[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 167 (Thursday, August 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51822-51823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22035]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Notice of Availability and Request 
for Public Comment on Interim Environmental Review of United States-
Central America Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), on behalf 
of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), seeks comment on the 
interim environmental review of the proposed U.S.-Central America Free 
Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The interim environmental review is available 
at http://www.ustr.gov/environment/environmental.shtml. Copies of the 
review will also be sent to interested members of the public by mail 
upon request.

DATES: Comments on the draft environmental review are requested no 
later than October 15, 2003, and earlier if possible. Comments received 
before September 15, 2003, will be used to inform the seventh round of 
negotiations, currently scheduled for September 15-19. Comments 
received after September 15, 2003, will be used to inform subsequent 
rounds of negotiations. After the seventh round, two more rounds of 
negotiations are scheduled, with the concluding round in December 2003.

[[Page 51823]]


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, or requests 
for copies, should be addressed to Alice Mattice or David Brooks, 
Environment and Natural Resources Section, Office of the USTR, 
telephone 202-395-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Trade Act of 2002, signed by the 
President on August 6, 2002, provides that the President shall conduct 
environmental reviews of [certain] trade agreements consistent with 
Executive Order 13121--Environmental Review of Trade Agreements (64 FR 
63,169, Nov. 18, 1999) and its implementing guidelines (65 FR 79,442, 
Dec. 19, 2000) and report on such reviews to the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate. The Order and guidelines are available at http://www.ustr.gov/environment/environmental.shtml.
    The purpose of environmental reviews is to ensure that policymakers 
and the public are informed about reasonably foreseeable environmental 
impacts of trade agreements (both positive and negative), to identify 
complementarities between trade and environmental objectives, and to 
help shape appropriate responses if environmental impacts are 
identified. Reviews are intended to be one tool, among others, for 
integrating environmental information and analysis into the fluid, 
dynamic process of trade negotiations. USTR and the Council on 
Environmental Quality jointly oversee implementation of the Order and 
Guidelines. USTR, through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), is 
responsible for conducting the individual reviews.

Written Comments

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions of 
comments, the Office of the United States Trade Representative strongly 
urges and prefers e-mail submissions in response to this notice. 
Persons submitting comments by e-mail should use the following e-mail 
address: [email protected] with the subject line: ``CAFTA Interim 
Environmental Review.'' Documents should be submitted as either 
WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. 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. If submission by e-mail is impossible, comments 
should be made by facsimile to (202) 395-6143, attention: Gloria Blue.
    Written comments will be placed in a file open to public inspection 
in the USTR Reading Room at 1724 F Street, NW., Washington DC. An 
appointment to review the file may be made by calling (202) 395-6186. 
The Reading Room is open to the public from 10-12 a.m. and from 1-4 
p.m., Monday through Friday.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-22035 Filed 8-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P