[Federal Register: September 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 170)]
[Notices]
[Page 52437-52441]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03se03-90]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the
2001, 2002, and Ongoing Country Practice 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 review certain practices in
certain beneficiary developing countries to determine whether such
countries are in compliance with the GSP eligibility criteria. This
notice announces the 2001 and 2002 country practice petitions that are
accepted for review, and sets forth the schedule for comment and public
hearing on these petitions and on other ongoing country practices
reviews, for requesting participation in the hearing, and for
submitting pre- and post-hearing briefs.
ADDRESSES: The e-mail address for submissions is FR0052@USTR.GOV. If
unable to submit petitions by e-mail, contact the GSP Subcommittee of
the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee, 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 from designated beneficiary
developing countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of the Trade Act
of 1974 (``the 1974 Act''), as amended (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), 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). Several of the petitions received requested the review
of certain practices in certain beneficiary developing countries to
determine whether such countries are in compliance with the eligibility
criteria set forth in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of the 1974 Act.
The GSP program expired on October 1, 2001, and was not
reauthorized until August 6, 2002. Consequently, the interagency TPSC
made no announcement of the acceptance of country practice petitions
for the 2001 GSP Annual Review, and merged the 2001 petitions into the
2002 GSP Annual Review.
The TPSC has decided to accept certain petitions for review, as
indicated in Annex I to this notice. Annex I sets out the case number
and status of, and subject country and practice addressed in each
petition, and updates the status of other, previously initiated,
ongoing country practice reviews. If the TPSC decides to accept any
other 2001 or 2002 country practice petition for review, it will make
an announcement in the Federal Register at a later date.
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Acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion
with respect to disposition on the merits. Acceptance indicates only
that the TPSC has found the petition eligible for review, and that such
review will take place. The GSP regulations provide the schedule of
dates for conducting a review unless otherwise specified in a Federal
Register notice. The revised schedule for public comment and hearings
is contained in Annex II.
USTR will announce in the Federal Register any modifications to the
list of beneficiary developing countries or eligible articles for
purposes of the GSP program resulting from this Review, as well as the
date on which the modifications will take effect.
Opportunities for Public Comment and Requirements for Submissions
The GSP Subcommittee invites comments on any petition included in
this Review. Submissions should comply with the GSP regulations (15 CFR
Part 2007), including section 2007.0, except as modified below. All
submissions should be identified by the relevant case number and
country name as shown in Annex I.
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.
Submissions should be single copy transmissions in English, and the
total submission should not exceed 50 single-spaced pages. E-mail
submissions should use the subject line ``GSP Country Practices
Review,'' followed by the case number and country name found in Annex I
and, as appropriate, ``Written Comments,'' ``Notice of Intent to
Testify,'' ``Pre-hearing brief,'' or ``Post-hearing brief.'' (For
example, an e-mail subject line might read, ``GSP Country Practices
Review, 001-CP-02, Bangladesh, ``Pre-hearing brief.'') Documents 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 and may impede electronic transmission and redistribution. 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 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 every page, and the non-confidential submission must be
clearly marked either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL'' at the
top and bottom of every page.
The file name of any document containing business confidential
information attached to an e-mail transmission 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.) 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
itself. The e-mail address for submissions is FR0052@USTR.GOV.
Documents not submitted in accordance with these instructions might not
be considered in this review.
Submissions will be open to public inspection shortly after the due
date by appointment with the staff of the USTR public reading room,
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC, except for submitted information
granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6 and
other qualifying information submitted in confidence pursuant to 15 CFR
2007.7. 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
The GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on October 7, 2003,
beginning at 10 a.m. at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative,
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. The hearing will be open to the
public and a transcript will be made available for public inspection or
can be purchased from the reporting company. No electronic media
coverage will be allowed.
Any interested party wishing to make an oral presentation at the
hearing must submit the name, address, telephone number, facsimile
number, and e-mail address (if available) of the witness(es)
representing the party to the Chairman of the GSP Subcommittee by 5
p.m., September 26, 2003. Requests to present oral testimony in
connection with the public hearing must be accompanied by a written
brief or statement, in English, which must also be received by 5 p.m.,
September 26, 2003. Oral presentations should be approximately five-
minutes long and summarize or supplement information contained in the
brief or statement. Post-hearing briefs or statements must be
submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., October 31, 2003. Any party not
wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit a post-hearing
written brief or statement, in English, by 5 p.m., October 31, 2003.
Written briefs, statements, and oral testimony should conform with
section 2007.5 of the GSP regulations.
Steven Falken,
Executive Director for GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee.
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[FR Doc. 03-22426 Filed 9-2-03; 8:45 am]
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