[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 10093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2810]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Termination of Sanctions Imposed on Certain Member States of the 
European Communities Pursuant to Title VII of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Termination of sanctions imposed on certain Member States of 
the European Communities pursuant to Title VII of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative has determined to 
terminate sanctions imposed on certain EC Member States (Austria, 
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the 
Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
    This determination is based on assurances from the European 
Communities that EC telecommunications operators are no longer subject 
to discriminatory requirements, and that purchasing by EC 
telecommunications operators are now based solely on commercial 
considerations, not EC procurement rules. The termination of sanctions 
is effective on March 1, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Heilman Grier, Senior Procurement 
Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 
395-9476 or [email protected].

Determination Relating to Sanctions Imposed Under Title VII of the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988

    On May 28, 1993, the United States imposed sanctions on certain 
Member States of the European Communities (EC) under Title VII of the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2515, as 
amended) for maintaining, in government procurement of 
telecommunications goods, a significant and persistent pattern or 
practice of discrimination against U.S. products or services that 
results in identifiable harm to U.S. businesses (58 FR 31136). In June 
1993, the EC imposed equivalent countermeasures against the United 
States.
    On March 10, 1994, then-USTR Michael Kantor terminated the 
sanctions against the Federal Republic of Germany based on a 
determination that Germany had eliminated the discrimination identified 
under Title VII (59 FR 11360). The sanctions currently apply to 11 EC 
Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, 
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
    On March 31, 2004, the European Communities adopted new EC 
Directives on Government Procurement, which formally exclude 
telecommunications operators from their scope. I have received official 
assurances from the EC that the purchasing by EC telecommunications 
operators is no longer subject to EC procurement rules, but to purely 
commercial considerations, and that the EC will also remove its 
countermeasures against the United States.
    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the President of the 
United States in Presidential Determination No. 93-16, I have 
determined that the EC Member States referenced above have eliminated 
the discrimination identified under Title VII and have therefore 
terminated sanctions effective on March 1, 2006.

Rob Portman,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. E6-2810 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P