[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22627-22629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11306]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comment on Specific Rules of Origin in the 
Free Trade Area of the Americas, the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement, 
and the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) seeks 
public

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comment by May 25, 2001, as part of its efforts to develop product-
specific rules of origin for the Free Trade Area of the Americas 
(FTAA), the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (Chile FTA), and the U.S.-
Singapore Free Trade Agreement (Singapore FTA).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
public comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy 
Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative at 
(202) 395-3475. General questions concerning FTAA and Chile FTA 
negotiations should be addressed to the agency's Office of Western 
Hemisphere Affairs at (202) 395-5190. General questions concerning the 
Singapore FTA negotiations should be addressed to the agency's Office 
of Asia and the Pacific, at (202) 395-3430. Questions pertaining to 
this specific request for public comment as it relates to the Chile FTA 
and the Singapore FTA should be addressed to Matthew Rohde, Director 
for Customs Affairs, Office of the USTR, at (202) 395-3063 and as 
regards to the FTAA to Bennett Harman, Deputy Assistant US Trade 
Representative for Latin America, Office of the USTR, at (202) 395-
5190. The official FTAA web site (www.ftaa-alca.org) contains 
information regarding the FTAA process, including official documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the first Summit of the Americas, held in 
Miami, Florida on December 11, 1994, the President of the United States 
and 33 other democratically-elected leaders in the Western Hemisphere 
agreed to conclude an FTAA no later than 2005. Hemispheric leaders 
formally launched FTAA negotiations at the second Summit of the 
Americas, held in Santiago, Chile on April 18-19, 1998. The Presidents 
of the United States and Chile announced plans for a Chile FTA on 
November 29, 2000, and trade ministers from the two countries launched 
bilateral negotiations on December 6, 2000. The TPSC has already 
requested public comment on general U.S. positions and objectives in 
the FTAA (63 FR 128, July 6, 1998; 64 FR 248, December 28, 1999) and 
the Chile FTA (65 FR 241, December 14, 2000).
    On November 16, 2000, the President of the United States and the 
Prime Minister of Singapore agreed to negotiate a bilateral free trade 
agreement. The TPSC has previously requested public comment on 
negotiating objectives for the agreement and on how specific goods and 
services and other matters should be treated under the Singapore FTA 
(65 FR 71197; November 29, 2000 and 65 FR 80982; December 22, 2000).
    The United States is seeking rules of origin in the FTAA, the Chile 
FTA and the Singapore FTA which will ensure that only goods produced in 
the territories of the parties to those Agreements qualify for 
preferential tariff treatment. Concurrently, another objective of the 
United States will be to ensure that the rules of origin in the FTAA, 
the Chile FTA and the Singapore FTA are transparent, administrable, and 
trade facilitative. In order to meet these objectives, and based in 
part on responses to previous requests for public comment, in the 
negotiations to date on these agreements the United States has 
advocated pursuing the development of product-specific rules of origin.
    A product-specific approach to preferential rules of origin will 
require negotiators to establish, for each product or product sector, 
the degree of working or processing necessary within the Parties to the 
FTAA, Chile FTA, and the Singapore FTA to transform non-originating 
component materials into originating goods eligible for preferential 
tariff treatment. In the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 
the predominant approach used for preferential rules of origin was a 
product-specific ``tariff shift'' approach, whereby the degree of 
working or processing is represented by a specified change in 
Harmonized Tariff System tariff classification for each product or 
sector.
    The product-specific ``tariff shift'' approach is to be contrasted 
with rules of origin based upon a single generally-applicable rule, 
such as a ``regional value content'' test , or a single uniformly 
applied ``tariff shift'' standard. Comments previously submitted as 
well as experience over the years in administration of rules of origin 
suggest important advantages related to greater certainty in the 
administration of product-specific rules of origin than with a 
generally applicable ``regional value content'' rule of origin. The 
product-specific ``tariff shift'' approach also has advantages over a 
uniform ``tariff shift'' approach because Harmonized System tariff 
nomenclature was not drafted for the purpose of reflecting a particular 
transformation for all products by virtue of a shift between a single 
uniform level of digits within the Harmonized System.
    The NAFTA preferential rules of origin are listed at General Note 
12 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), 
available on the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) web site at 
http://dataweb.usitc.gov/SCRIPTS/tariff/toc.html. A detailed summary of 
the current U.S. negotiating position on market access issues in the 
FTAA, including rules of origin, can be found on the USTR web site at 
www.ustr.gov/regions/whemisphere/ftaa.shtml.
    The TPSC invites comments on all matters related to the development 
of product-specific rules of origin for the FTAA, the Chile FTA, and 
the Singapore FTA. It is recognized that comments or advice may or may 
not differ as to issues presented, respectively, by the FTAA, Chile 
FTA, and Singapore FTA. To the greatest extent possible, comments 
specifically should address the following questions, with clear 
designation as to the particular product or sector and the Harmonized 
System category or categories to which such comments apply.
     What, if any, are the specific market concerns or 
commercial practices for a particular product or sector that should be 
taken into account in the development of preferential rules of origin 
in the FTAA, the Chile FTA, and the Singapore FTA?
     Would it be appropriate to propose product-specific 
preferential rules of origin that are similar to, if not the same as, 
existing NAFTA preferential rules of origin?
     Alternatively, would it be appropriate to propose product-
specific rules of origin that differ from existing NAFTA preferential 
rules of origin in order to take into account changed market conditions 
or different production and sourcing practices in Singapore, Chile or 
the rest of the Western Hemisphere?
     A number of the NAFTA preferential rules of origin include 
qualifications on product-specific tariff-shift rules, such as an 
additional value-content criterion. Would it be appropriate to propose 
simpler preferential rules of origin for the FTAA, Chile FTA, or 
Singapore FTA that either rely solely on a product- or sector-specific 
tariff shift? Alternatively, in the event that an additional 
qualification on a product-specific tariff-shift rule may be deemed 
necessary, would a formulation of a value-content criterion that is 
simpler than what exists in NAFTA be appropriate?
     Would it be appropriate to propose product-specific rules 
of origin that differ from existing NAFTA preferential rules of origin 
where the United States has or will soon have a most favored nation 
tariff rate of zero?
     Would it be appropriate to propose for certain products or 
sectors that the parties to the FTAA, Chile FTA or

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Singapore FTA establish a common external tariff and forego 
preferential rules of origin?
    Request for Comments
    Request for public comment on specific rules of origin for the 
FTAA, the Chile FTA and the Singapore FTA. Those persons wishing to 
provide written comments should submit twenty (20) typed copies, no 
later than noon, May 25, 2001, to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, 
Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 
Room F516, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. Nonconfidential 
comments may be submitted via the Internet to [email protected]. Comments 
should clearly state the position taken and present evidence to support 
that position. Any business confidential material must be clearly 
marked as such on the cover page (or letter) and succeeding pages. Such 
submissions must be accompanied by a nonconfidential summary thereof.
    Nonconfidential submissions will be available for public inspection 
at the USTR Reading Room, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Room 
3, 1724 F Street, NW., 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 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 01-11306 Filed 5-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P