[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15970-15980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6144]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations; Invitation for Public Comment 
on Possible De Minimis Waivers and Redesignations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public of full year 2004 import 
statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments are 
invited by 5 p.m., April 22, 2005, regarding possible de minimis CNL 
waivers with respect to particular articles, and possible 
redesignations under the FSP program of articles currently not eligible 
for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNLs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-220, Washington, DC 20508. 
The telephone number is (202) 395-6971.

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Competitive Need Limitations

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs). The GSP program is authorized by title V 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended (the 
``1974 Act''), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 
11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders 
and Presidential Proclamations.
    Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act sets out the two competitive 
need limitations (CNLs). When the President determines that a BDC 
exported to the United States during a calendar year either (1) a 
quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a value in excess of the 
applicable amount for that year ($115 million for 2004), or (2) a 
quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a value equal to or greater 
than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. imports of the article from 
all countries (the ``50 percent CNL''), the President must terminate 
GSP duty-free treatment for that article from that BDC by no later than 
July 1 of the next calendar year.
    Under section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act, the President may waive 
the 50 percent CNL with respect to an eligible article imported from a 
BDC if the value of total imports of that article from all countries 
during the calendar year did not exceed the applicable de minimis 
amount for that year ($17 million for 2004).
    Under section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act, if imports of an 
eligible article from a BDC ceased to receive duty-free treatment due 
to exceeding a CNL in a prior year, the President may redesignate such 
an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the most recently 
completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.

II. Implementation of Competitive Need Limitations, Waivers, and 
Redesignations

    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2005, unless granted a waiver by the 
President. CNL exclusions, as well as decisions with respect to de 
minimis waivers and redesignations, will be based on full 2004 calendar 
year import statistics.

III. 2004 Import Statistics

    In order to provide notice of articles that have exceeded the CNLs 
for 2004, and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding potential 
de minimis waivers and redesignations, import statistics for 2004 are 
included with this notice. Full calendar year 2004 data for individual 
tariff subheadings may be viewed on the Web site of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/.
    The following lists contain, for each article, the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading and BDC country 
of origin, the value of imports of the article for calendar year 2004, 
and the percentage of total imports of that article from all countries. 
The flags indicate the status of GSP eligibility. Articles marked with 
an ``*'' are those that have been excluded from GSP eligibility for the 
entire past calendar year. Articles marked with a ``D'' are those that, 
based on 2004 data, may be eligible for a de minimus waiver of the 50 
percent CNL.
    List I shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that exceeded the CNL 
by having been exported in excess of $115 million, or by an amount 
greater than 50% of the total U.S. import value in 2004. Those articles 
without a flag were GSP-eligible during 2004 but stand to lose GSP 
duty-free treatment on July 1, 2005, unless a waiver is granted. Such 
waivers are required to have been previously requested in the 2004 GSP 
Annual Review.
    List II is a subset of List I. List II identifies GSP-eligible 
articles from BDCs that are above the 50 percent CNL, but that are 
eligible for a de minimis waiver of the 50 percent CNL. Each year, de 
minimis waivers are considered automatically without a petition, and 
public comments are invited.
    List III shows GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs that are 
currently not receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but that may be 
considered for redesignation based on 2004 trade data. Recommendations 
to the President on redesignations are normally made with any 
recommendations resulting from the annual review, and public comments 
are invited.
    The attached lists are computer-generated and may not include all 
articles to which the GSP CNLs may apply. All determinations and 
decisions regarding the CNLs of the GSP program are based on full 
calendar year 2004 import data with respect to each GSP-eligible 
article. Each interested party is advised to conduct its own review of 
2004 import data with regard to the possible application of GSP CNLs.

IV. Public Comments

Requirements for Submissions

    All submissions must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15 
CFR part 2007, except as modified below. Furthermore, each party 
providing comments should indicate on the first page of the submission 
its name, the relevant HTSUS subheading(s), the BDC of interest, and 
the type of action (e.g., de minimis waiver or redesignation) in which 
the party is interested.
    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as 
possible, but no later than 5 p.m., April 22, 2005. Comments submitted 
after this date may be considered at the discretion of the GSP 
Subcommittee until the time its advice is provided to the TPSC.
    In order to facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic e-mail submissions in response to 
this notice. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. 
Submissions should be single-copy transmissions in English with the 
total submission not to exceed 50 single-spaced standard letter-size 
pages and 3 megabytes as a digital file attached to an e-mail 
transmission. The e-mail transmission should use the following subject 
line: ``Comments on 2004 CNL Review,'' followed by the HTSUS subheading 
number and BDC country of origin as set out in the appropriate list. 
Documents must be submitted as either WordPerfect (``.wpd''), MSWord 
(``.doc''), or text (``.txt'') files. Documents submitted as electronic 
image files or containing imbedded images (for example, ``.jpg'', 
``.pdf'', ``.bmp'', or ``.gif'' files) will not be accepted. 
Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation are acceptable as 
QuattroPro or Excel, pre-formatted 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.
    Submissions in response to this notice 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 
version must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and 
bottom of each page of the document. The non-confidential version must 
be clearly marked ``PUBLIC'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and

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bottom of each page. Documents that are submitted without any marking 
might not be accepted or will be considered public documents.
    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 character ``P-''. The ``BC-'' or ``P-'' should be 
followed by the name of the party (government, company, union, 
association, etc.) which is submitting the comments.
    E-mail submissions should not include 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, including the sender's 
identifying information with telephone number, FAX number, and e-mail 
address. The e-mail address for these submissions is [email protected]. 
Documents not submitted in accordance with these 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.
    Public version of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for public review approximately two weeks after the due date 
by appointment in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724 F Street, NW., 
Washington, DC. Availability of documents may be ascertained, and 
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.

Jon Rosenbaum,
Acting Executive Director for GSP, GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee.
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[FR Doc. 05-6144 Filed 3-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-C