[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18142-18143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8384]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Public Comments on Preparations for 
the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, 
November 9-13, 2001 in Doha, Qatar

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is soliciting public 
comments on U.S. objectives and preparations for the upcoming meeting 
of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha, 
Qatar, on November 9-13, 2001. Several subjects addressed in prior TPSC 
requests for public comments--agriculture, services, market access and 
the functioning of the WTO generally--continue to feature prominently 
in the WTO's work program, and will be included in the preparatory 
process for the Fourth Ministerial Conference. In addition, the agenda 
for the ministerial meeting, including whether to launch a round of 
multilateral trade negotiations, will be debated by WTO Members in the 
coming months. Currently, WTO Members have not reached a consensus on 
whether to launch a round of negotiations. The United States has 
signaled that it would be prepared to work toward a consensus among 
members to realize the launch of a round of negotiations in Doha. As 
part of the preparatory process, the TPSC is requesting comments so as 
to take into consideration the broadest range of views concerning the 
agenda of the meeting and the WTO's future work program. Comments 
received will be considered by the Executive Branch in formulating U.S. 
positions for these discussions and deliberations.

DATES: Comments are due by May 10, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. Attention: Gloria Blue, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General inquiries should be made to 
the Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs at (202) 395-6843; inquiries 
about individual subjects will be transferred to appropriate staff 
members at USTR. Information about the WTO can be obtained via the 
Internet on the USTR website (http://www.ustr.gov), or on the WTO 
website (http://www.wto.org). Procedural inquiries concerning the 
public comment process should be directed to Gloria Blue, Executive 
Secretary, TPSC, (202) 395-3475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Additional information on the WTO and the 
proposed round of negotiations can be found on the USTR website. In 
particular, Chapter 2 of the 2001 Trade Policy Agenda and 2000 Annual 
Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements 
Program, and the annexes to that chapter contain substantial background 
information on the WTO, its organization and the work of its councils 
and committees. Also accessible via the USTR website are Chapter 2 of 
the 1999 Annual Report of the President on the Trade Agreements Program 
(submitted on March 1, 2000), which includes a report to Congress 
assessing the first five years' operation of the WTO; submissions made 
by the United States thus far in the mandated negotiations on 
agriculture and services; and submissions to the WTO as part of the 
preparatory process for the third WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle 
in December 1999.
    The TPSC invites written comments from the public on preparations 
for the WTO's Fourth Ministerial Conference meeting to be held in Doha, 
Qatar, November 9-13. Pursuant to the Agreement Establishing the WTO, 
meetings of the ministerial conference must be held at least every two 
years. The Fourth Ministerial Conference will address the WTO's ongoing 
program of work, including the mandated negotiations underway on 
services and agriculture, the operation and functioning of the WTO, 
implementation of existing agreements, and its future work program. The 
General Council of the WTO, the plenary body consisting of all WTO 
Members, is responsible for the preparations for the ministerial 
conference. Members differ, at this point, as to whether Ministers 
should launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, and the 
content of the WTO's future work program. The General Council will 
continue its consultations on these issues, without prejudice to 
various positions of Members, with the aim of achieving a consensus 
among Members sufficiently in advance of the Doha meeting so as to 
ensure appropriate preparations.
    Further detail on the ongoing WTO work program is set out in two 
previous requests for public comments related to the WTO published in 
2000. These requests are: (1) Public Comments for the Mandated 
Multilateral Trade Negotiations on Agriculture and Services in the WTO 
and Priorities for Future Market Access Negotiations on Non-
Agricultural Goods, published on March 28, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 60), 
calling for public comments on general as well as specific negotiating 
objectives), and (2) Public Comments on Institutional Improvements to 
the World Trade Organization (WTO), Particularly With Respect to the 
Transparency of its Operations and Outreach to Civil Society, published 
on June 8, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 111) calling for proposals for 
improving the functioning of the WTO, particularly with respect to its 
outreach activities and the transparency of its operations including 
dispute settlement). For ease of submission, the TPSC has identified 
the following headings under which comments may be submitted. 
Submissions should identify the area or areas subject to comment. These 
include:
    (1) WTO Built-in Agenda Negotiations on Agriculture and Services. 
Supplementary comments are invited on the negotiations currently 
underway pursuant to the terms of the Uruguay Round agreements that 
provide for further negotiations in the areas of agriculture and 
services. A TPSC solicitation of public comments was published on March 
28, 2000, as noted above. New comments are welcome, but comments 
submitted pursuant to the previous notice need not be resubmitted.
    (2) Non-agricultural/Industrial Market Access. Comments on market 
access supplementing those submitted in connection with the March 28, 
2000 request for public comment are invited. The mandated negotiations 
referred to above address market access for agricultural goods from 
Chapters 1-25 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, as specified by the 
WTO Agreement on Agriculture. There is a growing convergence of views 
among WTO members that further negotiations on non-agricultural or 
industrial market access are desirable. New comments are welcome, but 
comments submitted pursuant to the earlier notice need not be 
resubmitted.
    (3) Existing Agreements and Work Programs. Comments are requested 
regarding U.S. priorities under the other Agreements concluded in the 
Uruguay Round. Particular attention should be given to the 
improvements, if any, that might be sought through expansion of 
individual work programs, or through

[[Page 18143]]

negotiations in any of these areas, or further progress with respect to 
implementation of these Agreements. For a complete list of WTO 
Agreements, Committees and their work programs, see USTR's 2000 Annual 
Report, available at http://www.ustr.gov. 
    (4) Development and Related Issues. Comments are requested on ways 
to facilitate the participation of poorer, less advanced and least 
developed countries in the WTO, including making the WTO more 
responsive to development concerns raised as a result of the debate on 
globalization. Comments should take into account work that has been 
conducted to integrate the technical assistance provided by various 
international organizations, including the WTO. Areas for comment could 
include provision of additional capacity building and market access 
opportunities, the possible graduation of countries from preference 
programs, the broader issue of integrating trade into poverty reduction 
strategies with other institutions, and enhancing the work of the WTO 
with other international institutions such as the IMF, IBRD, UNCTAD, 
ILO and UNEP, to be more responsive to the development needs of WTO 
Members.
    (5) Systemic Issues/Institutional Reform. Comments are requested on 
the institutional issues raised regarding the WTO in terms of its 
openness and accountability, including its outreach to citizens and in 
dispute settlement. The United States continues to seek institutional 
improvements to the WTO, while preserving its intergovernmental nature. 
For example, the United States has consistently called for the WTO to 
build upon past progress by: (i) Expanding the range of WTO documents 
available to the public; (ii) strengthening the guidelines for 
consultations with non-governmental organizations (NGOs); (iii) 
enhancing the WTO's program of symposia and consultations on specific 
topics of mutual interest; (iv) expanding and improving the use of 
Internet facilities to reach more stakeholders in more creative ways; 
and (v) broadening the range of WTO meetings and events that would be 
open to the public. Another area of interest relates to relations among 
WTO Members and improvements to internal consultative processes, 
including the establishment of new institutional arrangements within 
the WTO that would build upon the general practice of operating on the 
basis of a consensus of all Members.
    (6) Singapore Work Program Issues (Investment, Competition, 
Transparency in Government Procurement and Trade Facilitation) and 
Electronic Commerce. Comments are requested with respect to next steps 
on issues added to the WTO's agenda at the 1996 and 1998 Ministerial 
Meetings in Singapore and Geneva, respectively. Comments should address 
the nature, objectives and direction of any further work to be 
undertaken with respect to the issues raised in the context of the work 
of the working groups established on trade and investment, trade and 
competition policy, transparency in government procurement, the 
exploratory work undertaken by the WTO to assess the scope for WTO 
rules in the area of trade facilitation, and the work program on e-
commerce. Some WTO Members have suggested negotiations on these points, 
and the TPSC welcomes views on the desirability of such negotiations. 
Working groups on investment, competition and transparency in 
government procurement continue to operate. With respect to 
transparency in government procurement, Members have agreed to identify 
the elements of a possible agreement, but have not yet agreed to move 
to conclude such an agreement.
    (6) Other Issues. Comments are welcome on other issues that 
respondents believe would be appropriate to raise with respect to the 
future work program of the WTO. The TPSC's aim is to be as inclusive as 
possible in providing opportunity for public comment with respect to 
the ministerial agenda and objectives.

Written Comments

    Submitters need not duplicate submissions provided in response to 
the March 28, 2000 solicitation regarding objectives for the mandated 
negotiations in agriculture and services and potential industrial 
market access negotiation, nor the June 8, 2000 submissions related to 
transparency. Persons submitting written comments should provide twenty 
(20) copies no later than May 10, 2001 to Gloria Blue, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. 
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 public inspection in the USTR Reading 
Room, in Room 3 of the annex of the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 1724 H Street, Northwest, Washington, DC. An 
appointment to review the file may be made by calling Brenda Webb at 
202-395-6186. The Reading Room is open to the public from 10-12 and 
from 1-4, Monday through Friday.
    Business confidential information will be subject to the 
requirements of 15 CFR 2003.6. If the submission contains business 
confidential information, it must be accompanied by twenty copies of a 
public version that does not contain business confidential information. 
A justification as to why the information contained in the submission 
should be treated confidentially must be included with 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 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.''

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 01-8384 Filed 4-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-U