[Federal Register: February 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 39)]
[Page 9401-9419]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27fe04-103]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Import Statistics
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations; Invitation for Public Comment
on Possible De Minimis Waivers and Redesignations
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public of interim 2003 import
statistics relating to Competitive Need Limitations (CNL) under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments are
invited by 5 p.m., March 31, 2004, regarding possible de minimis CNL
waivers with respect to particular articles, and possible
redesignations under the GSP program of articles currently subject to
CNLs.
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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Competitive Need Limitations
The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary
developing countries (BDCs). The GSP program 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. Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act
provides for CNLs on duty-free treatment under the GSP program. When
the President determines that a BDC exported to the United States
during a calendar year either (1) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article
having a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($110
million for 2003), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a
value equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S.
imports of the article from all countries (the ``50 percent CNL''), the
President shall terminate GSP duty-free treatment for that article from
that BDC by no later than July 1 of the next calendar year.
II. Discretionary Decisions
A. De Minimis Waivers
Section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act provides the President with
discretion to waive the 50 percent CNL with respect to an eligible
article imported from a BDC if the value of total imports of that
article from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the
applicable amount for that year ($16.5 million for 2003).
B. Redesignation of Eligible Articles
Where imports of an eligible article from a BDC ceased to receive
duty-free treatment due to exceeding the CNL in a prior year, section
503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act provides the President with discretion to
redesignate such an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the
most recently completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.
III. Implementation of Competitive Need Limitations, Waivers, and
Redesignations
Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2004. Decisions on these matters, as
well as decisions with respect to de minimis waivers and
redesignations, will be based on full 2003 calendar year import
statistics.
IV. Interim 2003 Import Statistics
In order to provide advance notice of articles that may exceed the
CNLs for 2003, and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding de
minimis waivers and redesignations, interim import statistics covering
the first 10 months of 2003 are included with this notice. Full
calendar year 2003 data may be obtained from the website of the U.S.
International Trade Commission at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/.
The following lists contain, for each article, the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading and beneficiary
country of origin, the value of imports of such article for the first
10 months of 2003, and the percentage of total imports of that article
from all countries. The flags indicate the status of GSP eligibility.
Articles marked with an ``*'' are those that have been excluded from
GSP eligibility for the entire past calendar year. Articles marked with
a ``D'' are those that, based on interim 2003 data, may be eligible for
a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL.
List I shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that have already
exceeded the CNL of $110 million in 2003. Those articles without a flag
are articles that were GSP-eligible during 2003 but stand to lose GSP
duty-free treatment on July 1, 2004, unless a waiver is granted. Such
waivers are required to have been previously requested in the 2003 GSP
Annual Review.
List II shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that (1) have not yet
exceeded, but are approaching, the $110 million CNL for the period
January-October 2003, or (2) are close to or above the 50 percent CNL.
Depending on final calendar year 2003 import data, these articles stand
to lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2004, unless a waiver is
granted. Such waivers are required to have been previously requested in
the 2003 GSP Annual Review.
List III is a subset of List II. List III identifies GSP-eligible
articles from BDCs that are near or above the 50 percent CNL, but that
may be eligible for a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL. Actual
eligibility for de minimis waivers will depend on final calendar year
2003 import data. Each year, de minimis waivers are considered
automatically without a petition and public comments are accepted.
List IV shows GSP-eligible articles that are currently not
receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but that have import levels (based
on interim 2003 data) below the CNLs and thus may be eligible for
redesignation pursuant to the President's discretionary authority.
Articles with a ``D'' exceed the 50 percent CNL and would require both
a de minimis waiver and redesignation to receive GSP duty-free
treatment. The list may also contain articles that may not be
redesignated until certain conditions are fulfilled, as where, for
example, GSP eligibility for an article was administratively suspended
because of deficiencies in a country's protection of worker or
intellectual property rights. Redesignation requests are normally made
in the annual review, unless made in conjunction with remedying the
deficiencies.
The lists appended to this notice are provided for informational
purposes only. The attached lists are computer-
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generated and based on interim 2003 data, and may not include all
articles that may be affected by the GSP CNLs. Regardless of whether an
article is included on the lists, all determinations and decisions
regarding the CNLs of the GSP program will be based on full calendar
year 2003 import data with respect to each GSP-eligible article. Each
interested party is advised to conduct its own review of 2003 import
data with regard to the possible application of GSP CNLs.
IV. Public Comments
Requirements for Submissions
All submissions must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15
CFR part 2007, except as modified below. Furthermore, each party
providing comments should indicate on the first page of the submission
its name, the relevant HTSUS subheading(s), the beneficiary country or
territory of interest, and the type of action (e.g., the use of the
President's de minimis waiver authority) in which the party is
interested.
Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as
possible but not later than 5 p.m., March 31, 2004. Comments submitted
after this date may be considered at the discretion of the GSP
Subcommittee until the time its advice is provided to the TPSC.
In order to facilitate prompt consideration 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 with the
total submission not to exceed 50 single-spaced standard letter-size
pages and 3 megabytes as a digital file attached to an e-mail
transmission. The e-mail transmission should use the following subject
line: ``Comments on 2003 CNL Review'' followed by the HTSUS subheading
number and beneficiary country of origin found on the appropriate list.
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 such files are generally
excessively large. E-mail submissions containing such image files will
not be accepted. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets are
acceptable as QuattroPro or Excel, pre-formatted 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.
Submissions in response to this notice 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
version 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''
or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''). Documents that are submitted without any
marking might not be accepted or will be considered public documents.
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 ``BC-'' or ``P-'' should be followed by
the name of the party (government, company, union, association, etc.)
which is submitting the comments.
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, including the sender's
identifying information with telephone number and e-mail address. The
e-mail address for these submissions is FR0081@USTR.GOV. Documents not
submitted in accordance with these 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.
Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be
available for public review approximately three weeks after the due
date by appointment in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724 F Street,
NW., Washington, DC. Availability of documents may be ascertained, and
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 for GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade
Policy Staff Committee.
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[FR Doc. 04-4406 Filed 2-26-04; 8:45 am]