Trade Representative, Office of United States – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the United States Trade Representative published a document in the Federal Register of August 24, 2007 concerning Fiscal Year 2008 Tariff-Rate Quota allocations of raw cane sugar, refined and specialty sugar, and sugar-containing products. The document contained incorrect data.

The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify trading partners that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. (Section 182 is commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions of the Trade Act.) In addition, the USTR is required to determine which of these trading partners should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies or practices that are the basis of a trading partner's identification as a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject of an investigation under the Section 301 provisions of the Trade Act. On April 25, 2008, USTR announced the results of the 2008 Special 301 Review and stated that an Out-of-Cycle Review of Taiwan would be conducted this year. Pursuant to this Out-of-Cycle Review, USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning acts, policies, and practices regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection and enforcement in Taiwan.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is issuing a final rule to update its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations. USTR last made changes to its FOIA regulations in 1975. Since that time the information relating to USTR has changed and there have been several changes to the FOIA, which needed to be reflected in the regulations.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice that pursuant to a request of Japan, the Dispute Settlement Body (``DSB'') of the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') has established a compliance panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement'') concerning the dispute United StatesMeasures Relating to Zeroing and Sunset Reviews; Recourse to Article 21.5 of the DSU by Japan. That request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS322/27. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC-11) will hold a meeting on Monday, June 9, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The meeting will be closed to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and opened to the public from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Pursuant to section 533 of the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, as amended (49 U.S.C. 50104), the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has determined not to include any countries on the list of countries that deny fair market opportunities for U.S. products, suppliers, or bidders in foreign government-funded airport construction projects.

This notice announces the re-initiation of a review to consider designating the Republic of Azerbaijan as a beneficiary developing country (BDC) for purposes of the GSP program, and solicits public comment relating to the designation. Comments are due by Wednesday April 30, 2008, in accordance with the requirements for submissions, explained below.

On January 18, 2008, a public notice was published in the Federal Register on pages 3495-3496 requesting public comments by February 15, 2008, on whether each beneficiary country exporting certain hand-loomed carpets is taking steps to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including the use of bonded child labor, in the production of certain carpets imported under the U.S. GSP program. The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee has decided to extend the deadline to March 14, 2008, for receipt of public comments for this review.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) seeks to negotiate an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement to strengthen international cooperation, enforcement practices, and participants' legal frameworks to address counterfeiting and piracy. USTR requests written comments from the public concerning specific matters that should be the focus of such an agreement.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received petitions in connection with the 2007 GSP Annual Review to waive the competitive need limitations (CNLs) on imports of certain products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP program. This notice announces those petitions that are accepted for further review. This notice also sets forth the schedule for comment and public hearings on these petitions, for requesting participation in the hearings, and submitting pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs, and for commenting on the USITC report on probable economic effects. The list of accepted petitions to waive CNLs is available at: https:// www.ustr.gov/Trade Development/Preference Programs/GSP/GSP 2007 Annual Review/Section Index.html [2007 GSP Review, List of CNL Waiver Petitions Accepted in the 2007 GSP Annual Review]

The 2004 Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 1047) (the ``2004 Act''), as approved by Congress, authorized the President to designate seven tariff lines relating to carpets (5702.51.20 (now 5702.50.20), 5702.91.30, 5702.92.00 (now 5702.92.10), 5702.99.10 (now 5702.99.05), 5703.10.00 (now 5703.10.20), 5703.20.10, and 5703.30.00 (now 5703.30.20)) as eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP program. These tariff lines cover certain hand-loomed or hand-hooked carpets and other textile floor coverings made of wool, cotton, fine animal hair, or man-made textile materials. Pursuant to the authorization in the 2004 Act, the President designated these seven tariff lines as eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP program. The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is conducting a triennial review of whether each beneficiary country is taking steps to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including the use of bonded child labor, in the production of such carpets imported under the U.S. GSP program. If sufficient steps are not underway, the TPSC will recommend to the President changes in GSP coverage that would eliminate from duty-free treatment under the GSP program those carpets found to be made with the worst forms of child labor.

On December 14, 2007, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published notice of the Procurement Thresholds for Implementation of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (72 FR 71166). That Notice included three incorrect procurement threshold values due to inadvertent calculation errors. This notice provides the corrected thresholds. Now, therefore, I, Susan C. Schwab, United States Trade Representative, in conformity with the provisions of Executive Order 12260, and in order to carry out the trade agreement obligations of the United States under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO/GPA), Chapter 15 of the United States- Australia Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Australia FTA), Chapter 9 of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Bahrain FTA), Chapter 9 of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Chile FTA), Chapter 9 of the Dominican Republic-Central American-United States (DR- CAFTA), Chapter 9 of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Morocco FTA), and Chapter 13 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Singapore FTA), do hereby determine, effective on January 1, 2008, for the calendar years 2008-2009, the following thresholds shall apply and replace those set out in the Determination published on December 14, 2007 (72 FR 71166): $7,443,000for the procurement of construction services by all entities listed in the WTO/GPA, U.S.-Australia FTA, U.S.-Chile FTA, DR- CAFTA, U.S.-Morocco FTA, and the U.S.-Singapore FTA. $528,000for the procurement of goods and services by sub-central entities listed in the WTO/GPA, U.S.-Australia FTA, U.S.-Chile FTA, DR- CAFTA, U.S.-Morocco FTA, and the U.S.-Singapore FTA. $595,000for the procurement of goods and services by entities listed in U.S. Annex 3 of the WTO/GPA; List B in Annex 15-A of the U.S.-Australia FTA; List B in Annex 9-A, Section 3 of the U.S.-Bahrain FTA; List B in Annex 9.1, Section C of the U.S.-Chile FTA; List B in Annex 9.1, Section C of the DR-CAFTA; List B in Annex 9.1, Section C of the U.S.-Morocco FTA; and Annex 13A, Section C of the U.S.-Singapore FTA.

Executive Order 12260 requires the United States Trade Representative to set the U.S. dollar thresholds for application of Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.), which implements U.S. trade agreement obligations, including those under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement, Chapter 15 of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Australia FTA), Chapter 9 of the United States- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Bahrain FTA), Chapter 9 of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Chile FTA), Chapter 9 of the Dominican Republic-Central American-United States (DR-CAFTA), Chapter 9 of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.- Morocco FTA), Chapter 10 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and Chapter 13 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Singapore FTA). These obligations apply to covered procurements valued at or above specified U.S. dollar thresholds. Now, therefore, I, Susan C. Schwab, United States Trade Representative, in conformity with the provisions of Executive Order 12260, and in order to carry out U.S. trade agreement obligations under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, Chapter 15 of the U.S.- Australia FTA, Chapter 9 of the U.S.-Bahrain FTA, Chapter 9 of the U.S.-Chile FTA, Chapter 9 of DR-CAFTA, Chapter 9 of the U.S.-Morocco FTA, Chapter 10 of NAFTA, and Chapter 13 of the U.S.-Singapore FTA, do hereby determine, effective on January 1, 2008: For the calendar years 2008-2009, the thresholds are as follows:

Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA'') provides for the establishment of a roster of individuals to serve on binational panels convened to review final determinations in antidumping or countervailing duty (``AD/CVD'') proceedings and amendments to AD/CVD statutes of a NAFTA Party. The United States annually renews its selections for the Chapter 19 roster. Applications are invited from eligible individuals wishing to be included on the roster for the period April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice that pursuant to a request of the European Communities, the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') has established a compliance panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement'') concerning the dispute United StatesLaws, Regulations and Methodology for Calculating Dumping Margins (``zeroing'')Recourse to Article 21.5 of the DSU by the European Communities. That request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS294/25. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

This notice is to inform the public of the availability of eight-month 2007 import statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The eight-month 2007 import statistics identify those articles for which the full-year 2007 trade levels may exceed statutory CNLs. The eight-month 2007 trade data is available at: [GSP: January-August 2007 Trade Data Relating to CNLs]: https://www.ustr.gov/Trade Development/PreferencePrograms/GSP/GSP2007AnnualReview/ SectionIndex.html. As previously announced in the Federal Register (72 FR 28527 (May 21, 2007)), the deadline for submission of petitions to waive the CNLs for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to GSP- eligible articles is 5 p.m., November 16, 2007. Petitions must conform to the requirements as set forth in the May 21, 2007, Federal Register notice. Public comments regarding possible de minimis waivers and possible GSP redesignations will be requested in a subsequent Federal Register notice.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that in accordance with the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement''), at the request of the United States the WTO Dispute Settlement Body has established a dispute settlement panel to review the U.S. claims concerning certain measures pertaining to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China. The panel request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS362/7. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC-11) will hold a meeting on Thursday, September 20, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be closed to the public from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and opened to the public from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received petitions in connection with the 2007 GSP Annual Review to modify the list of products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP program and to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary developing countries because of country practices. This notice announces the product petitions, other than those requesting competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers, and country practice petitions that are accepted for further review in the 2007 GSP Annual Review. This notice also sets forth the schedule for comment and public hearings on these petitions, for requesting participation in the hearings, and for submitting pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs. The list of accepted petitions is available at: https://www.ustr.gov/Trade Development/PreferencePrograms/GSP/SectionIndex.html [2007 Annual review]. Petitions for CNL waivers are due November 16, 2007 (see 72 FR 28,527), and a review of those petitions will be conducted thereafter.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice that at the request of the United States, the Dispute Settlement Body (``DSB'') of the World Trade Organization (``WTO''), has established a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO to examine whether the European Communities (``EC'') has implemented the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in a dispute regarding the EC's import regime for bananas. The request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated at WT/DS27/83 (see also the similar request by Ecuador in the document WT/DS27/80). The DSB adopted the findings of the panel and Appellate Body in this proceeding on September 25, 1997. The DSB ruled that the EC's import regime for bananas was inconsistent with the EC's obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''). An arbitrator appointed under Article 21.3 of the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (``DSU'') awarded the EC a ``reasonable period of time'' in which to come into compliance until January 1, 1999. Nearly a decade after the DSB made its original recommendations and rulings, the United States considers that the EC has failed to bring its import regime for bananas into compliance with its WTO obligation. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that in accordance with the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement), the United States has requested the establishment of a dispute settlement panel regarding additional and extra additional duties India applies to imports from the United States. India applies these duties to products that include, but are not limited to, imports of wines and distilled spirits. That request may be found at www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS360/5. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice that Brazil has requested consultations with the United States under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement'') regarding U.S. domestic support measures and export credit guarantees for agricultural products. That request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS365/1. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of country-by-country allocations of the FY 2008 in- quota quantity of the tariff-rate quota for imported raw cane sugar, refined and specialty sugar, and sugar-containing products.