[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 70 (Monday, April 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19263-19265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8240]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of Proposed United States-Thailand Free Trade Agreement 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 authority 
delegated by

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the President in Executive Order 13277 (67 FR 70305) and consistent 
with Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) 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-
Thailand Free Trade Agreement. 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 U.S. environmental laws and regulations, and 
identification of complementarities between trade and environmental 
objectives such as the promotion of sustainable development. 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.

DATE: Public comments should be received no later than June 1, 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 Alice L. Mattice or David J. Brooks, Environment and 
Natural Resources Section, USTR, telephone (202) 395-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background Information

    On February 12, 2004, 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 Thailand. Ambassador Zoellick 
outlined specific U.S. objectives for these negotiations in the 
notification letters to Congress. Copies of the letters are available 
at: http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/02/2004-02-12-letter-thailand-senate.pdf and http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/02/2004-02-12-letter-thailand-house.pdf.
    The TPSC invited the public (69 FR 9419) to provide written 
comments and/or oral testimony at a public hearing, which took place on 
March 30, 2004, to assist USTR in amplifying and clarifying negotiating 
objectives for the proposed FTA and to provide advice on how specific 
goods and services and other matters should be treated under the 
proposed agreement.
    Thailand is the United States' 18th largest trading partner with 
$19.7 billion in total trade during 2002. The increased access to 
Thailand's market provided by an FTA would further boost trade in a 
wider range of both goods and services, enhancing employment 
opportunities in both countries. An FTA would encourage greater 
liberalization of foreign investment and build upon the preferential 
access already afforded U.S. companies under the U.S.-Thailand Treaty 
of Amity and Economic Relations. In these FTA negotiations, the United 
States will seek to address market access barriers faced by U.S. 
companies and service providers. The United States also will seek 
provisions on transparency, labor and environment.

2. Environmental Review

    USTR, through the TPSC, will perform an environmental review of the 
agreement pursuant to the authority delegated by the President in 
Executive Orders 13277 (67 FR 70305) and 13141 (64 FR 63169) and its 
implementing guidelines (65 FR 79442).
    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.

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-Thailand FTA 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 also welcomes and will take into account the public comments 
on Thailand FTA environmental issues submitted in response to a 
previous notice--the Federal Register notice dated February 27, 2004 
(69 FR 9419), 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

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accessing its Internet Web site (www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-8240 Filed 4-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W3-P