[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56893-56895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28260]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Notice of Issuance by the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) 
Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil 
Society of a Third Open Invitation for Public Comment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative is 
providing notification that the Committee of Government Representatives 
on the Participation of Civil Society (Civil Society Committee), 
established by the 34 countries participating in the negotiations for 
the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), has issued an invitation 
for public comment throughout the Western Hemisphere on all aspects of 
the FTAA, including the preliminary draft consolidated texts of the 
FTAA Agreement, released on July 3, 2001; the on-going FTAA 
negotiations; and the FTAA process in general. Submissions in response 
to the Invitation should be sent directly to the FTAA addresses 
indicated below. This Third Open Invitation of the FTAA Civil Society 
Committee can be found on the USTR Web site, www.ustr.gov, and the FTAA 
Web site at www.ftaa-alca.org.

DATES: Public comment in response to the Third Open Invitation is 
welcome by the FTAA Civil Society Committee on an ongoing basis. 
However, in order for submissions to be reflected in the Committee's 
Report to the FTAA Ministers for their seventh meeting in Quito, 
Ecuador in October 2002, submissions must be received by the 
Chairperson of the FTAA Civil Society Committee no later than May 1, 
2002. Contributions can be submitted by e-mail, fax, courier, or postal 
mail and must be accompanied by the submission cover sheet (printed 
below). In the interest of facilitating translation into the working 
languages of the FTAA (English and Spanish), distribution among the 
countries of the hemisphere, and analysis by the relevant national 
negotiators, it is highly recommended that contributions be submitted 
via e-mail or via electronic format (i.e. 3.5 diskette containing 
submission), to one of the addresses below. Contributions submitted by 
other means will be given equal consideration and every effort will be 
made to process the transmission of these documents expeditiously.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be sent directly to the ``Chair of the 
Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil 
Society'', at only one of the following addresses:

Via Electronic Mail:

alca.com">soc@ftaa-alca.com

Via Postal Mail:

c/o Secretaria del Area de Libre Comercio de Las Americas (ALCA)
Apartado Postal 89-10044
Zona 9, Cuidad de Panama
Republica de Panama

Via Private Messenger/Courier Service:

c/o Secretaria del Area de Libre Comercio de Las Americas (ALCA)
Hotel Caesar Park Panama
Via Israel y Calle 77
San Francisco
Cuidad de Panama
Republica de Panama

Via Facsimile:

(011) (507) 270-6993

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The official text of the Third Open 
Invitation for public comment and a cover sheet identifying information 
to be included with submissions to the Civil Society Committee are 
available on the USTR website and the official FTAA website. The cover 
sheet is reproduced below. The USTR and FTAA websites also contain 
background information regarding the FTAA process, including the Civil 
Society Committee's Report of April 2001 to the FTAA Trade Ministers as 
well as the Buenos Aires, Toronto, and San Jose Ministerial 
Declarations. Any questions concerning the FTAA negotiations or the 
Third Open Invitation should be addressed to USTR's Office of the 
Americas at (202) 395-5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

Committee of Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil 
Society

    At the 1998 FTAA Ministerial meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica, the 
hemisphere's trade ministers jointly recognized and welcomed the 
interests and concerns expressed by a broad spectrum of interested non-
governmental parties in the hemisphere, and encouraged these and other 
parties to provide their views on trade matters related to the FTAA 
negotiations. In order to facilitate this process, the ministers agreed 
to establish the FTAA Civil Society Committee. At its first meeting in 
October 1998, and again in April 2000, the Committee approved Open 
Invitations soliciting views from the hemisphere's public. The Open 
Invitations were announced on the FTAA Web site, and countries agreed 
to use national mechanisms to disseminate the invitations further. In 
the United States, the invitations were disseminated through a variety 
of means, including press releases, letters to advisory committees, use 
of the Federal Register, and public meetings.
    Prior to both the Toronto and Buenos Aires Ministerials, the 
Committee prepared reports for Ministers describing the submissions it 
received from the public. These reports have been published on the 
official FTAA Web site.

Buenos Aires Ministerial Mandate

    At the Sixth FTAA Ministerial Meeting held in Buenos Aires, 
Argentina, on April 7, 2001, the ministers responsible for trade in the 
hemisphere reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of transparency 
in the FTAA process and recognized the need for increasing 
participation of the different sectors of civil society.
    The Ministers underscored the importance of the FTAA Civil Society 
Committee as a mechanism for fulfilling their commitment to 
transparency, and welcomed the Committee's written report which 
presented the range of viewpoints received during the previous stage of 
negotiations from individuals and organizations from the hemisphere. 
The Second Report of the Committee to the Ministers may be found on the 
FTAA Web site.
    The FTAA Civil Society Committee acknowledged the receipt of the 
contributions submitted in response to its Second Open Invitation to 
Civil Society (issued April 2000), and thanked all those organizations 
and persons who took the time and effort to contribute their views. 
Contributions which referred to specific issue areas, and those related 
to the FTAA process in general, were forwarded to the corresponding 
FTAA entities as listed on the attached cover sheet.
    In view of the Ministerial mandate issued in April 2001 to the FTAA 
Civil Society Committee to foster a process of

[[Page 56894]]

increasing and sustained participation of the different sectors of 
civil society, as well as the Committee's interest in the continued 
contribution by these sectors on issues of relevance to the FTAA, and 
taking into account the availability of the preliminary draft 
consolidated texts of the FTAA Agreement on the FTAA Web site, the FTAA 
Civil Society Committee issued on November 1, 2001 a Third Open 
Invitation to civil society in the Western Hemisphere for the 
submission of written contributions.

Public Release of FTAA Draft Texts

    Western Hemisphere trade ministers decided at the Buenos Aires 
Ministerial meeting on April 7, 2001 to make public the FTAA 
preliminary draft consolidated texts. That decision was endorsed by the 
hemisphere's leaders at the Quebec Summit of the Americas on April 20-
22, 2001. The ministers' decision to publish the text necessitated the 
translation of the preliminary draft consolidated texts produced by the 
nine Negotiating Groups (market access; agriculture; services; 
intellectual property rights; investment; government procurement; 
competition policy; dispute settlement; and subsidies, antidumping and 
countervailing duties) into the four official languages of the FTAA: 
English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. The text was made available 
on July 3, 2001 on the USTR Web site and on the official FTAA Web site 
in all four languages. The preliminary draft consolidated texts contain 
many brackets, indicating that the text enclosed by such brackets has 
not been agreed to by all FTAA governments. The Trade Policy Staff 
Committee previously issued a Federal Register notice [66 FR 134 of 
July 12, 2001] inviting comment from the U.S. public on the preliminary 
draft consolidated texts.

2. Invitation for Public Comments

    The FTAA Civil Society Committee issued a Third Open Invitation to 
the public in the Western Hemisphere for comments on the FTAA process 
on November 1, 2001. The U.S. Government encourages wide participation 
in this process, and will ensure that U.S. negotiators review all 
submissions for consideration in the ongoing FTAA negotiations. The 
Third Invitation is an important part of U.S. efforts to ensure that 
the views of the public receive consideration in the FTAA negotiating 
process. Public comment in response to the Third Open Invitation is 
welcome by the FTAA Civil Society Committee on an ongoing basis. 
Comments received by the Committee through May 1, 2002 will form the 
basis for the Committee's next report to the FTAA Trade Ministers.
    In order to be considered, each submission must:
     Identify the submitter(s), specifying name(s) and contact 
information;
     Make reference to matters relating to the FTAA process 
and/or the draft FTAA Agreement;
     Be in written form, in at least one of the official FTAA 
languages (Spanish, English, French, Portugese);
     Be accompanied by the cover sheet which follows (and also 
is available on the USTR and FTAA Web sites), with an indication of the 
FTAA entit(y)(ies) to which the contribution pertains;
     If greater than five pages, include an executive summary, 
no longer than two pages, which summarizes and identifies the issues 
considered in the document. (The FTAA Secretariat will translate 
executive summaries and contributions if less than five pages. 
Contributions longer than five pages will only be available to FTAA 
entities in the submission's original language.);
     Be sent directly to the Chair of the Committee of 
Government Representatives on the Participation of Civil Society at one 
of the above addresses.

Regina K. Vargo,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Office of the 
Americas.
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[FR Doc. 01-28260 Filed 11-9-01; 8:45 am]
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