[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48623-48626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16405]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2005 Annual Review for Products

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
received petitions in connection with the 2005 annual review to modify 
the list of products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under 
the GSP program and to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary 
developing countries because of country practices. The list of country 
practice petitions accepted for review will be announced in the Federal 
Register at a later date. This notice announces the product petitions 
that are accepted for further review in the 2005 GSP Annual Review, and 
sets forth the schedule for comment and public hearing on these 
petitions, for requesting participation in the hearing, and for 
submitting pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 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.

DATES: The GSP regulations (15 CFR Part 2007) provide the schedule of 
dates for conducting an annual review unless otherwise specified in a 
Federal Register notice. The current revised schedule follows. 
Notification of any other changes will be given in the Federal 
Register.
    September 12, 2005: Due date for requests to appear at the USTR 
Public Hearing and submission of pre-hearing briefs.
    September 12, 2005: Due date for providing the name, address, 
telephone, fax, e-mail address and organization of witnesses.
    (September 29, 2005: U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) 
scheduled hearings on economic effect on U.S. industries.)
    September 30, 2005: USTR's Public Hearing to be held at U.S. 
International Trade Commission, Main Hearing Room, 500 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20436, beginning at 10 a.m. Hearing will focus on all 
products.
    October 21, 2005: Due date for submission of post-hearing and 
rebuttal briefs.
    November 2005: USITC scheduled to publish report on products of 
case nos. 2005-01, and 2005-09 through 2005-13. Comments on USITC 
report on these products due 10 days after USITC date of publication.
    February 2006: USITC will issue a second report on watch case nos. 
2005-02 through 2005-08. Comments on this USITC report due 10 days 
after USITC date of publication.
    June 30, 2006: Modifications to the list of articles eligible for 
duty-free treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2005 Annual Review 
will be announced on or about June 30, 2006, in the Federal Register, 
and any changes will take effect on the effective date announced.

[[Page 48624]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP provides for the duty-free 
importation of designated articles when imported from designated 
beneficiary developing countries. The GSP 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.
    In a Federal Register notice dated May 9, 2005, USTR announced the 
deadline for the filing of product and country practice petitions for 
the 2005 GSP Annual Review to be June 15, 2005 (70 FR 24460). The 
product petitions received requested changes in the list of eligible 
products by adding or by waiving the ``competitive need limitations'' 
(CNLs) for a country for an eligible article.
    The interagency GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff 
Committee (TPSC) has reviewed the product petitions, and the TPSC has 
decided to initiate a full review of the product petitions listed in 
Annex I. Annex I to this notice sets forth, for each type of change 
requested: the case number, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTS) subheading number, a brief description of the 
product (see the HTS for an authoritative description available on the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Web site (http://www.usitc.gov/taffairs)), and the petitioner for each petition included 
in this review. Acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate 
any opinion with respect to the disposition on the merits of the 
petition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petitions have been 
found eligible for review by the TPSC and that such review will take 
place.

Opportunities for Public Comment and Inspection of Comments

    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC invites comments in support of or 
in opposition to any petition which is included in this Annual Review 
(Annex I). Submissions should comply with 15 CFR part 2007, except as 
modified below. All submissions should identify the subject article(s) 
in terms of the case number and HTS subheading number as shown in Annex 
I.

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. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. These 
submissions should be single-copy transmissions in English with the 
total submission not to exceed 50 single-spaced standard letter-size 
pages. E-mail submissions should use the following subject line: ``2005 
GSP Annual Review'' followed by the Case Number and HTS subheading 
number found in the Annex I (for example, 2005-07 9102.19.40) and, as 
appropriate ``Written Comments'', ``Notice of Intent to Testify'', 
``Pre-hearing brief'', ``Post-hearing brief'' or ``Comments on USITC 
Advice''. (For example, an e-mail subject line might read ``2005-07 
9102.19.40 Written Comments''.) Documents must be submitted in English 
in one of the following formats: WordPerfect (.WPD), MSWord (.DOC), or 
text (.TXT) files. Documents may not be submitted as electronic image 
files or contain imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``.TIF'', 
``.PDF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF''). Supporting documentation submitted as 
spreadsheets are acceptable as Excel files, 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.
    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 
submission must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of each page of the document. The non-confidential version 
must also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each page (either 
``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''). 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 characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be 
followed by the name of the party (government, company, union, 
association, etc.) which is making the submission.
    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 e-mail 
address and other identifying information. 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 versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for review approximately two weeks after the relevant due 
date by appointment in the USTR public reading room, 1724 F Street, 
NW., Washington, DC. 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.

Notice of Public Hearing

    A hearing will be held by the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC on 
September 30, 2005, beginning at 10 a.m. at the U.S. International 
Trade Commission, Main Hearing Room, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20436. The hearing will be open to the public and a transcript of the 
hearing will be made available for public inspection or can be 
purchased from the reporting company. No electronic media coverage will 
be allowed.
    All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit, following the above ``Requirements for 
Submissions'', the name, address, telephone number, and facsimile 
number and e-mail address, if available, of the witness(es) 
representing their organization to Marideth Sandler, the Executive 
Director of the GSP Program by 5 p.m., September 12, 2005. Requests to 
present oral testimony in connection with the public hearing must be 
accompanied by a written brief or statement, in English, and also must 
be received by 5 p.m., September 12, 2005. Oral testimony before the 
GSP Subcommittee will be limited to five-minute presentations that 
summarize or supplement information contained in briefs or statements 
submitted for the record. Post-hearing briefs or statements will be 
accepted if they conform with the regulations cited above and are 
submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., October 21, 2005. Parties not wishing 
to appear at the public hearing may submit post-hearing written briefs 
or statements, in English, by 5 p.m., October 21, 2005.
    In accordance with sections 503(a)(1)(A) and 503(e) of the 1974 Act 
and the authority delegated by the President, pursuant to section 
332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, the U.S. Trade Representative has 
requested that the USITC provide its advice on the

[[Page 48625]]

probable economic effect of the following actions on U.S. industries 
producing like or directly competitive articles and on consumers, as 
appropriate: (1) The elimination of U.S. import duties for all 
beneficiary developing countries; (2) the restoration of a country for 
eligibility for duty-free treatment under the GSP for such article; (3) 
whether any industry in the United States is likely to be adversely 
affected by a waiver of the competitive need limits specified in 
section 503(d)(1) of the 1974 Act for the country specified; and (4) 
whether designation of certain watches will cause material injury to 
certain manufacturing and assembly operations in the United States or 
U.S. insular possessions.
    Comments by interested persons on the USITC Report regarding 
Products of Case Nos. 2005-01, and 2005-09 through 2005-13, prepared as 
part of the product review, should be submitted by 5 p.m., 10 days 
after the date of USITC publication of its report in November. Comments 
by interested persons on the second USITC Report on Watch Case Nos. 
2005-02 through 2005-08, also prepared as part of the product review, 
should be submitted by 5 p.m., 10 days after date of its publication in 
February 2006.

Marideth Sandler,
Executive Director, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program, 
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P

[[Page 48626]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN18AU05.017

[FR Doc. 05-16405 Filed 8-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-C