[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3812]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 22, 1994]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

 

Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC); Request for Comments 
Concerning Foreign Government Discrimination in Procurement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice requests written submissions from the public 
concerning discrimination against United States products and services 
by foreign governments in their procurement practices. This information 
will be used in compiling the annual report on foreign discrimination 
in government procurement specified by section 305 of the Trade 
Agreements Act of 1979 (Trade Agreements Act), as amended by Title VII 
of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2515).
    Section 305 of the Trade Agreements Act requires the President to 
submit an annual report on the extent to which foreign countries 
discriminate against United States products or services in making 
government procurements. In the annual report, the President is 
required to identify any countries that:
    (a) Are signatories to the GATT Agreement on Government Procurement 
(Agreement) and are not in compliance with the requirements of the 
Agreement;
    (b)(i) Are signatories to the Agreement; (ii) are in compliance 
with the Agreement, but maintain a significant and persistent pattern 
or practice of discrimination in the government procurement of products 
or services from the United States not covered by the Agreement, which 
results in identifiable harm to U.S. business; and (iii) whose products 
or services are acquired in significant amounts by the United States 
Government; or
    (c) Are not Signatories to the Agreement and maintain a significant 
and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination in government 
procurement of products or services from the United States, which 
results in identifiable harm to U.S. business, and whose products or 
services are acquired in significant amounts by the United States 
Government.
    The functions vested in the President under Section 305 of the 
Trade Agreements Act were delegated to the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) pursuant to Section 4-101 of Executive Order 
12661 (54 FR 779).

DATES: Submissions containing the information described below must be 
received on or before March 15, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to the Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20506, and must 
include not less than twenty (20) copies. Submissions will be available 
for 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. Any business confidential material 
must be clearly marked as such at the top of the cover page or letter 
and each succeeding page and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential 
summary.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elena Bryan (202-395-5097) or Mark 
Linscott (202-395-3063), Office of GATT Affairs, or Laura B. Sherman 
(202-395-3150), Office of the General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20506.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 305 of the Trade Agreements Act 
requires an annual report to be submitted no later than April 30, 1993 
to the appropriate Committees of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate. The USTR is required to request consultations with any 
countries identified in the report to obtain their compliance with the 
Agreement or the elimination of their discriminatory procurement 
practices.
    USTR invites submissions from interested parties concerning foreign 
government procurement practices that should be considered in 
developing the annual report. Pursuant to section 305(d)(5) of the 
Trade Agreements Act, submissions are sought from any interested 
parties in the United States and in countries that are signatories to 
the Agreement, as well as in other foreign countries whose products or 
services are acquired in significant amounts by the United States 
Government.
    Each submission should provide, in order, the following general 
information: (1) The party submitting the information; (2) the foreign 
country or countries that are the subject of the submission and the 
entities of each subject country's government whose practices are being 
identified, and (3) the U.S. products or services that are affected by 
the non-compliance or discrimination.
    Each submission should provide, in order, the following specific 
information on non-compliance with the Agreement or discrimination: (1) 
The circumstances under which discrimination has occurred, including 
information regarding the date and nature of procurement(s) where 
discrimination was encountered; (2) policies or practices which are 
deemed to be discriminatory (where possible, include copies of 
discriminatory laws, policies or regulations), and (3) the extent to 
which noncompliance with the Code or discrimination has impeded the 
ability of U.S. suppliers to participate in procurements on terms 
comparable to those available to suppliers of the country in question 
when they are seeking to sell goods or services to the United States 
Government. Wherever possible, submissions should address the extent to 
which countries identified: (i) Use sole-sourcing or otherwise 
noncompetitive procedures for procurements that could have been 
conducted using competitive procedures; (ii) conduct what normally 
would have been one procurement as two or more procurements, in order 
to decrease the anticipated contact value below the Agreement's value 
threshold or to make the procurement less attractive to U.S. 
businesses; (iii) announce procurement opportunities without adequate 
time for U.S. businesses to submit bids, and (iv) employ specifications 
in such a way as to limit the ability of U.S. suppliers to participate 
in procurements.
    Finally, each submission should: (1) Identify requirements of the 
Agreement which are not being observed by the country identified or 
describe how the country identified has maintained a significant and 
persistent pattern or practice of discrimination in government 
procurement of non-Code-Covered goods; (2) identify the specific impact 
of the discriminatory policy or practice on United States businesses 
(including an estimate of the value of market opportunities lost and, 
if any, the cost of preparing bids which are rejected during the course 
of a procurement evaluation for discriminatory reasons), and (3) 
describe the extent to which the products or services of the country 
identified are acquired in significant amounts by the United States 
Government.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 94-3812 Filed 2-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-M