[Federal Register: July 1, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 126)]
[Notices]
[Page 39997-39998]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01jy04-170]
[[Page 39997]]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review
To Consider the Designation of Iraq as a Beneficiary Developing Country
Under the GSP
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment with respect to the
eligibility of Iraq for the GSP program.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider
the designation of Iraq as a beneficiary developing country under the
GSP program and solicits public comment relating to the designation
criteria. Comments are due August 2, 2004 in accordance with the
requirements for submissions, explained below.
Addresses for Submissions: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail)
to: FR0440@ustr.gov. For assistance or if unable to submit comments by
e-mail, contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United States Trade
Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724 F Street, NW.; Washington,
DC 20508 (Tel. 202-395-6971).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office
of the United States Trade Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724
F Street, NW.; Washington, DC 20508 (Tel. 202-395-6971).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review in order to make a
recommendation to the President as to whether Iraq meets the
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute, as set out below. After
considering the eligibility criteria, the President is authorized to
designate Iraq as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the
GSP.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments regarding the
eligibility of Iraq for designation as a GSP beneficiary developing
country. Documents not submitted in accordance with the below
instructions might not be considered in this review. If unable to
provide submissions by e-mail, please contact the GSP Subcommittee to
arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP are available to any country that the
President designates as a GSP ``beneficiary developing country.'' In
designating countries as GSP beneficiary developing countries, the
President must consider the criteria in sections 502(b)(2) and 502(c)
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(b)(2), 2462(c))
(``the Act''). Section 502(b)(2) provides that a country is ineligible
for designation if:
1. Such country is a Communist country, unless--
(a) The products of such country receive nondiscriminatory
treatment, (b) Such country is a WTO Member (as such term is defined in
section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19 U.S.C. 3501(10))
and a member of the International Monetary Fund, and (c) Such country
is not dominated or controlled by international communism.
2. Such country is a party to an arrangement of countries and
participates in any action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect of
which is--
(a) To withhold supplies of vital commodity resources from
international trade or to raise the price of such commodities to an
unreasonable level, and (b) To cause serious disruption of the world
economy.
3. Such country affords preferential treatment to the products of a
developed country, other than the United States, which has, or is
likely to have, a significant adverse effect on United States commerce.
4. Such country--
(a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise seized ownership
or control of property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights,
owned by a United States citizen or by a corporation, partnership, or
association which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United
States citizens, (b) Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify an
existing contract or agreement with a United States citizen or a
corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more
beneficially owned by United States citizens, the effect of which is to
nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of
property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, or
(c) Has imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive
maintenance or operational conditions, or other measures with respect
to property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned,
the effect of which is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize
ownership or control of such property, unless the President determines
that--
(i) Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is
being made to the citizen, corporation, partnership, or association
referred to above, (ii) Good faith negotiations to provide prompt,
adequate, and effective compensation under the applicable provisions of
international law are in progress, or the country is otherwise taking
steps to discharge its obligations under international law with respect
to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or (iii) A
dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or
association over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and
the President promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the
Senate and House of Representatives.
5. Such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their
dispute.
6. Such country aids or abets, by granting sanctuary from
prosecution to, any individual or group which has committed an act of
international terrorism or the Secretary of State makes a determination
with respect to such country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or
such country has not taken steps to support the efforts of the United
States to combat terrorism.
7. Such country has not taken or is not taking steps to afford
internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country
(including any designated zone in that country).
8. Such country has not implemented its commitments to eliminate
the worst forms of child labor.
Section 502(c) provides that, in determining whether to designate
any country as a GSP beneficiary developing country, the President
shall take into account:
1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
2. The level of economic development of such country, including its
per capita gross national product, the living standards of its
inhabitants, and any other economic factors which the President deems
appropriate;
3. Whether or not other major developed countries are extending
generalized preferential tariff treatment to such country;
4. The extent to which such country has assured the United States
that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and
basic commodity
[[Page 39998]]
resources of such country and the extent to which such country has
assured the United States that it will refrain from engaging in
unreasonable export practices;
5. The extent to which such country is providing adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights;
6. The extent to which such country has taken action to--
(a) Reduce trade distorting investment practices and policies
(including export performance requirements); and (b) Reduce or
eliminate barriers to trade in services; and
7. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in
that country) internationally recognized worker rights. Note that the
Trade Act of 2002 amended paragraph (D) of the definition of the term
``internationally recognized worker rights,'' which now includes: (A)
The right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain
collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or
compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children and
a prohibition on the worst forms of child labor as defined in paragraph
(6) of section 507(4) of the Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of work
with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety
and health.
Requirements for Submissions
Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP
Subcommittee, Trade Policy Staff Committee. Comments must be received
no later than 5 p.m., August 2, 2004.
Information and comments submitted will be subject to public
inspection by appointment with the staff of the USTR Public Reading
Room, except for information granted ``business confidential'' status
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6. If the submission contains business
confidential information, a non-confidential version of the submission
must also be submitted that indicates where confidential information
was redacted by inserting asterisks where material was deleted. In
addition, the confidential submission must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of each and every page of the
document.
The public version that does not contain business confidential
information must also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each
and every page (either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NONCONFIDENTIAL'').
Documents that are submitted without any marking might not be accepted
or will be considered public documents.
In order to facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR
strongly urges and prefers electronic mail (e-mail) submissions in
response to this notice. Hand delivered submissions will not be
accepted. These submissions should be single copy transmissions in
English with the total submission, including attachments, not to exceed
50 single-spaced, standard letter-size pages and 3 megabytes as a
digital file attached to an e-mail transmission. Persons making
submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: ``Iraq GSP
Eligibility Review.'' Documents must be submitted, in English, as
either WordPerfect (``.WPD''), MSWord (``.DOC''), or text (``.TXT'')
files.
Documents shall not be submitted as electronic image files or
contain large imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``.PDF'',
``.BMP'', ``.TIF'', or ``.GIF''), as these types of files are generally
excessively large. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets
are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel, preformatted for printing on
8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. To the extent possible, any data attachments to
the submission should be included in the same file as the submission
itself, and not as separate files.
For any document containing business confidential information
submitted as an electronic attached file to an e-mail transmission, 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 or messages in the message area of the e-mail;
information that might appear in any cover letter should be included
directly in the attached file containing the submission itself. The
name and organization of the submitter, address, telephone and e-mail
address, should also be included in the submission itself.
Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be
available for review shortly after the due date by appointment in the
USTR public reading room, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC.
Appointments may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday by calling (202) 395-6186.
Steven Falken,
Executive Director GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee.
[FR Doc. 04-14962 Filed 6-30-04; 8:45 am]