[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32907-32908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15990]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. WTO/D-24]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Canadian Export
Subsidies for Dairy Products and Market Access for Fluid Milk and Cream
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is
providing notice of the establishment of a dispute settlement panel
under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
(WTO), at the request of the United States, to examine Canada's
provision of export subsidies on dairy products and its failure to
provide market access under a tariff-rate
[[Page 32908]]
quota for fluid milk imports. Specifically, Canada's special milk class
pricing system provides fluid milk to dairy processors at subsidized
prices that circumvent the export subsidy reduction commitments
undertaken by Canada as part of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. In
addition, by limiting imports of fluid milk to cross-border consumer
trade, Canada administers the tariff-rate quota on fluid milk in a
manner that denies market access to all commercial shipments. In this
dispute, the United States alleges that the Canadian measures are
inconsistent with the obligations of Canada under the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement of Agriculture, the
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the Agreement
on Import Licensing Procedures. USTR invites written comments from the
public concerning the issues raised in this dispute.
DATES: Although the USTR will accept any comments received during the
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be
submitted on or before July 8, 1998, to be assured of timely
consideration by USTR in preparing its first written submission to the
panel.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to the Monitoring and Enforcement
Unit, Office of the General Counsel, Attn: Canadian Dairy Products
Dispute, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20508, (202) 395-3582.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James M. Lyons, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., (202) 395-7350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 127(b) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), the USTR is
providing notice that on March 12, 1998, the United States requested
establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel to examine whether
Canada's provision of subsidized fluid milk to processors and exporters
of dairy products and its denial of entry to commercial shipments of
fluid milk are inconsistent with Canada's obligations under the
Agreement on Agriculture, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures, the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures and GATT 1994.
The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) considered the request at its
meeting on March 25, 1998, and a panel subsequently was established.
Under normal circumstances, the panel, which will hold its meetings in
Geneva, Switzerland, would be expected to issue a report detailing its
findings and recommendations within nine months after it is
established.
Major Issues Raised by the United States and Legal Basis of
Complaint
The Government of Canada is providing export subsidies on dairy
products through its national and provincial pricing arrangements for
milk and other dairy products without regard to the export subsidy
reduction commitments undertaken by Canada. Specifically, Canada
established and maintains a system of special milk classes through
which it maintains high domestic prices, promotes import substitution,
and provides export subsidies for dairy products going into world
markets. These practices distort markets for daily products and
adversely affect U.S. sales of dairy products. The relevant provisions
of Canadian laws include the Canadian Dairy Commission Act, the
Interprovincial Comprehensive Agreement on Special Class Pooling, the
National Milk Marketing Plan, and the Dairy Products Marketing
Regulations.
Canada also restricts fluid milk imports under a tariff-rate quota
to cross-border purchases by Canadian consumers and disallows all
commercial shipments of fluid milk into Canada under the applicable
tariff-rate quota. Although Canada committed to convert its
quantitative restriction on fluid milk imports to a tariff-rate quota
and agreed to afford increased market access, Canada administers the
tariff-rate quota so as to deny entry to all commercial shipments of
fluid milk and cream.
The USTR believes that these measures are inconsistent with the
obligations of Canada under several provisions of the WTO Agreements,
including Articles, II, X, XI, and XIII of the GATT 1994, Articles 3,
4, 8, 9 and 10 of the Agreement on Agriculture, Article 3 of the
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and Articles 1, 2,
and 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.
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.
Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
(1) Must so designate the information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE''
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 (19
U.S.C. 3537(e)), 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, D.C. 20508. The public file will include a listing of
any comments received by 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-
24, Canadian Dairy Products Dispute) may be made by calling Brenda
Webb, (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public from
9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
A. Jane Bradley,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 98-15990 Filed 6-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M