[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39997-39998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14962]



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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review 
To Consider the Designation of Iraq as a Beneficiary Developing Country 
Under the GSP

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment with respect to the 
eligibility of Iraq for the GSP program.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider 
the designation of Iraq as a beneficiary developing country under the 
GSP program and solicits public comment relating to the designation 
criteria. Comments are due August 2, 2004 in accordance with the 
requirements for submissions, explained below.

Addresses for Submissions: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to: [email protected]. For assistance or if unable to submit comments by 
e-mail, contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724 F Street, NW.; Washington, 
DC 20508 (Tel. 202-395-6971).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee, Office 
of the United States Trade Representative; USTR Annex, Room F-220; 1724 
F Street, NW.; Washington, DC 20508 (Tel. 202-395-6971).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review in order to make a 
recommendation to the President as to whether Iraq meets the 
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute, as set out below. After 
considering the eligibility criteria, the President is authorized to 
designate Iraq as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the 
GSP.
    Interested parties are invited to submit comments regarding the 
eligibility of Iraq for designation as a GSP beneficiary developing 
country. Documents not submitted in accordance with the below 
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.

Eligibility Criteria

    The trade benefits of the GSP are available to any country that the 
President designates as a GSP ``beneficiary developing country.'' In 
designating countries as GSP beneficiary developing countries, the 
President must consider the criteria in sections 502(b)(2) and 502(c) 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(b)(2), 2462(c)) 
(``the Act''). Section 502(b)(2) provides that a country is ineligible 
for designation if:
    1. Such country is a Communist country, unless--
    (a) The products of such country receive nondiscriminatory 
treatment, (b) Such country is a WTO Member (as such term is defined in 
section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19 U.S.C. 3501(10)) 
and a member of the International Monetary Fund, and (c) Such country 
is not dominated or controlled by international communism.
    2. Such country is a party to an arrangement of countries and 
participates in any action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect of 
which is--
    (a) To withhold supplies of vital commodity resources from 
international trade or to raise the price of such commodities to an 
unreasonable level, and (b) To cause serious disruption of the world 
economy.
    3. Such country affords preferential treatment to the products of a 
developed country, other than the United States, which has, or is 
likely to have, a significant adverse effect on United States commerce.
    4. Such country--
    (a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise seized ownership 
or control of property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, 
owned by a United States citizen or by a corporation, partnership, or 
association which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United 
States citizens, (b) Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify an 
existing contract or agreement with a United States citizen or a 
corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more 
beneficially owned by United States citizens, the effect of which is to 
nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of 
property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, or 
(c) Has imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive 
maintenance or operational conditions, or other measures with respect 
to property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, 
the effect of which is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize 
ownership or control of such property, unless the President determines 
that--
    (i) Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is 
being made to the citizen, corporation, partnership, or association 
referred to above, (ii) Good faith negotiations to provide prompt, 
adequate, and effective compensation under the applicable provisions of 
international law are in progress, or the country is otherwise taking 
steps to discharge its obligations under international law with respect 
to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or (iii) A 
dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or 
association over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to 
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement 
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and 
the President promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the 
Senate and House of Representatives.
    5. Such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as 
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States 
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which 
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent 
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their 
dispute.
    6. Such country aids or abets, by granting sanctuary from 
prosecution to, any individual or group which has committed an act of 
international terrorism or the Secretary of State makes a determination 
with respect to such country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or 
such country has not taken steps to support the efforts of the United 
States to combat terrorism.
    7. Such country has not taken or is not taking steps to afford 
internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country 
(including any designated zone in that country).
    8. Such country has not implemented its commitments to eliminate 
the worst forms of child labor.
    Section 502(c) provides that, in determining whether to designate 
any country as a GSP beneficiary developing country, the President 
shall take into account:
    1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
    2. The level of economic development of such country, including its 
per capita gross national product, the living standards of its 
inhabitants, and any other economic factors which the President deems 
appropriate;
    3. Whether or not other major developed countries are extending 
generalized preferential tariff treatment to such country;
    4. The extent to which such country has assured the United States 
that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and 
basic commodity

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resources of such country and the extent to which such country has 
assured the United States that it will refrain from engaging in 
unreasonable export practices;
    5. The extent to which such country is providing adequate and 
effective protection of intellectual property rights;
    6. The extent to which such country has taken action to--
    (a) Reduce trade distorting investment practices and policies 
(including export performance requirements); and (b) Reduce or 
eliminate barriers to trade in services; and
    7. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to 
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in 
that country) internationally recognized worker rights. Note that the 
Trade Act of 2002 amended paragraph (D) of the definition of the term 
``internationally recognized worker rights,'' which now includes: (A) 
The right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain 
collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or 
compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children and 
a prohibition on the worst forms of child labor as defined in paragraph 
(6) of section 507(4) of the Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of work 
with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety 
and health.

Requirements for Submissions

    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee, Trade Policy Staff Committee. Comments must be received 
no later than 5 p.m., August 2, 2004.
    Information and comments submitted 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 submission must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of each and every page of the 
document.
    The public version that does not contain business confidential 
information must also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each 
and every page (either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NONCONFIDENTIAL''). 
Documents that are submitted without any marking might not be accepted 
or will be considered public documents.
    In order to facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic mail (e-mail) submissions in 
response to this notice. Hand delivered submissions will not be 
accepted. These submissions should be single copy transmissions in 
English with the total submission, including attachments, not to exceed 
50 single-spaced, standard letter-size pages and 3 megabytes as a 
digital file attached to an e-mail transmission. Persons making 
submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: ``Iraq GSP 
Eligibility Review.'' Documents must be submitted, in English, as 
either WordPerfect (``.WPD''), MSWord (``.DOC''), or text (``.TXT'') 
files.
    Documents shall not be submitted as electronic image files or 
contain large imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``.PDF'', 
``.BMP'', ``.TIF'', or ``.GIF''), as these types of files are generally 
excessively large. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets 
are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel, preformatted for printing 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.
    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 ``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 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. The 
name and organization of the submitter, address, telephone and e-mail 
address, should also be included in the submission itself.
    Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for review shortly after the due date by appointment in the 
USTR public reading room, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. 
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 GSP, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee.
[FR Doc. 04-14962 Filed 6-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W4-P