[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12150-12151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5991]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of Free Trade Negotiations with the Southern African Customs Union; 
Public Comments on Scope of Environmental Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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-Southern African Customs Union Free Trade 
Agreement (U.S-SACU FTA). 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

[[Page 12151]]

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.

DATE: 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, 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

    On November 4, 2002, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the 
Trade Act of 2002, the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador 
Robert B. Zoellick, notified Congress of the President's intent to 
enter into trade negotiations with the member nations of the Southern 
African Customs Union (SACU): Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, 
and Swaziland. 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/2002/11/2002-11-04-SACU-byrd.PDF and http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/11/2002-11-04-SACU-hastert.PDF.
    The TPSC invited the public to provide written comments and/or oral 
testimony at a public hearing that took place on December 16, 2002, 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 
69295).
    A free trade agreement with SACU would deepen economic and 
political ties to sub-Saharan Africa and lend momentum to development 
efforts for the region. SACU is the largest U.S. export market in sub-
Saharan Africa, accounting for approximately $3.1 billion in exports in 
2001. Total two-way trade in goods between the United States and the 
member countries of SACU totaled $7.9 billion in 2001. Leading U.S. 
exports to SACU include machinery and equipment, aircraft, vehicles, 
chemicals, plastics and agricultural products. Leading U.S. imports 
from SACU include vehicles, minerals, precious stones and metals, iron 
and steel products, and apparel.

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, 
reasonably 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 envionmental 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 submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``U.S.-SACU 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 U.S.-SACU FTA environmental issues submitted in response to a 
previous notice--the Federal Register notice dated November 15, 2002 
(67 FR 69295)--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. 03-5991 Filed 3-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P