[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 155 (Friday, August 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46250-46251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13117]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Probable Effect of Modifications to the United States-Singapore 
Free Trade Agreement To Accelerate the Reduction of Tariffs on Certain 
Articles and Modify the Rule of Origin Rule for One Article

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting 
public input as to the probable effect certain modifications to tariff 
treatment of imports under the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
Agreement on total U.S. trade, domestic producers, and workers in the 
affected industries. Specifically, USTR is evaluating proposals to 
accelerate the planned reduction in duties on nutritionals, peanuts, 
and polycarbonates of Singapore and to modify the rule of origin for 
photocopiers of Singapore. In addition, USTR is soliciting proposals 
regarding what sort of concessions Singapore, which does not impose 
duties on imports from the United States, could make to maintain the 
balance of concessions if these tariff acceleration requests are 
approved.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information may be obtained from Jeri 
Jensen, Office of Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Pharmaceutical 
Policy (202-395-6851). The electronic mail address for any submissions 
is [email protected]. General information about USTR may also be 
obtained by accessing its Internet server (http://www.ustr.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions of the United 
States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA), the United States and 
Singapore have agreed to enter into consultations to consider 
acceleration of the reduction or elimination of tariffs on certain 
items and a change to the rule of origin for an item. In accordance 
with Article 2.2.3 of the United State-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, 
the Parties are authorized to accelerate tariff reduction or 
elimination on a faster schedule than required in the Agreement. In 
accordance with Article 3.18.2 of the USSFTA, the United States and 
Singapore consult regularly to discuss necessary amendments to the 
USSFTA's rules of origin. Article 20.1.2(d) of the USSFTA authorizes 
the Joint Committee, which is composed of the designates of the U.S. 
Trade Representative and Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry, to 
consider and adopt amendments to the agreement. Under Section 201(b) of 
United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Act), 
19 U.S.C. 3805, note, the President is authorized to proclaim 
modifications in duty treatment or continuation of any duty that the 
President considers to be necessary or appropriate to maintain the 
general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions, 
subject to the Act's consultation and layover requirements. In 
accordance with the Act, USTR will request advice regarding the 
potential impact of the proposed actions from the U.S. International 
Trade Commission.
    USTR is specifically interested in determining the probable 
economic effect of accelerating the reduction of U.S. duties on three 
products and of changing the USSFTA rules of origin for photocopiers 
(HS 9009.1200) on domestic industries producing like or directly 
competitive articles, workers in these industries, and on consumers of 
the affected goods. The three products potentially subject to 
accelerated tariff reduction are nutritionals ``preparations for infant 
use, put up for retail sale'' (HS 1901.10), peanuts in snack products 
(HS 2008.11), and polycarbonates (HS 3907.40.00). A list of the 
proposed modifications to the tariff reduction schedules is available 
from the Office of Southeast Asia and Pacific and Pharmaceutical 
Policy.
    Written Submissions: No public hearing is being scheduled in 
connection with this request. However, interested parties are invited 
to submit written statements concerning any economic effects of the 
proposed modifications. In order to facilitate prompt consideration, 
USTR requests electronic mail (e-mail) submission of any statements 
submitted in response to this notice. E-mail submissions should be 
single copy transmissions, and use the following e-mail subject line: 
``Acceleration in Duty Reduction Under USSFTA.'' Documents should be 
submitted as WordPerfect (``.WPD''), MS Word (``.DOC''), or text 
(``.TXT'') files. Documents should not be submitted as electronic image 
files or contain imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``.TIF'', 
``.PDF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF'') as these files are often excessively 
large. Supporting documentation submitted in spreadsheets form is 
acceptable in Quattro Pro or Excel, pre-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. E-mail submissions should not 
include separate cover letters or messages in the body 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 identity of the submitter and the submitter's e-mail 
address.
    Commercial or financial information that a submitter desires USTR 
to hold in confidence must be submitted on separate sheets of paper, 
each clearly marked at the top and bottom as ``Confidential Business 
Information''. For any document containing business confidential 
information submitted as an electronic file attached to an e-mail 
transmission, in addition to the proper marking at the top and bottom 
of each page as previously specified, 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 person 
or party submitting the document. All written submissions, except for 
confidential business information, will be made available for 
inspection by interested parties. To ensure consideration by USTR, all 
statements must be received no later than the close of business on 
September 15, 2006. All submissions should be submitted by electronic 
mail (e-mail) to: [email protected]. Persons with mobility 
impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to USTR 
or who are otherwise unable to submit comments by e-mail should

[[Page 46251]]

contact the USTR Office of Southeast Asia and the Pacific and 
Pharmaceutical Policy at 202-395-3644.

Barbara Weisel,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Office of Southeast Asia and the 
Pacific and Pharmaceutical Policy.
[FR Doc. E6-13117 Filed 8-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P