[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52437-52441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22426]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2001, 2002, and Ongoing Country Practice Reviews

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
received petitions in 2001 and 2002 to review certain practices in 
certain beneficiary developing countries to determine whether such 
countries are in compliance with the GSP eligibility criteria. This 
notice announces the 2001 and 2002 country practice petitions that are 
accepted for review, and sets forth the schedule for comment and public 
hearing on these petitions and on other ongoing country practices 
reviews, for requesting participation in the hearing, and for 
submitting pre- and post-hearing briefs.

ADDRESSES: The e-mail address for submissions is [email protected]. If 
unable to submit petitions by e-mail, contact the GSP Subcommittee of 
the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office 
of the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-
220, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971 and 
the facsimile number is (202) 395-9481.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP provides for the duty-free 
importation of designated articles from designated beneficiary 
developing countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of the Trade Act 
of 1974 (``the 1974 Act''), as amended (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), and 
is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 
1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential 
Proclamations.
    In a Federal Register notice dated April 13, 2001, USTR initiated 
the 2001 GSP Annual Review and announced a deadline of June 13, 2001, 
for the filing of petitions (66 FR 19278). In a Federal Register notice 
dated November 1, 2002, USTR initiated the 2002 GSP Annual Review and 
announced a deadline of December 2, 2002, for the filing of petitions 
(67 FR 66699). Several of the petitions received requested the review 
of certain practices in certain beneficiary developing countries to 
determine whether such countries are in compliance with the eligibility 
criteria set forth in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of the 1974 Act.
    The GSP program expired on October 1, 2001, and was not 
reauthorized until August 6, 2002. Consequently, the interagency TPSC 
made no announcement of the acceptance of country practice petitions 
for the 2001 GSP Annual Review, and merged the 2001 petitions into the 
2002 GSP Annual Review.
    The TPSC has decided to accept certain petitions for review, as 
indicated in Annex I to this notice. Annex I sets out the case number 
and status of, and subject country and practice addressed in each 
petition, and updates the status of other, previously initiated, 
ongoing country practice reviews. If the TPSC decides to accept any 
other 2001 or 2002 country practice petition for review, it will make 
an announcement in the Federal Register at a later date.

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    Acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion 
with respect to disposition on the merits. Acceptance indicates only 
that the TPSC has found the petition eligible for review, and that such 
review will take place. The GSP regulations provide the schedule of 
dates for conducting a review unless otherwise specified in a Federal 
Register notice. The revised schedule for public comment and hearings 
is contained in Annex II.
    USTR will announce in the Federal Register any modifications to the 
list of beneficiary developing countries or eligible articles for 
purposes of the GSP program resulting from this Review, as well as the 
date on which the modifications will take effect.

Opportunities for Public Comment and Requirements for Submissions

    The GSP Subcommittee invites comments on any petition included in 
this Review. Submissions should comply with the GSP regulations (15 CFR 
Part 2007), including section 2007.0, except as modified below. All 
submissions should be identified by the relevant case number and 
country name as shown in Annex I.
    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic e-mail submissions in response to 
this notice. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. 
Submissions should be single copy transmissions in English, and the 
total submission should not exceed 50 single-spaced pages. E-mail 
submissions should use the subject line ``GSP Country Practices 
Review,'' followed by the case number and country name found in Annex I 
and, as appropriate, ``Written Comments,'' ``Notice of Intent to 
Testify,'' ``Pre-hearing brief,'' or ``Post-hearing brief.'' (For 
example, an e-mail subject line might read, ``GSP Country Practices 
Review, 001-CP-02, Bangladesh, ``Pre-hearing brief.'') Documents must 
be submitted as either WordPerfect (.WPD), MSWord (.DOC) , or text 
(.TXT) files. Documents should not be submitted as electronic image 
files or contain imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``PDF'', 
``.BMP'', or ``.GIF''), as these type files are generally excessively 
large and may impede electronic transmission and redistribution. E-mail 
submissions containing such files may not be accepted. Supporting 
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro 
or Excel suitable for printing on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. To the extent 
possible, any data attachments to the submission should be included in 
the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
    If the submission contains business confidential information, a 
non-confidential version of the submission must also be submitted that 
indicates where confidential information was redacted by inserting 
asterisks where material was deleted. In addition, the confidential 
submission must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of every page, and the non-confidential submission must be 
clearly marked either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL'' at the 
top and bottom of every page.
    The file name of any document containing business confidential 
information attached to an e-mail transmission 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 party (government, company, union, 
association, etc.) making the submission. E-mail submissions should not 
include separate cover letters or messages in the message area of the 
e-mail; information that might appear in any cover letter should be 
included directly in the attached file containing the submission 
itself. The e-mail address for submissions is [email protected]. 
Documents not submitted in accordance with these instructions might not 
be considered in this review.
    Submissions will be open to public inspection shortly after the due 
date by appointment with the staff of the USTR public reading room, 
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC, except for submitted information 
granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6 and 
other qualifying information submitted in confidence pursuant to 15 CFR 
2007.7. Appointments may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, by calling (202) 395-6186.

Notice of Public Hearings

    The GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on October 7, 2003, 
beginning at 10 a.m. at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. The hearing will be open to the 
public and a transcript will be made available for public inspection or 
can be purchased from the reporting company. No electronic media 
coverage will be allowed.
    Any interested party wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit the name, address, telephone number, facsimile 
number, and e-mail address (if available) of the witness(es) 
representing the party to the Chairman of the GSP Subcommittee by 5 
p.m., September 26, 2003. Requests to present oral testimony in 
connection with the public hearing must be accompanied by a written 
brief or statement, in English, which must also be received by 5 p.m., 
September 26, 2003. Oral presentations should be approximately five-
minutes long and summarize or supplement information contained in the 
brief or statement. Post-hearing briefs or statements must be 
submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., October 31, 2003. Any party not 
wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit a post-hearing 
written brief or statement, in English, by 5 p.m., October 31, 2003. 
Written briefs, statements, and oral testimony should conform with 
section 2007.5 of the GSP regulations.

Steven Falken,
Executive Director for GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee.
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[FR Doc. 03-22426 Filed 9-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3901-01-C