[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27828-27829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13290]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); Deadline for Submission 
of Petitions for the 1997 Annual GSP Product Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of the 1997 annual GSP product review.

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SUMMARY: The deadline for the submission of petitions in the 1997 
Annual GSP Product Review is 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 
17th Street, N.W., Room 518, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number 
is (202) 395-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Announcement of 1997 Annual GSP Product Review

    The GSP regulations (15 CFR 2007.3 et seq.) provide the schedule of 
dates for conducting an annual review unless otherwise specified by a 
Federal Register notice. Accordingly, notice is hereby given that, in 
order to be considered in the 1997 Annual GSP Product Review, all 
petitions to modify the list of articles eligible for duty-free 
treatment under the GSP must be received by the GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, 
1997. Petitions submitted after the deadline will not be considered for 
review and will be returned to the petitioner.
    The GSP provides for the duty-free importation of designated 
articles when imported from designated beneficiary developing 
countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of the Trade Act of 1974 
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et. seq.), as amended (the ``Trade Act''), and is 
implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 
1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential 
Proclamations. Section 505 of the Trade Act states that duty-free 
treatment provided under the GSP shall not remain in effect after May 
31, 1997. The 1997 Annual GSP review will be conducted according to a 
schedule to be issued in the Federal Register if and when the program 
is reauthorized. The review will be based on those petitions that are 
submitted prior to the July 2 deadline and accepted for review by the 
GSP Subcommittee.

A. 1997 GSP Annual Product Review

    Interested parties or foreign governments may submit petitions: (1) 
To designate additional articles as eligible for GSP; (2) to withdraw, 
suspend or limit GSP duty-free treatment accorded either to eligible 
articles under the GSP or to individual beneficiary developing 
countries with respect to specific GSP eligible articles; (3) to waive 
the competitive need limits for individual beneficiary developing 
countries with respect to specific GSP eligible articles; and (4) to 
otherwise modify GSP coverage. All product petitions must include a 
detailed description of the product and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
(HTS) subheading in which the product is classified.

B. Submission of Petitions and Requests

    Petitions to modify GSP treatment should be addressed to GSP 
Subcommittee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
NW., Room 518, Washington, DC 20508. An original and fourteen (14) 
copies of each petition must be submitted in English. If the petition 
contains business confidential information, an original and fourteen 
(14) copies of a nonconfidential version of the submission along with 
an original and fourteen (14) copies of the confidential version must 
be submitted. In addition, the submission containing confidential 
information should be clearly marked ``confidential'' at the top and 
bottom of each and every page of the submission. The version that does 
not contain business confidential information (the public version) 
should also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each page 
(either ``public version'' or ``nonconfidential''). Furthermore, 
interested parties submitting petitions that request action with 
respect to specific products should list on the first page of the 
petition the following information: (1) The requested action; (2) the 
HTS subheading in which the product is classified; and (3) if 
applicable, the beneficiary country.
    All such submissions must conform with the GSP regulations which 
are set forth at 15 CFR 2007. These regulations were published in the 
Federal Register

[[Page 27829]]

on Tuesday, February 11, 1986 (51 FR 5035). The regulations are printed 
in ``A Guide to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)'' 
(August 1991) (``GSP Guide''). Petitioners are strongly advised to 
review the GSP regulations. Submissions that do not provide all 
information required by Sec. 2007.1 of the GSP regulations will not be 
accepted for review except upon a detailed showing in the submission 
that the petitioner made a good faith effort to obtain the information 
required. These requirements will be strictly enforced. Petitions with 
respect to waivers of the competitive need limitations must meet the 
informational requirements for product addition requests in 
Sec. 2007.1(c). A model petition format is available from the GSP 
Subcommittee and is included in the GSP Guide. Petitioners are 
requested to use this model petition format so as to ensure that all 
informational requirements are met.
    Information submitted (except for information granted ``business 
confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6 and other qualifying 
information submitted in confidence pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.7) will be 
subject to public inspection by appointment only. Appointments may be 
made by contacting Ms. Brenda Webb (Tel. 202/395-6186) of the USTR 
Public Reading Room.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 97-13290 Filed 5-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3901-01-M