[Federal Register: March 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 13538-13540]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22mr07-102]
[[Page 13538]]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing on Potential
Withdrawal of Tariff Concessions and Increase in Applied Duties in
Response to European Union (EU) Enlargement
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning a
list of goods for which tariff concessions may be withdrawn and duties
may be increased in the event the United States cannot reach agreement
with the European Communities (EC) for adequate compensation owed under
World Trade Organization (WTO) rules as a result of EU enlargement.
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SUMMARY: The United States is continuing to negotiate with the EU
regarding the EU's provision of adequate and permanent compensation to
the United States for an event that increased duties on U.S. imports to
EU markets above WTO bound rates of duty. On January 1, 2007, as part
of its enlargement process, the EU raised tariffs above bound rates on
some imports into the countries of Romania and Bulgaria. If this issue
is not resolved, the United States may seek to exercise its rights
under Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
(``GATT 1994'') to withdraw substantially equivalent concessions and
raise tariffs on select goods primarily supplied by the EU. The Trade
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) seeks public comment on the attached list
of goods for which U.S. tariff concessions may be withdrawn and applied
duties may be raised. The TPSC will hold a public hearing on Tuesday,
April 24, 2007, on the list.
DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention, as well as a copy of their
testimony, by noon on April 19, 2007. A hearing will be held in
Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Written comments are due by
noon on Thursday, April 19, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail to FR0628@ustr.eop.gov;
requests to testify should also be addressed to Martez Higgins at e-
mail: FR0628@ustr.eop.gov. Submissions can be sent by facsimile to:
Martez Higgins at fax: (202) 395-3974. The public is strongly
encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile.
(See requirements for submissions below).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about procedural
questions, contact Martez Higgins at (202) 395-4620. All other
questions should be directed to: Laurie Molnar, Director for European
Trade Issues, (202) 395-3320 or MaryEllen Smith, Director Agricultural
Trade Policy, (202) 395-6127; Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under WTO rules, the United States is
entitled to compensation from the EU resulting from EU tariff changes
as a result of EU enlargement. If agreement on compensation cannot be
reached, the United States would be entitled to withdraw substantially
equivalent concessions and apply increased duties on products of
interest to the EU.
Enlargement: With the accession to the EU of Romania and Bulgaria
(``the new EU Member States''), the EU withdrew the entire WTO tariff
schedules of the new EU Member States and applied the common external
tariff of the EU of twenty five to imports into the territory of the
new EU Member States, resulting in increased tariffs on certain
products.
Legal Background: Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 establishes that
a WTO Member may modify or withdraw a tariff concession bound in its
WTO schedule by negotiation and agreement with certain affected
Members, more specifically, those Members that initially negotiated the
relevant concession or are determined to have a principal supplying
interest or a substantial interest in the concession. Such affected
Members are entitled to receive adequate compensation or, in the
absence of successful compensation negotiations, to withdraw
``substantially equivalent concessions.'' Pursuant to Article XXIV:6 of
the GATT 1994, where a WTO Member has modified or withdrawn a
concession in the expansion of a customs union, the procedure under
Article XXVIII also applies. The United States has negotiating and
compensation rights on certain tariff concessions at issue as a result
of enlargement. Affected WTO Members' rights to withdraw substantially
equivalent concessions under Article XXVIII are time-limited; these
rights expire within six months of the EU's withdrawal or modification
of concessions unless exercised or extended. WTO Members intending to
withdraw substantially equivalent concessions must provide notice to
the WTO of their intent at least thirty days prior to the effective
date of such action.
Whenever a foreign country withdraws, suspends, or modifies the
application of trade agreement obligations of benefit to the United
States without granting adequate compensation, the President is
authorized under section 125(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2135) to withdraw, suspend or modify the application of any
substantially equivalent trade agreement obligations of benefit and
proclaim under section 125(c) such increased duties or other import
restrictions as are appropriate to effect adequate compensation.
Section 125(c) authorizes the President to proclaim increased duties or
other import restrictions as he deems necessary or appropriate in order
to exercise the rights of the United States whenever the United States,
acting in pursuance of its rights or obligations under certain trade
agreements, withdraws, suspends or modifies any obligation with respect
to foreign trade. Section 125(f) provides that the President, normally
before taking any action under section 125 to withdraw, suspend, or
modify trade agreement obligations or to increase duties, must provide
for a public hearing, at which time interested persons will be given an
opportunity to be present, to produce evidence, and to be heard.
Pursuant to section 125(c), any new tariff rates proclaimed by the
President would not exceed 50 percent above the rate set forth in rate
column numbered 2 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States, as in
effect on January 1, 1975, or 20 percent ad valorem above the rate
existing on January 1, 1975, whichever is higher. If imposed, the
increased duties would apply to imports from all countries that are
subject to the rates of duty set forth in the Column 1 General rate of
duty column of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). The products affected by a suspension of concessions and duty
increase would be drawn from the list of products set forth in the
Annex to this notice. In recommending any action to the President under
section 125, the TPSC will consider all comments and testimony by
interested persons submitted in accordance with the procedures
described below.
Public Comment on Potential Actions; Hearing Participation
Pursuant to section 125(f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2135), the TPSC, chaired by the Office of the United States Trade
Representative, has scheduled a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. on
Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20508. Further details on the hearing and submission of
testimony is provided below. In lieu of or in addition to participation
at the public hearing, parties may submit
[[Page 13539]]
written comments to be received no later than noon, Thursday, April 19,
2007.
Written comments and/or written or oral testimony of interested
persons should be limited to the following issues: (1) The
appropriateness of withdrawing WTO tariff concessions upon the products
listed in the Annex to this notice; (2) the appropriateness of imposing
increased duties upon the products listed in the Annex to this notice;
(3) the levels at which U.S. customs duties should be set for
particular items; and (4) the degree to which increased duties might
have an adverse effect upon U.S. consumers of the products listed in
the Annex.
Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide both
a written notification of their intention and a copy of their testimony
by noon on Thursday, April 19, 2007. The notification should include:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number, fax number, and firm or
affiliation of the person wishing to testify; (2) a short (one or two
paragraph) summary of the oral presentation; and (3) list of goods of
interest (including HTSUS numbers). Remarks at the hearing should be
limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions
from the TPSC.
Requirements for Submissions
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the TPSC
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response
to this notice. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible,
submissions should be made by facsimile.
Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following
subject line: ``EU Enlargement'' followed by (as appropriate) ``Written
Comments,'' ``Notice of Testimony,'' or ``Testimony.'' Documents should
be submitted as either Adobe PDF, WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT)
files. 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. Similarly, 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, notices of testimony, and testimony will be
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5,
except confidential business information exempt from public inspection
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Confidential business 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 non-confidential
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and non-
confidential 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 may be made by
calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments must be scheduled at least 48
hours in advance.
General information concerning USTR may be obtained by accessing
its Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov).
Annex: Proposed Withdrawal of Concessions Tariff List
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Proposed
MFN new Proposed new tariff
HTS Description rate MFN unit 2007 tariff rate unit
2007 rate
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02032920............ Frozen retail cuts of 1.40 cents/kg................ 92.21 Cents/kg.
meat of swine, nesoi.
02101200............ Bellies (streaky) and 1.40 cents/kg................ 92.9 Cents/kg.
cuts thereof of swine,
salted, in brine, dried
or smoked.
02101900............ Meat of swine other than 1.40 cents/kg................ 177.9 Cents/kg.
hams, shoulders,
bellies (streaky) and
cuts thereof, salted,
in brine, dried or
smoked.
07129074............ Tomatoes, dried in 9% ........................ 55%
powder.
16010020............ Pork sausages and 0.80 cents/kg................ 73.7 Cents/kg.
similar products of
pork, pork offal or
blood; food
preparations based on
these products.
16024940............ Prepared or preserved 1.40 cents/kg................ 72.8 Cents/kg.
pork, not containing
cereals or vegetables,
nesi.
20019025............ Artichokes, prepared or 10% 55%
preserved by vinegar or
acetic acid.
20032000............ Truffles, prepared or 0 20%
preserved otherwise
than by vinegar or
acetic acid.
20049010............ Antipasto, prepared or 3% 50%
preserved otherwise
than by vinegar or
acetic acid, frozen.
20079935............ Peach jam............... 7% 55%
20087020............ Peaches (excluding 17% 55%
nectarines), otherwise
prepared or preserved,
not elsewhere specified
or included.
38099350............ Finishing agents, dye 6% 55%
carriers and other
preparations used in
leather and like
industries, < 5% by
weight aromatic (mod.)
substance(s).
70133130............ Glassware for table or 10.5% 90%
kitchen purposes (o/
than drinking glasses),
of lead crystal, valued
over $3 but n/over $5
each.
71141130............ Spoons and ladles with 3.3% 97.5%
handles of sterling
silver.
84201020............ Calendering or similar 0 55%
rolling machines for
making paper pulp,
paper or paperboard.
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[[Page 13540]]
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E7-5268 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P