PROGRAM
The legal authority for this agreement
is section 6103(1)(20) of the Internal
Revenue Code (IRC 6103(1)(20)), which
authorizes IRS to disclose specified
return information to us with respect to
taxpayers whose Part B and/or
prescription drug coverage insurance
premium(s) may (according to IRS
records) be subject to premium subsidy
adjustment pursuant to section 1839(i)
or premium increase pursuant to section
1860D–13(a)(7) of the Act for the
purpose of establishing the amount of
any such adjustment or increase. The
return information IRS will disclose
includes adjusted gross income and
specified tax-exempt income,
collectively referred to in this agreement
as modified adjusted gross income
(MAGI). This return information will be
used by officers, employees, and our
contractors to establish the appropriate
amount of any such adjustment or
increase.
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Frm 00148
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48951
Sections 1839(i) and 1860D–13(a)(7)
of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i) and
1395w-113(a)(7)) requires our
Commissioner to determine the amount
of an enrollee’s premium subsidy
adjustment, or premium increase, if the
MAGI is above the applicable threshold
as established in section 1839(i) of the
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)).
D. CATEGORIES OF RECORDS AND PERSONS
COVERED BY THE MATCHING PROGRAM
We will provide IRS with identifying
information with respect to enrollees
from the Master Beneficiary Record
system of records, SSA/ORSIS 60–0090,
published at 71 FR 1826 (January 11,
2006). We will maintain the MAGI data
provided by IRS in the Medicare
Database system of records, SSA/ORSIS
60–0321, originally published at 69 FR
77816 (December 28, 2004), and revised
at 71 FR 42159 (July 25, 2006).
IRS will extract MAGI data from the
Return Transaction File, which is part of
the Customer Account Data Engine
Individual Master File, Treasury/IRS
24.030, published at 77 FR 47948
(August 10, 2012).
E. INCLUSIVE DATES OF THE MATCHING PROGRAM
The effective date of this matching
program is October 1, 2015; provided
that the following notice periods have
lapsed: 30 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register and 40
days after notice of the matching
program is sent to Congress and OMB.
The matching program will continue for
18 months from the effective date and,
if both agencies meet certain conditions,
it may extend for an additional 12
months thereafter.
[FR Doc. 2015–20175 Filed 8–13–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA): Request for Public Comments
on Annual Review of Country Eligibility
for Benefits Under AGOA in Calendar
Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and
Request for Public Comments
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments; notice of hearing.
AGENCY:
This notice announces the
initiation the annual review of the
eligibility of the sub-Saharan African
countries to receive the benefits of the
African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA). The AGOA Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM
14AUN1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
48952
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 2015 / Notices
Committee (Subcommittee) is
developing recommendations for the
President on AGOA country eligibility
for calendar year 2016. The
Subcommittee is requesting written
public comments for this review and
will conduct a public hearing on this
matter. The Subcommittee will consider
the written comments, written
testimony, and oral testimony in
developing recommendations for the
President. Comments received related to
the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in
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 under
AGOA that must be considered under
AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan
African countries that are currently
eligible for the benefits of AGOA and
those that were ineligible for such
benefits in 2015. Pursuant to the Trade
Preferences Extension Act of 2015
(TPEA), this year’s review of the
Republic of South Africa’s eligibility is
being considered in a separate out of
cycle review (see 80 FR 43156).
DATES:
September 3, 2015: Deadline for filing
requests to appear at the September 10,
2015 public hearing, and for filing prehearing briefs, statements, or comments
on sub-Saharan African countries’
AGOA eligibility.
September 10, 2015: AGOA
Implementation Subcommittee of the
TPSC will convene a public hearing on
AGOA eligibility.
September 16, 2015: Deadline for
filing post-hearing briefs, statements, or
comments on this matter.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers
electronic submissions made at
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR–2015–0011. See ‘‘Requirements
for Submission,’’ below. If you are
unable to make a submission at
www.regulations.gov, please contact
Yvonne Jamison, Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative, at (202) 395–3475
to make other arrangements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
procedural questions, please contact
Yvonne Jamison, 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: AGOA
(Title I of the Trade and Development
Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106–200) (19 U.S.C.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:50 Aug 13, 2015
Jkt 235001
2466a et seq.), as amended, authorizes
the President to designate sub-Saharan
African countries as beneficiary subSaharan African countries eligible for
duty-free treatment for certain
additional products not included for
duty-free treatment 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 for certain textile and apparel
articles.
The President may designate a
country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for these
benefits of AGOA if he determines that
the country meets the eligibility criteria
set forth in: (1) Section 104 of AGOA (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 continual
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 the
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.
Recognizing that concerns have been
raised about the compliance with
section 104 of AGOA of certain
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries, Section 105(d)(4)(E) of the
TPEA (Pub. L. 114–27) requires the
President to initiate an out-of-cycle
review not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of the TPEA with
respect to whether the Republic of
South Africa is meeting the eligibility
requirements set forth in section 104 of
AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act.
The Subcommittee is therefore
conducting this year’s review of South
Africa’s eligibility under a separate
process (see 80 FR 43156).
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
PO 00000
Frm 00149
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
country, should be designated as such a
country. 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. Pursuant to the TPEA,
however, the President may also
withdraw, suspend, or limit the
application of duty-free treatment with
respect to specific articles from a
country if he determines that it would
be more effective in promoting
compliance with AGOA-eligibility
requirements than terminating the
designation of the country as a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country.
For 2015, 39 countries were
designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan
African countries. These countries, as
well as the countries currently
designated as ineligible, are listed
below. The Subcommittee is seeking
public comments in connection with the
annual review of sub-Saharan African
countries’ eligibility for AGOA’s
benefits. The Subcommittee will
consider any such comments in
developing recommendations to the
President related to this review.
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 2015:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cabo 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
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
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM
14AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 2015 / Notices
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
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 2015:
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Gambia
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Somalia
Republic of South Sudan
Republic of Sudan
Kingdom of Swaziland
Republic of Zimbabwe
All documents should be submitted in
accordance with the instructions below.
Requirements for Submissions
Persons submitting a notification of
intent to testify and/or written
comments must do so electronically by
5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2015,
using www.regulations.gov, docket
number USTR–2015–0011. Instructions
for submitting business confidential
versions are provided below. Handdelivered submissions will not be
accepted. All written materials must be
submitted in English to the Chairman of
the AGOA Implementation
Subcommittee of the TPSC.
Business Confidential Submissions
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Notice of Public Hearing
In addition to written comments from
the public on the matters listed above,
the Subcommittee of the TPSC will
convene a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on
Thursday, September 10, 2015, to
receive testimony related to sub-Saharan
African countries’ eligibility for AGOA’s
benefits. Requests to present oral
testimony at the hearing and pre-hearing
briefs, statements, or comments must be
received by September 3, 2015.
The hearing will be held at 1724 F
Street NW., Washington, DC 20508 and
will be open to the public and to the
press. A transcript of the hearing will be
made available on www.regulations.gov
within approximately two weeks of the
hearing.
All interested parties wishing to
present oral testimony at the hearing
must submit, following the
‘‘Requirements for Submissions’’ set out
below, the name, address, telephone
number, and email address, if available,
of the witness(es) representing their
organization by 5 p.m., Thursday,
September 3, 2015. The intent to testify
notification must be made in the ‘‘Type
Comment’’ field under docket number
USTR–2015–0011 on the
regulations.gov Web site and should
include the name, address, and
telephone number of the person
presenting the testimony. A summary of
the testimony should be attached by
using the ‘‘Upload File’’ field. The name
of the file should also include who will
be presenting the testimony. Remarks at
the hearing should be limited to no
more than five minutes to allow for
possible questions from the TPSC.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:50 Aug 13, 2015
Jkt 235001
An interested party requesting that
information contained in a submission
be treated as business confidential
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. The
submission must be marked ‘‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom
of the cover page and each succeeding
page, and the submission should
indicate, via brackets, the specific
information that is confidential.
Additionally, ‘‘Business Confidential’’
must be included in the ‘‘Type
Comment’’ field. For any submission
containing business confidential
information, a non-confidential version
must be submitted separately (i.e., not as
part of the same submission with the
confidential version), indicating where
confidential information has been
redacted. The non-confidential version
will be placed in the docket and open
to public inspection.
Public Viewing of Review Submissions
Submissions in response to this
notice, except for information granted
‘‘business confidential’’ status under 15
CFR 2003.6, will be available for public
viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at
www.regulations.gov upon completion
of processing. Such submissions may be
viewed by entering the country-specific
docket number in the search field at
www.regulations.gov.
Edward Gresser,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2015–20142 Filed 8–13–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F5–P
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48953
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Summary Notice No. 2015–49]
Petition for Exemption; Summary of
Petition Received; Lockheed Martin
Corporation
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice contains a
summary of a petition seeking relief
from specified requirements of Title 14
of the Code of Federal Regulations. The
purpose of this notice is to improve the
public’s awareness of, and participation
in, the FAA’s exemption process.
Neither publication of this notice nor
the inclusion or omission of information
in the summary is intended to affect the
legal status of the petition or its final
disposition.
SUMMARY:
Comments on this petition must
identify the petition docket number and
must be received on or before
September 3, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified
by docket number FAA–2015–3257
using any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
• Mail: Send comments to Docket
Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West
Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC
20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take
comments to Docket Operations in
Room W12–140 of the West Building
Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: Fax comments to Docket
Operations at 202–493–2251.
Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C.
553(c), DOT solicits comments from the
public to better inform its rulemaking
process. DOT posts these comments,
without edit, including any personal
information the commenter provides, to
https://www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records
notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can
be reviewed at https://www.dot.gov/
privacy.
Docket: Background documents or
comments received may be read at
https://www.regulations.gov at any time.
Follow the online instructions for
accessing the docket or go to the Docket
Operations in Room W12–140 of the
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\14AUN1.SGM
14AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48951-48953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20142]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Request for Public
Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under
AGOA in Calendar Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and Request for
Public Comments
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments; notice of hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation the annual review of the
eligibility of the sub-Saharan African countries to receive the
benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The AGOA
Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
[[Page 48952]]
Committee (Subcommittee) is developing recommendations for the
President on AGOA country eligibility for calendar year 2016. The
Subcommittee is requesting written public comments for this review and
will conduct a public hearing on this matter. The Subcommittee will
consider the written comments, written testimony, and oral testimony in
developing recommendations for the President. Comments received related
to the child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of
Labor in 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 under AGOA
that must be considered under AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan African
countries that are currently eligible for the benefits of AGOA and
those that were ineligible for such benefits in 2015. Pursuant to the
Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (TPEA), this year's review of
the Republic of South Africa's eligibility is being considered in a
separate out of cycle review (see 80 FR 43156).
DATES:
September 3, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the
September 10, 2015 public hearing, and for filing pre-hearing briefs,
statements, or comments on sub-Saharan African countries' AGOA
eligibility.
September 10, 2015: AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the TPSC
will convene a public hearing on AGOA eligibility.
September 16, 2015: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs,
statements, or comments on this matter.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made at
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0011. See ``Requirements
for Submission,'' below. If you are unable to make a submission at
www.regulations.gov, please contact Yvonne Jamison, Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative, at (202) 395-3475 to make other arrangements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please
contact Yvonne Jamison, 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: AGOA (Title I of the Trade and Development
Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-200) (19 U.S.C. 2466a 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 not included for duty-free
treatment 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 for certain textile and apparel
articles.
The President may designate a country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for these benefits of AGOA if he determines
that the country meets the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1)
Section 104 of AGOA (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 continual 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 the 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.
Recognizing that concerns have been raised about the compliance
with section 104 of AGOA of certain beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries, Section 105(d)(4)(E) of the TPEA (Pub. L. 114-27) requires
the President to initiate an out-of-cycle review not later than 30 days
after the date of the enactment of the TPEA with respect to whether the
Republic of South Africa is meeting the eligibility requirements set
forth in section 104 of AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act. The
Subcommittee is therefore conducting this year's review of South
Africa's eligibility under a separate process (see 80 FR 43156).
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. 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. Pursuant to the TPEA, however, the President may also
withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of duty-free treatment with
respect to specific articles from a country if he determines that it
would be more effective in promoting compliance with AGOA-eligibility
requirements than terminating the designation of the country as a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country.
For 2015, 39 countries were designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan
African countries. These countries, as well as the countries currently
designated as ineligible, are listed below. The Subcommittee is seeking
public comments in connection with the annual review of sub-Saharan
African countries' eligibility for AGOA's benefits. The Subcommittee
will consider any such comments in developing recommendations to the
President related to this review. 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 2015:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cabo 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
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
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
[[Page 48953]]
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
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 2015:
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Gambia
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Somalia
Republic of South Sudan
Republic of Sudan
Kingdom of Swaziland
Republic of Zimbabwe
Notice of Public Hearing
In addition to written comments from the public on the matters
listed above, the Subcommittee of the TPSC will convene a public
hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2015, to receive
testimony related to sub-Saharan African countries' eligibility for
AGOA's benefits. Requests to present oral testimony at the hearing and
pre-hearing briefs, statements, or comments must be received by
September 3, 2015.
The hearing will be held at 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508
and will be open to the public and to the press. A transcript of the
hearing will be made available on www.regulations.gov within
approximately two weeks of the hearing.
All interested parties wishing to present oral testimony at the
hearing must submit, following the ``Requirements for Submissions'' set
out below, the name, address, telephone number, and email address, if
available, of the witness(es) representing their organization by 5
p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2015. The intent to testify notification
must be made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR-
2015-0011 on the regulations.gov Web site and should include the name,
address, and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. A
summary of the testimony should be attached by using the ``Upload
File'' field. The name of the file should also include who will be
presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to
no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the
TPSC.
All documents should be submitted in accordance with the
instructions below.
Requirements for Submissions
Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or
written comments must do so electronically by 5:00 p.m., Thursday,
September 3, 2015, using www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-
0011. Instructions for submitting business confidential versions are
provided below. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. All
written materials must be submitted in English to the Chairman of the
AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the TPSC.
Business Confidential Submissions
An interested party requesting that information contained in a
submission be treated as business confidential 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. The submission
must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the
cover page and each succeeding page, and the submission should
indicate, via brackets, the specific information that is confidential.
Additionally, ``Business Confidential'' must be included in the ``Type
Comment'' field. For any submission containing business confidential
information, a non-confidential version must be submitted separately
(i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential
version), indicating where confidential information has been redacted.
The non-confidential version will be placed in the docket and open to
public inspection.
Public Viewing of Review Submissions
Submissions in response to this notice, except for information
granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be
available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at
www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. Such submissions may
be viewed by entering the country-specific docket number in the search
field at www.regulations.gov.
Edward Gresser,
Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 2015-20142 Filed 8-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P
