[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20597-20598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8015]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. Morocco FTA-103-11]


Effect of Modifications to the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and request for written 
submissions.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request on April 14, 2005, from the 
Acting United States Trade Representative (USTR) under authority 
delegated by the President and pursuant to section 104 of the United 
States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 
note), the Commission instituted investigation No. Morocco FTA-103-11, 
Effect of Modifications to the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 15, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information may be obtained from Janis 
Summers, Office of Tariff Affairs (202) 205-2605, 
[email protected]), and Douglas Newman, Office of Industries 
(202) 205-3328, [email protected]); for information on legal 
aspects, contact William Gearhart of the Office of the General Counsel 
(202) 205-3091, [email protected]). The media should contact 
Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations (202) 205-1819, 
[email protected]).
    Background: On August 17, 2004, the President signed the United 
States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the Act). The 
Act approved the Agreement and authorized the President to proclaim the 
tariff and other customs treatment set forth therein. As required by 
section 2104(f) of the Trade Act of 2002, the Commission submitted its 
advice concerning the likely impact of the Agreement in June 2004.
    According to USTR, the United States and Morocco (``the Parties'') 
drafted the Agreement based on the assumption that it would enter into 
force at the beginning of a calendar year, and the date on which the 
Agreement was to enter into force was January 1, 2005. Due to 
subsequent events, the Parties agreed that the date of entry into force 
of the Agreement should be delayed until July 1, 2005. Accordingly, the 
Parties agreed to amend the Agreement so that the first stage of 
negotiated tariff reductions and related measures will become effective 
on that date, with the second stage starting on January 1, 2006. In 
addition, the Parties agreed to amend the Agreement so that the in-
quota quantities of the tariff-rate quotas for agricultural and apparel 
goods and the quantities of textile and apparel goods that receive 
preferential tariff treatment, as set out in the Agreement, be reduced 
by fifty percent for the period July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005, 
after which the previously agreed treatment would be accorded.
    According to USTR, the Parties will exchange letters to modify the 
Agreement as specified in the preceding paragraph in order to effect a 
date of entry into force of July 1, 2005; no other amendments to the 
Agreement will be made.
    Section 201 of the Act authorizes the President, subject to the 
consultation and layover requirements of section 104 of the Act, to 
proclaim such tariff modifications and other customs treatment as are 
necessary to carry out or apply specified provisions of the Agreement 
with Morocco. One of the requirements set out in section 104 of the Act 
is that the President obtain advice from the United States 
International Trade Commission.
    USTR asked that the Commission provide advice on the probable 
effect of the modifications to the Agreement described above, with a 
view toward identifying any changes in the Commission's previous advice 
concerning the impact of the Agreement.
    As requested, the Commission will submit its advice to USTR by 
April 28, 2005, and shortly thereafter issue a public version of the 
report with any confidential business information deleted.
    The Commission has styled this as a section 103 investigation to 
make it part of a series of reports, generally submitted under section 
103 of the U.S. implementing legislation for a free trade agreement 
(e.g., section 103 of the

[[Page 20598]]

NAFTA Implementation Act, section 103 of the United States-Singapore 
Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act), in which the Commission 
provides advice to the President on the effect of a modification to the 
agreement. This investigation is the 11th in a series of such 
investigations.
    Written Submissions: No public hearing is planned. However, 
interested parties are invited to submit written statements concerning 
the matters to be addressed by the Commission in this investigation. 
Submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, United States 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. 
In view of the short amount of time that the Commission has to provide 
its advice, the Commission asks that any written statements related to 
the Commission's report be submitted to the Commission at the earliest 
practical date and no later than the close of business on April 25, 
2005. The Commission will consider submissions received by that date.
    All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 
201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 
201.8). Section 201.8 of the rules requires that a signed original (or 
copy designated as an original) and fourteen (14) copies of each 
document be filed. In the event that confidential treatment of the 
document is requested, at least four (4) additional copies must be 
filed, in which the confidential business information must be deleted 
(see the following paragraph for further information regarding 
confidential business information). The Commission's rules do not 
authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means, except to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of 
the rules (see Handbook for Electronic Filing Procedures, ftp://ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/electronic_filing_handbook.pdf). Persons 
with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Secretary 
(202) 205-2000 or [email protected]).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information must 
also conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the 
rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages 
be clearly marked as to whether they are the ``confidential'' or 
``nonconfidential'' version, and that the confidential business 
information be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written 
submissions, except for confidential business information, will be made 
available in the Office of the Secretary to the Commission for 
inspection by interested parties.
    The Commission may include some or all of the confidential business 
information submitted in the course of this investigation in the report 
it sends to the USTR and the President. As requested by USTR, the 
Commission will publish a public version of the report. However, in the 
public version, the Commission will not publish confidential business 
information in a manner that would reveal the operations of the firm 
supplying the information.
    The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the 
Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) http://edis.usitc.gov. Hearing 
impaired individuals may obtain information on this matter by 
contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on (202) 205-1810. Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
(202) 205-2000.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: April 18, 2005.
Marilyn R. Abbott
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 05-8015 Filed 4-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P