[Federal Register: March 11, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 47)]
[Notices]
[Page 11607-11614]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the
2001 and 2002 Annual Reviews
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
received petitions in 2001 and 2002 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 announces the combined
product petitions from both 2001 and 2002 that are accepted for review
in the 2002 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 list of country practice petitions accepted for review will be
announced in the Federal Register at a later date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee of the
Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-220, Washington, DC 20508.
The telephone number is (202) 395-6971 and the facsimile number is
(202) 395-9481.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP provides for the duty-free
importation of designated articles when imported from designated
beneficiary developing countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended (the ``1974
Act''), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of
November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and
Presidential Proclamations.
In a Federal Register notice dated April 13, 2001, USTR initiated
the 2001 GSP Annual Review and announced a deadline of June 13, 2001,
for the filing of petitions (66 FR 19278). In a Federal Register notice
dated November 1, 2002, USTR initiated the 2002 GSP Annual Review and
announced a deadline of December 2, 2002, for the filing of petitions
(67 FR 66699). The product petitions received requested changes in the
eligibility of products by adding or removing products, or by waiving
the ``competitive need limitations'' (CNLs) for a country for eligible
articles. Authorization for granting CNL waivers is set forth in
section 503(d) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(d)).
The GSP program expired on October 1, 2001, and was not
reauthorized until August 6, 2002. Consequently, the announcement of
which petitions were to be accepted for the 2001 Annual GSP Review was
not made, except for the announcement in the August 28, 2002 Federal
Register of those petitions accepted for the Special Three Country
Review for Argentina, the Philippines and Turkey. The outstanding 2001
petitions have been merged into the 2002 GSP Annual Review.
The interagency GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) has reviewed the product petitions, and the TPSC has
decided to initiate a full review of 47 of them. Annex II to this
notice sets forth the case number, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTS) subheading number, brief description of the product
(see the HTS for an authoritative description available on the U.S.
International Trade Commission (USITC) Web site http://www.usitc.gov/
taffairs.htm
), the change requested, and the petitioner for each
petition included in this review. Acceptance of a petition for review
does not indicate any opinion with respect to disposition on the merits
of the petition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petitions
have been found eligible for review by the TPSC and that such review
will take place.
Modifications to the list of articles eligible for duty-free
treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2002 Annual Review will be
announced on or about June 30, 2003, in the Federal Register, and any
changes will take effect on the effective date to be announced.
Opportunities for Public Comment and Inspection of Comments
The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC invites comments in support of or
in opposition to any petition which is included in this Annual Review.
Submissions should comply with 15 CFR part 2007, including sections
2007.0 and 2007.1, except as modified below. All submissions should
identify the subject article(s) in terms of the case number and HTS
subheading number as shown in Annex II. The GSP regulations (15 CFR
part 2007) provide the schedule of dates for conducting an annual
review unless otherwise specified in a Federal Register notice. The
revised schedule for public comment and hearings is contained in Annex
I.
Requirements for Submissions
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR
strongly urges and prefers electronic 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 not to exceed 50 single-spaced pages. E-mail
submissions should use the following subject line: ``2002 GSP Annual
Review'' followed by the Case Number and HTS subheading number found in
the Annex II (for example, 2002-47 9405.50.40) and, as appropriate
``Written Comments'', ``Notice of Intent to Testify'', ``Pre-hearing
brief'', ``Post-hearing brief'' or ``Comments on USITC Advice''. (For
example, an e-mail subject line might read ``2002-47 9405.50.40 Written
Comments''.) Documents, in English, must be submitted as either
WordPerfect (.WPD), MSWord (.DOC) , or text (.TXT) files. Documents
should not be submitted as electronic image files or contain imbedded
images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``PDF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF'') as these
type files are generally excessively large. E-mail submissions
containing such files may not be accepted. Supporting documentation
submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel
suitable for printing only 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.
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
which 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 ``Non-Confidential'').
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 party (government, company, union,
association, etc.) which is making the submission. E-mail submissions
should not include 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
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itself. The e-mail address for these submissions is FR0052@USTR.GOV.
Documents not submitted in accordance with these instructions might not
be considered in this review.
Information submitted will be subject to public inspection shortly
after the relevant due dates by appointment with the staff of the USTR
public reading room, except for information submitted that is granted
``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6 and other
qualifying information submitted in confidence pursuant to 15 CFR
2007.7. Public versions of all documents relating to this review will
be available for review after the relevant 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.
Notice of Public Hearings
Hearings will be held by the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC on April
10 and 11, 2003, beginning at 10 a.m. at the U.S. International Trade
Commission, Main Hearing Room, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436.
The hearings will be open to the public and a transcript of the
hearings will be made available for public inspection or can be
purchased from the reporting company. No electronic media coverage will
be allowed.
All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the
hearings must submit the name, address, telephone number, and facsimile
number and email address, if available, of the witness(es) representing
their organization to the Chairman of the GSP Subcommittee by 5 p.m.,
March 24, 2003. Requests to present oral testimony in connection with
the public hearings must be accompanied by a written brief or
statement, in English, and also must be received by 5 p.m., March 24,
2003. Oral testimony before the GSP Subcommittee will be limited to
five-minute presentations that summarize or supplement information
contained in briefs or statements submitted for the record. Post-
hearing briefs or statements will be accepted if they conform with the
regulations cited above and are submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., April
28, 2003. Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearings may
submit post-hearing written briefs or statements, in English, by 5
p.m., April 28, 2003.
In accordance with sections 503(a)(1)(A), 503(e) and 131(a) of the
1974 Act and authority delegated by the President, the U.S. Trade
Representative has requested that the USITC, pursuant to section 332(g)
of the Tariff Act of 1930, provide its advice with respect to the
probable economic effect on United States industries producing like or
directly competitive articles and on consumers of the elimination of
U.S. import duties for all beneficiary developing countries, and, with
respect to certain articles, the effect of the elimination of United
States import duties for least-developed beneficiary developing
countries. Comments by interested persons on the USITC Report prepared
as part of the product review should be submitted by 5 p.m., June 9,
2003.
Steven Falken,
Executive Director for GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade
Policy Staff Committee.
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[FR Doc. 03-5648 Filed 3-10-03; 8:45 am]
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