2019 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Annual GSP Product and Country Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions, 11150-11152 [2019-05614]

Download as PDF 11150 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2019 / Notices lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the Line (or 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 or any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a complainant within the twoyear period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication) and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met. As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected by the discontinuance of service 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) 1 to subsidize continued rail service has been received, this exemption will be effective on April 24, 2019, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues and formal expressions of intent to file an OFA to subsidize continued rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) 2 must be filed by April 4, 2019.3 Petitions for reconsideration must be filed by April 12, 2019, with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423–0001. A copy of any petition filed with Board should be sent to CSXT’s representative, Louis E. Gitomer, Law Offices of Louis E. Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. 1 The Board modified its OFA procedures effective July 29, 2017. Among other things, the OFA process now requires potential offerors, in their formal expression of intent, to make a preliminary financial responsibility showing based on a calculation using information contained in the carrier’s filing and publicly available information. See Offers of Financial Assistance, EP 729 (STB served June 29, 2017); 82 FR 30,997 (July 5, 2017). 2 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which currently is set at $1,800. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25). 3 Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and not an abandonment, trail use/rail banking and public use conditions are not appropriate. Because there will be an environmental review during abandonment, this discontinuance does not require environmental review. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:47 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 247001 Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov. Decided: March 19, 2019. By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Jeffrey Herzig, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2019–05653 Filed 3–22–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE [Docket No. USTR–2019–0001] 2019 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Annual GSP Product and Country Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Notice of statistics availability and announcement of annual GSP review. AGENCY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary developing countries (BDCs) 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 USTR will announce in the Federal Register at a later date. DATES: April 18, 2019 at midnight EST: Deadline for petitions to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary developing countries because of country practices; petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions on GSP product eligibility additions or removals; petitions to deny de minimis waivers; petitions to redesignate an excluded product; and petitions for continuation of CNLs that have exceeded certain thresholds. USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 18, 2019 deadline. USTR will announce the petitions 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 SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 section III below. The docket number is USTR–2019–0001. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please contact Lauren Gamache at gsp@ustr.eop.gov, or 202–395–2974. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Gamache at gsp@ustr.eop.gov, or 202–395–2974. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. 2018 Import Statistics Related to CNLs, De Minimis Waivers, and Product Redesignations The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated articles when imported from designated 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. 2461–2467), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations. USTR posted the 2018 import statistics relating to CNLs, de minimis waivers, and product redesignations on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/ sites/default/files/IssueAreas/gsp/2018_ Import_Statistics_Relating_to_CNLs_De_ Minimis_Waivers_and_Product_ Redesignations.pdf These statistics include four lists. I. List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that exceeded a CNL by having been imported into the United States in 2018 in excess of $185 million, or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. import value for this product in 2018. 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, 2019. II. List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver since total U.S. imports of the product are less than $24 million. Articles eligible for de minimis waivers automatically are considered in the GSP annual review process without the filing of a petition. As described below, USTR will only accept petitions in opposition to a potential de minimis waiver for a particular product. III. 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 based on 2018 trade data and consideration of certain statutory factors. Note that products exceeding the 50 percent CNL may be considered for redesignation if there was no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product in the last three years. E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2019 / Notices IV. List IV identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that currently have a CNL waiver but have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL threshold. Unless the President grants a continuation of the waiver in response to a petition filed by an interested party, these products will be removed from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2019. II. 2019 Annual GSP Review A. 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)). B. GSP Product Review Petitions An interested party may submit the following petitions: • Product addition petitions: Petitions to designate additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including designating 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 GSP with respect to any article. • Competitive need limitation waiver petitions: Any interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2019 CNL for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to specific GSP-eligible articles (these limits, however, do not apply to leastdeveloped beneficiary developing countries or AGOA beneficiary countries). Interested parties filing CNL waiver 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, 2016 to 2018). • Petitions for denial of de minimis waivers: USTR automatically will consider all de minimis waivers. Thus, USTR only will accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers. Interested parties may submit comments in support of particular de minimis waivers that USTR will consider in its decision making process. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:47 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 247001 • Petitions for redesignation: Interested parties may file petitions to grant redesignation of products for which imports are below the dollar value CNL ($185 million for 2018) and that are below 50 percent of total U.S. imports. If a petitioner believes there has been no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product in the past three years, USTR also will consider petitions to grant redesignation of products for which imports are below the dollar value CNL ($185 million for 2018) but imports exceed 50 percent of total U.S. imports. • Petitions for continuation of CNL waiver: Interested parties may file petitions to grant a continuation of the current CNL waiver of articles from BDCs that currently have had a CNL waiver in effect for 5 years or more and have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL threshold or 75 percent of total U.S. imports. 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 (https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx? SID=2688e93e7a801d4294d011d7afc c7347&mc=true&node=pt15.3.2007& rgn=div5), except as modified below. 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–2019–0001. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions. USTR will not accept submissions that do not provide the information required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP regulations, unless the petitioner explains in detail that they 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–2019– 0001—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 additional 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 regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by filling in a ‘type comment’ field or by attaching PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 11151 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) 2019 GSP Annual Review and (2) the eight or ten digit HTSUS subheading number in which the product is classified (for product petitions) or the name of the country (for country practice petitions). Furthermore, 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. You will receive a submission tracking number that you should keep for you records upon completion of the submission procedure at https:// www.regulations.gov. The tracking number is your confirmation that the submission was received into https:// www.regulations.gov. 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 regulations.gov website. USTR may not consider documents that you do not submit in accordance with these instructions. If you cannot provide submissions as requested, please contact Lauren Gamache at (202)396–2974 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. B. Business Confidential Petitions A submitter requesting that USTR treat information contained in a submission as business confidential information must certify that the information is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. You must clearly designate confidential business information by marking the submission ‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’ at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page, and indicating, via brackets, the specific information that is confidential. Additionally, you must include ‘business confidential’ in the ‘type comment.’ field. For any submission containing business confidential information, you also must submit a separate non-confidential version (i.e., not as part of the same E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1 11152 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 57 / Monday, March 25, 2019 / Notices submission with the confidential version), indicating where confidential information has been redacted. USTR will place the non-confidential version in the docket and it will be 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–2019–0001 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. 2019–05614 Filed 3–22–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290–F9–P OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE Notice of Product Exclusions: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Notice of product exclusions. AGENCY: Effective July 6, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative (Trade Representative) imposed additional duties on goods of China with an annual trade value of approximately $34 billion (the $34 billion action) as part of the action in the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The Trade Representative’s determination included a decision to establish a product exclusion process. The Trade Representative initiated the exclusion process in July 2018, and stakeholders have submitted requests for the exclusion of specific products. In December 2018, the Trade Representative granted an initial set of exclusion requests. This notice announces the Trade Representative’s determination to grant additional exclusion requests, as specified in the SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:47 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 247001 Annex to this notice. The Trade Representative will continue to issue decisions on pending requests on a periodic basis. DATES: The product exclusions announced in this notice will apply as of the July 6, 2018 effective date of the $34 billion action, and will extend for one year after the publication of this notice. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions about this notice, contact Assistant General Counsels Philip Butler or Megan Grimball, or Director of Industrial Goods Justin Hoffmann at (202) 395–5725. For specific questions on customs classification or implementation of the product exclusions identified in the Annex to this notice, contact traderemedy@cbp.dhs.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A. Background For background on the proceedings in this investigation, please see the prior notices issued in the investigation, including 82 FR 40213 (August 23, 2017), 83 FR 14906 (April 6, 2018), 83 FR 28710 (June 20, 2018), 83 FR 33608 (July 17, 2018), 83 FR 38760 (August 7, 2018), and 83 FR 40823 (August 16, 2018), 83 FR 47974 (September 21, 2018), 83 FR 65198 (December 19, 2018), 83 FR 67463 (December 28, 2018), and 84 FR 7966 (March 5, 2019). Effective July 6, 2018, the Trade Representative imposed additional 25 percent duties on goods of China classified in 818 8-digit subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), with an approximate annual trade value of $34 billion. See 83 FR 28710. The Trade Representative’s determination included a decision to establish a process by which U.S. stakeholders may request exclusion of particular products classified within an 8-digit HTSUS subheading covered by the $34 billion action from the additional duties. The Trade Representative issued a notice setting out the process for the product exclusions, and opening a public docket. See 83 FR 32181 (the July 11 notice). Under the July 11 notice, requests for exclusion had to identify the product subject to the request in terms of the physical characteristics that distinguish the product from other products within the relevant 8-digit subheading covered by the $34 billion action. Requestors also had to provide the 10-digit subheading of the HTSUS most applicable to the particular product PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 requested for exclusion, and could submit information on the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to administer the requested exclusion. Requestors had to provide the quantity and value of the Chinese-origin product that the requestor purchased in the last three years. With regard to the rationale for the requested exclusion, requests had to address the following factors: • Whether the particular product only is available from China and specifically whether the particular product and/or a comparable product is available from sources in the United States and/or third countries. • Whether the imposition of additional duties on the particular product would cause severe economic harm to the requestor or other U.S. interests. • Whether the particular product is strategically important or related to ‘‘Made in China 2025’’ or other Chinese industrial programs. The July 11 notice stated that the Trade Representative would take into account whether an exclusion would undermine the objective of the Section 301 investigation. The July 11 notice required submission of requests for exclusion from the $34 billion action no later than October 9, 2018, and noted that the Trade Representative would periodically announce decisions. In December 2018, the Trade Representative granted an initial set of exclusion requests. See 83 FR 67463. The Trade Representative regularly updates the status of each pending request and posts the status at https:// ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/ section-301-investigations/requestexclusion. B. Determination To Grant Certain Exclusions Based on the evaluation of the factors set out in the July 11 notice, which are summarized above, pursuant to sections 301(b), 301(c), and 307(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, and in accordance with the advice of the interagency Section 301 Committee, the Trade Representative has determined to grant the product exclusions set out in the Annex to this notice. The Trade Representative’s determination also takes into account advice from advisory committees and any public comments on the pertinent exclusion requests. As set out in the Annex to this notice, the exclusions are established in two different formats: (1) As an exclusion of an existing 10-digit subheading from within an 8-digit subheading covered by the $34 billion action, or (2) as an E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 57 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11150-11152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05614]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2019-0001]


2019 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Annual 
GSP Product and Country Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of statistics availability and announcement of annual 
GSP review.

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

SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs) 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 USTR will announce in the Federal Register at a later date.

DATES: April 18, 2019 at midnight EST: Deadline for petitions to modify 
the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary developing countries because 
of country practices; petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions 
on GSP product eligibility additions or removals; petitions to deny de 
minimis waivers; petitions to redesignate an excluded product; and 
petitions for continuation of CNLs that have exceeded certain 
thresholds. USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 
18, 2019 deadline. USTR will announce the petitions 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-2019-0001. For alternatives to on-line submissions, 
please contact Lauren Gamache at gsp@ustr.eop.gov, or 202-395-2974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Gamache at gsp@ustr.eop.gov, or 
202-395-2974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 2018 Import Statistics Related to CNLs, De Minimis Waivers, and 
Product Redesignations

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated 
articles when imported from designated 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. 2461-2467), and is implemented 
in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as 
modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
    USTR posted the 2018 import statistics relating to CNLs, de minimis 
waivers, and product redesignations on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/IssueAreas/gsp/2018_Import_Statistics_Relating_to_CNLs_De_Minimis_Waivers_and_Product_Redesignations.pdf These statistics include four lists.
    I. List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that exceeded 
a CNL by having been imported into the United States in 2018 in excess 
of $185 million, or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent 
of the total U.S. import value for this product in 2018. 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, 2019.
    II. List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are 
above the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver 
since total U.S. imports of the product are less than $24 million. 
Articles eligible for de minimis waivers automatically are considered 
in the GSP annual review process without the filing of a petition. As 
described below, USTR will only accept petitions in opposition to a 
potential de minimis waiver for a particular product.
    III. 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 based on 2018 trade data and 
consideration of certain statutory factors. Note that products 
exceeding the 50 percent CNL may be considered for redesignation if 
there was no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product 
in the last three years.

[[Page 11151]]

    IV. List IV identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that 
currently have a CNL waiver but have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL 
threshold. Unless the President grants a continuation of the waiver in 
response to a petition filed by an interested party, these products 
will be removed from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2019.

II. 2019 Annual GSP Review

A. 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)).

B. GSP Product Review Petitions

    An interested party may submit the following petitions:
     Product addition petitions: Petitions to designate 
additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including designating 
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 
GSP with respect to any article.
     Competitive need limitation waiver petitions: Any 
interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2019 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). Interested parties filing CNL waiver 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, 2016 to 2018).
     Petitions for denial of de minimis waivers: USTR 
automatically will consider all de minimis waivers. Thus, USTR only 
will accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers. Interested parties 
may submit comments in support of particular de minimis waivers that 
USTR will consider in its decision making process.
     Petitions for redesignation: Interested parties may file 
petitions to grant redesignation of products for which imports are 
below the dollar value CNL ($185 million for 2018) and that are below 
50 percent of total U.S. imports. If a petitioner believes there has 
been no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product in 
the past three years, USTR also will consider petitions to grant 
redesignation of products for which imports are below the dollar value 
CNL ($185 million for 2018) but imports exceed 50 percent of total U.S. 
imports.
     Petitions for continuation of CNL waiver: Interested 
parties may file petitions to grant a continuation of the current CNL 
waiver of articles from BDCs that currently have had a CNL waiver in 
effect for 5 years or more and have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL 
threshold or 75 percent of total U.S. imports.

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 (https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=2688e93e7a801d4294d011d7afcc7347&mc=true&node=pt15.3.2007&rgn=div5), except as modified below.
    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-2019-0001. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions. USTR will not accept submissions that do not provide the 
information required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP 
regulations, unless the petitioner explains in detail that they 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-2019-0001--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 additional 
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 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) 2019 GSP Annual Review and (2) the eight 
or ten digit HTSUS subheading number in which the product is classified 
(for product petitions) or the name of the country (for country 
practice petitions).
    Furthermore, 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.
    You will receive a submission tracking number that you should keep 
for you records upon completion of the submission procedure at https://www.regulations.gov. The tracking number is your confirmation that the 
submission was received into https://www.regulations.gov. 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 regulations.gov website. USTR may not consider documents that you 
do not submit in accordance with these instructions. If you cannot 
provide submissions as requested, please contact Lauren Gamache at 
(202)396-2974 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.

B. Business Confidential Petitions

    A submitter requesting that USTR treat information contained in a 
submission as business confidential information must certify that the 
information is business confidential and would not customarily be 
released to the public by the submitter. You must clearly designate 
confidential business information by marking the submission `BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL' at the top and bottom of the cover page and each 
succeeding page, and indicating, via brackets, the specific information 
that is confidential. Additionally, you must include `business 
confidential' in the `type comment.' field. For any submission 
containing business confidential information, you also must submit a 
separate non-confidential version (i.e., not as part of the same

[[Page 11152]]

submission with the confidential version), indicating where 
confidential information has been redacted. USTR will place the non-
confidential version in the docket and it will be 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-2019-0001 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. 2019-05614 Filed 3-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P
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