[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76827-76828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28022]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of U.S.-Oman Free Trade 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 the Trade Act 
of 2002, and consistent with Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) (Nov. 
18, 1999) 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-Oman 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.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than February 25, 
2005.

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 Jennifer Prescott or David J. Brooks, Environment and 
Natural Resources Section, USTR, telephone (202) 395-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background Information

    On November 15, 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 Oman. 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/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2004/November/U.S._Announces_Intent_to_Negotiate_FTAs_with_UAE_Oman.html.
    In addition to this request for public comments, the TPSC also has 
invited the public to provide written comments and/or oral testimony at 
a public hearing that will take place on January 14, 2005. The purpose 
of this hearing is 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 (see 67 FR 70498, December 6, 2004). USTR 
will take into account in the environmental review any public comments 
or testimony on Oman FTA environmental issues submitted in response to 
the December 6 notice.

2. Environmental Review

    USTR, through the TPSC, will perform an environmental review of the 
agreement pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002 and consistent with 
Executive Order 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. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible, 
submissions should be made by facsimile.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject

[[Page 76828]]

line: ``United States-Oman 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 in Room 3 of the Annex of the Office of the USTR, 
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. 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.
    General information concerning the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site 
(http://www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-28022 Filed 12-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P