[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 28 (Monday, February 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6622-6623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-614]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as Amended: Request for 
Public Comments Regarding Beneficiary Countries

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representatives

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In compliance with section 203(f) of the ATPA, as amended, 19 
U.S.C. 3202(f)(2), the Office of the United States Trade Representative 
(USTR) is requesting the views of interested parties on whether the 
designated beneficiary countries are meeting the eligibility criteria 
under the ATPA., (See 19 U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B).) This information will 
be used in the preparation of a report to the Congress on the operation 
of the program.

DATES: Public comments are due at USTR no later than 5 p.m., March 5, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to: 
[email protected]. For assistance or if unable to submit comments by 
e-mail, fax your comments to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Carrillo, Office of the 
Americas, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Room 523, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is 
(202) 395-9479.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ATPA, as amended by the Andean Trade 
Promotion and Drug Eradication Act of 2002 (ATPDEA) in the Trade Act of 
2002, 19 U.S.C. 3201 et seq., provides trade benefits for eligible 
Andean countries. In Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002, the 
President designated Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru as ATPDEA 
beneficiary countries. Section 203(f) of the ATPA (19 U.S.C. 3202(f)) 
requires the USTR, not later than April 30, 2007, to submit to Congress 
a report on the operation of the ATPA. Before submitting such report, 
USTR is required to request comments on whether beneficiary countries 
are meeting the criteria set forth in 19 U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B) (which 
incorporates by reference the criteria set forth in sections 3202(c) 
and (d)). USTR refers interested parties to the Federal Register notice 
published on August 15, 2002 (67 FR 53379)), for a full list of the 
eligibility criteria.
    Required for Submissions. In order to facilitate prompt processing 
of submissions, USTR 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: ``ATPA Beneficiary Countries.'' Documents should be 
submitted as either WordPerfect, MSWord, Adobe PDF, or text (.TXT) 
files. Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation 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

[[Page 6623]]

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 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.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 07-614 Filed 2-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-M