[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5044-5045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2885]



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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 U.S. products and services by foreign 
governments in their procurement practices. This information will be 
used in compiling the annual report on 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 and Title III, Section 341 of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act of 1994 (19 U.S.C. 2515).

    Section 305 of the Trade Agreement Act requires the President to 
submit an annual report on the extent to which foreign countries 
discriminate against U.S. products or services in making government 
procurement. Section 341 of the Uruguay Round Agreement Act specifies 
that the report also contain 

[[Page 5045]]
information about countries which employ non-transparent procurement 
procedures or fail to maintain effective prohibitions on bribery and 
other corrupt practices. Specifically, the President is required to 
identify any countries that:
    (a) Are signatories to the former GATT and/or WTO Agreement on 
Government Procurement (Agreement) and are not in compliance with the 
requirements of the Agreement;
    (b) Are signatories to the Agreement; 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 whose products or 
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. 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 identifable harm to U.S. business, and whose products or 
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government; or
    (d) Are not signatories to the Agreement and fail to apply 
transparent and competitive procedures to its government procurement 
equivalent to those in the Agreement and whose products and services 
are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government; or
    (e) Are not Signatories to the Agreement and fail to maintain and 
enforce effective prohibitions on bribery and other corrupt practices 
in connection with government procurement and whose products and 
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. 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 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to Carolyn Frank, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, 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 
WTO and Multilateral 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 20508.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 305 of the Trade Agreements Act 
requires an annual report to be submitted no later than April 30, 1996 
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 remedy the procurement practices 
cited in the report.
    Effective January 1, 1996, the new WTO Government Procurement 
Agreement entered into force and the United States withdrew from the 
GATT Government Procurement Code. Therefore, this year's Title VII 
review will include both agreements. The WTO Code significantly expands 
coverage beyond goods to include services, including construction, and 
to procurement of goods, services and construction by subcentral 
governments and government enterprises. Singapore and Hong Kong are 
members of the GATT Code but have yet to join the WTO Code, although 
Singapore has requested accession to the WTO Code and tabled a first 
offer. The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a member of the WTO Code but may 
delay implementation until January 1, 1997. The ROK was not a member of 
the GATT Code. Otherwise, and with the exception of the United States, 
the membership in the GATT and WTO Codes are identical.
    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 U.S. 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 
cited, and (3) the U.S. products or services that are affected by the 
non-compliance or discrimination.
    Each submission should also provide specific information on the 
particular problem: (1) noncompliance with the former GATT Agreement on 
Government Procurement or new WTO Government Procurement Agreement; (2) 
the type of discrimination encountered, including information regarding 
the date and nature of affected procurement(s); (3) policies or 
practices which are discriminatory, not transparent or anti-competitive 
(where possible, include copies of discriminatory laws, policies or 
regulations), and (4) the extent to which the problem 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 U.S. Government; 
(5) examples of failure to maintain and enforce effective prohibitions 
on bribery and other corrupt practices in connection with government 
procurement.
    Finally, each submission should: (1) If applicable, identify 
provisions of the former GATT or WTO Codes 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 or 
services; (2) identify the specific impact of the discriminatory policy 
or practice on U.S. 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 procurement evaluation for 
discriminatory reasons), and (3) describe the extent of which the 
products or services of the country identified are acquired in 
significant amounts by the U.S. Government.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 96-2885 Filed 2-8-96; 8:45 am]
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