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Federal Register Notices
[Federal Register: October 16, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 199)]
[Notices]
[Page 58688-58689]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16oc07-117]
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE
REPRESENTATIVE
Notice of Request for Public Comments on the
Review and Renegotiation of the United States-Israel
Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.
SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC)
is soliciting written comments on U.S.
objectives for upcoming negotiations on the
renewal of the United States-Israel
Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products (ATAP).
Specifically, the TPSC is seeking comments on
general
negotiating objectives and product-specific
requests.
DATES: Public comments are due by Noon,
Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail should
be submitted to FR0802ustr.eop.gov. Submissions
by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary,
Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143.
The public is strongly encouraged to submit
documents electronically rather than
by facsimile. (See requirements for submissions
below.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural
questions concerning public comments, contact
Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, TPSC, Office
of the USTR, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC
20508 (202) 395-3475. All other questions
regarding the negotiations should be addressed
to Andrew Stephens, Director for Bilateral
Agricultural Affairs, Office of the USTR, (202)
395-9637.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 1985 Agreement
on the Establishment of a
Free Trade Area between the Government of
Israel and the Government of
the United States of America (Israel
FTA) was intended to apply, in
full, to trade in all products between the two
countries. However, the
United States and Israel held
differing interpretations as to the
meaning of certain rights and obligations
related to agricultural
products under the Israel FTA.
In the interest of achieving practical
improvements in agricultural trade between the
two countries, the
United States and Israel in
1996 signed the Agreement on Trade in
Agricultural Products (ATAP). The 1996 ATAP was
an adjunct to the Israel FTA. The agreement
expired and then was subsequently renewed in
2004 for a period ending on December 31, 2008.
According to the ATAP, U.S. agricultural products exported to
Israel are divided into three
categories: (1) Products which are exempt
from tariffs, (2) products which are exempt from
tariffs within certain
quantities (tariff-rate quotas), and (3)
products which are imported at
a preferential tariff rate. Following the
implementation of the 1985 Israel FTA, most Israeli
agricultural products exported to the United
States had duty-free access to the U.S. market.
However, certain
Israeli products remained subject to tariff-rate
quotas. Therefore,
duty-free quota allocations, in excess of U.S.
WTO commitments, are the
principle concessions granted to Israeli
products as a result of the
ATAP.
The United States and Israel have committed
to initiate a review of
the operation of the ATAP and to seek further
improvements. In
preparation, USTR is soliciting detailed written
comments, including
data and arguments, addressing:
(a) General and product-specific negotiating objectives for
the
ATAP;
(b) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and
exporters
related to the reduction or removal of current
restrictions to the
Israeli agricultural market;
(c) Product-specific export interests or barriers (described
by
Harmonized Tariff System numbers);
(d) Detailed accounts of particular trade-restrictive
measures that
should be addressed in the negotiations; and,
(e) Other relevant issues, including potential environmental
implications of the proposed agreement.
Written Comments
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the
Office
of the United States Trade Representative
strongly urges and prefers
electronic (e-mail) submissions in response to
this notice. In the
event than an e-mail submission is impossible,
submissions should be
made by facsimile.
Interested persons may submit written comments by Noon,
Wednesday,
November 14, 2007. All written comments must
state clearly the position
taken, describe with particularity the
supporting rationale, and be in
English. The first page of written comments must
specify the subject
matter, including, as applicable, the product(s)
(with HTSUS numbers).
Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following
subject line: ``United States-Israel
ATAP Written Comments.'' Documents
should be submitted as Adobe PDF, MSWord files
or Word Perfect.
Supporting documentation submitted as
spreadsheets are acceptable as
Quattro Pro or Excel. For any document
containing business confidential
information submitted electronically, the file
name of the business
confidential version should begin with the
characters ``BC-'' and the
file name of the public version should begin
with the characters ``P-
''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be followed by
the name of the
submitter. Persons who make submissions by
e-mail should not provide
separate cover letters; information that might
appear in a cover letter
should be included in the submission itself. To
the extent possible,
any attachments to the submission should be
included in the same file
as the submission itself, and not as separate
files.
Written comments will be placed in a file open to public
inspection
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except business
confidential information
submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6.
Business confidential
information submitted in accordance with 15 CFR
2003.6 must be clearly
marked ``Business Confidential'' at the top of
each page, including any
cover letter or cover page, and must be
accompanied by a
nonconfidential summary of the confidential
information. All public
documents and nonconfidential summaries shall be
available for public
inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR
Reading Room is open to
the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. to
12 noon and 1 p.m. to
4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment to
review the file must
be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance and
may be made by calling
(202) 395-6186.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E7-20374 Filed 10-15-07; 8:45 am]
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