[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53379-53381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20715]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Benefits for Andean Countries: Notice of Request for Public 
Comment Regarding the Designation of Eligible Countries as Andean Trade 
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) Beneficiary Countries

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting the 
views of interested parties on whether countries named in the Andean 
Trade Preference Act (ATPA) (19 U.S.C. 3201), as amended by the Andean 
Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act

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(ATPDEA), meet the eligibility criteria provided for in section 
204(b)(6)(B) to qualify for enhanced trade benefits under the ATPDEA. 
This notice addresses the eligibility criteria that must be considered 
under the ATPDEA, the countries that may be considered for designation 
as ATPDEA beneficiary countries, and the deadline for written comments. 
Furthermore, this notice explains how to make written comments on the 
eligibility criteria elaborated in the ATPDEA. The TPSC, chaired by 
USTR, will consider comments received in developing recommendations on 
country eligibility for the President.

DATES: Public comments are due at USTR no later than 5 p.m., September 
16, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by mail or express delivery: Public Reading 
Room, ATTN: ATPDEA Eligibility, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 1724 F Street, Room F1P1, NW., Washington, DC 20508. 
Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected]. See requirements for 
submissions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please 
contact: Gloria Blue, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 
600 17th Street, NW., Room F516, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone 
number is (202) 395-3475. For substantive questions, contact Bennett 
Harman, Office of the Americas, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Room 523, Washington, DC 20508. 
The telephone number is (202) 395-5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Signed into law on August 6, 2002, the Trade 
Act of 2002 contains, in Title XXXI, provisions for enhanced trade 
benefits for eligible Andean countries. Titled the ``Andean Trade 
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act'' (ATPDEA), the ATPDEA renews the 
Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), and amends the ATPA to provide 
preferential treatment for certain products previously excluded from 
such treatment.
    Eligibility Criteria: The enhanced trade benefits under the ATPDEA 
are available only to countries that the President designates as 
``ATPDEA beneficiary countries.'' The criteria that the President must 
consider in designating countries as ATPDEA beneficiary countries 
include the criteria in sections 203(c) and (d) that applied to country 
eligibility under the ATPA, as well as several new criteria added by 
the ATPDEA.
    Section 203(c) provides that the President shall not designate any 
eligible country as an ATPDEA beneficiary country:
    1. If such country is a Communist country;
    2. If such country:
    a. Has nationalized, expropriated or otherwise seized ownership or 
control of property owned by a United States citizen or by a 
corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more 
beneficially owned by United States citizens,
    b. Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify any existing contract or 
agreement with, or any patent, trademark, or other intellectual 
property of, a United States citizen or a corporation, partnership, or 
association, which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United 
States citizens, the effect of which is to nationalize, expropriate, or 
otherwise seize ownership or control of property so owned, or
    c. Has imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive 
maintenance or operational conditions, or other measures with respect 
to property so owned, the effect of which is to nationalize, 
expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of such property, 
unless the President determines that:
    i. Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is 
being made to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association,
    ii. Good-faith negotiations to provide prompt, adequate, and 
effective compensation under the applicable provisions of international 
law are in progress, or such country is otherwise taking steps to 
discharge its obligations under international law with respect to such 
citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or
    iii. A dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or 
association, over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to 
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement 
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and 
promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the Senate and House 
of Representatives;
    3. If such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as 
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States 
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which 
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent 
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their 
dispute;
    4. If such country affords preferential treatment to the products 
of a developed country, other than the United States, and if such 
preferential treatment has, or is likely to have, a significant adverse 
effect on United States commerce, unless the President:
    a. Has received assurances satisfactory to him that such 
preferential treatment will be eliminated or that action will be taken 
to assure that there will be no such significant adverse effect, and
    b. Reports those assurances to the Congress;
    5. If a government-owned entity in such country engages in the 
broadcast of copyrighted material, including films or television 
material, belonging to United States copyright owners without their 
express consent or such country fails to work towards the provision of 
adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights;
    6. Unless such country is a signatory to a treaty, convention, 
protocol, or other agreement regarding the extradition of United States 
citizens; and
    7. If such country has not or is not taking steps to afford 
internationally recognized worker rights (as defined in section 507(4) 
of the Trade Act of 1974) to workers in the country (including any 
designated zone in that country).
    Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 shall not prevent the designation of 
any country as a beneficiary country under this title if the President 
determines that such designation will be in the national economic or 
security interest of the United States and reports such determination 
to the Congress with his reasons therefor.
    Section 203(d) provides that, in determining whether to designate 
any country as an ATPDEA beneficiary country, the President shall take 
into account:
    1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
    2. The economic conditions in such country, the living standards of 
its inhabitants, and any other economic factors which he deems 
appropriate;
    3. The extent to which such country has assured the United States 
it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and 
basic commodity resources of such country;
    4. The degree to which such country follows the accepted rules of 
international trade provided for under the WTO Agreement and the 
multilateral trade agreements (as such terms are defined in paragraphs 
(9) and (4), respectively, of section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act);
    5. The degree to which such country uses export subsidies or 
imposes export performance requirements or local content requirements 
which distort international trade;

[[Page 53381]]

    6. The degree to which the trade policies of such country as they 
relate to other beneficiary countries are contributing to the 
revitalization of the region;
    7. The degree to which such country is undertaking self-help 
measures to protect its own economic development;
    8. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to 
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in 
that country) internationally recognized worker rights;
    9. The extent to which such country provides under its law adequate 
and effective means for foreign nationals to secure, exercise, and 
enforce exclusive rights in intellectual property, including patent, 
trademark, and copyright rights;
    10. The extent to which such country prohibits its nationals from 
engaging in the broadcast of copyrighted material, including films or 
television material, belonging to United States copyright owners 
without their express consent;
    11. Whether such country has met the narcotics cooperation 
certification criteria set forth in section 481(h)(2)(A) [deemed to be 
a reference to section 490 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1991 by 
section 6(a) of Public Law 102-583] of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 for eligibility for United States assistance; and
    12. The extent to which such country is prepared to cooperate with 
the United States in the administration of the provisions of this Act.
    The new criteria, which are set out at new section 204(b)(6)(B), 
include the following:
    1. Whether the beneficiary country has demonstrated a commitment to 
undertake its obligations under the WTO, including those agreements 
listed in section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, on or 
ahead of schedule, and participate in negotiations toward the 
completion of the FTAA or another free trade agreement.
    2. The extent to which the country provides protection of 
intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than the 
protection afforded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights described in section 101(d)(15) of the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
    3. The extent to which the country provides internationally 
recognized worker rights, including:
    a. The right of association;
    b. The right to organize and bargain collectively;
    c. A prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory 
labor;
    d. A minimum age for the employment of children; and
    e. Acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, 
hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
    4. Whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate 
the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section 507(6) of the 
Trade Act of 1974.
    5. The extent to which the country has met the counternarcotics 
certification criteria set forth in section 4590 of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2291j) for eligibility for United 
States assistance.
    6. The extent to which the country has taken steps to become a 
party to and implements the Inter-American Convention Against 
Corruption.
    7. The extent to which the country applies transparent, 
nondiscriminatory, and competitive procedures in government procurement 
equivalent to those contained in the Agreement on Government 
Procurement described in section 101(d)(17) of the Uruguay Round 
Agreements Act, and contributes to efforts in international fora to 
develop and implement rules on transparency in government procurement.
    8. The extent to which the country has taken steps to support the 
efforts of the United States to combat terrorism.
    Countries Considered To Be Andean Beneficiary Countries: The 
following countries may be considered for designation as ATPDEA 
beneficiary countries:

Bolivia
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru

    Submitting Comments: Comments may be submitted by mail, express 
delivery service, or e-mail (to [email protected]). It is strongly 
recommended that comments submitted by mail or express delivery service 
also be sent by e-mail. Persons making submissions by e-mail should use 
the following subject line: ``ATPDEA Eligibility.'' Documents should be 
submitted as either WordPerfect, 
MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as 
spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. For any document 
containing business confidential information submitted electronically, 
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 
e-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.
    Persons submitting written comments by mail or express delivery 
service should provide 20 copies, in English.
    Written comments, notices of testimony, and testimony 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 2003.6 must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of each page, including any 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, by 
appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. An appointment to review the file may be made by 
calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments must be scheduled at least 48 
hours in advance.

Christopher S. Wilson,
Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Americas.
[FR Doc. 02-20715 Filed 8-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M