[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 68439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26033]



[[Page 68439]]

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments Concerning Compliance with 
Telecommunications Trade Agreements

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and reply comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``section 1377''), the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is 
reviewing, and requests comments on: the operation and effectiveness of 
and the implementation of and compliance with the World Trade 
Organization (``WTO'') Basic Telecommunications Agreement; other WTO 
agreements affecting market opportunities for telecommunications 
products and services of the United States; the telecommunications 
provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''); the 
Chile and Singapore Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and any other FTAs 
coming into force on or before January 1, 2005; and other 
telecommunications trade agreements. The USTR will conclude the review 
by March 31, 2005.

DATES: Comments are due by noon on December 17, 2004 and Reply Comments 
are due by noon on January 17, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, ATTN: Section 1377 Comments, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Schagrin, Office of Industry 
and Telecommunications (202) 395-5663; or Jim Kelleher, Office of the 
General Counsel (202) 395-3858.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1377 requires the USTR to review 
annually the operation and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services of the United States 
that are in force with respect to the United States. The purpose of the 
review is to determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a 
country that has entered into a telecommunications trade agreement with 
the United States is inconsistent with the terms of such agreement, or 
otherwise denies to U.S. firms, within the context of the terms of such 
agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities. For the current 
review, the USTR seeks comments on:
    (1) Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is 
inconsistent with its commitments under the WTO Basic 
Telecommunications Agreement or with other WTO obligations, e.g., the 
WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''), including the 
Annex on Telecommunications and the Reference Paper on Pro-Competitive 
Regulatory Principles, that affect market opportunities for U.S. 
telecommunications products and services;
    (2) Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with their 
telecommunications commitments or obligations under NAFTA;
    (3) Whether Chile or Singapore or any other FTA partner with an 
Agreement that comes into force on or before January 1, 2005 has failed 
to comply with their telecommunications commitments or obligations 
under the respective FTAs between the United States and those 
countries;
    (4) Whether other countries have failed to comply with their 
commitments under additional telecommunications agreements with the 
United States, e.g., Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for 
Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment. A collection of 
all trade agreements, including ones related to telecommunications, can 
be found at http://www.tcc.mac.doc.gov.
    (5) Whether there remain outstanding issues from previous Section 
1377 reviews on those countries or issues previously cited. Last year's 
review can be found at http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Sectors/Manufacturing/Telecom/Section_Index.html.

Public Comment and Reply Comment: Requirements For Submissions

    All comments must be in English, identify on the first page of the 
comments the telecommunications trade agreement(s) discussed therein, 
and be submitted by noon on December 17, 2004. Reply Comments must be 
submitted by noon on January 17, 2005. Reply comments should only 
address issues raised by the comments.
    In order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration of comments and reply comments, USTR has arranged to 
accept submissions in electronic format (e-mail). Comments should be 
submitted electronically to [email protected]. An automatic reply 
confirming receipt of e-mail submission will be sent. E-mail 
submissions in Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect are preferred. If a 
word processing application other than those two is used, please 
include in your submission the specific application used. For any 
document containing business confidential information submitted 
electronically, the file name of the business confidential version 
should begin with the characters ``BC.'' Any page containing business 
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers must also submit a 
public version of their comments. The file name of the public version 
should begin with the character ``P.'' The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be 
followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or 
reply comments. Interested persons who make submissions electronically 
should not provide separate cover letters; rather, information that 
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission 
itself. Similarly, 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. All non-confidential comments and 
reply comments will be placed on the USTR Web site, http://www.USTR.gov 
and in the USTR Reading Room for inspection shortly after the filing 
deadline, except business confidential information exempt from public 
inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6.
    We strongly urge people to avail themselves of the electronic 
filing, if at all possible. If an e-mail submission is impossible, 15 
copies of both the business confidential and public versions must be 
delivered via private commercial courier, and arrangements must be made 
with Ms. Blue prior to delivery for their receipt. Ms. Blue should be 
contacted at (202) 395-3475. Since comments and reply comments will be 
posted on USTR's Web site, those persons not availing themselves of 
electronic filing must submit their 15 copies with a diskette.
    An appointment to review the comments may be made by calling the 
USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to 
the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, and is located in Room 3 of 1724 F Street., NW.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-26033 Filed 11-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W4-P