[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74693-74694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31618]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of Dominican Republic Free Trade Negotiations; Public Comments on Scope 
of Environmental Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This publication gives notice that, pursuant to the Trade Act 
of 2002, and consistent with Executive order 13141 (64 FR 63169) (Nov. 
18, 1999) and its implementing guidelines (65 FR 79442), the Office of 
the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an environmental review of the 
proposed United States-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (FTA). 
The TPSC is requesting written comments from the public on what should 
be included in the scope of the environmental review, including the 
potential environmental effects that might flow from the free trade 
agreement and the potential implications for our environmental laws and 
regulations. The TPSC also welcomes public views on appropriate 
methodologies and sources of data for conducting the review. Persons 
submitting written comments should provide as much detail as possible 
on the degree to which the subject matter they propose for inclusion in 
the review may raise significant environmental issues in the context of 
the negotiation.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than January 30, 
2004.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected].
    Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, 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. Questions concerning the environmental review should be 
addressed to David Brooks, Environment and Natural Resources Section, 
USTR, telephone (202) 395-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background Information

    On August 4, 2003, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the 
Trade Act of 2002, the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador 
Robert B. Zoellick, notified Congress of the President's intent to 
enter into trade negotiations with the Dominican Republic. Ambassador 
Zoellick outlined the specific U.S. objectives for the FTA in the 
notification letters to Congress. The letters to House Speaker Dennis 
Hastert and Senate President Pro Tempore Ted Stevens can be found on 
the USTR Web site at www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Dr/2003-08-04-notification-senate.pdf and www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Dr/2003-08-04-notification-house.pdf.
    Since 1984, U.S. unilateral trade preferences through the Caribbean 
Basin Initiative (CBI) have defined the U.S. trade relationship with 
the Dominican Republic. An FTA with the Dominican Republic will respond 
to direction from the Congress in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership 
Act to conclude comprehensive, mutually advantageous trade agreements 
with CBI countries. The Dominican Republic is the largest economy in 
the Caribbean Basin region and is the largest beneficiary of CBI 
preferences, accounting for more than one quarter of U.S. imports under 
the program. An FTA will build on the success of the CBI and expand 
U.S. access to the Dominican Republic's market, which already receives 
$4.3 billion in U.S. exports annually and approximately $1.4 billion in 
U.S. investment. In 2002, U.S. imports from the Dominican Republic 
totaled $4.2 billion.
    Recognizing the benefits of strengthening the ties among the 
Dominican Republic, Central America, and the United States, we expect 
to apply essentially the same disciplines with the Dominican Republic 
as those we are currently negotiating with the five member countries of 
the Central American Economic Integration System

[[Page 74694]]

(Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, 
hereinafter ``Central America''), and to negotiate specific market 
access commitments with the Dominican Republic. Therefore, persons 
wishing to comment on the scope of the environmental review for the 
proposed FTA with the Dominican Republic are encouraged to make 
reference to the recently-released interim environmental review of the 
U.S.-Central America FTA, available at www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Cafta/2003-08-22-cafta-env_review.pdf (see 68 FR 51822) (August 28, 2003).

2. Environmental Review

    USTR, through the TPSC, will perform an environmental review of the 
proposed agreement pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002 and consistent 
with Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63,169) and its implementing 
guidelines (65 FR 79,442). Environmental reviews are used to identify 
potentially significant, reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts 
(both positive and negative), and information from the review can help 
facilitate consideration of appropriate responses where impacts are 
identified. Reviews address potential environmental impacts of the 
proposed agreement and potential implications for environmental laws 
and regulations. The focus of the review is on impacts in the United 
States, although global and transboundary impacts may be considered, 
where appropriate and prudent.
    The TPSC currently expects that the environmental review of the 
proposed FTA with the Dominican Republic is likely to reach preliminary 
conclusions that are similar to those presented in the Interim 
Environmental Review of the US-CAFTA. In their comments on the scope 
for the review of the proposed FTA with the Dominican Republic, the 
public is requested to focus particular attention on environmental 
concerns other than those already addressed in the CAFTA Interim 
Review.
    Given the current timetable for negotiations and the relevance of 
information and analysis contained in the CAFTA Interim Review, the 
TPSC may not prepare an interim environmental review of the proposed 
FTA with the Dominican Republic. If no interim review is prepared, all 
public comments submitted in response to this notice will be taken into 
account in the course of the negotiations and in the Final Review that 
will be prepared and published at the conclusion of the negotiations.

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response 
to this notice.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``United States--Dominican Republic Environmental 
Review'' followed by ``Written Comments.'' Documents should be 
submitted as either 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. 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 submitted in response to this request will be 
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, 
except business confidential information exempt from public inspection 
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential 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 must be scheduled at 
least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
    USTR will take into account the public comments on environmental 
issues submitted in response to a previous notice--dated August 28, 
2003 (68 FR 51,823)--requesting comments from the public to assist USTR 
in formulating positions and proposals with respect to all aspects of 
the negotiations, including environmental issues. These comments will 
also be made available for public inspection.
    General information concerning the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site 
(www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-31618 Filed 12-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W3-P