Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Revisions to the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions; GSP Renewal and Technical Modifications, 14540-14542 [2018-06783]

Download as PDF 14540 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2018 / Notices by calling OEA at (202) 245–0305. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877– 8339. Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public. Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision. Pursuant to 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), IC 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 IC’s filing of a notice of consummation by April 3, 2019, 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 website at www.stb.gov. Decided: March 28, 2018. By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Marline Simeon, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2018–06893 Filed 4–3–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P I. Background OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE [Docket Number USTR–2017–0004] Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Revisions to the 2017/ 2018 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions; GSP Renewal and Technical Modifications Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Notice of procedures for submission of petitions from the public. AGENCY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary countries because of country practices; add products to GSP eligibility; remove products from GSP eligibility for one or more countries; waive competitive need limitations (CNLs); deny de minimis waivers for products eligible for de minimis waivers; and redesignate currently excluded products. This review will include separate hearings on product petitions and country eligibility reviews, which will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date. DATES: To be considered in the 2017/ 2018 Annual GSP Review, USTR must amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:12 Apr 03, 2018 receive your petition by Monday, April 16, 2018 at midnight EST. This is the deadline for petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary developing countries because of country practices; petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions on GSP product eligibility additions and removals; petitions to deny de minimis waivers; or petitions to redesignate an excluded product. USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 16, 2018 deadline. USTR will announce decisions on which petitions are accepted for review, along with a schedule for any related public hearings and the opportunity for the public to provide comments, at a later date. ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket number is USTR–2017–0004. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–9666. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl at (202) 395–6364 or gsp@ustr.eop.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Jkt 244001 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, as amended (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations. The 2017 GSP Annual Product Review: The Interim Import Statistics Relating to Competitive Need Limitations is posted on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ preference-programs/generalizedsystem-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/ gsp-2017-review. These statistics include three lists: List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from beneficiary developing countries (BDCs) that exceeded a CNL by having been imported into the United States in 2017 in excess of $180 million, or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. import value for this product in 2017. Unless the President grants a waiver in response to a petition filed by an interested party, these products will be removed from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2018. List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de PO 00000 Frm 00131 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 minimis waiver. Petitions are not necessary for these products to be considered for de minimis waivers. As described below, petitions only will be accepted in opposition to potential de minimis waivers for these products. List III identifies GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs that currently are not receiving GSP duty-free treatment but may be considered for GSP redesignation in response to a petition filed by an interested party. Note that products exceeding 50 percent of imports may be considered for redesignation if there was no U.S. production in the last three years. II. 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review A. GSP Product and Beneficiary Country Review Petitions Certain GSP Product Addition and Removal Petitions were submitted for review in 2017, as were petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary developing countries because of country practices. Due to the lapse in authorization of GSP, and a resulting change in the schedule for the annual GSP review, USTR is reopening the window for submitting GSP product and country petitions. Any petitions previously submitted for this review do not need to be resubmitted. B. Changes Resulting From Recent Legislation The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115–141) reauthorized the GSP program and made a number of modifications. First, the GSP program is authorized through December 31, 2020, retroactive to January 1, 2018 (see the USTR GSP website at https://ustr.gov/ issue-areas/trade-development/ preference-programs/generalizedsystem-preference-gsp for details on retroactive authorization, effective date of authorization, and refund procedures). Second, Public Law 115– 141 established a new timeline for the GSP review: The date for exclusion of items exceeding CNLs changed from July 1 to November 1. Third, with respect to the date for determining whether a product is not produced in the United States, Public Law 115–141 changed the date so that instead of requiring that the product not have been produced in the United States on January 1, 1995, the product must not have been produced in the United States ‘‘in any of the preceding three calendar years.’’ For the 2017/2018 Annual Review this means calendar years 2015 to 2017. Interested parties filing CNL waiver petitions and redesignation petitions should indicate whether there was production of a like or directly E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM 04APN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2018 / Notices competitive product in the United States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 2017). amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES C. Country Practice Review Petitions An 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)). D. GSP Product Review Petitions An interested party, including foreign governments, may submit the following petitions: • Product Addition Petitions: Petitions to designate additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including to designate articles as eligible only 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). 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. • Product Withdrawal Petitions: Petitions to withdraw, suspend or limit the application of duty-free treatment accorded under the GSP with respect to any article. • Competitive Need Limitation Waiver Petitions: Any interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2018 CNL for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to specific GSP-eligible articles (these limits, however, do not apply to least-developed beneficiary developing countries or AGOA beneficiary countries). As noted above, petitions should indicate whether there was production of a like or directly competitive product in the United States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 2015). • Petitions for Denial of De Minimis Waivers: Interested parties filing petitions for denial of de minimis waivers should note the procedural changes outlined in paragraph E below. • Petitions for Redesignation: Interested parties filing petitions for redesignation should note the procedural changes outlined in paragraph E below. E. Notice of Procedural Change The GSP program is changing the petition process procedures for products eligible for a de minimis waiver and products eligible for redesignation. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:12 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 244001 Previously, USTR only accepted comments on de minimis and redesignation products. Under the new procedures, USTR now will accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers, and petitions to grant redesignation. This includes possible redesignation of products for which imports are below the dollar value CNL ($180 million for 2017), but for which imports exceed 50 percent, in the event that a petitioner believes that there has been no production in the United States. As noted above, the petitioner should indicate whether there was production of a like or directly competitive product in the United States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 2017). Consistent with the criteria in section 503 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(C)), the President previously has granted redesignation requests in only a limited number of circumstances. USTR anticipates this customary practice to continue and will prioritize redesignations of products that do not compete with U.S. production. The primary distinction between the previous and the new petition process is that accepted petitions on these topics now will be included in the advice provided by the United States International Trade Commission as required by section 503 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463). III. Requirements for Submissions A. General Requirements All submissions for the GSP Annual Review must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007, except as modified below. These regulations are available on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ trade-development/preferenceprograms/generalized-systempreference-gsp/gsp-program-inf. All submissions in response to this notice must be in English and must be submitted electronically via https:// www.regulations.gov, using docket number USTR–2017–0014. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions. Submissions that do not provide the information required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP regulations will not be accepted for review, except upon a detailed showing in the submission that the petitioner made a good faith effort to obtain the information required. To make a submission via https:// www.regulations.gov, enter the docket number for this review—USTR–2017– 0014—in the ‘‘Search for’’ field 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 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 14541 by selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document Type’’ in the ‘‘Filter Results by’’ section on the left side of the screen and click on the link entitled ‘‘Comment Now.’’ For further information on using the https://www.regulations.gov website, please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on ‘‘How to Use This Site’’ on the left side of the home page. The https:// www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by filling in a ‘‘Type Comment’’ field or by attaching a document using the ‘‘Upload file(s)’’ field. USTR prefers that submissions be provided in an attached document. Submissions must include, at the beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an attachment), the following text (in bold and underlined): (1) ‘‘2018/2017 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 petitions). Furthermore, 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. Any data attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon completion of the submissions procedure at https:// www.regulations.gov. The tracking number will be the submitter’s confirmation that the submission was received into https:// www.regulations.gov. The confirmation should be kept for the submitter’s records. USTR is not responsible for any delays in a submission due to technical difficulties, nor is it able to provide any technical assistance for the https:// www.regulations.gov website. Documents not submitted in accordance with these instructions may not be considered in this review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions as requested, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–9666 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. B. Business Confidential Petitions An interested party requesting that information contained in a submission be treated as business confidential E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM 04APN1 14542 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2018 / Notices information must certify that the 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. Business confidential submissions that are submitted without the required markings, or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-confidential version, as set forth above, might not be accepted or may be considered public documents. C. Public Viewing of Review Submissions Submissions in response to this notice, except for information granted ‘‘business confidential’’ status under 15 CFR part 2003.6, will be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR part 2007.6 at https://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. You can view submissions by entering the docket number USTR–2017–0014 in the search field at https://www.regulations.gov. Erland Herfindahl, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. [FR Doc. 2018–06783 Filed 4–3–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290–F8–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES [Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0118] Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved Information Collection: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:12 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 244001 In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. The information collection concerns records of inspection, repair, and maintenance of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The FMCSA requests approval to revise and renew an ICR entitled, ‘‘Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.’’ FMCSA collects this information to ensure that motor carriers have adequate documentation of their inspection, repair, and maintenance programs necessary to reduce the likelihood of CMV crashes. DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 4, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA–2018–0118 using any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Operations; 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: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to https:// www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street address listed above. Privacy Act: 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 www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mike Huntley, Vehicle and Roadside Operations Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202–366–9209; email michael.huntley@ dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is authorized under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 31502 to prescribe requirements for, among other things, safety of operations of equipment of motor carriers that operate CMVs in interstate commerce. Under 49 U.S.C. 31136, the Secretary also has authority to prescribe regulations to ensure that CMVs are maintained, equipped, loaded and operated safely. And under 49 U.S.C. 31142 the Secretary must establish standards for annual or more frequent inspections of CMVs. The Secretary’s authority to establish improved standards or methods to ensure brakes and brake systems of CMVs are inspected by appropriate employees and maintained properly is provided under 49 U.S.C. 31137(g). Motor carriers must maintain, or require maintenance of, records documenting the inspection, repair and maintenance activities performed on their owned and leased vehicles. There are no prescribed forms. Electronic recordkeeping is allowed (see 49 CFR 390.31(d)). Documents requiring a signature must be capable of replication (i.e., photocopy, facsimile, etc.) in such form that will provide an opportunity for signature verification upon demand. Also, if electronic recordkeeping is used, all of the relevant data on the original documents must be included in the electronic transmission for the records to be valid. The motor carrier industry has never questioned the need to keep CMV maintenance records. In fact, most motor carriers would keep some records E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM 04APN1

Agencies

Office of the United States Trade Representative

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14540-14542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06783]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2017-0004]


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Revisions to 
the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadline 
for Filing Petitions; GSP Renewal and Technical Modifications

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of procedures for submission of petitions from the 
public.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary 
countries because of country practices; add products to GSP 
eligibility; remove products from GSP eligibility for one or more 
countries; waive competitive need limitations (CNLs); deny de minimis 
waivers for products eligible for de minimis waivers; and redesignate 
currently excluded products. This review will include separate hearings 
on product petitions and country eligibility reviews, which will be 
announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

DATES: To be considered in the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review, USTR must 
receive your petition by Monday, April 16, 2018 at midnight EST. This 
is the deadline for petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP 
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices; 
petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions on GSP product 
eligibility additions and removals; petitions to deny de minimis 
waivers; or petitions to redesignate an excluded product.
    USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 16, 2018 
deadline. USTR will announce decisions on which petitions are accepted 
for review, along with a schedule for any related public hearings and 
the opportunity for the public to provide comments, at a later date.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket 
number is USTR-2017-0004. For alternatives to on-line submissions, 
please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-9666.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl at (202) 395-6364 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 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, as amended 
(Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), and is implemented in accordance 
with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by 
subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
    The 2017 GSP Annual Product Review: The Interim Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations is posted on the USTR website 
at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-2017-review. These statistics 
include three lists:
    List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from beneficiary developing 
countries (BDCs) that exceeded a CNL by having been imported into the 
United States in 2017 in excess of $180 million, or in a quantity equal 
to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. import value for this 
product in 2017. Unless the President grants a waiver in response to a 
petition filed by an interested party, these products will be removed 
from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2018.
    List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above 
the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver. 
Petitions are not necessary for these products to be considered for de 
minimis waivers. As described below, petitions only will be accepted in 
opposition to potential de minimis waivers for these products.
    List III identifies GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs that 
currently are not receiving GSP duty-free treatment but may be 
considered for GSP redesignation in response to a petition filed by an 
interested party. Note that products exceeding 50 percent of imports 
may be considered for redesignation if there was no U.S. production in 
the last three years.

II. 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review

A. GSP Product and Beneficiary Country Review Petitions

    Certain GSP Product Addition and Removal Petitions were submitted 
for review in 2017, as were petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP 
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices. Due to 
the lapse in authorization of GSP, and a resulting change in the 
schedule for the annual GSP review, USTR is reopening the window for 
submitting GSP product and country petitions. Any petitions previously 
submitted for this review do not need to be resubmitted.

B. Changes Resulting From Recent Legislation

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141) 
reauthorized the GSP program and made a number of modifications. First, 
the GSP program is authorized through December 31, 2020, retroactive to 
January 1, 2018 (see the USTR GSP website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp for details on retroactive authorization, effective date 
of authorization, and refund procedures). Second, Public Law 115-141 
established a new timeline for the GSP review: The date for exclusion 
of items exceeding CNLs changed from July 1 to November 1. Third, with 
respect to the date for determining whether a product is not produced 
in the United States, Public Law 115-141 changed the date so that 
instead of requiring that the product not have been produced in the 
United States on January 1, 1995, the product must not have been 
produced in the United States ``in any of the preceding three calendar 
years.'' For the 2017/2018 Annual Review this means calendar years 2015 
to 2017. Interested parties filing CNL waiver petitions and 
redesignation petitions should indicate whether there was production of 
a like or directly

[[Page 14541]]

competitive product in the United States during the previous three 
calendar years (that is, 2015 to 2017).

C. Country Practice Review Petitions

    An 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)).

D. GSP Product Review Petitions

    An interested party, including foreign governments, may submit the 
following petitions:
     Product Addition Petitions: Petitions to designate 
additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including to 
designate articles as eligible only 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). 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.
     Product Withdrawal Petitions: Petitions to withdraw, 
suspend or limit the application of duty-free treatment accorded under 
the GSP with respect to any article.
     Competitive Need Limitation Waiver Petitions: Any 
interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2018 CNL 
for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to 
specific GSP-eligible articles (these limits, however, do not apply to 
least-developed beneficiary developing countries or AGOA beneficiary 
countries). As noted above, petitions should indicate whether there was 
production of a like or directly competitive product in the United 
States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 
2015).
     Petitions for Denial of De Minimis Waivers: Interested 
parties filing petitions for denial of de minimis waivers should note 
the procedural changes outlined in paragraph E below.
     Petitions for Redesignation: Interested parties filing 
petitions for redesignation should note the procedural changes outlined 
in paragraph E below.

E. Notice of Procedural Change

    The GSP program is changing the petition process procedures for 
products eligible for a de minimis waiver and products eligible for 
redesignation. Previously, USTR only accepted comments on de minimis 
and redesignation products. Under the new procedures, USTR now will 
accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers, and petitions to grant 
redesignation. This includes possible redesignation of products for 
which imports are below the dollar value CNL ($180 million for 2017), 
but for which imports exceed 50 percent, in the event that a petitioner 
believes that there has been no production in the United States. As 
noted above, the petitioner should indicate whether there was 
production of a like or directly competitive product in the United 
States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 
2017). Consistent with the criteria in section 503 of the Trade Act (19 
U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(C)), the President previously has granted 
redesignation requests in only a limited number of circumstances. USTR 
anticipates this customary practice to continue and will prioritize 
redesignations of products that do not compete with U.S. production.
    The primary distinction between the previous and the new petition 
process is that accepted petitions on these topics now will be included 
in the advice provided by the United States International Trade 
Commission as required by section 503 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
2463).

III. Requirements for Submissions

A. General Requirements

    All submissions for the GSP Annual Review must conform to the GSP 
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007, except as modified below. 
These regulations are available on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp/gsp-program-inf.
    All submissions in response to this notice must be in English and 
must be submitted electronically via https://www.regulations.gov, using 
docket number USTR-2017-0014. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions. Submissions that do not provide the information required 
by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP regulations will not be 
accepted for review, except upon a detailed showing in the submission 
that the petitioner made a good faith effort to obtain the information 
required.
    To make a submission via https://www.regulations.gov, enter the 
docket number for this review--USTR-2017-0014--in the ``Search for'' 
field 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'' in the ``Filter Results by'' section on the left side 
of the screen and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now.'' For 
further information on using the https://www.regulations.gov website, 
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on 
``How to Use This Site'' on the left side of the home page. The https://www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by filling 
in a ``Type Comment'' field or by attaching a document using the 
``Upload file(s)'' field. USTR prefers that submissions be provided in 
an attached document.
    Submissions must include, at the beginning of the submission, or on 
the first page (if an attachment), the following text (in bold and 
underlined): (1) ``2018/2017 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 
petitions). Furthermore, 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. Any data attachments to the 
submission should be included in the same file as the submission 
itself, and not as separate files.
    Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon 
completion of the submissions procedure at https://www.regulations.gov. 
The tracking number will be the submitter's confirmation that the 
submission was received into https://www.regulations.gov. The 
confirmation should be kept for the submitter's records. USTR is not 
responsible for any delays in a submission due to technical 
difficulties, nor is it able to provide any technical assistance for 
the https://www.regulations.gov website. Documents not submitted in 
accordance with these instructions may not be considered in this 
review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions as 
requested, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-9666 to arrange 
for an alternative method of transmission.

B. Business Confidential Petitions

    An interested party requesting that information contained in a 
submission be treated as business confidential

[[Page 14542]]

information must certify that the 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.
    Business confidential submissions that are submitted without the 
required markings, or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-
confidential version, as set forth above, might not be accepted or may 
be considered public documents.

C. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice, except for information 
granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR part 2003.6, will 
be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR part 2007.6 at 
https://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. You can view 
submissions by entering the docket number USTR-2017-0014 in the search 
field at https://www.regulations.gov.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-06783 Filed 4-3-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P

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