Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of the 2017 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadlines for Filing Petitions; Notice of Change in Country Practices Hearing, 37652-37654 [2017-16967]
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37652
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
County, N.J.1 The Line traverses United
States Postal Service Zip Code 08066.
SMS has certified that: (1) No
overhead traffic has moved over the
Line for at least two years and overhead
traffic, if there were any, could be
rerouted over other lines; (2) no formal
complaint filed by a user of rail service
on the Line (or by a state or local
government entity acting on behalf of
such user) regarding cessation of service
over the Line either is pending with the
Surface Transportation Board (Board) or
with any U.S. District Court or has been
decided in favor of a complainant
within the two-year period; and (3) the
requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c)
(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11
(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12
(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental
agencies) have been met.2
As a condition to this exemption, any
employee adversely affected by the
abandonment shall be protected under
Oregon Short Line Railroad—
Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch
Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham &
Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C.
91 (1979). To address whether this
condition adequately protects affected
employees, a petition for partial
revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)
must be filed.
Provided no formal expression of
intent to file an offer of financial
assistance (OFA) has been received, this
exemption will be effective on
September 10, 2017, unless stayed
pending reconsideration. Petitions to
stay that do not involve environmental
issues,3 formal expressions of intent to
1 The Line is the same line as to which the Board
granted PRC’s application for adverse abandonment
against SMS in December 2014. See Paulsboro
Refining Co.—Adverse Aban.—in Gloucester Cty.,
N.J., AB 1095 (Sub-No. 1) (STB served Dec. 2, 2014).
That decision later was vacated at the parties’ joint
request due to settlement. Paulsboro Refining Co.—
Adverse Aban.—in Gloucester Cty., N.J., AB 1095
(Sub-No. 1) (STB served June 19, 2015).
2 To qualify for the two-year out-of-service class
exemption, a carrier must also certify that ‘‘no local
traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years,’’
49 CFR 1152.50(b). Here, SMS certifies that ‘‘no rail
traffic has been transported by SMS over [the Line]
. . . for at least two years.’’ (Notice, App. 1 at 1
(emphasis added).) In light of the unique
circumstances of this case (including, among other
things, the recent adverse abandonment proceeding
pertaining to the Line), the Board has waived
1152.50(b) to the extent, if any, that SMS’s
certification could be deemed not to meet the
requirement of that regulation. SMS Rail Serv.,
Inc.—Aban. Exemption—in Gloucester Cty., N.J.
(July Decision), AB 1095 (Sub-No. 2X), slip op. at
1 (STB served July 13, 2017).
3 The Board will grant a stay if an informed
decision on any environmental issues raised cannot
be made before the exemption’s effective date. See
Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377
(1989). Any request for a stay should be filed as
soon as possible so that the Board may take
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:18 Aug 10, 2017
Jkt 241001
file an OFA under 49 CFR
1152.27(c)(2),4 and interim trail use/rail
banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29
must be filed by August 21, 2017.
Petitions to reopen or requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by August 31,
2017, with the Surface Transportation
Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington,
DC 20423–0001.
A copy of any petition filed with the
Board should be sent to Robert A. Klein,
Berkowitz Klein, LLP, 629 B Swedesford
Road, Swedesford Corporate Center,
Malvern, PA 19355–1530.
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemption
is void ab initio.
Combined environmental and historic
reports that addressed the effects, if any,
of abandonment of the Line on the
environment and historic resources
were prepared and submitted to the
Board as part of PRC’s adverse
abandonment application for the Line in
Docket No. AB 1095 (Sub-No. 1). The
Board’s Office of Environmental
Analysis (OEA) issued an
Environmental Assessment (EA) in that
proceeding on February 12, 2014,
concluding that the proposed
abandonment would not significantly
impact the quality of the human
environment and recommending no
environmental mitigation conditions.
Following the public comment period,
OEA issued a final EA in which it
recommended no environmental
mitigation conditions. In its decision
granting PRC’s adverse abandonment
application, the Board adopted OEA’s
analysis and found that the proposed
abandonment, if implemented, would
not significantly affect the quality of the
human environment and that no
environmental conditions were needed.
See Paulsboro Refining Co.—Adverse
Aban.—in Gloucester Cty., N.J., AB 1095
(Sub-No. 1), slip op. at 6 (STB served
Dec. 2, 2014). In the July Decision, the
Board found that the environmental
review conducted in Docket No. AB
1095 (Sub-No. 1) satisfies the agency’s
obligations under the National
Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C.
4321, and the National Historic
Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. 300101 et
seq., in this case and therefore waived
the environmental and historic
appropriate action before the exemption’s effective
date.
4 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing
fee, which is currently set at $1,700. See 49 CFR
1002.2(f)(25). Effective September 1, 2017, the fee
will become $1,800. See Regulations Governing
Fees for Servs. Performed in Connection with
Licensing & Related Servs.—2017 Update, EP 542
(Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. C at 20 (STB served July
28, 2017).
PO 00000
Frm 00096
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
reporting requirements under 49 CFR
1105.7 and 1105.8 for this proceeding.
Public use or trail use/rail banking
conditions will be imposed, where
appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR
1152.29(e)(2), SMS shall file a notice of
consummation with the Board to signify
that it has exercised the authority
granted and fully abandoned the Line. If
consummation has not been effected by
SMS’s filing of a notice of
consummation by August 13, 2017, and
there are no legal or regulatory barriers
to consummation, the authority to
abandon will automatically expire.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our Web site at
‘‘WWW.STB.GOV.’’
Decided:
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017–17007 Filed 8–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR–2017–0014]
Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP): Initiation of the 2017 Annual
GSP Product and Country Practices
Review; Deadlines for Filing Petitions;
Notice of Change in Country Practices
Hearing
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing and
request for petitions and comments.
AGENCY:
The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) will
consider petitions to modify the list of
articles that are eligible for duty-free
treatment under the Generalized System
of Preferences (GSP) program, and to
modify the GSP status of certain GSP
beneficiary developing countries
because of country practices.
USTR is extending the previously
announced hearing on Bolivia’s country
practices to include a second day to
provide interested parties with an
opportunity to submit testimony on the
following country practice petitions
accepted in previous years that continue
to be under review: Argentina, Ecuador,
Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Thailand,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
USTR will announce the procedures
to receive petitions requesting waivers
of competitive need limitations (CNLs)
and the schedule for a public hearing on
the product review petitions and any
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\11AUN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices
new country practice petitions in the
Federal Register at a later date.
DATES:
September 12, 2017 at midnight EST:
Deadline for submission of comments,
pre-hearing briefs and requests to
appear at the September 26–27, 2017,
public hearing.
September 26–27, 2017: The GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) will convene a
public hearing on the GSP country
practice review of Bolivia in Rooms 1
and 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington
DC 20508, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The
GSP Subcommittee is extending the
hearing to September 27th to provide
interested parties with an opportunity to
submit testimony on all country practice
petitions accepted in previous years that
continue to be under review. Any
interested party, including foreign
governments, may submit testimony or
ask to testify at the September 26–27,
2017 country practices hearing.
October 17, 2017 at midnight EST:
Deadline for submission of post-hearing
briefs.
October 17, 2017 at midnight EST:
Deadline for submission of petitions to
modify the list of articles eligible for
duty-free treatment under the GSP and
new petitions to review the GSP status
of any beneficiary developing country.
USTR will announce decisions on the
petitions accepted for review, a
schedule for any related public
hearings, and the opportunity to provide
comments, at a later date.
Country
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
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A. Background
The GSP program provides for the
duty-free treatment of designated
articles when imported from beneficiary
developing countries. The GSP program
is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act
of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as
amended, and is implemented in
accordance with Executive Order 11888
of November 24, 1975, as modified by
subsequent Executive Orders and
Presidential Proclamations.
B. The 2017 Annual GSP Review
Petitions
1. GSP Product Review Petitions
Any interested party, including
foreign governments, may submit
petitions to:
1. Designate additional articles as
eligible for GSP benefits, if the articles
are imported from countries designated
as least-developed beneficiary
developing countries, or as beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries under the
African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA).
2. Withdraw, suspend or limit the
application of duty-free treatment
accorded under the GSP with respect to
any article.
3. Otherwise modify GSP coverage.
Petitioners seeking to add products to
eligibility for GSP benefits should note
that, as provided in section 503(b) of the
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)), certain
articles may not be designated as
eligible articles under GSP. As specified
in 15 CFR 2007.1, all petitions must
include a detailed description of the
product and the eight-digit subheading
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS) under which
the product is classified.
2. Country Practices Review Petitions
Any interested party may submit a
petition to review the GSP eligibility of
any beneficiary developing country with
respect to any of the designation criteria
listed in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(b) and
(c)).
3. Notice of Change to Country Practices
Public Hearing
The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC
will hold a hearing on September 26–27,
2017, for the following country practice
cases:
Basis for petition
Argentina ...............
Bolivia ....................
Ecuador .................
Georgia ..................
Indonesia ...............
Iraq ........................
Laos .......................
Thailand .................
Ukraine ..................
Uzbekistan .............
Uzbekistan .............
Petitioner
Docket No.
Request for GSP Benefits ...........................
Worker Rights+Child Labor .........................
Arbitral Awards .............................................
Worker Rights ..............................................
Intellectual Property Rights ..........................
Worker Rights ..............................................
Request for GSP Benefits ...........................
Worker Rights ..............................................
Intellectual Property Rights ..........................
Worker Rights+Child Labor .........................
Intellectual Property Rights ..........................
Argentina ....................................................................
USTR .........................................................................
Chevron Corporation ..................................................
AFL–CIO ....................................................................
International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) ......
AFL–CIO ....................................................................
Laos ...........................................................................
AFL–CIO ....................................................................
IIPA ............................................................................
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) ...................
IIPA ............................................................................
USTR–2016–0023
USTR–2017–0009
USTR–2013–0013
USTR–2013–0009
USTR–2013–0011
USTR–2013–0004
USTR–2013–0021
USTR–2015–0018
USTR–2013–0010
USTR–2013–0007
USTR–2013–0014
The hearing will be held in Rooms 1
and 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington
DC 20508 and will be open to the public
and to the press. We will make a
transcript of the hearing available on
https://www.regulations.gov within
approximately two weeks after the date
of the hearing.
All interested parties wishing to make
an oral presentation 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)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
USTR strongly prefers
electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. The docket
number for the 2017 Annual GSP
Review is USTR–2017–0014. The
current country practice case docket
numbers are listed in section B.3 below.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments in section C below. For
alternatives to on-line submissions,
please contact Naomi Freeman at (202)
395–2974.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Naomi Freeman at (202) 395–2974 or
GSP@ustr.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
37653
17:18 Aug 10, 2017
Jkt 241001
representing their organization by
midnight on September 12, 2017.
Requests to present oral testimony must
be accompanied by a written brief or
summary statement, in English. The
GSP Subcommittee will limit oral
testimony to five-minute presentations
that summarize or supplement
information contained in briefs or
statements submitted for the record. The
GSP Subcommittee will accept posthearing briefs or statements if they
conform with the requirements set out
below and are submitted, in English, by
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midnight on October 17, 2017. Parties
not wishing to appear at the public
hearing may submit pre-hearing and
post-hearing briefs or comments by
these deadlines.
In order to be assured of
consideration, you must submit all posthearing briefs or statements by the
October 17, 2017 deadline to docket
number USTR–2017–0014 via
www.regulations.gov. However, if there
are new developments or information
that parties wish to share with the GSP
Subcommittee after this date, the
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regulations.gov docket will remain open
until a final decision is made. Post all
comments, letters, or other submissions
related to country practice reviews to
the appropriate docket listed above via
www.regulations.gov.
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
C. Requirements for Submissions
All submissions in response to this
notice must conform to the GSP
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part
2007—https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/
text-idx?SID=271bd12a5ef9cae0c4c178
d1131ac292&mc=true&node=
pt15.3.2007&rgn=div5—except as
modified below.
The GSP Subcommittee strongly
encourages on-line submissions, using
the https://www.regulations.gov Web
site. All submissions must be in English
and must be transmitted electronically
via www.regulations.gov using docket
number USTR–2017–0014 for the 2017
GSP Annual Review (for products or
new country practice petitions), and the
docket numbers listed above for
testimony at the country practice public
hearing for current country practice
cases. To make a submission via
www.regulations.gov, enter the
appropriate docket number 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 and click
on the link entitled ‘‘Comment Now!’’
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
Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of the
home page.
USTR will not accept hand-delivered
submissions. USTR will not accept
submissions for review that do not
provide the information required by
sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP
regulations, except upon a detailed
showing in the submission that the
petitioner made a good faith effort to
obtain the information required.
The https://www.regulations.gov Web
site allows users to provide comments
by filling in a ‘‘Type Comment’’ field, or
by attaching a document using an
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17:18 Aug 10, 2017
Jkt 241001
‘‘Upload File’’ field. The GSP
Subcommittee prefers that you provide
submissions as an attached document. If
you attach a document, it is sufficient to
type ‘‘See attached’’ in the ‘‘Type
Comment’’ field. USTR prefers
submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the
submission is in another file format,
please indicate the name of the software
application in the ‘‘Type Comment’’
field. At the beginning of the
submission or on the first page (if an
attachment), include the following text
(in bold and underlined): (1) ‘‘2017 GSP
Annual Review’’ and (2) the eight-digit
HTSUS subheading number in which
the product is classified (for product
petitions) or the name of the country
(for country practice or requests for new
GSP country benefits petitions).
Interested parties submitting petitions
that request action with respect to
specific products also should list at the
beginning of the submission, or on the
first page (if an attachment) the
following information: (1) The requested
action; and (2) if applicable, the
beneficiary developing country.
Submissions should not exceed 30
single-spaced, standard letter-size pages
in 12-point type, including attachments.
Please do not attach separate cover
letters or data attachments to electronic
submissions; rather, include any such
information in the comments
themselves. Similarly, to the extent
possible, please include any exhibits,
annexes, or other attachments in the
same file as the comment itself, rather
than submitting them as separate files.
For any electronic submissions that
contain business confidential
information, the file name of the
business confidential version should
begin with the characters ‘‘BC’’. Any
page containing business confidential
information must be clearly marked
‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ on the
top of that page and the submission
should clearly indicate, via brackets,
highlighting, or other means, the
specific information that is business
confidential. A filer requesting business
confidential treatment must certify that
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Sfmt 9990
the information is business confidential
and would not customarily be released
to the public by the submitter. Filers of
submissions containing business
confidential information also must
submit a public version of their
comments that we will place in the
docket for public inspection. The file
name of the public version should begin
with the character ‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and
‘‘P’’ should be followed by the name of
the person or entity submitting the
comments. Filers submitting comments
containing no business confidential
information should name their file using
the name of the person or entity
submitting the comments.
You will receive a submission
tracking number upon completion of the
submissions procedure at https://
www.regulations.gov. The tracking
number is your confirmation that the
submission was received into https://
www.regulations.gov. The GSP
Subcommittee is not able to provide
technical assistance for the Web site.
The GSP Subcommittee may not
consider documents that are not
submitted in accordance with these
instructions
As noted, the GSP Subcommittee
strongly urges submitters to file
comments through
www.regulations.gov. You must make
any alternative arrangements with
Naomi Freeman in advance of
transmitting a comment. You can
contact Ms. Freeman at (202) 395–2974.
We will post comments in the docket
for public inspection, except business
confidential information. You can view
comments on the https://
www.regulations.gov Web site by
entering the relevant docket number in
the search field on the home page.
Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative
for the Generalized System of Preferences and
Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade
Policy Staff Committee Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017–16967 Filed 8–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290–F7–P
E:\FR\FM\11AUN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37652-37654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16967]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket Number USTR-2017-0014]
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of the 2017
Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadlines for Filing
Petitions; Notice of Change in Country Practices Hearing
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing and request for petitions and
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
will consider petitions to modify the list of articles that are
eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) program, and to modify the GSP status of certain GSP
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices.
USTR is extending the previously announced hearing on Bolivia's
country practices to include a second day to provide interested parties
with an opportunity to submit testimony on the following country
practice petitions accepted in previous years that continue to be under
review: Argentina, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Thailand,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
USTR will announce the procedures to receive petitions requesting
waivers of competitive need limitations (CNLs) and the schedule for a
public hearing on the product review petitions and any
[[Page 37653]]
new country practice petitions in the Federal Register at a later date.
DATES:
September 12, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of
comments, pre-hearing briefs and requests to appear at the September
26-27, 2017, public hearing.
September 26-27, 2017: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing on the GSP country
practice review of Bolivia in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW.,
Washington DC 20508, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The GSP Subcommittee is
extending the hearing to September 27th to provide interested parties
with an opportunity to submit testimony on all country practice
petitions accepted in previous years that continue to be under review.
Any interested party, including foreign governments, may submit
testimony or ask to testify at the September 26-27, 2017 country
practices hearing.
October 17, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing briefs.
October 17, 2017 at midnight EST: Deadline for submission of
petitions to modify the list of articles eligible for duty-free
treatment under the GSP and new petitions to review the GSP status of
any beneficiary developing country. USTR will announce decisions on the
petitions accepted for review, a schedule for any related public
hearings, and the opportunity to provide comments, at a later date.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. The docket
number for the 2017 Annual GSP Review is USTR-2017-0014. The current
country practice case docket numbers are listed in section B.3 below.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section C below. For
alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact Naomi Freeman at
(202) 395-2974.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman at (202) 395-2974 or
GSP@ustr.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated
articles when imported from beneficiary developing countries. The GSP
program is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2461 et seq.), as amended, and is implemented in accordance with
Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent
Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
B. The 2017 Annual GSP Review Petitions
1. GSP Product Review Petitions
Any interested party, including foreign governments, may submit
petitions to:
1. Designate additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, if
the articles are imported from countries designated as least-developed
beneficiary developing countries, or as beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
2. Withdraw, suspend or limit the application of duty-free
treatment accorded under the GSP with respect to any article.
3. Otherwise modify GSP coverage.
Petitioners seeking to add products to eligibility for GSP benefits
should note that, as provided in section 503(b) of the Trade Act (19
U.S.C. 2463(b)), certain articles may not be designated as eligible
articles under GSP. As specified in 15 CFR 2007.1, all petitions must
include a detailed description of the product and the eight-digit
subheading of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) under which the product is classified.
2. Country Practices Review Petitions
Any interested party may submit a petition to review the GSP
eligibility of any beneficiary developing country with respect to any
of the designation criteria listed in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of the
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(b) and (c)).
3. Notice of Change to Country Practices Public Hearing
The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a hearing on September
26-27, 2017, for the following country practice cases:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Basis for petition Petitioner Docket No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argentina................. Request for GSP Argentina............ USTR-2016-0023
Benefits.
Bolivia................... Worker Rights+Child USTR................. USTR-2017-0009
Labor.
Ecuador................... Arbitral Awards...... Chevron Corporation.. USTR-2013-0013
Georgia................... Worker Rights........ AFL-CIO.............. USTR-2013-0009
Indonesia................. Intellectual Property International USTR-2013-0011
Rights. Intellectual
Property Alliance
(IIPA).
Iraq...................... Worker Rights........ AFL-CIO.............. USTR-2013-0004
Laos...................... Request for GSP Laos................. USTR-2013-0021
Benefits.
Thailand.................. Worker Rights........ AFL-CIO.............. USTR-2015-0018
Ukraine................... Intellectual Property IIPA................. USTR-2013-0010
Rights.
Uzbekistan................ Worker Rights+Child International Labor USTR-2013-0007
Labor. Rights Forum (ILRF).
Uzbekistan................ Intellectual Property IIPA................. USTR-2013-0014
Rights.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The hearing will be held in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW.,
Washington DC 20508 and will be open to the public and to the press. We
will make a transcript of the hearing available on https://www.regulations.gov within approximately two weeks after the date of
the hearing.
All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation 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
midnight on September 12, 2017. Requests to present oral testimony must
be accompanied by a written brief or summary statement, in English. The
GSP Subcommittee will limit oral testimony to five-minute presentations
that summarize or supplement information contained in briefs or
statements submitted for the record. The GSP Subcommittee will accept
post-hearing briefs or statements if they conform with the requirements
set out below and are submitted, in English, by midnight on October 17,
2017. Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit
pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs or comments by these deadlines.
In order to be assured of consideration, you must submit all post-
hearing briefs or statements by the October 17, 2017 deadline to docket
number USTR-2017-0014 via www.regulations.gov. However, if there are
new developments or information that parties wish to share with the GSP
Subcommittee after this date, the
[[Page 37654]]
regulations.gov docket will remain open until a final decision is made.
Post all comments, letters, or other submissions related to country
practice reviews to the appropriate docket listed above via
www.regulations.gov.
C. Requirements for Submissions
All submissions in response to this notice must conform to the GSP
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007--https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=271bd12a5ef9cae0c4c178d1131ac292&mc=true&node=pt15.3.2007&rgn=div5--except as modified below.
The GSP Subcommittee strongly encourages on-line submissions, using
the https://www.regulations.gov Web site. All submissions must be in
English and must be transmitted electronically via www.regulations.gov
using docket number USTR-2017-0014 for the 2017 GSP Annual Review (for
products or new country practice petitions), and the docket numbers
listed above for testimony at the country practice public hearing for
current country practice cases. To make a submission via
www.regulations.gov, enter the appropriate docket number 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 and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' 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
Regulations.gov'' on the bottom of the home page.
USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions. USTR will not
accept submissions for review that do not provide the information
required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP regulations, except
upon a detailed showing in the submission that the petitioner made a
good faith effort to obtain the information required.
The https://www.regulations.gov Web site allows users to provide
comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a
document using an ``Upload File'' field. The GSP Subcommittee prefers
that you provide submissions as an attached document. If you attach a
document, it is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type
Comment'' field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the submission is in another file
format, please indicate the name of the software application in the
``Type Comment'' field. At the beginning of the submission or on the
first page (if an attachment), include the following text (in bold and
underlined): (1) ``2017 GSP Annual Review'' and (2) the eight-digit
HTSUS subheading number in which the product is classified (for product
petitions) or the name of the country (for country practice or requests
for new GSP country benefits petitions). Interested parties submitting
petitions that request action with respect to specific products also
should list at the beginning of the submission, or on the first page
(if an attachment) the following information: (1) The requested action;
and (2) if applicable, the beneficiary developing country. Submissions
should not exceed 30 single-spaced, standard letter-size pages in 12-
point type, including attachments.
Please do not attach separate cover letters or data attachments to
electronic submissions; rather, include any such information in the
comments themselves. Similarly, to the extent possible, please include
any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in the same file as the
comment itself, rather than submitting them as separate files.
For any electronic submissions that contain business confidential
information, the file name of the business confidential version should
begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page and the submission should
clearly indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or other means, the
specific information that is business confidential. A filer requesting
business confidential treatment must certify that the information is
business confidential and would not customarily be released to the
public by the submitter. Filers of submissions containing business
confidential information also must submit a public version of their
comments that we will place in the docket for public inspection. The
file name of the public version should begin with the character ``P''.
The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or
entity submitting the comments. Filers submitting comments containing
no business confidential information should name their file using the
name of the person or entity submitting the comments.
You will receive a submission tracking number upon completion of
the submissions procedure at https://www.regulations.gov. The tracking
number is your confirmation that the submission was received into
https://www.regulations.gov. The GSP Subcommittee is not able to
provide technical assistance for the Web site. The GSP Subcommittee may
not consider documents that are not submitted in accordance with these
instructions
As noted, the GSP Subcommittee strongly urges submitters to file
comments through www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative
arrangements with Naomi Freeman in advance of transmitting a comment.
You can contact Ms. Freeman at (202) 395-2974.
We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except
business confidential information. You can view comments on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant docket number in
the search field on the home page.
Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System
of Preferences and Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-16967 Filed 8-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P