[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 219 (Monday, November 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 65674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25240]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as Amended: Notice Regarding 
the 2003 and 2004 Annual Reviews

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
received petitions in September 2004 to review certain practices in 
certain beneficiary developing countries to determine whether such 
countries are in compliance with the ATPA eligibility criteria. This 
notice publishes a list of the September 2004 petitions that were filed 
in response to the announcement of the annual review. In addition, this 
notice specifies the status of those petitions filed in 2003 that have 
remained under review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bennett M. Harman, Deputy Assistant 
U.S. Trade Representative for Latin America, at (202) 395-9446.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ATPA (19 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.), as 
renewed and amended by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication 
Act of 2002 (ATPDEA) in the Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-210), 
provides trade benefits for eligible Andean countries. Pursuant to 
section 3103(d) of the ATPDEA, USTR promulgated regulations (15 CFR 
part 2016) (68 FR 43922) regarding the review of eligibility of 
countries for the benefits of the ATPA, as amended.
    In a Federal Register notice dated August 14, 2003, USTR initiated 
the 2003 ATPA Annual Review and announced a deadline of September 15, 
2003, for the filing of petitions (68 FR 48657). Several of these 
petitions requested the review of certain practices in certain 
beneficiary developing countries regarding compliance with the 
eligibility criteria set forth in sections 203(c) and (d) and section 
204(b)(6)(B) of the ATPA, as amended (19 U.S.C. 3203 (c) and (d); 19 
U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B)).
    In a Federal Register notice dated November 13, 2003, USTR 
published a list of the responsive petitions filed pursuant to the 
announcement of the annual review. The Trade Policy Staff Committee 
(TPSC) has conducted a preliminary review of these petitions. 15 CFR 
2016.2(b) provides for announcement of the results of the preliminary 
review on or about December 1. 15 CFR 2016.2(b) also provides for 
modification of the schedule if specified by Federal Register notice. 
In a Federal Register notice dated December 30, 2003, USTR modified the 
schedule for this review, specifying that the results would be 
announced on or about March 31, 2004. In a Federal Register notice 
dated April 5, 2004, USTR modified the schedule for this review. In a 
Federal Register notice dated July 21, 2004, USTR announced that the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee had determined that certain of the 
petitions do not require action and terminated their review. The TPSC 
also decided to modify the date of the announcement of the results of 
preliminary review for the remaining 2003 petitions to coincide with 
the 2004 review: Engelhard--Peru; Princeton Dover--Peru; LeTourneau--
Peru; Duke Energy--Peru; AFL-CIO--Ecuador; Human Rights Watch--Ecuador; 
and US/LEAP--Ecuador.
    In a Federal Register notice dated August 17, 2004, USTR initiated 
the 2004 ATPA Annual Review and announced a deadline of September 15, 
2004 for the filing of petitions (69 FR 51138). Following is the list 
of responsive petitions that were filed for the 2004 review:

Ecuador--American Cast Iron Pipe Company
Ecuador--Chevron Texaco
Ecuador--Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Peru--Parsons Corporation

    USTR also received updated information regarding certain matters 
under consideration from the 2003 ATPA review:

Ecuador--Human Rights Watch
Ecuador--U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project
Peru--LeTourneau of Peru

    USTR will announce the results of the preliminary review of the 
2004 petitions and the remaining 2003 petitions on or about December 1, 
2004.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-25240 Filed 11-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W4-P