[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 41 (Monday, March 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 10033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4824]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation TA-2111-1]


The Impact of Trade Agreements: Effect of the Tokyo Round, U.S.-
Israel FTA, U.S.-Canada FTA, NAFTA, and the Uruguay Round on the U.S. 
Economy

AGENCY: International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Request for additional written comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States International Trade Commission invites 
additional public input from interested parties (e.g., manufacturers, 
service providers, labor, other interest groups, etc.) regarding the 
impact of the following trade agreements: the Tokyo Round of 
Multilateral Trade Negotiations, the United States-Israel Free Trade 
Agreement, the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, the North 
American Free Trade Agreement, and the Uruguay Round Agreements. In 
particular, the Commission is interested in the impact of these five 
agreements on a sector-specific basis.

DATES: Effective Date: February 24, 2003.
    To be assured of consideration by the Commission, written comments 
(a signed original and 14 copies of each set of comments, along with a 
cover letter) should be submitted no later than March 31, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Davitt, Industries Coordinator 
(202-205-3407), Office of Industries, U.S. International Trade 
Commission, Washington, DC 20436. For information on other aspects of 
this investigation, contact Kyle Johnson, Project Leader (202-205-3229) 
or Russell Hillberry, Deputy Project Leader (202-708-5405), Office of 
Economics. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this 
matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. 
General information concerning the Commission also may be obtained by 
accessing its Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record 
for this study may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket at 
[chyph]http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission instituted the investigation 
for the purpose of fulfilling the requirement in section 2111 of the 
Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-210, 116 Stat. 933), that it report to 
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate not later than one year after the 
date of enactment (i.e., by August 6, 2003) regarding the economic 
impact on the United States of the aforementioned trade agreements. The 
Commission held a public hearing in connection with the investigation 
on January 14, 2003. 67 FR 59007 (Sept. 19, 2002).
    To further inform the quantitative and qualitative analysis that 
will be included in the report, the Commission seeks additional input 
from interested parties (e.g., manufacturers, service providers, labor, 
other interest groups, etc.) concerning their opinions or experiences 
with respect to the trade agreements. The Commission invites 
commentators to address in as much detail as possible the impact of 
these five agreements, their specific provisions, and their 
effectiveness. In particular, the Commission is interested in the 
impact of the five trade agreements on individual sectors relative to 
any other developments that have affected the sectors since 1980 (e.g., 
changes in government regulation or trade policy, industry structure, 
technology, level of globalization, and competitive strength/position 
relative to foreign producers). The Commission also is interested in 
any sector-specific differentiation that can be made between the 
effects of tariff liberalization versus non-tariff measure 
liberalization. In this regard, the Commission also seeks interested 
party views on the effectiveness of negotiated commitments in 
facilitating actual market access.
    Written Submissions: Commercial or financial information that a 
submitter desires the Commission to treat as confidential must be 
submitted on separate sheets of paper, each clearly marked 
``Confidential Business Information'' at the top. All submissions 
requesting confidential treatment must conform with the requirements of 
Sec.  201.6 of the Commission's rules of practice and procedure (19 CFR 
201.6). All written submissions, except for confidential business 
information, will be made available in the Office of the Secretary of 
the Commission for inspection by interested parties.
    The Congressional committees have requested that the Commission 
prepare a public report (containing no confidential business 
information). Accordingly, any confidential business information 
received by the Commission in this investigation and used in preparing 
the report will not be published in a manner that would reveal the 
operations of the entity supplying the information. All submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street SW, Room 112, Washington, DC 20436. Hand-
delivered comments must be delivered to the prescribed room during the 
Commission's official business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in order 
to be deemed filed on the day they are delivered. The Commission's 
Rules do not authorize filing of submissions with the Secretary by 
facsimile or electronic means, except to the extent permitted by 
section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules, as amended, 67 FR 68036 (Nov. 
8, 2002).

List of Subjects

    TPA, Trade Act of 2002, Tariffs, Imports.

    By Order of the Commission.

    Issued: February 25, 2003.
 Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 03-4824 Filed 2-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P