[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6820-6821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1770]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning 
Proposed Free Trade Agreement With Republic of Korea

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate negotiations on a free trade 
agreement with the Republic of Korea, request for comments, and notice 
of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The United States intends to initiate negotiations with the 
Republic of Korea (Korea) on a free trade agreement (FTA). The 
interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public 
hearing and seek public comment to assist the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) in amplifying and clarifying negotiating 
objectives for the proposed agreement and to provide advice on how 
specific goods and services and other matters should be treated under 
the proposed agreement.

DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide 
written notification of their intention, as well as their testimony, by 
March 3, 2006. A hearing will be held in Washington, DC, beginning on 
March 14, 2006 and will continue as necessary on subsequent days. 
Written comments are due by noon, March 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected] (notice 
of intent to testify and written testimony); [email protected] 
(written comments). Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143. The public 
is strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than 
by facsimile. (See requirements for submissions below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria 
Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-
3475. All other questions should be directed to Scott Ki, Senior 
Director for Korea, at (202) 395-5070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    Under section 2104 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act 
of 2002 (TPA Act) (19 U.S.C. 3804), for agreements that will be 
approved and implemented through TPA procedures, the President must 
provide the Congress with at least 90 days' written notice of his 
intent to enter into negotiations and identify the specific objectives 
for the negotiations. Before and after the submission of this notice, 
the President is to consult with appropriate Congressional committees 
and the Congressional Oversight Group (COG) regarding the negotiations. 
Under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the President must (i) afford 
interested persons an opportunity to present their views regarding any 
matter relevant to any proposed agreement, (ii) designate an agency or 
inter-agency committee to hold a public hearing regarding any proposed 
agreement, and (iii) seek the advice of the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (ITC) regarding the probable economic effects on U.S. 
industries and consumers of the removal of tariffs and non-tariff 
barriers on imports pursuant to any proposed agreement.
    On February 2, 2006, after consulting with relevant Congressional 
committees and the COG, the USTR notified the Congress that the 
President intends to initiate free trade agreement negotiations with 
Korea and identified specific objectives for the negotiations. In 
addition, the USTR has requested that the ITC provide its advice on the 
probable economic effects of the free trade agreement. This notice 
solicits views from the public on these negotiations and provides 
information on a hearing that will be conducted pursuant to the 
requirements of the Trade Act of 1974.

2. Public Comments and Testimony

    To assist the Administration as it continues to develop its 
negotiating objectives for the proposed agreement, the Chairman of the 
TPSC invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested 
persons at a public hearing. Comments and testimony may address the 
reduction or elimination of tariffs or non-tariff barriers on any 
articles provided for in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) that are products of Korea, any concession which should 
be sought by the United States, or any other matter relevant to the 
proposed agreement. The TPSC invites comments and testimony on all of 
these matters and, in particular, seeks comments and testimony 
addressed to:
    (a) General and commodity-specific negotiating objectives for the 
proposed agreement.
    (b) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of 
removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers affecting United States--
Korea trade.
    (c) Treatment of specific goods (described by HTSUS numbers) under 
the proposed agreement, including comments on:
    (1) product-specific import or export interests or barriers,
    (2) experience with particular measures that should be addressed in 
the negotiations, and
    (3) in the case of articles for which immediate elimination of 
tariffs is not appropriate, a recommended staging schedule for such 
elimination.
    (d) Adequacy of existing customs measures to ensure Korean origin 
of imported goods, and appropriate rules of origin for goods entering 
the United States under the proposed agreement.

[[Page 6821]]

    (e) Existing Korean sanitary and phytosanitary measures and 
technical barriers to trade that should be addressed in the 
negotiations.
    (f) Existing barriers to trade in services between the United 
States and Korea that should be addressed in the negotiations.
    (g) Relevant electronic commerce issues that should be addressed in 
the negotiations.
    (h) Relevant trade-related intellectual property rights issues that 
should be addressed in the negotiations.
    (i) Relevant investment issues that should be addressed in the 
negotiations.
    (j) Relevant competition-related matters that should be addressed 
in the negotiations.
    (k) Relevant government procurement issues that should be addressed 
in the negotiations.
    (l) Relevant environmental issues that should be addressed in the 
negotiations.
    (m) Relevant labor issues that should be addressed in the 
negotiations.
    Comments identifying as present or potential trade barriers laws or 
regulations that are not primarily trade-related should address the 
economic, political, and social objectives of such laws or regulations 
and the degree to which they discriminate against producers of the 
other country. At a later date, the USTR, through the TPSC, will 
publish notice of reviews regarding (a) the possible environmental 
effects of the proposed agreement and the scope of the U.S. 
environmental review of the proposed agreement, and (b) the impact of 
the proposed agreement on U.S. employment and labor markets.
    A hearing will be held beginning on March 14, 2006, in Rooms 1 and 
2, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. If necessary, the hearing will 
continue on subsequent days. Persons wishing to testify at the hearing 
must provide written notification of their intention by March 3, 2006. 
The notification should include: (1) The name, address, and telephone 
number of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a short (one or 
two paragraph) summary of the presentation, including the subject 
matter and, as applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service 
sector(s), or other subjects (such as investment, intellectual 
property, and/or government procurement) to be discussed. A copy of the 
testimony must accompany the notification. Remarks at the hearing 
should be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible 
questions from the TPSC. Persons with mobility impairments who will 
need special assistance in gaining access to the hearing should contact 
the TPSC Executive Secretary.
    Interested persons, including persons who participate in the 
hearing, may submit written comments by noon, March 24, 2006. Written 
comments may include rebuttal points demonstrating errors of fact or 
analysis not pointed out in the hearing. All written comments must 
state clearly the position taken, describe with particularity the 
supporting rationale, and be in English. The first page of written 
comments must specify the subject matter, including, as applicable, the 
product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service sector(s), or other subjects 
(such as investment, intellectual property, and/or government 
procurement).

3. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative strongly urges and prefers 
electronic (e-mail) submissions in response to this notice. In the 
event that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be 
made by facsimile.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement'' 
followed by (as appropriate) ``Notice of Intent to Testify,'' 
``Testimony,'' or ``Written Comments.'' Documents should be submitted 
as either WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting 
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro 
or Excel. If any document submitted electronically contains business 
confidential information, 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 submitter. Persons who 
make submissions by e-mail should not provide separate cover letters; 
information that might appear in a cover letter should be included in 
the submission itself. 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.
    Written comments, notice of testimony, and testimony will be placed 
in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except 
business confidential information exempt from public inspection in 
accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential information 
submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of each page, including any cover 
letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a non-confidential 
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and non-
confidential summaries shall be available for public inspection in the 
USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public, by 
appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled at 
least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
    General information concerning the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site 
(http://www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E6-1770 Filed 2-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P