The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has launched a general factfinding investigation to assess the economic impact on the United States of a new trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and South Africa.
The investigation, The Economic Effects on the United States of the EU-South Africa Agreement on Trade, Development, and Cooperation (Inv. No. 332-416), was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative in a letter received April 12, 2000.
As requested, the ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will include the following in its report:
Because the agreement will be implemented in stages, the ITC's economic analysis will look at the impact of the provisions that would be in effect in the first year of the agreement, at mid- implementation, and at full-implementation. In addition, because the agreement has implications for the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the ITC's analysis will include information on the effects on U.S. trade with the other SACU and SADC members and a discussion of the impact of the agreement on members of the SACU and SADC in general. The ITC will submit its report, which will be confidential, to the USTR by April 12, 2001.
The ITC will hold a public hearing in connection with this investigation. The hearing will be held on September 7, 2000, at 9:30 a.m. at the ITC Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on August 17, 2000, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. For hearing-related information, contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-1806.
The ITC also welcomes written submissions for the record in this investigation. Written statements (one original and 14 copies) should be submitted at the earliest practical date but no later than September 21, 2000. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436.
Further information on the scope of this investigation and appropriate submissions is available in the ITC's notice of investigation, dated May 18, 2000, which may be obtained from the ITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or at 202-205-1806.
ITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Senate Committee on Finance, or the House Committee on Ways and Means. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the ITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.