[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61173-61175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29347]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Notice of Opportunity To Apply for Nomination to the World Trade 
Organization Dispute Settlement Roster of Panel Candidates

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity to apply for nomination by the United 
States to the indicative list of non-governmental panelist candidates 
provided for in Article 8 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures 
Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) and in the Decision on 
Certain Dispute Settlement Procedures for the General Agreement on 
Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

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SUMMARY: The DSU provides a mechanism for the settlement of disputes 
between the governments which are members of the WTO. A three-person 
panel conducts each dispute settlement proceeding and issues a report 
for consideration by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in which 
representatives of all WTO members participate. The DSU also provides 
for the WTO Secretariat to maintain an indicative roster of well-
qualified governmental and non-governmental individuals, to assist in 
the selection of panelists for dispute settlement proceedings.
    Section 123(b) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), Public 
Law 103-405, provides that the Trade Representative shall seek to 
ensure that persons appointed to the WTO roster are well-qualified and 
that the roster includes persons with expertise in all of the subject 
matters covered by the Uruguay Round Agreements. USTR invites citizens 
of the United States with appropriate qualifications to apply for 
consideration as a nominee to the roster.

DATE: Eligible citizens are encouraged to apply by December 9, 1999 to 
be considered for nomination to the roster in 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning the form of 
the application, contact Sandy McKinzy, Litigation Assistant, USTR 
Office of Monitoring and Enforcement, (202) 395-3582. For information 
concerning WTO procedures or the duties involved, contact Amelia 
Porges, Senior Counsel for Dispute Settlement, (202) 395-7305 or 
Stephen Kho, Assistant General Counsel, (202) 395-3581. For information 
relating to the GATS, contact Steven Fabry, Associate General Counsel, 
(202) 395-3582 or Peter Collins, Deputy Assistant USTR for Services and 
Investment, (202) 395-7271. Further information on the WTO and dispute 
settlement is available on the Internet at http://www.ustr.gov/reports/
tpa/1999/iv-a.pdf; the text of the DSU is available on the Internet at 
http://www.wto.org/wto/dispute/dsu.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Article 8 of the DSU, the WTO 
Secretariat is to maintain an indicative list of well-qualified 
governmental and non-governmental individuals, including persons who 
have served on or presented a case to a panel, taught or published on 
international trade law or policy, or served as a senior trade policy 
official of a WTO member country. The indicative list will be used to 
assist in the selection of panelists for dispute settlement 
proceedings. Panel members

[[Page 61174]]

are to be selected with a view to ensuring a sufficiently diverse 
background and a wide spectrum of experience. The current roster list 
dates principally from 1997 (with the addition of a few persons 
nominated later and approved by the DSB). The list is available on the 
Internet in http://www.ustr.gov/reports/tpa/1999/iv-b.pdf. The roster 
list is updated each two years.
    USTR currently seeks applications related to the list of non-
governmental individuals. Persons selected by USTR will be nominated 
for inclusion on the WTO indicative roster subject to DSB approval. 
Inclusion of a name on the roster, however, does not necessarily mean 
that the individual will be selected for service on a panel. DSU 
Article 8.2 provides that citizens of WTO Members whose governments are 
parties or interested third parties to a dispute may not serve on the 
panel in that dispute unless the parties agree otherwise. For example, 
panels for disputes in which the United States is a party or interested 
third party cannot include any U.S. citizens unless the parties to the 
dispute agreed otherwise.
    The Decision on Certain Dispute Settlement Procedures for the GATS 
requires that panels for GATS disputes include specific expertise on 
individual sectors. GATS disputes could involve, inter alia, one or 
more of the following eleven principal sectors: (1) Business services, 
including professional and related services, (for example, legal, 
accounting, auditing and bookkeeping, taxation, medical, dental, 
veterinary, engineering, architectural, and urban planning services), 
computer and related services, research and development services, real 
estate services, rental and leasing services, and advertising and 
management services; (2) communication services (including audio-visual 
services); (3) construction and related engineering services; (4) 
distribution services; (5) educational services; (6) environmental 
services; (7) financial services, including insurance and insurance-
related services, banking and securities services; (8) health-related 
and social services; (9) tourism and travel-related services; (10) 
recreational, cultural and sporting services, and (11) transport 
services.
    Panels for GATS disputes are to be composed of well-qualified 
governmental and/or non-governmental individuals who have experience in 
issues related to GATS and/or trade in services, including associated 
regulatory matters. Dispute settlement panels concerning sectoral 
matters under the GATS must have expertise relevant to the specific 
service sector to which the dispute relates. The GATS Annex on 
Financial Services further provides that panels for disputes on 
prudential issues and other financial matters must have the necessary 
expertise relevant to the specific financial service under dispute.
    WTO dispute settlement panels consist of three persons (unless the 
parties agree to have five panelists) whose function is to make an 
objective assessment of the matter under dispute, including an 
objective assessment of the facts of the case, the applicability of the 
relevant WTO agreements and the conformity of the measure under 
consideration with the obligations of those agreements. In addition, 
panels are to make such other findings as will assist the DSB in making 
the recommendations provided for in the WTO agreements.
    Panelists must act in strict conformity with the provisions of the 
WTO agreements, including application of the appropriate standard of 
review. Panels are responsible for providing a report to the DSB, 
including recommendations if necessary, on the conformity of the matter 
under dispute with WTO obligations. Panelists must also comply with the 
WTO Rules of Conduct (available at http://www.ustr.gov/reports/tpa/
1997/part4__2__8.html or http://www.wto.org/wto/dispute/rc.htm) 
relating to conflicts of interest and conduct as a panelist.

Procedures for Application

    Non-governmental U.S. citizens (i.e., individuals not currently 
employed full-time by the U.S. Federal government or a state or local 
government) possessing expertise in international trade, services, 
intellectual property rights or other matters covered by the WTO 
agreements are invited to file an application for nomination to the WTO 
roster.
    Applications must be typewritten and submitted along with two 
copies to Sandy McKinzy, Room 122, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508. However, 
only one copy need be provided of speeches and publications submitted 
under item 9 below. Applicants are to provide the following information 
to the extent applicable:
    1. Name of the applicant;
    2. Business address, telephone number and, if available, fax number 
and e-mail address;
    3. Citizenship(s);
    4. Foreign language fluency, spoken and written;
    5. Current employment, including title, description of 
responsibilities, and name and address of employer;
    6. Relevant education and professional training, including 
particular service-sector expertise, if any;
    7. Post-education employment history, including the dates and 
address of each prior position and a summary of responsibilities;
    8. Relevant professional affiliations and certifications;
    9. List of publications and speeches; teaching experience in the 
area of trade; also, one copy of any speeches and publications relevant 
to the subject matter of the WTO agreements or service sector;
    10. List of international trade proceedings or domestic proceedings 
relating to international trade (WTO) matters in which the person has 
provided advice or otherwise participated, including judicial or 
administrative proceedings over which that person has presided;
    11. The names and nationalities of all foreign principals for whom 
the applicant is currently or has previously been registered pursuant 
to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, 22 U.S.C. 611 et seq., and the 
dates of all registration periods; also, the names and nationalities of 
all foreign entities for which the applicant (or the applicant's 
employer on behalf of the applicant) is currently or has previously 
been registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-
65), and the dates of all registration periods;
    12. Names, addresses, telephone and, if available, fax numbers of 
three individuals authorized to provide information to USTR concerning 
the applicant's qualifications for service, including the applicant's 
familiarity with international trade laws and other areas of expertise, 
character, reliability and judgment; and
    13. A short statement of qualifications, including information 
relevant to the applicant's familiarity with international trade, 
services or other issues covered by the WTO agreements, and 
availability for service.
    Information provided by applicants will be used by USTR for the 
purpose of selecting candidates for nomination to the WTO roster. 
Further information concerning potential conflicts may be requested 
from individuals and the possibility of significant conflicts will be 
taken into consideration in evaluating applicants. Copies of 
publications and speeches submitted under item 9 above will be returned 
to the applicant upon request. Information submitted may be subject to 
public disclosure. Any business confidential information that should 
not be disclosed to the public should be clearly indicated

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as such on each page of the submission, pursuant to 15 CFR section 
2003.6.
    U.S. citizens who are current members of the WTO roster and are 
interested in continuing to serve on the roster should reapply in 
response to this notice. Current members who are no longer interested 
in serving on panels need not notify USTR as they will be automatically 
removed from the list. Individuals who have previously applied but have 
not been selected for nomination may reapply.
    USTR will contact applicants that qualify for further consideration 
as nominees regarding any additional information that may be required.
    This notice contains a collection of information provision subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) which has been approved by OMB. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to 
respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to 
comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of 
the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid OMB number. This notice's collection of information burden is 
only for those persons who wish to voluntarily apply for nomination to 
the WTO roster. It is expected that the collection of information 
burden will be under 3 hours. This is a one-time-only collection of 
information, and contains no annual reporting and recordkeeping burden. 
This collection of information was approved by OMB under OMB Control 
Number 0350-0008. Send comments regarding the collection of information 
burden or any other aspect of the information collection to USTR at the 
address above.
    The following statements are made in accordance with the Privacy 
Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). The authority for requesting 
information to be furnished is section 123(b) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act and 15 CFR section 2003. Provision of the information 
requested above is voluntary; however, failure to provide the 
information will preclude your consideration as a candidate for the WTO 
roster. The information provided is needed, and will be used by USTR 
and other Federal government trade policy officials concerned with WTO 
dispute settlement, to select well-qualified U.S. roster candidates, 
and to complete standard curriculum vitae forms required by the WTO for 
each roster candidate. The information may be disclosed to members of 
the TPSC Subcommittee on WTO Disputes, for the purpose of evaluation of 
applications. Information on nominees will be furnished to the WTO 
pursuant to requirements under the DSU.
Robert Novick,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 99-29347 Filed 11-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P