[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50207-50208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21261]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Notification of Interest by Candidate Cities for Permanent Site 
of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Secretariat

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for notification of interest by candidate cities before 
November 20, 2003.

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SUMMARY: At the July 2003 Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting of 
the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in San Salvador, Vice 
Ministers agreed that cities seeking to be considered to host the 
permanent site of the FTAA Secretariat should notify the FTAA Co-Chairs 
of their interest before November 20, 2003. Notifications of interest 
by candidate cities do not need to follow a particular format and may 
include any information deemed pertinent by the applicant. U.S. cities 
interested in being considered to host the permanent site of the 
Secretariat are encouraged to submit notifications at the earliest 
opportunity.

DATES: Notifications of interest should be received by the FTAA Co-
Chairs (Brazil and the United States) before November 20, 2003.

ADDRESSES: To the Co-Chairs Ambassador Peter F. Allgeier and Ambassador 
Adhemar G. Bahadian. Submission by electronic mail to both [email protected] and [email protected], submissions by facsimile to both 
(202) 395-9602 and 011-(5561) 411-6097. Copies also should be sent to 
the Co-Chairs Assistants: Ms. Karen Lezny by electronic mail to 
[email protected] or by facsimile (202) 395-9602; and Mr. Jo[atilde]o 
Marcos Paes Leme by electronic mail to [email protected] or facsimile 
011--(5561) 411-6097. Candidate cities are strongly encouraged to 
submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
response to Federal Register notices, contact Gloria Blue, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative at (202) 395-3475. Questions concerning the FTAA 
negotiations should be addressed to the agency's Office of the Americas 
at (202) 395-5190, or the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and 
Public Liaison at (202) 395-6120. the FTAA TNC Guidance and 
Instructions from the San Salvador July 2003 meeting are available on 
the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/regions/whemisphere/ftaa.shtml 
and the official FTAA Web site (http://www.ftaa-alca.org). This 
official FTAA Web site also contains general information regarding the 
FTAA process, including official documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    On December 11, 1994, the 34 democratically-elected leaders in the 
Western Hemisphere met in Miami, Florida for the first Summit of the 
Americas. The Heads of State and Government agreed to construct a Free 
Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, in which barriers to trade and 
investment will be progressively eliminated. They also agreed to 
complete negotiations towards this agreement by the year 2005. Since 
that time, the 34 countries have been involved in comprehensive 
negotiations. The FTAA is the cornerstone of President Bush's vision 
for trade in the Western Hemisphere--a plan that would foster economic 
growth and opportunity, promote regional integration and strengthen 
democracies. When established, the FTAA create the largest free trade 
area in the world with a $13 trillion market and The FTAA countries 
have generally agreed that there will be a permanent Secretariat, but 
they have not yet defined either the functions of the Secretariat or 
its size.

2. Requirements for Submissions

    Candidate cities interested in hosting the permanent site of the 
FTAA Secretariat should submit written notification to the addresses 
indicated above no later than November 20, 2003. In order to facilitate 
prompt processing of submissions, USTR strongly urges electronic (e-
mail) submissions in response to this notice. Submissions by e-mail 
should use the following subject line: ``Permanent FTAA Secretariat 
Site: Notification of Interest.'' Documents should be submitted as 
either

[[Page 50208]]

WordPerfect, MSWORD, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation 
submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files.
    Notifications submitted in response to this request will be placed 
by the U.S. Co-Chair in a USTR file open to public inspection pursuant 
to 15 CFR 2003.5. All public documents 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 from 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. General information concerning the Office of 
the United States Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its 
Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov).

Christopher A. Padilla,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and 
Public Liaison.
[FR Doc. 03-21261 Filed 8-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M