[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12149-12150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5990]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of Australia Free Trade Negotiations; Public Comments on Scope of 
Environmental Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This publication gives notice that, pursuant to the Trade Act 
of 2002, and consistent with Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) (Nov. 
18, 1999) and its implementing guidelines (65 FR 79442), the Office of 
the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an environmental review of the 
proposed United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The TPSC is 
requesting written comments from the public on what should be included 
in the scope of the environmental review, including the potential 
environmental effects that might flow from the free trade agreement and 
the potential implications for U.S. environmental laws and regulations, 
and identification of complementarities between trade and environmental 
objectives such as the promotion of sustainable development. The TPSC 
also welcomes public views on appropriate methodologies and sources of 
data for conducting the review. Persons submitting written comments 
should provide as much detail as possible on the degree to which the 
subject matter they propose for inclusion in the review may raise 
significant environmental issues in the context of the negotiation.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than April 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected].
    Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
public comments, contact Gloria Blue,

[[Page 12150]]

Executive Secretary, TPSC, Office of the USTR, 1724 F Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20508, telephone (202) 395-3475. Questions concerning 
the environmental review should be addressed to David J. Brooks, 
Environment and Natural Resources Section, USTR, telephone (202) 395-
7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background Information

    On November 13, 2002, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the 
Trade Act of 2002, the Untied States Trade Representative, Ambassador 
Robert B. Zoellick, notified Congress of the President's intent to 
enter into trade negotiations with Australia. Ambassador Zoellick 
outlined specific U.S. objectives for these negotiations in the 
notification letters to Congress. Copies of the letters are available 
at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/11/2002-11-13-australia-hastert.PDF and http://ww.ustr.gov/releases/2002/11/2002-11-13-australia-byrd.PDF).
    The TPSC invited the public to provide written comments and/or oral 
testimony at a public hearing that took place on January 15, 2003, to 
assist USTR in amplifying and clarifying negotiating objectives for the 
proposed FTA and to provide advice on how specific goods and services 
and other matters should be treated under the proposed agreement (67 FR 
76431).
    Two-way trade between the United States and Australia has grown 
significantly in the past decade, and totaled more than $19 billion in 
2001. The increased access to Australia's market that an FTA would 
provide would further boost trade in both goods and services, enhancing 
employment opportunities in both countries. An FTA also would encourage 
additional foreign investment between the United States and Australia. 
A free trade agreement with Australia would further deepen the already 
close cooperation between the United States and Australia in advancing 
objectives for multilateral negotiations currently underway in the 
World Trade organization (WTO).

2. Environmental Review

    USTR, through the TPSC, will perform an environmental review of the 
agreement pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002 and consistent with 
Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) and its implementing guidelines (65 
FR 79442).
    Environmental reviews are used to identify potentially significant, 
reasonable foreseeable environmental impacts (both positive and 
negative), and information from the review can help facilitate 
consideration of appropriate responses where impacts are identified. 
Reviews address potential environmental impacts of the proposed 
agreement and potential implications for environmental laws and 
regulations. The focus of the review is on impacts in the United 
States, although global and transboundary impacts may be considered, 
where appropriate and prudent.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response 
to this notice.
    Persons making submission by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``United States--Australia FTA Environmental Review'' 
followed by ``Written Comments.'' 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. 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.
    Written comments submitted in response to this request will be 
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, 
except business confidential information exempt from public inspection 
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential 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 must be scheduled at 
least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
    USTR also welcomes and will take into account the public comments 
on Australia FTA environmental issues submitted in response to a 
previous notice--the Federal Register notice dated December 12, 2002 
(67 FR 76431)--requesting comments from the public to assist USTR in 
formulating positions and proposals with respect to all aspects of the 
negotiations, including environmental issues. These comments will also 
be made available for public inspection.
    General information concerning the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet website 
(http://www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-5990 Filed 3-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M