Request for Comments on Operation of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, 46360-46362 [2023-15222]

Agencies

• Office of the United States Trade Representative

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46360-46362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15222]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2023-0006]


Request for Comments on Operation of the Caribbean Basin 
Initiative

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Trade Representative has to submit a report to 
Congress regarding the operation of the Caribbean Basin Initiative 
(CBI) on or before December 31, 2023. The Trade Policy Staff Committee 
(TPSC) invites comments concerning the operation of the CBI, including 
the performance of each beneficiary country, to assist in preparing the 
report to Congress on the operation of the CBI program.

DATES: The deadline for the submission of written comments is 11:59 EDT 
on August 18, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov (regulations.gov), 
using docket number USTR-2023-0006. Follow the instructions for 
submissions in parts III and IV below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments and for alternatives to online submissions, please 
contact Katherine Stubblefield, Office of the Western Hemisphere, at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-7528 in advance of 
the deadline and before transmitting a comment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Together, the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), and 
the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) (19 U.S.C. 2701 et 
seq.) commonly are referred to as the Caribbean Basin Initiative or 
CBI. Section 212(f)(1) of the CBERA, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2702(f)(1)) 
requires the U.S. Trade Representative to report on the performance of 
each CBERA or CBTPA beneficiary country. Barbados, Belize, Curacao, 
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago receive 
benefits under both CBERA and CBTPA. Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The 
Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint 
Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines currently receive 
benefits only under CBERA. For the purposes of this report, the term 
`beneficiary country' includes both the independent countries and 
dependent territories receiving benefits under CBTPA or CBERA.
    As described in more detail below, the TPSC seeks comments on any 
aspect of the CBI program's operation, including the performance of 
CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary countries under the criteria described in 
sections 212(b), 212(c), and 213(b)(5)(B) of the CBERA, as amended. You 
can access the criteria at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title19/html/USCODE-2011-title19-chap15.htm. The report also will 
examine the CBI's effect on the volume and composition of trade and 
investment between the United States and the CBI beneficiary countries 
and

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on advancing U.S. trade policy goals. You can access the most recent 
CBI report at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/reports/2021/2021CBIReport.pdf.

II. Reporting Requirements on the Eligibility Criteria for All CBI 
Beneficiary Countries

    The TPSC seeks comments on any aspect of the CBI program's 
operation, including the performance of CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary 
countries using the following criteria:

A. CBERA ``Mandatory'' Criteria

    Under section 212(b) (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)), unless the President 
determines that it is in the national economic or security interest of 
the United States, they may not designate as a CBI beneficiary country 
any country that:
    1. Is a Communist country.
    2. Has expropriated or nationalized property of U.S. citizens, 
unless the President determines that the country is taking steps to 
resolve the citizen's claim.
    3. Fails to act in good faith in recognizing as binding or in 
enforcing arbitral awards in favor of U.S. citizens or corporations 
owned by U.S. citizens.
    4. Affords preferential treatment to the products of a developed 
country other than the United States that has, or is likely to have, a 
significant adverse effect on U.S. commerce, unless the President has 
received satisfactory assurances that the country will eliminate the 
preferential treatment or acts to assure that there will be no 
significant adverse effect.
    5. Allows the broadcast of copyrighted material, including films or 
television material belonging to United States copyright owners without 
their express consent.
    6. Is not a signatory to a treaty, convention, protocol, or other 
agreement regarding the extradition of U.S. citizens.
    7. Has not or is not taking steps to afford internationally 
recognized worker rights as defined in section 507(4) of the Trade Act 
of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2467(4)) to workers in the country 
(including any designated zone in that country).

B. CBERA ``Discretionary'' Factors

    Under section 212(c) (19 U.S.C. 2702(c)), the President may 
consider the following factors in determining whether to designate any 
country as a CBI beneficiary country:
    1. An expression of a country's desire to be so designated.
    2. The economic conditions and living standards in a country.
    3. The extent to which a country has assured the United States that 
it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and 
basic commodity resources of the country.
    4. The degree to which a country follows the international trade 
rules of the World Trade Organization and multilateral trade 
agreements.
    5. The degree to which a country uses export subsidies or imposes 
export performance requirements or local content requirements that 
distort international trade.
    6. The degree to which the trade policies of a country as they 
relate to other beneficiary countries are contributing to the 
revitalization of the region.
    7. The degree to which a country is undertaking self-help measures 
to promote its own economic development.
    8. Whether or not a country has taken or is taking steps to afford 
to workers in that country (including any designated zone in that 
country) internationally recognized worker rights.
    9. The extent to which a country provides under its law adequate 
and effective means for foreign nationals to secure, exercise, and 
enforce exclusive intellectual property rights.
    10. The extent to which a country prohibits its nationals from 
broadcasting U.S. copyrighted materials, including film and television 
material, without their express consent.
    11. The extent to which a country cooperates with the United States 
in the administration of CBI preferences.

C. CBTPA Eligibility Criteria

    Under section 213(b)(5)(B) (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(5)(B)), in 
considering the eligibility of the CBI countries and dependent 
territories that have expressed an interest in receiving the enhanced 
preferences of the CBTPA, the President must take into account the 
existing eligibility criteria of the CBERA, as well as several 
additional revised criteria elaborated in the CBTPA. These additional 
criteria are:
    1. Whether the beneficiary country has demonstrated a commitment to 
undertake its obligations under the World Trade Organization on or 
ahead of schedule and participate in negotiations toward the completion 
of the Free Trade Area of the Americas or another free trade agreement.
    2. The extent to which the country provides protection of 
intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than the 
protection afforded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights.
    3. The extent to which the country provides internationally 
recognized worker rights, including: the right of association; the 
right to organize and bargain collectively; a prohibition on the use of 
any form of forced or compulsory labor; a minimum age for the 
employment of children; and acceptable conditions of work with respect 
to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
    4. Whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate 
the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section 507(6) of the 
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2467(6)).
    5. The extent to which the country has met U.S. counter-narcotics 
certification criteria under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
    6. The extent to which the country has taken steps to become a 
party to and implement the Inter-American Convention Against 
Corruption.
    7. The extent to which the country applies transparent, 
nondiscriminatory and competitive procedures in government procurement, 
and contributes to efforts in international fora to develop and 
implement rules on transparency in government procurement.

III. Requirements for Submissions

    To be assured of consideration, submit your written comments by the 
August 18, 2023 11:59 p.m. EDT deadline. All submissions must be in 
English. TPSC strongly encourages submissions via regulations.gov, 
using Docket Number USTR-2023-0006. The TPSC will not accept hand-
delivered submissions.
    To make a submission via regulations.gov, enter Docket Number USTR-
2023-0006 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 `refine documents 
results' section on the left side of the screen and click on the link 
entitled `comment.' Regulations.gov allows users to make submissions by 
filling in a `type comment' field or by attaching a document using the 
`upload file' field. The TPSC prefers that you provide submissions in 
an attached document and note `see attached' in the `comment' field on 
the online submission form.
    The TPSC prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe 
Acrobat (.pdf). If you use an application other than those two, please 
indicate the

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name of the application in the `type comment' field.
    You must identify on the first page of the submission the subject 
matter of the comment as the ``CBI Report to Congress.'' File names 
should reflect the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments. Please do not attach separate cover letters, exhibits, 
annexes, or other attachments to electronic submissions. Instead, to 
the extent possible, please include these in the same file as the 
comment itself, rather than submitting them as separate files. 
Submissions should not exceed 30 single-spaced, standard letter-size 
pages in 12-point type, including attachments.
    You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the 
submission procedure at Regulations.gov. The tracking number is 
confirmation that Regulations.gov received your submission. Keep the 
confirmation for your records.
    The TPSC is not able to provide technical assistance for 
Regulations.gov. For further information on using Regulations.gov, 
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on 
`How to Use Regulations.gov' on the bottom of the home page. The TPSC 
may not consider submissions that you do not make in accordance with 
these instructions.
    If you are unable to provide submissions as requested, please 
contact Katherine Stubblefield, Office of the Western Hemisphere, at 
[email protected] or (202) 395-7528, to arrange for 
an alternative method of transmission.
    General information concerning USTR is available at www.ustr.gov.

IV. Business Confidential Information (BCI) Submissions

    If you ask the TPSC to treat information you submit as BCI, you 
must certify that the information is business confidential and you 
would not customarily release it to the public. For any comments 
submitted electronically containing BCI, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI.' You must 
clearly mark any page containing BCI with `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' at 
the top of that page. Additionally, you must include `Business 
Confidential' in the `type comment' field. Filers of submissions 
containing BCI also must submit a public version of their submission 
that will be placed in the docket for public inspection. The file name 
of the public version should begin with the character `P.' The TPSC 
will post the non-confidential version in the docket and it will be 
open to public inspection.

V. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    The TPSC will post written submissions in the docket for public 
inspection, except properly designated BCI. You can view submissions at 
regulations.gov by entering Docket Number USTR-2023-0006 in the search 
field on the home page.

William Shpiece,
Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023-15222 Filed 7-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390-F3-P