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

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 The modifications were made effective with respect to goods of Canada that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005.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.