[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9401-9419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4406]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations; Invitation for Public Comment 
on Possible De Minimis Waivers and Redesignations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public of interim 2003 import 
statistics relating to Competitive Need Limitations (CNL) under the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments are 
invited by 5 p.m., March 31, 2004, regarding possible de minimis CNL 
waivers with respect to particular articles, and possible 
redesignations under the GSP program of articles currently subject to 
CNLs.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Competitive Need Limitations

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs). The GSP program is authorized by title V 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended (the 
``1974 Act''), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 
11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders 
and Presidential Proclamations. Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act 
provides for CNLs on duty-free treatment under the GSP program. When 
the President determines that a BDC exported to the United States 
during a calendar year either (1) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article 
having a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($110 
million for 2003), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a 
value equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. 
imports of the article from all countries (the ``50 percent CNL''), the 
President shall terminate GSP duty-free treatment for that article from 
that BDC by no later than July 1 of the next calendar year.

II. Discretionary Decisions

A. De Minimis Waivers

    Section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act provides the President with 
discretion to waive the 50 percent CNL with respect to an eligible 
article imported from a BDC if the value of total imports of that 
article from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the 
applicable amount for that year ($16.5 million for 2003).

B. Redesignation of Eligible Articles

    Where imports of an eligible article from a BDC ceased to receive 
duty-free treatment due to exceeding the CNL in a prior year, section 
503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act provides the President with discretion to 
redesignate such an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the 
most recently completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.

III. Implementation of Competitive Need Limitations, Waivers, and 
Redesignations

    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2004. Decisions on these matters, as 
well as decisions with respect to de minimis waivers and 
redesignations, will be based on full 2003 calendar year import 
statistics.

IV. Interim 2003 Import Statistics

    In order to provide advance notice of articles that may exceed the 
CNLs for 2003, and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding de 
minimis waivers and redesignations, interim import statistics covering 
the first 10 months of 2003 are included with this notice. Full 
calendar year 2003 data may be obtained from the website of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/.
    The following lists contain, for each article, the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading and beneficiary 
country of origin, the value of imports of such article for the first 
10 months of 2003, and the percentage of total imports of that article 
from all countries. The flags indicate the status of GSP eligibility. 
Articles marked with an ``*'' are those that have been excluded from 
GSP eligibility for the entire past calendar year. Articles marked with 
a ``D'' are those that, based on interim 2003 data, may be eligible for 
a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL.
    List I shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that have already 
exceeded the CNL of $110 million in 2003. Those articles without a flag 
are articles that were GSP-eligible during 2003 but stand to lose GSP 
duty-free treatment on July 1, 2004, unless a waiver is granted. Such 
waivers are required to have been previously requested in the 2003 GSP 
Annual Review.
    List II shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that (1) have not yet 
exceeded, but are approaching, the $110 million CNL for the period 
January-October 2003, or (2) are close to or above the 50 percent CNL. 
Depending on final calendar year 2003 import data, these articles stand 
to lose GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2004, unless a waiver is 
granted. Such waivers are required to have been previously requested in 
the 2003 GSP Annual Review.
    List III is a subset of List II. List III identifies GSP-eligible 
articles from BDCs that are near or above the 50 percent CNL, but that 
may be eligible for a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL. Actual 
eligibility for de minimis waivers will depend on final calendar year 
2003 import data. Each year, de minimis waivers are considered 
automatically without a petition and public comments are accepted.
    List IV shows GSP-eligible articles that are currently not 
receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but that have import levels (based 
on interim 2003 data) below the CNLs and thus may be eligible for 
redesignation pursuant to the President's discretionary authority. 
Articles with a ``D'' exceed the 50 percent CNL and would require both 
a de minimis waiver and redesignation to receive GSP duty-free 
treatment. The list may also contain articles that may not be 
redesignated until certain conditions are fulfilled, as where, for 
example, GSP eligibility for an article was administratively suspended 
because of deficiencies in a country's protection of worker or 
intellectual property rights. Redesignation requests are normally made 
in the annual review, unless made in conjunction with remedying the 
deficiencies.
    The lists appended to this notice are provided for informational 
purposes only. The attached lists are computer-

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generated and based on interim 2003 data, and may not include all 
articles that may be affected by the GSP CNLs. Regardless of whether an 
article is included on the lists, all determinations and decisions 
regarding the CNLs of the GSP program will be based on full calendar 
year 2003 import data with respect to each GSP-eligible article. Each 
interested party is advised to conduct its own review of 2003 import 
data with regard to the possible application of GSP CNLs.

IV. Public Comments

Requirements for Submissions

    All submissions must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15 
CFR part 2007, except as modified below. Furthermore, each party 
providing comments should indicate on the first page of the submission 
its name, the relevant HTSUS subheading(s), the beneficiary country or 
territory of interest, and the type of action (e.g., the use of the 
President's de minimis waiver authority) in which the party is 
interested.
    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as 
possible but not later than 5 p.m., March 31, 2004. Comments submitted 
after this date may be considered at the discretion of the GSP 
Subcommittee until the time its advice is provided to the TPSC.
    In order to facilitate prompt consideration 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 with the 
total submission not to exceed 50 single-spaced standard letter-size 
pages and 3 megabytes as a digital file attached to an e-mail 
transmission. The e-mail transmission should use the following subject 
line: ``Comments on 2003 CNL Review'' followed by the HTSUS subheading 
number and beneficiary country of origin found on the appropriate list. 
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 such files are generally 
excessively large. E-mail submissions containing such image files will 
not be accepted. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets are 
acceptable as QuattroPro or Excel, pre-formatted for printing only 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.
    Submissions in response to this notice will be subject to public 
inspection by appointment with the staff of the USTR Public Reading 
Room except for information granted ``business confidential'' status 
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6.
    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 
version must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and 
bottom of each and every page of the document. The public version which 
does not contain business confidential information must also be clearly 
marked at the top and bottom of each and every page (either ``PUBLIC'' 
or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''). Documents that are submitted without any 
marking might not be accepted or will be considered public documents.
    For any document containing business confidential information 
submitted as an electronic attached file to an e-mail transmission, 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 ``BC-'' or ``P-'' should be followed by 
the name of the party (government, company, union, association, etc.) 
which is submitting the comments.
    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, including the sender's 
identifying information with telephone number and e-mail address. The 
e-mail address for these submissions is [email protected]. Documents not 
submitted in accordance with these instructions might not be considered 
in this review. If unable to provide submissions by e-mail, please 
contact the GSP Subcommittee to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.
    Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for public review approximately three weeks after the due 
date by appointment in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724 F Street, 
NW., Washington, DC. Availability of documents may be ascertained, and 
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.

Steven Falken,
Executive Director for GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee.

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[FR Doc. 04-4406 Filed 2-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W3-C