[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18963-18964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10141]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); Deadline for Submission 
of Petitions for the 1998 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility 
Practices Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of the 1998 annual GSP product and country eligibility 
practices review.

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SUMMARY: The deadline for the submission of petitions for the 1998 
Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility Practices Review is 5:00 
p.m., Tuesday, June 16, 1998.

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 1998 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility 
Practices Review

    The GSP regulations (15 CFR Part 2007) provide the schedule of 
dates for conducting an annual review unless otherwise specified by a 
Federal Register notice. Notice is hereby given that, in order to be 
considered in the 1998 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility 
Practices Review, all petitions to modify the list of articles eligible 
for duty-free treatment under GSP or to review the GSP status of any 
beneficiary developing country must be received by the GSP Subcommittee 
of the Trade Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 
16, 1998. 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 June 
30, 1998. If the program expires without reauthorization on that date, 
the 1998 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 June 16 deadline and accepted for review by the 
GSP Subcommittee.

A. 1998 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. As specified in 15 CFR 2007.1, 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. 1998 GSP Annual Country Eligibility Practices Review

    Interested parties may submit petitions to have the GSP status of 
any eligible beneficiary developing country reviewed with respect to 
any of the designation criteria listed in sections 502(b) or 502(c) of 
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462 (b) and (c)). Such petitions must comply 
with the requirements of 15 CFR 2007.01(b).

C. Submissions 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. Petitions submitted as 
``business confidential'' must conform to 15 CFR 2003.6 and other 
qualifying information submitted in confidence must conform to 15 CFR 
2007.7. 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 to the GSP regulations which are 
set forth in 15 CFR Part 2007. The regulations are also included 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 sections 2007.0 and 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 information requirements for product addition requests in 
section 2007.1(c) of the GSP regulations. A model petition format is 
available from the GSP Subcommittee and is included in the GSP Guide. 
Petitioners are requested to use this

[[Page 18964]]

model petition format so as to ensure that all information requirements 
are met.
    Only the public versions of the submissions will be available for 
public inspection and only by appointment. Appointments to review 
petitions may be made by contacting Ms. Brenda Webb (Tel. 202/395-6186) 
of the USTR Public Reading Room. The hours of the Reading Room are 9:30 
a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 98-10141 Filed 4-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3901-01-M