[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 23 (Friday, February 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 6065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2188]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comment Regarding Andean Trade Promotion and 
Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) Beneficiary Countries

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with section 203(f) of the Andean Trade 
Preference Act (ATPA) (19 U.S.C. 3201), as amended by the Andean Trade 
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act , the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting the views of interested 
parties on whether the countries designated as ATPA beneficiary 
countries in Presidential Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002, are 
meeting the eligibility criteria provided for in section 204(b)(6)(B) 
of the ATPA. This information will be used in the preparation of a 
report to the U.S. Congress on the operation of the program.

DATES: Public comments are due at USTR no later than 5 p.m., March 18, 
2005.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected]. 
Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143. The public is strongly 
encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. 
See requirements for submissions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Russell Smith, Office of the Americas, 
Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., 
Room 523, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-9450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Signed into law on August 6, 2002, the Trade 
Act of 2002 contains, in title XXXI, provisions for enhanced trade 
benefits for eligible Andean countries. Titled the ``Andean Trade 
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act'' (ATPDEA), the ATPDEA renews the 
Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), and amends the ATPA to provide 
preferential treatment for certain products previously excluded from 
such treatment. In Presidential Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002, 
the President designated Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as ATPA 
beneficiary countries. Section 203(f) of the ATPA requires the USTR, 
not later than April 30, 2005, to submit to Congress a report on the 
operation of the ATPA. Section 203(f)(2) requires USTR, before 
submitting such report, to request comments on whether beneficiary 
countries are meeting the criteria set forth in section 204(b)(6)(B) 
(which incorporates by reference the criteria set forth in sections 
203(c) and (d)). USTR refers interested parties to the Federal Register 
notice published on August 15, 2002 (67 FR 53379), for a full list of 
the eligibility criteria.
    Requirements for Submissions. In order to facilitate prompt 
processing of submissions, the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative 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 line: ``ATPA Beneficiary Countries.'' Documents should be 
submitted as either WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. 
Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation are acceptable as 
Quattro Pro or Excel files. If any document submitted electronically 
contains business confidential information, 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, notice of testimony, and testimony 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 non-confidential 
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and non-
confidential 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 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.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 05-2188 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P