[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 179 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54259-54261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23571]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comment on the Implications for U.S. 
Commercial Interests of the Accession to the European Union of Poland, 
Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta (Accession Countries)

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee gives notice that the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requests written 
submissions from the public concerning the implications for U.S. trade 
in goods and services of the anticipated May 2004 enlargement of the 
European Union (EU) to include Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, 
Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta 
(accession countries).
    USTR and other agencies are currently engaged in an assessment of 
the potential impact on U.S. goods and services trade of the May 2004 
enlargement of the EU and, in particular, of what compensation the EU 
may owe to the United States under WTO rules. Comments from the public 
in response to this notice will be incorporated into that assessment.

DATES: Submissions must be received on or before noon, October 16, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by Electronic Mail: [email protected]. Submissions 
by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee

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(TPSC), Office of the USTR, 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. Substantive questions concerning this review should be 
addressed to Mark Mowrey, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative 
for Europe and the Mediterranean, Telephone (202) 395-3320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background Information

    On April 16, 2003, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 
Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus signed a Treaty 
of Accession to the European Union. Following ratification of the 
Treaty by current EU member States and by the acceding countries, the 
acceding countries are expected to join the EU formally on May 1, 2004.
    As part of the EU accession process, the accession countries are 
required to adopt the EU's common body of law or acquis communautaire. 
This will entail, inter alia, adoption by the accession countries of 
the EU's common external tariffs for goods imported from third 
countries, possible adoption or alteration by the accession countries 
of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on various products (to make them 
compatible with EU TRQs), and harmonization of accession country 
regulatory requirements with EU regulations affecting the import of 
various good and services.
    Under WTO rules, the EU must notify other WTO members of its intent 
to modify or withdraw market access commitments it has made on goods 
and services in order to expand the EU to include the accession 
countries. To date, the EU has not sent such notifications to the WTO, 
though the United States expects these to be made promptly.

Goods

    Applicable GATT 1994 Procedures: If a WTO Member joining a customs 
union plans to raise a duty rate on a product which is bound in its WTO 
Schedule of concessions (a ``tariff concession''), it may renegotiate 
the tariff concession on that product under Article XXIV:6 of the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (``GATT 1994'') and the 
procedures of GATT 1994 Article XXVIII. This renegotiation may result 
in the provision of compensation (for example, reduction of duties on 
other products) that is no less favorable to trade than the original 
tariff concession.
    Submissions: The public is encouraged to identify on a country-
specific basis where the accession countries' adoption of the EU common 
external tariff will result in tariff increases or changes to tariff-
rate quotas (TRQs) affecting U.S. commercial interests in the accession 
countries. The accession countries also will likely alter their TRQs to 
bring them more into line with EU TRQs. The public also is asked to 
evaluate the potential for: (1) Changes to current TRQs in terms of 
rates or volume of the TRQ; (2) the loss of existing TRQs in the 
accession countries; or (3) the imposition of new TRQs where they do 
not currently exist in the accession countries.
    Current tariff rates for the EU and Malta and Cyprus can be 
obtained by calling the Department of Commerce's Trade Information 
Center at 1-800-USA-TRADE. Alternatively, the EU common external tariff 
schedule can be accessed at http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/tariff/eu_schedule/index.htm. Tariff rates for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia can be obtained by 
calling the Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center 
(CEEBIC) at (202) 482-2645.

Services

    Applicable GATS Procedures: Article V, paragraph 5, of the General 
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) provides that if a WTO Member 
intends to modify or withdraw a specific GATS commitment as a result of 
joining an economic integration agreement such as a customs union, it 
must provide 90 days advance notice of such modification and follow the 
applicable procedures set out in GATS Article XXI. Paragraph 2 of 
Article XXI provides that WTO Members who believe they may be affected 
by the proposed modification of commitments can request negotiations 
with the modifying Member with the purpose of reaching an agreement on 
compensation for the proposed modification.
    The accession countries' joining of the EU may also entail 
modification of the exiting lists of MFN exemptions maintained by the 
EU or the accession countries under GATS Article II. The United States 
maintains that the EU must engage through a separate WTO process 
(namely a waiver process under Article IX of the Agreement Establishing 
the WTO) with its partners in cases where modifications to MFN 
exemption lists are contemplated. However, comments from the public on 
anticipated trade impacts implied by a consolidation of the existing 
accession country and EU MFN exemptions lists are also solicited 
through this notice.
    Submissions: The public is advised to examine the existing GATS 
schedules of specific commitments and lists of most-favored-nation 
exemptions of the EU in comparison with those of Poland, Hungary, Czech 
Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta and 
Cyprus to determine whether changes implied through consolidation of 
the schedules and lists would adversely impact U.S. commercial 
interests. The existing schedules and lists are accessible through the 
WTO's Services Database Web site, http://tsdb.wto.org/wto/WTOHomepublic.htm. From that site, click on ``Pre-defined Reports'' and 
then ``All Sectors in Each Country.''

Other regulatory measures

    Adoption of the EU acquis communautaire by the accession countries 
will entail adoption of the EU's standards, regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures, including sanitary and phytosanitary 
requirements, testing, certification, labeling requirements, etc. The 
accession countries will also be obligated to impose import 
restrictions, quantitative restrictions and antidumping orders similar 
to those of the EU. The public is encouraged to comment where 
appropriate on how the introduction of these types of regulatory 
measures would affect U.S. commercial interests.

Supportive Data and Recommendations for Compensation

    All submissions should describe the product or service in question, 
and in the case of products, should include the Harmonized System 
tariff heading(s). Submissions should describe the current market 
access for the products or services, including value and quantity of 
exports, any existing problems, and should identify changes that are 
anticipated upon accession countries' entry into the EU.
    Submissions may also include recommendations for appropriate 
compensation the United States might seek for instances of diminished 
market access. These recommendations could include such items as 
reductions in the EU common external tariff on goods, improvements to 
EU market access commitments on goods and services, or other changes in 
the EU trade regime for goods and services.

2. Requirements for Submissions

    To ensure prompt and full consideration of responses, USTR

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strongly recommends that interested persons submit comments by 
electronic mail to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. 
Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following subject 
line: ``May 2004 EU Enlargement.'' Documents should be submitted in 
WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation 
submitted as spreadsheets is acceptable in Quattro Pro or Excel format. 
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 character ``P-''. The ``P-'' or 
``BC-'' should be followed by the name of the submitted information. 
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 submissions will be placed in a file open to public 
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except confidential business 
information exempt from public inspection 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 non-confidential summary of the confidential 
information. All public documents and non-confidential summaries will 
be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room in Room 3 
of the Annex of the Office of the USTR, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, 
DC 20508. An appointment to review the file may be made by calling 
(202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is generally open to the public 
from 10 a.m.-12 noon and 1-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments 
must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairperson, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-23571 Filed 9-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P