[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 57 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14486-14492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7409]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. 301-62a]
Implementation of WTO Recommendations Concerning EC--Measures
Concerning Meat and Meat Products (Hormones)
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comment; notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: May 13, 1999 is the deadline for the European Communities'
(EC) implementation of the recommendations and rulings of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) concerning the
EC's ban on imports of U.S. meat from animals treated with hormones. EC
representatives have indicated that the EC is unlikely to meet this
deadline. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is seeking
written comments on the action that the USTR should take to exercise
U.S. rights under Article 22 of the WTO Dispute Settlement
Understanding (DSU) if the EC fails to implement the DSB
recommendations by May 13, 1999.
DATES: Requests to testify at the public hearing and written testimony
for the public hearing are due by noon on Wednesday, April 14, 1999;
the public hearing will be held beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, April
19, 1999; written comments, in lieu of written and oral testimony, are
due by noon on Friday, April 23, 1999; and rebuttal briefs, if needed,
are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 26, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Room 100, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20508.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to the
Section 301 Committee, (202) 395-3419, for questions concerning Section
301 procedures and submissions filed in response to this notice;
Demetrios Marantis, Assistant General Counsel, (202) 395-2581, or Ralph
Ives, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, (202) 395-4620, for
questions concerning the EC hormone ban or WTO procedures; or Joanna
McIntosh, Associate General Counsel (202) 395-7203, for questions
concerning Section 301, this notice, or WTO procedures.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In December 1985, the EC adopted a directive
on livestock production restricting the use of natural hormones to
therapeutic purposes, banning the use of synthetic hormones, and
prohibiting imports of animals, and meat from animals, to which
hormones had been administered. That directive was later declared
invalid by the European Court of Justice on procedural grounds and had
to be re-adopted by the Council, unchanged, in 1988 (``the Hormone
Directive''). These measures became effective January 1, 1989,
notwithstanding U.S. attempts to resolve this issue bilaterally and
multilaterally, including through dispute settlement under the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
On December 24, 1987, the President of the United States announced
an increase in duties on selected European products in response to the
Hormone Directive and related measures, but immediately suspended this
action to promote a negotiated solution of the issue. [52 Fed. Reg.
49139]. The USTR terminated the suspension of the increase in duties in
January 1989 when the EC began implementing the hormone ban against
imports from the United States. [53 Fed. Reg. 53115]. The USTR
subsequently modified the application of increased duties on a number
of occasions.
Following entry into force of the WTO Agreement on the Application
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (``SPS Agreement'') on January
1, 1995, the United States and, later, Canada, proceeded with formal
WTO dispute settlement procedures against the hormone ban. Prior to the
establishment of the WTO panel, the EC replaced the Hormone Directive
with another directive that re-codified and expanded the hormone ban.
On May 20, 1996, the DSB established a dispute settlement panel (``the
WTO panel'') to examine the consistency of the hormone ban with the
EC's WTO obligations. The members of the WTO Panel were selected as of
July 2, 1996. On July 15, 1996, the USTR terminated the increase in
duties on certain products of the EC that had been imposed in response
to the hormone ban. [61 Fed. Reg. 37309].
On August 18, 1997, the WTO panel issued its report finding that
the hormone ban is not based on scientific evidence, a risk assessment,
or relevant international standards in contradiction of the EC's
obligations under the SPS Agreement. The Appellate Body issued its
report on January 16, 1998 affirming that the hormone ban is not
consistent with the EC's obligations under the SPS Agreement.
Specifically, the Appellate Body concluded that the EC's hormone ban
failed to satisfy the requirements of Articles 3.3 and 5.1 of the SPS
Agreement because the risk assessments that had been performed did not
support the ban on imports. In addition, the Appellate Body found that
there was no risk assessment, as required by Article 5.1 of the SPS
Agreement, for one of the hormones. At its February 13, 1998 meeting,
the DSB adopted the Panel and Appellate Body reports on hormones.
The EC subsequently requested four years to implement the DSB
recommendations, two years to conduct additional risk assessments and
two years to revise its measures to reflect the results of those risk
assessments. A WTO Arbitrator appointed to determine the reasonable
period of time observed that the reasonable period should not be
provided to ``demonstrate the consistency of a measure already judged
to be inconsistent,'' in response to the EC's arguments that it would
need a substantial period to conduct additional risk assessments.
[Para. 39 of the Award of the Arbitrator, WT/DS26/15]. The Arbitrator
determined that the reasonable period of time for implementation was
fifteen months and would expire on May 13, 1999.
To date, the EC has taken no action to implement the DSB
recommendations and rulings. The EC has made no modifications to the
hormone ban, but rather has initiated seventeen new risk assessments.
In its status report for the March meeting of the DSB, the EC indicated
that it does not expect to be in compliance by the May 13, 1999 WTO-
mandated deadline.
On March 3-4, 1999, U.S. and EC officials held discussions in
Washington to explore options to resolve this dispute. The United
States presented a proposal for labeling U.S. beef as a way to address
European consumers' concerns. However, the EC indicated that a
resolution of this matter would be conditional on the completion of the
additional risk assessments, which may not be completed until sometime
in late 1999 or 2000, and other regulatory procedures.
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Process for Suspending Concessions
If the EC fails to implement the DSB recommendations concerning the
hormone ban by May 13, 1999, Article 22 of the WTO Dispute Settlement
Understanding (DSU) permits the United States to suspend the
application of concessions or other obligations accruing to the EC
under the WTO Agreement. Article 22.2 of the DSU provides that the
United States must seek authorization from the DSB prior to suspending
concessions. Article 22.6 of the DSU provides that the DSB shall grant
the requested authorization not later than thirty days after the
expiration of the reasonable period, or by June 12 in this dispute,
unless the EC objects to the level of suspension proposed.
If the EC objects to the level of suspension proposed, it may
request that the assessment of that level be referred to arbitration.
The DSU requires that such arbitration proceedings be completed within
sixty days after the expiration of the reasonable period of time, or by
July 12 in this dispute.
Following the completion of arbitration proceedings and upon
request, the DSB must grant authorization to suspend concessions or
other obligations consistent with the Arbitrator's decision. The United
States may not suspend concessions or other obligations during the
course of the arbitration proceedings.
Given the likelihood that the EC will not implement the DSB
recommendations concerning the hormone ban by May 13, the USTR is
taking steps, under the authority of Section 306 of the Trade Act, to
prepare for the exercise of the United States's right to suspend
concessions under Article 22 of the DSU. These steps include: (1) this
request for comments on the concessions that the United States intends
to suspend if the EC does not implement the DSB recommendations; and
(2) the subsequent U.S. request to the DSB for suspension of
concessions.
The U.S. request to the DSB will be submitted some time after May
13, when the EC's reasonable period of time for implementation expires,
but before June 12, the latest date by which either the DSB must grant
the requested authorization or the EC must request arbitration to
review the level of the requested suspension. The U.S. request to the
DSB will include the concessions which the U.S. intends to suspend
(e.g., a list of products of the EC on which the United States intends
to suspend tariff concessions). The United States would begin
suspending these concessions in accordance with the time frames
provided in Article 22 of the DSU and Section 306 of the Trade Act.
Request for Comments
The USTR requests comments on the types of concessions that may be
appropriate for suspension pursuant to Article 22 of the DSU if the EC
does not implement the DSB recommendations concerning the hormone ban
within the prescribed reasonable period of time. The USTR proposes that
the imposition of 100 percent ad valorem duties on selected products of
the EC is an appropriate action and that the products to be affected by
the duty increase will be drawn from the list of products set forth in
the Annex to this notice. The imposition of increased duties may be
applied to imported articles that are both: (1) classified in the
headings and the subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTS) listed in the Annex to this notice; and (2) the
product of a member State of the European Union. In the instances where
a 4-digit HTS heading appears in the left column of this list, products
classified in any of the 8-digit subheadings appearing in the HTS
indented under those 4-digit headings may be subject to increased
duties.
Public Comment on Proposed Suspension of Concessions; Hearing
Participation
Section 306(c) of the Trade Act provides that the USTR shall allow
an opportunity for the presentation of views by interested persons
prior to the issuance of a determination pursuant to section 306(b).
The USTR invites interested persons to: (1) provide written comments on
the proposed suspension of concessions; and (2) to present written and
oral testimony and rebuttal briefs in the context of a public hearing.
Written comments and written and oral testimony may address: the
appropriateness of imposing increased duties on the products listed in
the Annex to this notice; the levels at which U.S. customs duties
should be set for particular items; the degree to which increased
duties might have an adverse effect upon U.S. consumers of the products
listed in the Annex; and any other matter relating to the EC hormone
ban and the proposed increase in duties.
Written comments: Interested persons wishing to submit written
comments must do so by noon on Friday, April 23, 1999. Persons
submitting written comments may, but do not need to, present written
and oral testimony as well.
Requests to Testify and Written Testimony: Interested persons
wishing to present testimony at the hearing must submit a written
request to do so by noon on Wednesday, April 14, 1999, together with
twenty copies of their complete written testimony. Requests to testify
must conform to the requirements of 15 CFR Sec. 2006.9 and include the
following information: (1) name, address, telephone number, fax number,
firm or affiliation of the applicant, and interest of the applicant;
and (2) a brief summary of the comments to be presented. After
considering the request to present oral testimony, the Staff Assistant
to the Section 301 Committee will notify the applicant of the time of
his or her testimony.
Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held beginning at 8:00
a.m. on Monday, April 19, 1999 in the Main Hearing Room at the U. S.
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C.
20436. Testimony at the public hearing should be limited to no more
than five minutes.
Rebuttal Briefs: To assure interested persons an opportunity to
contest the information provided by other persons, the USTR will
entertain rebuttal briefs filed by any party by 5:00 p.m. on Monday,
April 26, 1999. In accordance with 15 CFR Sec. 2006.8(c), rebuttal
briefs should be strictly limited to demonstrating errors of fact or
analysis not pointed out in written or oral testimony and should be as
concise as possible.
Requirements for Submissions: Written comments on the proposed
determination, written testimony, and rebuttal briefs must be filed in
accordance with the requirements set forth in 15 CFR Sec. 2006.8(b).
Submission must include on the first page a clear reference in bold
and/or underlining to the HTS number(s) and product(s) which are the
subject of the submission. Submissions must state clearly the position
taken and describe with particularity the supporting rationale, be in
English, and be provided in twenty copies to: Chairman, Section 301
Committee, Attn: EC--Hormone Ban, Implementation of WTO
Recommendations, Room 100.
Written comments, written testimony, and rebuttal briefs will be
placed in a file (Docket 301-62a) open to public inspection pursuant to
15 CFR Sec. 2006.13, except confidential business information exempt
from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR Sec. 2006.15. Persons
wishing to submit business confidential information must certify in
writing that such information is confidential in accordance with 15 CFR
Sec. 2006.15(b), and such information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting color
[[Page 14488]]
ink at the top of each page on each of twenty copies and must be
accompanied by a non-confidential summary of the confidential
information. The non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket
that is open to public inspection.
An appointment to review Docket No. 301-62a may be made by calling
Brenda Webb at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to the
public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday, and is located in Room 101 of the Office of the United
States Trade Representative.
Joanna K. McIntosh,
Chairman, Section 301 Committee.
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[FR Doc. 99-7409 Filed 3-23-99; 1:01 pm]
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