[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 193 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58502-58503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20089]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Request For Public 
Comments

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Legislation authorizing the Generalized System of Preferences 
(GSP) program expires on December 31, 2006. As Congress considers re-
authorization of the program, the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) 
is reviewing whether the Administration's operation of the program 
should be changed so that benefits are not focused on trade from a few 
countries and developing countries that traditionally have not been 
major traders under the program receive benefits. The TPSC will conduct 
a public hearing and is requesting public comment on this subject.

DATES: The schedule for the public hearing and solicitation of public 
comments follows:
    October 21, 2005: Deadline for requests to appear at the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee Public Hearing and deadline for written pre-
hearing brief or statement. Request to include name, address, 
telephone, fax, e-mail address, and witness's organization, if any.
    November 3, 2005: Public Hearing: Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, 
NW., Washington, DC (If necessary, the hearing will continue on the 
next day.) November 14, 2005: Deadline for submission of written public 
comments and post-hearing and rebuttal briefs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The TPSC is seeking written comments and 
testimony at a public hearing on the following issues: (1) Whether 
operation of the GSP program should be modified so that beneficiaries 
that have not previously been major traders under the program increase 
their participation, which will assist them in using trade to promote 
their economic development; and (2) Whether some beneficiaries are 
sufficiently competitive with respect to trade in eligible products and 
have expanded exports to the extent that they should no longer be 
designated as GSP beneficiaries.
    The TPSC is also seeking comments on the period for which the 
Congress should reauthorize the GSP program. Note: the TPSC is not 
seeking information of the type provided in connection with its annual 
review of product coverage and competitive need limits under the GSP 
program.
    In 2004, the top ten GSP beneficiary developing countries by trade 
volume (not including trade in petroleum products) were India, Brazil, 
Thailand, Indonesia, Turkey, Philippines, South Africa, Venezuela, 
Argentina, and Russia.

Notice of Public Hearing

    The TPSC will hold a hearing on November 3, 2005, beginning at 10 
a.m., in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC. If 
necessary, the hearing will continue on the next day. 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.
    Each interested party wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit, following the ``Requirements for Submissions'' 
below, the name, address, telephone number, facsimile number, and e-
mail address, if available, of the witness(es) representing the party 
to Marideth Sandler, Executive Director of the GSP Program and Chairman 
of the TPSC GSP Subcommittee, by 5 p.m., October 21, 2005. Requests to 
present oral testimony in connection with the public hearing must be 
accompanied by a written brief or statement, in English,

[[Page 58503]]

and also must be received by 5 p.m., October 21, 2005. Oral testimony 
before the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC 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 
below and are submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., November 14, 2005. 
Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit post-
hearing written briefs or statements, in English, by 5 p.m., November 
14, 2005.

Requirements for Submission

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly urges and prefers electronic e-mail submissions only 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 20 single-spaced 
standard letter-size pages. E-mail submissions should use the following 
subject line: ``2005 GSP Review'' and, as appropriate ``Notice of 
Intent to Testify'' or Written Comments.'' Documents must be submitted 
in English in one of the following formats: MSWord (.DOC), WordPerfect 
(.WPD), 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 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.) 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Regina 
Teeter, (202) 395-9681. All other questions should be directed to 
Marideth Sandler, Executive Director of the GSP Program, Office of the 
United States Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-220, 
Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-6971.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 05-20089 Filed 10-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W5-P