[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 204 (Monday, October 23, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54319-54321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26190]



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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Legal Adviser

22 CFR Part 181

[Public Notice 2269]


Coordination and Reporting of International Agreements: 
Determination Not To Publish Certain Agreements

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State is proposing to issue regulations 
providing that certain international agreements other than treaties 
will not be published in United States Treaties and Other International 
Agreements or in the Treaties and Other International Acts Series.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or 
before December 22, 1995.

ADDRESSES: An original and three copies of comments should be sent to 
the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs, Office of the Legal 
Adviser, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karen Ghaffarkhan or Wynne Teel, Office of the Legal Adviser, (202) 
647-2044.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Until 1994, the Case-Zablocki Act, 1 U.S.C. Sec. 112a, directed the 
Department of State to publish in United States Treaties and Other 
International Agreements ``all treaties to which the United States is a 
party * * * and all international agreements other than treaties to 
which the United States is a party.'' See 1 U.S.C. Sec. 112a.
    Due to resource constraints, the Department of State has been 
unable to publish agreements promptly. The Department's experience, 
however, has been that public requests have been received for very few 
of the unpublished agreements. In many instances the agreements that 
have not been published are printed by private publishers. In other 
cases, agreements may not be of interest to the public because they 
address narrow, technical subjects.
    In view of these considerations, Congress enacted Public Law 102-
236 in 1994, to amend the Case-Zablocki Act by authorizing the 
Secretary of State to ``determine that publication of certain 
categories of agreements is not required if the following criteria are 
met:
    (1) Such agreements are not treaties which have been brought into 
force for the United States after having received Senate advice and 
consent pursuant to section 2(2) of Article II of the Constitution of 
the United States;
    (2) The public interest in such agreements is insufficient to 
justify their publication, because (A) as of the date of enactment of 
the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, 
the agreements are no longer in force; (B) the agreements do not create 
private rights or duties, or establish standards intended to govern 
government action in the treatment of private individuals; (C) in view 
of the limited or specialized nature of the public interest in such 
agreements, such interest can adequately be satisfied by an alternative 
means; or (D) the public disclosure of the text of the agreement would, 
in the opinion of the President, be prejudicial to the national 
security of the United States; and
    (3) Copies of such agreements (other than those in paragraph 
(2)(D)), including certified copies where necessary for litigation or 
other purposes, will be made available by the Department of State upon 
request.''
    This statute requires that any such determination be published in 
the Federal Register.

Discussion

    The Department of State has determined that the categories of 
international agreements set forth below meet the criteria of Public 
Law 102-236 as set forth above. Non-publication of the following 
categories of agreements will substantially eliminate the existing 
publication backlog, thus permitting future agreements to be published 
in a more timely manner. Moreover, in selecting the following 
categories, the Department has focussed on a few areas that have a 
large volume of agreements that do not appear to be of general public 
interest or are frequently revised and readily available from private 
sources. The categories of bilateral agreements that the Department 
proposes not to publish and the reasons for selection of those 
agreements are as follows:

--Debt Rescheduling Agreements adjust the schedules for payment of 
principal and interest and arrearages owed by foreign governments to 
the United States Government. Since these agreements concern only 
governmental debt, there has been very limited indication of public 
interest.
--Textile Agreements are undertaken pursuant to section 204 of the 
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended. Before the entry into force of 
the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') Agreement on Textiles and 
Clothing on January 1, 1995, the United States limited the export of 
textile and apparel products in some instances through bilateral 
textile agreements. Now, the United States' arrangements with WTO 
member countries are governed by the WTO Agreement on Textiles and 
Clothing, leaving approximately ten bilateral textile agreements in 
force with countries that are not members of WTO. A few additional 
agreements may be concluded with countries that have not joined the 
WTO. Copies of these agreements are made available upon entry into 
force by the Economic and Business Bureau of the Department of State.

[[Page 54320]]

--Postal Agreements are agency level agreements that govern 
arrangements between postal administrations in various technical areas 
such as money order service and express mail. There has been no 
indication of public interest in these agreements.
--Military Exercise Agreements govern certain practical aspects of 
specific exercises conducted by the United States military in foreign 
countries, e.g., documentation required for drivers' permits and for 
entry of United States personnel into the foreign country, provision of 
utilities, and privileges and immunities of United States personnel 
during the specified exercises. These agreements are typically of short 
duration, are of a limited and specialized nature, create no private 
rights or duties and there has been no indication of public interest.
--Military Personnel Exchange Agreements for reciprocal details of 
military personnel between governments address such matters as 
allocation of responsibilities (salary, insurance, housing) between 
governments, length and conditions of the exchange, and limited 
privileges available to the exchanged personnel. These agreements are 
of a limited and specialized nature, create no private rights or duties 
and there has been no indication of public interest.
--Judicial Assistance Agreements provide for the exchange of 
information for specified civil or criminal investigations. Because 
these agreements address only identified investigations, there has been 
no indication of public interest.
--Mapping Agreements are agency level agreements that establish 
cooperative arrangements for cartography, including exchanges of maps, 
and charts, exchanges of mapping techniques, and training of personnel. 
There has been no indication of public interest in these agreements. 
Those government agencies that are interested obtain copies directly 
from the Department of State or from the agency that concluded the 
agreement.

    In addition to the above bilateral agreements, the Tariff Schedules 
agreed under the GATT and under the World Trade Organization Agreement, 
which establish the parties' initial schedule of concessions and 
subsequent tariff schedules, are subject to frequent revision and 
correction. Thus, publication of the materials by the Department of 
State will not supply the public with the current schedules. Moreover, 
these materials are readily available and are updated frequently by 
GATT/WTO and other sources.
    Classified Agreements, including all bilateral or multilateral 
agreements that have been given a national security classification 
pursuant to Executive Order No. 12356, or its successors will not be 
published.
    The Department of State also intends not to publish agreements in 
the above categories that were signed before publication of this notice 
and not previously published in United States Treaties and Other 
International Agreements.
    Agreements in the above categories (except classified agreements) 
will continue to be listed in the Department of State's annual 
publication Treaties in Force.
    Finally, it should be noted that United States agencies frequently 
enter into contracts and similar arrangements with other governments 
that the Department of State does not consider to constitute 
international agreements under the criteria established in the 
Department's regulations at 22 CFR 181.2. These include, for example, 
nonbinding political commitments. They also include such arrangements 
as bilateral agreements extending grants of $25 million or less by the 
Agency for International Development to foreign governments and P.L. 
480 agreements under which the United States sells food commodities to 
foreign governments. The Department of State does not publish such 
arrangements, as it considers them not to be international agreements 
within the meaning of the Case Act.

Legal Requirements

    This regulation is not expected to have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the 
regulatory Flexibility Act. In addition, this regulation contains no 
new information collection or recordkeeping requirements under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. This regulation 
has been reviewed under Executive Order No. 12778 and certified to be 
in compliance therewith. Further, this regulation has been reviewed 
internally by the Department to ensure consistency with the objectives 
of E.O. 12866; in addition, because it involves coordination with other 
agencies, OMB has been notified of its promulgation.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 181

    Treaties.

    For the reasons set forth above, Part 181 is proposed to be amended 
as follows:
    1. The authority for Part 181 is revised to read:

    Authority: 1 U.S.C. 112a, 112b; 22 U.S.C. 2658; 22 U.S.C. 3312 
and Pub. L. No. 103-236.

    2. The heading of Part 181 is revised to read:

PART 181--COORDINATION, REPORTING AND PUBLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL 
AGREEMENTS

    3. The first sentence of Sec. 181.1(a) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 181.1  Purpose and application.

    (a) The purpose of this part is to implement the provisions of 1 
U.S.C. 112a and 112b, popularly known as the Case-Zablocki Act 
(hereinafter ``the Act''), on the reporting to Congress, coordination 
with the Secretary of State and publication of international 
agreements. * * *
* * * * *
    4. A new Sec. 181.8 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 181.8  Publication.

    (a) The following categories of international agreements will not 
be published in United States Treaties and Other International 
Agreements:
    (1) Bilateral agreements for the rescheduling of intergovernmental 
debt payments;
    (2) Bilateral textile agreements concerning the importation of 
products containing specified textile fibers done under the 
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended;
    (3) Bilateral agreements between postal administrations governing 
technical arrangements;
    (4) Bilateral agreements that apply to specified military 
exercises;
    (5) Bilateral military personnel exchange agreements;
    (6) Bilateral judicial assistance agreements that apply only to 
specified civil or criminal investigations or prosecutions;
    (7) Bilateral mapping agreements;
    (8) Tariff and other schedules under the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade and under the Agreement for the World Trade 
Organization;
    (9) Agreements that have been given a national security 
classification pursuant to Executive Order No. 12356 or its successors; 
and
    (b) Agreements on the subjects listed in paragraphs (a) (1) through 
(9) of this section that had not been published as of [effective date 
of final rule].
    (c) Any international agreements in the possession of the 
Department of State, other than those in paragraph (a)(9) of this 
section, but not published will be made available upon request by the 
Department of State.


[[Page 54321]]

    Dated: October 17, 1995.
Robert E. Dalton,
Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-26190 Filed 10-20-95; 8:45 am]
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