Office of the United States Trade Representative October 15, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is announcing a hearing for the open country practice reviews for which USTR has not held hearings in 2018 regarding compliance with the GSP eligibility criteria of Bolivia, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. This review will focus on whether: (1) Bolivia, Georgia, Iraq, Thailand, and Uzbekistan are meeting the GSP eligibility criterion requiring that a GSP beneficiary country afford workers internationally recognized worker rights; (2) Ecuador is meeting the GSP eligibility criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary country to act in good faith in recognizing as binding or in enforcing applicable arbitral awards; and (3) Indonesia and Uzbekistan are meeting the GSP eligibility criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary to provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights. In addition, USTR is announcing a hearing for the ongoing country designation review of Laos. This review will focus on whether Laos meets all the GSP eligibility criteria and should be newly designated as a GSP beneficiary. This notice includes the schedule for submission of public comments and a public hearing.