[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9349-9351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4838]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Negotiation of a U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings concerning negotiation of a U.S.-
Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
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SUMMARY: This publication gives notice that the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) will conduct public hearings
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concerning negotiation of a U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
DATES: A hearing will be held on Monday, April 1, 2002. Parties wishing
to testify orally at the hearings must provide written notification of
their intention by noon, Monday, March 18, 2002. Parties presenting
oral testimony also must submit a written brief by noon Thursday, March
21, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning
public comments or public hearings, contact Gloria Blue, Executive
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, USTR, 1724 F Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20508, telephone (202) 395-3475. All other questions
should be directed to Barbara Weisel, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Bilateral Asian Affairs, (202) 395-6813, or Will
Martyn, Associate General Counsel, (202) 395-3582.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
In November 2000, the United States and Singapore announced that
they would enter into negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement
(FTA). Negotiations were launched in December 2000. In early 2001, the
Bush Administration reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the
negotiations. The parties expect that negotiations will intensify in
the coming months.
As described in the previous notice, see 65 FR 71197, the United
States and Singapore are seeking to eliminate duties and commercial
barriers to bilateral trade in U.S. and Singaporean-origin goods. The
agreement is also expected to include provisions on trade in services,
investment, trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights,
competition, government procurement, electronic commerce, trade-related
environmental and labor matters, and other issues.
2. Public Comments and Testimony
In conformity with TPSC regulations (15 CFA part 2003), the
Chairman of the TPSC invites written comments and/or oral testimony of
interested persons in a public hearing on the economic effects of a
U.S.-Singapore FTA.
Comments are invited particularly on:
(a) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of
removal of all tariff barriers to trade between Singapore and the
United States, and in the case of articles for which immediate
elimination of tariffs is not appropriate, the appropriate staging
schedule for such elimination.
(b) Existing nontariff barriers to trade in goods between Singapore
and the United States and the economic costs and benefits to U.S.
producers and consumers of removing those barriers.
(c) Existing restrictions on investment flows between Singapore and
the United States and the costs and benefits to U.S. investors and
consumers of eliminating any such restrictions.
(d) Any other matter relevant to the U.S.-Singapore FTA, including
any other measures, policies, or practices of the Government of
Singapore that should be addressed in the negotiations.
(e) Possible effects on basic workers' rights, working conditions,
and living standards, as well as the possible environmental effects.
Supplemental comments also are being requested on the scope of the
environmental review of the proposed U.S.-Singapore FTA currently under
negotiation. Persons who submit comments pursuant to the Federal
Register Notice should not resubmit those comments for this proceeding.
3. Requests To Participate in Public Hearings
A hearing will be held on Monday, April 1, 2002 in Room 1 and 2,
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. Hearings will continue on
succeeding days if necessary.
Parties wishing to testify orally at the hearings must provide
written notification of their intention by noon, Monday, March 18, 2002
to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee,
Office of the United States Trade Representative. Requests should be
made by e-mail to [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-5141, Attn:
Gloria Blue. Notification may be submitted by mail to Gloria Blue, 1724
F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508. However, due to significant
delays, we have no means of ensuring its timely receipt. The
notification should include (1) the name, address, and telephone number
of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a brief summary of the
presentation, including the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service
sector(s), or other subjects to be discussed.
Parties presenting oral testimony also must submit by noon,
Thursday, March 21, 2002 a written brief of that testimony. To ensure
prompt receipt, the testimony should also be submitted electronically
to [email protected] or by fax to (202) 395-5141, Attn: Gloria Blue (see
note above on mail delivery) . Remarks at the hearing should be limited
to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the
Chairman and the interagency panel.
Those persons not wishing to participate in the hearing may submit
written comments no later cob, Friday, April 5, 2002. To ensure prompt
receipt, comments should also be submitted by fax to (202) 395-5141,
Attn: Gloria Blue or by e-mail to [email protected] (see note above on
mail delivery). Comments should state clearly the position taken and
should describe with particularity the evidence supporting that
position.
Any notifications or briefs should be submitted in accordance with
the instructions in section 4, below. The TPSC cannot guarantee receipt
or consideration of any submissions that do not conform with those
instructions.
4. Requirements for Submissions
Persons submitting a brief in response to this notice by electronic
mail should transmit a copy electronically to [email protected], with
``Singapore FTA hearing'' in the subject line. USTR encourages the
submission of documents in Adobe PDF format, as attachments to an
electronic mail. For any document containing business confidential
information submitted by electronic transmission, the file name of the
business confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC-'',
and the file name of the public version should begin with the
characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be followed by the name
of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by electronic mail
should not provide separate cover letters; information that might
appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself.
Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to the submission
should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not
as separate files.
Notifications and briefs will be placed in a file open to public
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except confidential business
information exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR
2003.6. Confidential business information submitted in accordance with
15 CFR 2006.6 must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the
top of each page, including the cover letter or cover page, and must be
accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential
information. All public documents and nonconfidential summaries shall
be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR
Reading Room is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m.
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located in Room 3, First
Floor, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20508. An appointment
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to review the file may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 02-4838 Filed 2-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P