[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55709-55710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24419]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation Subcommittee of 
the Trade Policy Staff Committee; Public Comments on Annual Review of 
Country Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (the ``Subcommittee'') 
is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the 
eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of 
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Subcommittee will 
consider these comments in developing recommendations on country 
eligibility for the President. Comments received related to the child 
labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor for the 
preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor as 
required under section 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000. 
This notice identifies the eligibility criteria that must be considered 
under AGOA, lists the sub-Saharan African countries that are currently 
eligible for AGOA, and the sub-Saharan African countries that are 
currently ineligible for the AGOA.

DATES: Public comments are due at USTR by noon, Monday, October 20, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Submission by electronic mail: [email protected]. Submissions 
by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, at (202) 395-6143. The public is strongly encouraged to 
submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. See 
requirements for submissions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please 
contact Gloria Blue, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 
600 17th Street, NW, Room F516, Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-3475. 
All other questions should be directed to Constance Hamilton, Senior 
Director for African Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 
600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC, (202) 395-9514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AGOA (title I of Public Law 106-200) 
amends Title V of the Trade Act of 1974

[[Page 55710]]

(19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ``Trade Act'') to authorize the President 
to designate sub-Saharan African countries as eligible for duty-free 
tariff treatment for certain products under the Generalized System of 
Preferences program (GSP). The AGOA also authorizes the President to 
designate sub-Saharan African countries as eligible for the 
preferential treatment the AGOA provides for certain textile and 
apparel articles.
    The President may designate a country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan 
African country eligible for both the additional GSP benefits and the 
textile and apparel benefits of the AGOA (if the country also meets 
certain statutory requirements intended to prevent unlawful 
transshipment of such articles) if he determines that the country meets 
the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1) section 104 of the AGOA; and 
(2) section 502 of the Trade Act. To date, 38 countries have been 
designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. These 
countries, as well as the 10 currently ineligible countries, are listed 
below. Section 506A of the Trade Act provides that the President shall 
monitor, review, and report to Congress annually on the progress of 
each sub-Saharan African country in meeting the foregoing eligibility 
criteria in order to determine the current or potential eligibility of 
each country to be designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
country. The President's determinations will be included in the annual 
report submitted to Congress as required by Section 106 of the AGOA. 
Section 506A of the Trade Act and section 104 of the AGOA require that, 
if the President determines that an eligible sub-Saharan African 
country is not making continual progress in meeting the eligibility 
requirements, he must terminate the designation of the country as a 
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country.
    The Subcommittee is seeking public comments in connection with the 
annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries for 
the AGOA's benefits. The Subcommittee will consider any such comments 
in developing recommendations on country eligibility for the President. 
Comments related to the child labor criteria may also be considered by 
the Secretary of Labor in making the findings required under section 
504 of the Trade Act.

Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African Countries

    The following have been designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan 
African countries:

Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Republic of Chad
Republic of the Congo
Republic of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of Djibouti
State of Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
Republic of The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Democratic Republic of S[atilde]o Tom[egrave] and Principe
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia

Sub-Saharan African Countries Not Designated as Beneficiary Countries

    The following have not been designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan 
African countries:

Republic of Angola
Burkina Faso
Republic of Burundi
Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Republic of Liberia
Somalia
Republic of Togo
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe

    Requirements for Submissions: In order to facilitate the prompt 
processing of submissions, the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) 
submissions to [email protected] in response to this notice. In the event 
that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be made by 
facsimile. Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the 
following subject line: ``2003 AGOA Annual Country Review.'' Documents 
should be submitted as 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. Similarly, 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 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. 
Confidential business 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 may be made by calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments 
must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-24419 Filed 9-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P