[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38238-38239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18618]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Concerning Certain Canadian 
Measures Affecting Periodicals

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.


[[Page 38239]]


ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 127(b)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that a dispute 
settlement panel convened under the Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization (WTO) at the request of the United States will 
examine Canadian measures affecting periodicals, including an import 
ban on certain periodicals and discriminatory treatment of certain 
imported periodicals with respect to excise taxes and postal rates. 
USTR also invites written comments from the public concerning the 
issues raised in the dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before August 15, 1996 in order to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR in preparing its first written submission to the 
panel.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Carolyn Frank, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Room 501, Attn: Periodicals 
Dispute, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
N.W., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Kane, Associate General 
Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-
6800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the United States' request, a WTO dispute 
settlement panel will examine whether certain Canadian measures 
concerning periodicals are consistent with Canada's obligations under 
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.
    Members of the panel are currently being selected, and the panel is 
expected to meet as necessary at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, 
Switzerland to examine the dispute. Under normal circumstances, the 
panel would be expected to issue a report detailing its findings and 
recommendations in six to nine months.

Major Issues Raised by the United States and Legal Basis of 
Complaint

    The Government of Canada maintains several measures concerning 
periodicals, including, but not limited to: (1) Tariff Code 9958, which 
prohibits the importation into Canada of certain periodicals; (2) Part 
V.1 of the Excise Tax Act, as enacted by Bill C-103 of December 
15,1995, which imposed an excise tax on certain so-called ``split-run'' 
periodicals; and (3) application of favorable postal rates to certain 
Canadian periodicals, including through actions of the Canada Post 
Corporation and the Department of Canadian Heritage (formerly the 
Department of Communications).
    These measures appear to prohibit or restrict imports of 
periodicals from the United States and other Members of the World Trade 
Organization in contravention of the Government of Canada's obligations 
under Article XI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, 
and also appear to be inconsistent with the national treatment 
obligations of the Government of Canada under Article III of the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
    These measures also appear to nullify or impair the benefits 
accruing to the United States directly or indirectly under the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in the dispute. Comments must be in 
English and provided in fifteen copies. A person requesting that 
information contained in a comment submitted by that person be treated 
as confidential business information must certify that such information 
is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the 
public by the commenter. Confidential business information must be 
clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting color ink at 
the top of each page of each copy.
    A person requesting that information or advice contained in a 
comment submitted by that person, other than business confidential 
information, be treated as confidential in accordance with section 
135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155)--
    (1) must so designate that information or advice;
    (2) must clearly mark the material as ``CONFIDENTIAL'' in a 
contrasting color ink at the top of each page of each copy; and
    (3) is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA, USTR will maintain a file 
on this dispute settlement proceeding, accessible to the public, in the 
USTR Reading Room: Room 101, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington DC 20508. The public 
file will include a listing of any comments made to USTR from the 
public with respect to the proceeding; the U.S. submissions to the 
panel in the proceeding; the submissions, or non-confidential summaries 
of submissions, to the panel received from other participants in the 
dispute, as well as the report of the dispute settlement panel and, if 
applicable, the report of the Appellate Body. An appointment to review 
the public file (Docket [WTO/D-7, ``U.S.-Canada: Periodicals''), may be 
made by calling Brenda Webb, (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is 
open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday.
Jennifer Hillman,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-18618 Filed 7-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3910-01-M