[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69621-69622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22749]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments Concerning Compliance With 
Telecommunications Trade Agreements

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and reply comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``section 1377''), the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is 
reviewing and requests comments on: The operation, effectiveness, and 
implementation of and compliance with WTO agreements affecting market 
opportunities for telecommunications products and services of the 
United States; the telecommunications provisions of the North American 
Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''), the Chile, Singapore, and Australia 
Free Trade Agreements (``FTA'') and any other FTA coming into force on 
or before January 1, 2006; and other telecommunications trade 
agreements. The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2006.

DATES: Comments are due by noon on December 9, 2005 and Reply Comments 
by noon on January 6, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, ATTN: Section 1377 Comments, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arrow Augerot, Office of Industry, 
Market Access, and Telecommunications (202) 395-6099; or Amy Karpel, 
Office of the General Counsel (202) 395-5804.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1377 requires the USTR to review 
annually the operations and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements 
regarding

[[Page 69622]]

telecommunications products and services of the United States that are 
in force with respect to the United States. The purpose of the review 
is to determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a country that 
has entered into a telecommunications trade agreement with the United 
States is inconsistent with the terms of such agreement or otherwise 
denies to U.S. firms, within the context of the terms of such 
agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities. For the current 
review, the USTR seeks comments on:
    (1) Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is 
inconsistent with its commitments under WTO agreements affecting market 
opportunities for telecommunications products and services, e.g., the 
WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''), including the 
Annex on Telecommunications and any scheduled commitments including the 
Reference Paper on Pro-Competitive Regulatory Principles;
    (2) Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with its 
telecommunications commitments or obligations under NAFTA;
    (3) Whether Chile, Singapore, or Australia, or any other FTA 
partner with an Agreement that comes into force on or before January 1, 
2006 has failed to comply with its telecommunications commitments or 
obligations under the respective FTA between the United States and that 
country (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Section_Index.html 
for U.S. FTAs);
    (4) Whether other countries have failed to comply with their 
commitments under additional telecommunications agreements with the 
United States, e.g., Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for 
Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (see http://www.tcc.mac.doc.gov for a collection of trade agreements, including 
ones related to telecommunications); and
    (5) Whether there remain outstanding issues from previous section 
1377 reviews on those countries or issues previously cited (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Sectors/Telecom-E-commerce/Section_1377/Section_Index.html for the 2005 review);

Public Comment and Reply Comment: Requirements for Submission

    All comments must be in English, identify on the first page of the 
comments the telecommunications trade agreement(s) discussed therein, 
and be submitted by noon on December 16, 2005. Reply comments must also 
be in English and be submitted by noon on January 13, 2006. Reply 
comments should only address issues raised by the comments.
    In order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration of comments and reply comments, USTR has arranged to 
accept submissions in electronic format (e-mail). Comments should be 
submitted electronically to [email protected]. An automatic reply 
confirming receipt of e-mail submission will be sent. E-mail 
submissions in Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect are preferred. If a 
word processing application other than those two is used, please 
include in your submission the specific application used. For any 
document submitted electronically containing business confidential 
information, the file name of the business confidential version should 
begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page containing business 
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers must also submit a 
public version of their comments. The file name of the public version 
should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be 
followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or 
reply comments. Interested persons who make submissions electronically 
should not provide separate cover letters; rather, information that 
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission 
itself. Similarly, 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. All non-confidential comments and reply 
comments will be placed on the USTR Web site, http://www.USTR.gov, and 
in the USTR Reading Room for inspection shortly after the filing 
deadline, except business confidential information exempt from public 
inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6.
    We strongly urge use of the electronic filing procedures, if at all 
possible. If an e-mail submission is impossible, 15 copies of both the 
business confidential and the public versions must be delivered via 
private commercial courier, and arrangements must be made with Ms. Blue 
prior to delivery for their receipt. Ms. Blue should be contacted at 
(202) 395-3475. Because comments and reply comments will be posted on 
USTR's Web site, those persons not availing themselves of electronic 
filing must submit their 15 copies with a diskette.
    An appointment to review the comments may be made by calling the 
USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to 
the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, and is located in Room 3 of 1724 F Street, NW.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 05-22749 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P