[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40579-40581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20216]


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

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Free Trade Area of the Americas

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for public comment on the operation of the 
Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil 
Society established in connection with the Free Trade Area of the 
Americas (FTAA) negotiations.

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

SUMMARY: The Committee of Government Representatives on the 
Participation of Civil Society (``Government Committee on Civil 
Society'' or ``Committee'') has been established by the 34 Western 
Hemisphere \1\ countries participating in the FTAA negotiations. The 
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) requests public comments on how the 
Committee should carry out its mandate to receive, analyze, and report 
on the full range of comments received from civil society from 
throughout the hemisphere on trade matters related to the FTAA process. 
Civil Society refers to interested non-governmental parties, including 
from environmental, business, consumer, academic and labor sectors. The 
TPSC also invites public comments on the U.S. positions described 
below.

    \1\ Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, 
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, 
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, 
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, 
Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, United States, 
and Venezuela.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For procedural questions concerning public 
comments contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-
3475. All questions concerning the Government Committee on Civil 
Society should be directed to Bryan Samuel, U.S. lead to the Committee 
and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, (202) 647-2532.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 18-19, 1998, at the second Summit 
of the Americas in Santiago, President Clinton and the 33 other 
democratically-elected leaders in the Western Hemisphere initiated the 
FTAA

[[Page 40580]]

negotiations, agreed to conclude them by 2005, and committed to achieve 
concrete progress toward that objective by the end of the century. The 
FTAA negotiations will take into account the broad social and economic 
agenda defined by the leaders in 1994 at the first Summit of the 
Americas with a view to contributing to raising living standards, to 
improving the working conditions of all people in the Americas and to 
better protecting the environment.
    The leaders have agreed that the FTAA will be a balanced and 
comprehensive agreement covering such matters as: Tariffs; non-tariff 
barriers affecting trade in goods and services; trade in agricultural 
products; subsidies; investment; intellectual property rights; 
government procurement; technical barriers to trade; safeguards against 
import surges; rules of origin; competition policy; antidumping and 
countervailing duties; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and dispute 
resolution procedures. The leaders also have committed to strive to 
make trade liberalization and environmental policies mutually 
supportive and to further secure the observance and promotion of worker 
rights. In addition, the trade ministers of the 34 countries have 
repeatedly expressed their joint commitment to transparency in the FTAA 
process, with a growing recognition of the need for open communication 
with the public throughout the hemisphere. The participating countries 
have agreed to conduct the FTAA negotiations in a manner that will 
build broad public understanding of and support for the FTAA.
    In preparation for the Santiago Summit meeting, the trade ministers 
in March 1998 jointly recognized and welcomed the interests and 
concerns expressed by a broad spectrum of interested non-governmental 
parties--particularly labor, business, environmental and academic 
groups in the hemisphere--regarding the FTAA. They encouraged these and 
other groups, such as those representing consumers, to provide their 
views on trade matters related to the FTAA. To facilitate this process, 
the ministers agreed to establish the Government Committee on Civil 
Society, thus creating for the first time a mechanism for any 
interested non-governmental parties from across the Hemisphere to 
provide their views directly to the FTAA process. The Committee will 
receive comments from interested non-governmental parties, analyze 
them, and provide a report on the full range of views for the trade 
ministers' consideration at their next meeting in October 1999.

Committee Procedures

    At a June 1998 meeting, the FTAA governments established general 
guidelines for the Committee. The first meeting of the Committee will 
be convened by Canada in Miami in October 1998. The Committee will 
select a permanent Chair and draft a notice that will solicit written 
comment from interested non-governmental parties on trade matters 
related to the FTAA. These procedures are expected to be supplemented 
after the October meeting.

U.S. Objectives

    The U.S. Government seeks to ensure that the Committee functions as 
a direct and effective channel of communication between governments 
participating in the FTAA negotiations and the full range of private, 
non-governmental interests in the hemisphere so that the views they 
represent can be taken into consideration. The U.S. view is that the 
establishment of the Committee should ensure that interested non-
governmental parties in each FTAA country can provide their comments 
directly to the FTAA process without first being filtered by their 
governments. In the U.S. view, the Committee should establish an 
inclusive and transparent process for eliciting the views of a broad 
range of interested non-governmental parties throughout the Hemisphere 
and ensure that all comments provided are given serious consideration. 
In addition, the Committee's functions should be flexible and should be 
capable of modification over time as required to assist the 
negotiations.
    The U.S. Government has proposed that the Committee provide several 
avenues for soliciting public comments, including the solicitation of 
written comments and public hearings. The United States also has 
proposed that comments received by the Committee be made available on 
the FTAA Homepage (www.FTAA-ALCA.org) both so that interested non-
governmental parties can see the comments provided by others and so 
that the government negotiators have immediate access to those 
comments.
    The United States has proposed that the Committee make publicly 
available its report well in advance of the October 1999 FTAA trade 
ministerial meeting so that interested non-governmental parties can 
comment to their governments on the report in advance of the 
ministerial meeting and thus facilitate a considered discussion of the 
report by the ministers at the meeting.
    The solicitation of public comments by the Committee will 
complement, not replace, U.S. Government processes for seeking public 
comments. It also will supplement comments the U.S. Government has 
received and will continue to receive on an ongoing basis.

Public Comments

    To prepare the U.S. position for the initial meeting of the 
Government Committee on Civil Society in October 1998, the TPSC invites 
written comments on the operation of the Committee and on the U.S. 
Government views and proposals described above, as well as any other 
comments on the Committee in relation to the FTAA process in general. A 
separate notice requesting comments on U.S. positions and objectives 
for the nine negotiating groups was published at 63 FR 36470-36473 
(July 6, 1998). As stated in that notice, USTR will seek additional 
public comment at a later date on other issues related to the FTAA.
    Those persons wishing to submit written comments should provide 
twenty (20) typed copies (in English) no later than Wednesday, August 
26, 1998, to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Room 501, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
    If the submission contains business confidential information, 
twenty copies of a confidential version must also be submitted. A 
justification as to why the information contained in the submission 
should be treated confidentially must be included in the submission. In 
addition, any submissions containing business confidential information 
must be clearly marked ``Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the 
cover page (or letter) and of each succeeding page of the submission. 
The version that does not contain confidential information should also 
be clearly marked, at the top and bottom of each page, ``public 
version'' or ``non-confidential.''
    Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except 
for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 
CFR 2003.6, will be available for inspection in the USTR Reading Room, 
Room 101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file may be 
made by calling Brenda Webb (202) 395-6186. The Reading Room is open to 
the public

[[Page 40581]]

from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 98-20216 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M