[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10999-11000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2995]


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

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Initiation of Environmental Review 
of Proposed Free Trade Agreement Between the United States and Korea; 
Public Comments on Scope of Environmental Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: This publication gives notice that, pursuant to the Trade Act 
of 2002, and consistent with Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) (Nov. 
18, 1999) and its implementing guidelines (65 FR 79442), the Office of 
the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an environmental review of the 
proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and 
Korea. The TPSC is requesting written comments from the public on what 
should be included in the scope of the environmental review, including 
the potential environmental effects that might flow from the free trade 
agreement and the potential implications for U.S. environmental laws 
and regulations, and identification of complementarities between trade 
and environmental objectives such as the promotion of sustainable 
development. The TPSC also welcomes public views on appropriate 
methodologies and sources of data for conducting the review. Persons 
submitting written comments should provide as much detail as possible 
on the degree to which the subject matter they propose for inclusion in 
the review may raise significant environmental issues in the context of 
the negotiation.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than March 31, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: [email protected]. 
Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
public comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, TPSC, Office 
of the USTR, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, telephone (202) 
395-3475. Questions concerning the environmental review should be 
addressed to Russell Smith or David J. Brooks, Environment and Natural 
Resources Section, USTR, telephone (202) 395-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background Information

    On February 2, 2006, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the 
Trade Act of 2002, the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador 
Robert Portman, notified Congress of the President's intent to enter 
into trade negotiations with the Republic of Korea. Ambassador Portman 
outlined specific U.S. objectives for these negotiations in the 
notification letters to Congress. Copies of the letters are available 
at: http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Republic_of_Korea_FTA/Section_Index.html.
    The TPSC also has invited the public to provide written comments 
and/or oral testimony at a public hearing that will take place on March 
14, 2006, to assist USTR in amplifying and clarifying negotiating 
objectives for the proposed FTA and to provide advice on how specific 
goods and services and other matters should be treated under the 
proposed agreement (see 71 FR 6820).
    Korea is the world's tenth largest economy and our seventh largest 
goods

[[Page 11000]]

trading partner. Two-way goods trade between the United States and 
Korea has grown significantly in the past decade, and totaled more than 
$72 billion in 2005. The increased access to Korea's market that an FTA 
would provide would further boost trade in both goods and services, 
enhancing employment opportunities in both countries. An FTA also would 
encourage additional foreign investment between the United States and 
Korea. A free trade agreement with Korea would serve to strengthen our 
strategic alliance with Korea and would underscore U.S. commitment to 
promote strong economic relations with East Asia.

2. Environmental Review

    USTR, through the TPSC, will perform an environmental review of the 
agreement pursuant to the Trade Act of 2002 and consistent with 
Executive Order 13141 (64 FR 63169) and its implementing guidelines (65 
FR 79442).
    Environmental reviews are used to identify potentially significant, 
reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts (both positive and 
negative), and information from the review can help facilitate 
consideration of appropriate responses where impacts are identified. 
Reviews address potential environmental impacts of the proposed 
agreement and potential implications for environmental laws and 
regulations. The focus of the review is on impacts in the United 
States, although global and transboundary impacts may be considered, 
where appropriate and prudent.

3. 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.
    Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following 
subject line: ``FTA between the United States and Korea Environmental 
Review'' followed by ``Written Comments.'' Documents should be 
submitted as a WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) file. Supporting 
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro 
or Excel. For any document containing business confidential information 
submitted electronically, 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 submitted in response to this request 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 nonconfidential 
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and 
nonconfidential 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.
    USTR also welcomes and will take into account the public comments 
on environmental issues submitted in response to a previous notice--the 
Federal Register notice dated February 9, 2006 (71 FR 6820)--requesting 
comments from the public to assist USTR in formulating positions and 
proposals with respect to all aspects of the negotiation of an FTA 
between the United States and Korea, including environmental issues. 
These comments will also be made available for public inspection.
    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,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
 [FR Doc. E6-2995 Filed 3-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P