[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2033-2035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-474]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2006 Annual Review for Products and Country Practices

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
received petitions in connection with the 2006 GSP Annual Review to 
modify the list of products that are eligible for duty-free treatment 
under the GSP program and to modify the GSP status of certain GSP 
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices. This 
notice announces the product and country practice petitions that are 
accepted for further review in the 2006 GSP Annual Review, and sets 
forth the schedule for comment and public hearing on these petitions, 
for requesting participation in the hearing, and for submitting pre-
hearing and post-hearing briefs. The list of accepted petitions is 
available at: http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/Section_Index.html. This notice also announces closure of 
the review for case 003-CP-06 (formerly case 011-CP-05), Protection of 
Worker Rights in Uganda.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-220, Washington, DC 20508. 
The telephone number is (202) 395-6971.

DATES: The GSP regulations (15 CFR Part 2007) provide the schedule of 
dates for conducting an annual review unless otherwise specified in a 
Federal Register notice. The current schedule follows. Notification of 
any other changes will be given in the Federal Register.
    February 2, 2007 Due date for submission of pre-hearing briefs and 
requests to appear at the GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing that include 
the name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail address and organization of 
witnesses.
    February 16, 2007 GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing, Rooms 1 and 2, 
1724 F St NW., Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 9:30 am.
    February 22, 2007 U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)'s 
scheduled hearings on whether any industry in the United States is 
likely to be adversely affected by the waivers proposed by petition.)
    March 9, 2007 Due date for submission of post-hearing briefs.
    April 2007 USITC scheduled to publish report on products of cases 
2006-01 to 2006-08. Comments on USITC reports on these products due 10 
days after USITC date of publication.
    June 30, 2007 Modifications to the list of articles eligible for 
duty-free treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2006 Annual Review 
will be announced on or about June 30, 2007, in the Federal Register, 
and any changes will take effect on the effective date announced.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP provides for the duty-free 
importation of designated articles when imported from designated 
beneficiary developing countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of 
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended (the ``1974 
Act''), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of 
November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and 
Presidential Proclamations.

A. Petitions Requesting Modifications of Product Eligibility

    In a Federal Register notice dated June 29, 2006, USTR announced 
that the

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deadline for the filing of product petitions, other than those 
requesting waivers of ``competitive need limitations'' (CNLs), and 
country practice petitions for the 2006 GSP Annual Review was July 20, 
2006 (71 FR 37129). The deadline for the filing of product petitions 
requesting waivers of the CNLs was announced to be November 17, 2006. 
The product petitions received have requested changes in the list of 
GSP-eligible products by adding new products or by waiving the CNL for 
a country with respect to an eligible article.
    The interagency GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff 
Committee (TPSC) has reviewed the product petitions, and the TPSC has 
decided to accept for review the product petitions listed in ``List of 
Petitions Accepted in the 2006 GSP Annual Review'' posted on the USTR 
Web site. That list sets forth, for each type of change requested: The 
case number, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) 
subheading number, a brief description of the product (see the HTS for 
an authoritative description available on the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (USITC) Web site (http://www.usitc.gov/tariffschedule), and 
the petitioner for each petition included in this review. Acceptance of 
a petition for review does not indicate any opinion with respect to the 
disposition on the merits of the petition. Acceptance indicates only 
that the listed petitions have been found eligible for review by the 
TPSC and that such review will take place.

B. Petitions for Review Regarding Country Practices

    Pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.0(b), the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) has recommended, and the TPSC has 
accepted or continued the review of several country practice petitions 
(see ``List of Petitions Accepted in the 2006 GSP Annual Review'' 
posted on the USTR Web site). Acceptance of a petition for review does 
not indicate any opinion with respect to the disposition on the merits 
of the petition. Acceptance indicates only that the petition has been 
found eligible for review by the TPSC and that such review will take 
place.

C. Decision To Close a Review of Uganda Worker Rights Country Practices 
Petition

    In the 2006 GSP Annual Review, the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC is 
conducting ongoing reviews of petitions concerning the country 
practices of certain beneficiary developing countries of the GSP 
program. In the 2005 GSP Annual Review, the TPSC accepted for review a 
country practices petition regarding worker rights in Uganda (case 011-
CP-05). The petitioner sought to remove Uganda's eligibility for GSP 
benefits. Uganda has made considerable progress over the last year in 
improving its protection of labor rights. Based on that progress, the 
TPSC has decided to close the review of case 003-CP-06, Protection of 
Worker Rights in Uganda (formerly case 011-CP-05).

Opportunities for Public Comment and Inspection of Comments

    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC invites comments in support of or 
in opposition to any petition which has been accepted for the 2006 GSP 
Annual Review. Submissions should comply with 15 CFR part 2007, except 
as modified below. All submissions should identify the subject 
article(s) in terms of the case number and HTS subheading number, if 
applicable, as shown in the ``List of Petitions Accepted in the 2006 
GSP Annual Review'' available at: http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/Section_Index.html.

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. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. These 
submissions should be single-copy transmissions in English with the 
total submission not to exceed 30 single-spaced standard letter-size 
pages. E-mail submissions should use the following subject line: ``2006 
GSP Annual Review'' followed by the Case Number and, if a product 
petition, the HTS subheading number found in the ``List of Petitions 
Accepted in the 2006 GSP Annual Review'' (for example, 2006-05 
7202.99.20) and, as appropriate ``Written Comments'', ``Notice of 
Intent to Testify'', ``Pre-hearing brief'', ``Post-hearing brief'' or 
``Comments on USITC Advice''. (For example, an e-mail subject line 
might read ``2006-05 7202.99.20 Written Comments''.) Documents must be 
submitted in English in one of the following formats: MSWord (.DOC), or 
text (.TXT) files. Documents may not be submitted as electronic image 
files or contain imbedded images (for example, ``.JPG'', ``TIF'', 
``.PDF'', ``BMP'', or ``GIF''). Supporting documentation submitted as 
spreadsheets are acceptable as Excel files, 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.
    If the submission contains business confidential information, a 
non-confidential version of the submission must also be submitted that 
indicates where confidential information was redacted by inserting 
asterisks where material was deleted. In addition, the confidential 
submission must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of each page of the document. The non-confidential version 
must also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each page (either 
``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''). Documents that are 
submitted without any marking might not be accepted or will be 
considered public documents.
    For any document containing business confidential information 
submitted as an electronic attached file to an e-mail transmission, 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 party (government, company, union, 
association, etc.) which is making the submission.
    E-mail submissions should not include separate cover letters or 
messages in the message area 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 sender's e-mail 
address and other identifying information. The e-mail address for these 
submissions is [email protected]. Documents not submitted in 
accordance with these instructions might not be considered in this 
review. If unable to provide submissions by e-mail, please contact the 
GSP Subcommittee to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
    Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for review approximately two weeks after the relevant due 
date by appointment in the USTR public reading room, 1724 F Street, 
NW., Washington, DC. Appointments may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon 
and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling (202) 395-6186.

Notice of Public Hearing

    A hearing will be held by the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC on 
February 16, 2007, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Office of the U.S. 
Trade Representative, 1724 F St., NW., Washington, DC 20508. The 
hearing will be open to the public and a transcript of the hearing will 
be made available for public inspection or

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can be purchased from the reporting company. No electronic media 
coverage will be allowed.
    All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit, following the above ``Requirements for 
Submissions'', the name, address, telephone number, and facsimile 
number and e-mail address, if available, of the witness(es) 
representing their organization to Marideth Sandler, Executive Director 
of the GSP Program by 5 p.m., February 2, 2007. Requests to present 
oral testimony in connection with the public hearing must be 
accompanied by a written brief or statement, in English, and also must 
be received by 5 p.m., February 2, 2007. Oral testimony before the GSP 
Subcommittee will be limited to five-minute presentations that 
summarize or supplement information contained in briefs or statements 
submitted for the record. Post-hearing briefs or statements will be 
accepted if they conform with the regulations cited above and are 
submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., March 9, 2007. Parties not wishing to 
appear at the public hearing may submit pre-hearing briefs or 
statements, in English, by 5 p.m., February 2, 2007, and post-hearing 
written briefs or statements, in English, by 5 p.m., March 9, 2007.
    In accordance with sections 503(d)(1)(A) of the 1974 Act and the 
authority delegated by the President, pursuant to section 332(g) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, the U.S. Trade Representative has requested that 
the USITC provide its advice on whether any industry in the United 
States is likely to be adversely affected by a waiver of the 
competitive need limits specified in section 503(d)(1) of the 1974 Act 
with respect to the articles of GSP beneficiary countries that are 
specified in the ``List of Petitions Accepted in the 2006 GSP Annual 
Review .'' Comments by interested persons on the USITC Report prepared 
as part of the product review should be submitted by 5 p.m., 10 days 
after the date of USITC publication of its report.

Marideth Sandler,
Executive Director, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program, 
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. E7-474 Filed 1-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P