[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9117-9135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3067]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences; Import Statistics Relating to 
Competitive Need Limitations; Invitation for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; invitation for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is publishing a 
corrected notice in this matter. A previous notice dated January 31, 
2001, and appearing at Vol. 66, No. 21, pages 8441-8459, contained 
numerous errors. Consequently, for the convenience of those seeking to 
comment in this matter, the agency is re-publishing the entire Federal 
Register notice.
    The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is informing the public of 
interim 2000 import statistics relating to Competitive Need Limitations 
(CNL) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The 
TPSC also invites public comments by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 14, 
2001 regarding possible de minimis CNL waivers with respect to 
particular articles, and possible redesignations under the GSP program 
of articles currently subject to CNLs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., room 518, 
Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Competitive Need Limitations

    Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the 
``1974 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(A)), provides for Competitive Need 
Limitations on duty-free treatment under the GSP program. When the 
President determines that a beneficiary developing country exported to 
the United States during a calendar year either (1) A quantity of a 
GSP-eligible article having a value in excess of the applicable amount 
for that year ($95 million for 2000), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-
eligible article having a value equal to or greater than 50 percent of 
the value of total U.S. imports of the article from all countries (the 
``50 percent'' CNL), the President shall terminate GSP duty-free 
treatment for that article from that beneficiary developing country by 
no later than July 1 of the next calendar year.

II. Discretionary Decisions

A. De Minimis Waivers

    Section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(F)) 
provides the President with discretion to waive the 50 percent CNL with 
respect to an eligible article imported from a beneficiary developing 
country if the value of total imports of that article from all 
countries during the calendar year did not exceed the applicable amount 
for that year ($15 million for 2000).

B. Redesignation of Eligible Articles

    Where imports of an eligible article from a beneficiary developing 
country ceased to receive duty-free treatment due to exceeding the CNL 
in a prior year, Section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 
2463(c)(2)(C)) provides the President with discretion to redesignate 
such an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the most recently 
completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.

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III. Implementation of Competitive Need Limitations, Waivers, and 
Redesignations

    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded, as well as the reinstatement of GSP duty-free treatment to 
products which the President has redesignated, will be effective July 
1, 2001. Decisions on these matters, as well as decisions with respect 
to de minimis waivers, will be based on full 2000 calendar year import 
statistics.

IV. Interim 2000 Import Statistics

    In order to provide advance notice of articles that may exceed the 
CNLs for 2000, and to afford an earlier opportunity for comment 
regarding possible de minimis waivers and redesignations, interim 
import statistics covering the first 10 months of 2000 are included 
with this notice.
    The following lists contain the HTSUS numbers and beneficiary 
country of origin for GSP-eligible articles, the value of imports of 
such articles for the first ten months of 2000, and their percentage of 
total imports of that product from all countries. The flags indicate 
the status of GSP eligibility.
    Articles marked with an ``*'' are those that have been excluded 
from GSP eligibility for the entire past calendar year. Flags ``1'' or 
``2'' indicate products that were not eligible for duty-free treatment 
under GSP for the first six months or last six months, respectively, of 
2000.
    The flag ``D'' identifies articles that, based on interim 2000 
data, may be eligible for a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL.
    List I shows GSP-eligible articles from beneficiary developing 
countries that have exceeded the CNL of $95 million in 2000. Those 
articles without a flag identify articles that were GSP eligible during 
2000 but stand to lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2001. In 
addition, List I shows articles (demoted with a flag ``*'' or ``2'') 
which did not have GSP duty-free treatment in all or the last half of 
2000.
    List II shows GSP-eligible articles from beneficiary developing 
countries that (1) have not yet exceeded, but are approaching, the $95 
million CNL during the period from January through October 2000, or (2) 
are close to or above the 50 percent CNL. Depending on final calendar 
year 2000 import data, these products also stand to lose GSP duty-free 
treatment on July 1, 2001.
    List III is a subset of List II. List III identifies GSP-eligible 
articles from beneficiary developing countries that are near or above 
the 50 percent CNL, but that may be eligible for a de minimis waiver of 
the 50 percent CNL. Actual eligibility for de minimis waivers will 
depend on final calendar year 2000 import data.
    List IV shows GSP articles from beneficiary developing countries 
which are currently not receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but which 
have import levels (based on interim 2000 data) below the CNLs and 
which thus may be eligible for redesignation pursuant to the 
President's discretionary authority. Articles with a ``D'' exceed the 
50 percent CNL and would require both de minimis waivers and 
redesignation to receive GSP duty-free treatment. The list may contain 
articles that may not be redesignated until certain conditions are 
fulfilled, as for example, where GSP eligibility for articles was 
suspended because of deficiencies in beneficiary countries' protection 
of the rights of workers or owners of intellectual property. This list 
does not include articles from India which do not receive GSP treatment 
as a result of Presidential Proclamation 6425 of April 29, 1992 (57 FR 
19067).
    Each list is followed by a summary table that indicates the number 
of products listed from each beneficiary developing country and the 
total value of imports of those products from the beneficiary 
developing country.
    The lists appended to this notice are provided for informational 
purposes only. The attached lists are computer-generated and based on 
interim 2000 data, and may not include all articles that may be 
affected by the GSP CNLs. Regardless of whether or not an article is 
included on the lists, all determinations and decisions regarding the 
CNLs of the GSP program will depend on full calendar year 2000 import 
data with respect to each GSP eligible article. Each interested party 
is advised to conduct its own review of 2000 import data with regard to 
the possible application of GSP CNLs.

IV. Public Comments

    All written comments with regard to the matters discussed above 
should be addressed to: GSP Subcommittee, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., room 518, Washington, DC 20508. 
All submissions must be in English and should conform to the 
information requirements of 15 CFR 2007. Furthermore, each party 
providing comments should indicate on the first page of the submission 
its name, the relevant Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading(s), the 
beneficiary country or territory of interest, and the type of action 
(e.g., the use of the President's de minimis waiver authority, etc.) in 
which the party is interested.
    A party must provide an original and fourteen copies of its 
statement which must be received by the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 14, 2001. Comments 
received after the deadline will not be accepted. If the comments 
contain business confidential information, an original and fourteen 
copies of a non-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, the submissions containing confidential information should be 
clearly marked ``confidential'' at the top and bottom of each 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 these decisions, 
except for information granted ``business confidential'' status 
pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.7, will be available for public inspection 
shortly after the filing deadline by appointment only with the staff of 
the USTR Public Reading Room (202) 395-6186. Other requests and 
questions should be directed to the GSP Information Center at USTR by 
calling (202) 395-6971.

Jon Rosenbaum,
Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC.

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[FR Doc. 01-3067 Filed 2-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3910-01-C