Office of the United States Trade Representative 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider the designation of Liberia as a least developed beneficiary developing country under the GSP program and solicits public comment relating to the designation criteria. Comments are due January 13, 2006, in accordance with the requirements for submissions, explained below.

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) Government Procurement Agreement, Chapter 15 of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 9 of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 10 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and Chapter 13 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. These obligations apply to covered procurements valued at or above specified U.S. dollar thresholds. Now, therefore, I, Rob Portman, 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 World Trade Organization (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement, Chapter 15 of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 9 of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 10 of NAFTA, and Chapter 13 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, do hereby determine, effective on January 1, 2006: For the calendar years 2006-2007, the thresholds are as follows:

The Office of the United States Trade Representative published a document in the Federal Register of November 16, 2005, concerning request for comments and reply comments on the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with U.S. telecommunications trade agreements. The document contained the incorrect dates.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that on November 2, 2005, in accordance with the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement''), the United States requested consultations regarding Turkey's import licensing regime and domestic purchase requirement on imports of rice. That request may be found at https://www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS334/1. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received petitions in September 2005 to review certain practices in certain beneficiary developing countries to determine whether such countries are in compliance with the ATPA eligibility criteria. This notice publishes a list of the September 2005 petitions that were filed in response to the announcement of the annual review.

Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``section 1377''), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is reviewing and requests comments on: The operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with WTO agreements affecting market opportunities for telecommunications products and services of the United States; the telecommunications provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''), the Chile, Singapore, and Australia Free Trade Agreements (``FTA'') and any other FTA coming into force on or before January 1, 2006; and other telecommunications trade agreements. The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2006.

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, 2006 through March 31, 2007.

Legislation authorizing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program expires on December 31, 2006. As Congress considers re- authorization of the program, the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is reviewing whether the Administration's operation of the program should be changed so that benefits are not focused on trade from a few countries and developing countries that traditionally have not been major traders under the program receive benefits. The TPSC will conduct a public hearing and is requesting public comment on this subject.

The Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC-11) will hold a meeting on Monday, October 3, 2005, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The meeting will be opened to the public from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and closed to the public from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify countries 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'' provision of the Trade Act. In addition, USTR is required to determine which of those countries should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. On April 30, 2005, USTR announced the results of the 2005 Special 301 review and stated that Out-of-Cycle Reviews (OCRs) would be conducted for Ukraine and Saudi Arabia. USTR will conduct these OCRs in the fall of 2005. USTR requests written comments from the public concerning the acts, policies, and practices relevant for this review under Section 182 of the Trade Act.

This notice sets forth the timetable for the hearing and public comments on petitions requesting modifications in the status of certain GSP beneficiary countries.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice of the country-by-country allocations of the in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, refined sugar, and sugar-containing products for the period that begins October 1, 2005 and ends September 30, 2006.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) received petitions in connection with the 2005 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. The list of country practice petitions accepted for review will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date. This notice announces the product petitions that are accepted for further review in the 2005 GSP Annual Review, and sets forth the schedule for comment and public hearing on these petitions, for requesting participation in the hearing, and for submitting pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has determined not to initiate an investigation under section 302 of the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to a petition addressed to China's currency valuation policies because initiation of an investigation would not be effective in addressing the issues raised in the petition.

In January 2005, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice specifying the results of the preliminary review of petitions it received in September 2004 in connection with the annual ATPA review and modifying the schedule for consideration of the remaining petitions. The January 2005 notice also specified the status of the petitions filed in 2003 that have remained under review. The Trade Policy Staff Committee has decided to continue the review of pending petitions.

In Proclamation 7870 of February 9, 2005, the President modified the rules of origin under the North American Free Trade Agreement (the ``NAFTA'') incorporated in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (the ``HTS''). The modifications were made effective with respect to goods of Canada that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005. The proclamation stated that the modifications with respect to goods of Mexico would be effective on or after a date to be announced in the Federal Register by the USTR. The purpose of this notice is to announce that the effective date for the modifications for goods of Mexico is June 15, 2005. The changes were printed in the Federal Register of February 14, 2005, Volume 70, Number 29, pages 7611-7630.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that on June 1, 2005, at the request of Canada, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) established a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. The panel is to examine whether the United States has implemented the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in a dispute involving a U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determination that certain softwood lumber products from Canada are being sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). On August 31, 2004, the DSB adopted the findings of the panel and the WTO Appellate Body in that dispute. Those findings rejected all of Canada's claims, except the claim that Commerce's methodology for aggregating dumping levels determined by comparing weighted average export price to weighted average normal value for groups of comparable transactions was inconsistent with Article 2.4.2 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Antidumping Agreement). In response to the DSB's recommendations and rulings, Commerce revised its methodology. Instead of determining dumping levels on a weighted average-to-weighted average basis, Commerce determined dumping levels on a transaction-to-transaction basis. On April 27, 2005, Commerce issued a Notice of Determination Under Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act: Antidumping Measures on Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada. That Notice, published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2005 (70 FR 22636), implements the new determination. Canada subsequently requested the establishment of a dispute settlement panel, alleging that the United States had failed to implement the DSB's recommendations and rulings. The panel was established on June 1, 2005. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The United States Trade Representative (``the USTR'') is modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) as set forth in the Annex to this notice, pursuant to authority granted to the President in section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (``Trade Act'') and delegated to the USTR in Presidential Proclamation No. 6969 of January 27, 1997 (62 FR 4415). These modifications will correct errors in the tariff rates that are being applied to a small number of products that are originating goods of Chile under the United States Chile Free Trade Agreement. The modifications will ensure that the intended tariff treatment is accorded to the products at issue.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice of the request by the European Communities (``EC'') for the establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement'') to examine certain U.S. measures affecting trade in large civil aircraft (``LCA''). The request for the establishment of a panel alleges that such measures are inconsistent with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (``SCM Agreement'') and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (``GATT 1994''). USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), seeks comment on the interim environmental review of the proposed U.S.-UAE Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The interim environmental review is available at https://www.ustr.gov/TradeSectors/Environment/EnvironmentalRev iews/ SectionIndex.html. Copies of the review will also be sent to interested members of the public by mail upon request.

This notice announces that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will receive petitions in 2005 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 further determines that the deadline for submissions of petitions for the 2005 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility Practices Review is 5 PM, June 15, 2005. The list of product petitions and country practice petitions accepted for review will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), seeks comment on the interim environmental review of the proposed U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The interim environmental review is available at https://www.ustr.gov/TradeSectors/Environment/EnvironmentalRev iews/ SectionIndex.html. Copies of the review will also be sent to interested members of the public by mail upon request.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is providing notice that the Dispute Settlement Body (``DSB'') of the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') has established at the request of the European Communities (``EC'') a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (``WTO Agreement''). That request may be found at https:// www.wto.org contained in a document designated as WT/DS108/29. USTR invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.

This notice is to inform the public of full year 2004 import statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments are invited by 5 p.m., April 22, 2005, regarding possible de minimis CNL waivers with respect to particular articles, and possible redesignations under the FSP program of articles currently not eligible for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNLs.