[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 55 (Thursday, March 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13538-13540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5268]



[[Page 13538]]

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing on Potential 
Withdrawal of Tariff Concessions and Increase in Applied Duties in 
Response to European Union (EU) Enlargement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning a 
list of goods for which tariff concessions may be withdrawn and duties 
may be increased in the event the United States cannot reach agreement 
with the European Communities (EC) for adequate compensation owed under 
World Trade Organization (WTO) rules as a result of EU enlargement.

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SUMMARY: The United States is continuing to negotiate with the EU 
regarding the EU's provision of adequate and permanent compensation to 
the United States for an event that increased duties on U.S. imports to 
EU markets above WTO bound rates of duty. On January 1, 2007, as part 
of its enlargement process, the EU raised tariffs above bound rates on 
some imports into the countries of Romania and Bulgaria. If this issue 
is not resolved, the United States may seek to exercise its rights 
under Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
(``GATT 1994'') to withdraw substantially equivalent concessions and 
raise tariffs on select goods primarily supplied by the EU. The Trade 
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) seeks public comment on the attached list 
of goods for which U.S. tariff concessions may be withdrawn and applied 
duties may be raised. The TPSC will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, 
April 24, 2007, on the list.

DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide 
written notification of their intention, as well as a copy of their 
testimony, by noon on April 19, 2007. A hearing will be held in 
Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Written comments are due by 
noon on Thursday, April 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail to [email protected]; 
requests to testify should also be addressed to Martez Higgins at e-
mail: [email protected]. Submissions can be sent by facsimile to: 
Martez Higgins at fax: (202) 395-3974. The public is strongly 
encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. 
(See requirements for submissions below).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about procedural 
questions, contact Martez Higgins at (202) 395-4620. All other 
questions should be directed to: Laurie Molnar, Director for European 
Trade Issues, (202) 395-3320 or MaryEllen Smith, Director Agricultural 
Trade Policy, (202) 395-6127; Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under WTO rules, the United States is 
entitled to compensation from the EU resulting from EU tariff changes 
as a result of EU enlargement. If agreement on compensation cannot be 
reached, the United States would be entitled to withdraw substantially 
equivalent concessions and apply increased duties on products of 
interest to the EU.
    Enlargement: With the accession to the EU of Romania and Bulgaria 
(``the new EU Member States''), the EU withdrew the entire WTO tariff 
schedules of the new EU Member States and applied the common external 
tariff of the EU of twenty five to imports into the territory of the 
new EU Member States, resulting in increased tariffs on certain 
products.
    Legal Background: Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 establishes that 
a WTO Member may modify or withdraw a tariff concession bound in its 
WTO schedule by negotiation and agreement with certain affected 
Members, more specifically, those Members that initially negotiated the 
relevant concession or are determined to have a principal supplying 
interest or a substantial interest in the concession. Such affected 
Members are entitled to receive adequate compensation or, in the 
absence of successful compensation negotiations, to withdraw 
``substantially equivalent concessions.'' Pursuant to Article XXIV:6 of 
the GATT 1994, where a WTO Member has modified or withdrawn a 
concession in the expansion of a customs union, the procedure under 
Article XXVIII also applies. The United States has negotiating and 
compensation rights on certain tariff concessions at issue as a result 
of enlargement. Affected WTO Members' rights to withdraw substantially 
equivalent concessions under Article XXVIII are time-limited; these 
rights expire within six months of the EU's withdrawal or modification 
of concessions unless exercised or extended. WTO Members intending to 
withdraw substantially equivalent concessions must provide notice to 
the WTO of their intent at least thirty days prior to the effective 
date of such action.
    Whenever a foreign country withdraws, suspends, or modifies the 
application of trade agreement obligations of benefit to the United 
States without granting adequate compensation, the President is 
authorized under section 125(d) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2135) to withdraw, suspend or modify the application of any 
substantially equivalent trade agreement obligations of benefit and 
proclaim under section 125(c) such increased duties or other import 
restrictions as are appropriate to effect adequate compensation. 
Section 125(c) authorizes the President to proclaim increased duties or 
other import restrictions as he deems necessary or appropriate in order 
to exercise the rights of the United States whenever the United States, 
acting in pursuance of its rights or obligations under certain trade 
agreements, withdraws, suspends or modifies any obligation with respect 
to foreign trade. Section 125(f) provides that the President, normally 
before taking any action under section 125 to withdraw, suspend, or 
modify trade agreement obligations or to increase duties, must provide 
for a public hearing, at which time interested persons will be given an 
opportunity to be present, to produce evidence, and to be heard.
    Pursuant to section 125(c), any new tariff rates proclaimed by the 
President would not exceed 50 percent above the rate set forth in rate 
column numbered 2 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States, as in 
effect on January 1, 1975, or 20 percent ad valorem above the rate 
existing on January 1, 1975, whichever is higher. If imposed, the 
increased duties would apply to imports from all countries that are 
subject to the rates of duty set forth in the Column 1 General rate of 
duty column of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). The products affected by a suspension of concessions and duty 
increase would be drawn from the list of products set forth in the 
Annex to this notice. In recommending any action to the President under 
section 125, the TPSC will consider all comments and testimony by 
interested persons submitted in accordance with the procedures 
described below.

Public Comment on Potential Actions; Hearing Participation

    Pursuant to section 125(f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2135), the TPSC, chaired by the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, has scheduled a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. on 
Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20508. Further details on the hearing and submission of 
testimony is provided below. In lieu of or in addition to participation 
at the public hearing, parties may submit

[[Page 13539]]

written comments to be received no later than noon, Thursday, April 19, 
2007.
    Written comments and/or written or oral testimony of interested 
persons should be limited to the following issues: (1) The 
appropriateness of withdrawing WTO tariff concessions upon the products 
listed in the Annex to this notice; (2) the appropriateness of imposing 
increased duties upon the products listed in the Annex to this notice; 
(3) the levels at which U.S. customs duties should be set for 
particular items; and (4) the degree to which increased duties might 
have an adverse effect upon U.S. consumers of the products listed in 
the Annex.
    Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide both 
a written notification of their intention and a copy of their testimony 
by noon on Thursday, April 19, 2007. The notification should include: 
(1) The name, address, and telephone number, fax number, and firm or 
affiliation of the person wishing to testify; (2) a short (one or two 
paragraph) summary of the oral presentation; and (3) list of goods of 
interest (including HTSUS numbers). Remarks at the hearing should be 
limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions 
from the TPSC.

Requirements for Submissions

    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the TPSC 
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: ``EU Enlargement'' followed by (as appropriate) ``Written 
Comments,'' ``Notice of Testimony,'' or ``Testimony.'' Documents should 
be submitted as either Adobe PDF, WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) 
files. 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. Similarly, 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, notices of testimony, and testimony will be 
placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, 
except confidential business information exempt from public inspection 
in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Confidential business 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 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. An appointment to review the file may be made by 
calling (202) 395-6186. Appointments must be scheduled at least 48 
hours in advance.
    General information concerning USTR may be obtained by accessing 
its Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov).

                              Annex: Proposed Withdrawal of Concessions Tariff List
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                                                                                   Proposed
                                                  MFN                                 new    Proposed new tariff
    HTS             Description          rate         MFN unit 2007        tariff        rate unit
                                                  2007                               rate
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02032920............  Frozen retail cuts of        1.40  cents/kg................     92.21  Cents/kg.
                       meat of swine, nesoi.
02101200............  Bellies (streaky) and        1.40  cents/kg................      92.9  Cents/kg.
                       cuts thereof of swine,
                       salted, in brine, dried
                       or smoked.
02101900............  Meat of swine other than     1.40  cents/kg................     177.9  Cents/kg.
                       hams, shoulders,
                       bellies (streaky) and
                       cuts thereof, salted,
                       in brine, dried or
                       smoked.
07129074............  Tomatoes, dried in             9%  ........................       55%
                       powder.
16010020............  Pork sausages and            0.80  cents/kg................      73.7  Cents/kg.
                       similar products of
                       pork, pork offal or
                       blood; food
                       preparations based on
                       these products.
16024940............  Prepared or preserved        1.40  cents/kg................      72.8  Cents/kg.
                       pork, not containing
                       cereals or vegetables,
                       nesi.
20019025............  Artichokes, prepared or       10%                                 55%
                       preserved by vinegar or
                       acetic acid.
20032000............  Truffles, prepared or           0                                 20%
                       preserved otherwise
                       than by vinegar or
                       acetic acid.
20049010............  Antipasto, prepared or         3%                                 50%
                       preserved otherwise
                       than by vinegar or
                       acetic acid, frozen.
20079935............  Peach jam...............       7%                                 55%
20087020............  Peaches (excluding            17%                                 55%
                       nectarines), otherwise
                       prepared or preserved,
                       not elsewhere specified
                       or included.
38099350............  Finishing agents, dye          6%                                 55%
                       carriers and other
                       preparations used in
                       leather and like
                       industries, < 5% by
                       weight aromatic (mod.)
                       substance(s).
70133130............  Glassware for table or      10.5%                                 90%
                       kitchen purposes (o/
                       than drinking glasses),
                       of lead crystal, valued
                       over $3 but n/over $5
                       each.
71141130............  Spoons and ladles with       3.3%                               97.5%
                       handles of sterling
                       silver.
84201020............  Calendering or similar          0                                 55%
                       rolling machines for
                       making paper pulp,
                       paper or paperboard.
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[[Page 13540]]

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
 [FR Doc. E7-5268 Filed 3-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P