[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 178 (Friday, September 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53054-53056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21341]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2008 Annual Review for Acceptance of Product and Country Practices 
Petitions

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 2008 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 petitions, other than those requesting 
competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers, and country practice 
petitions accepted in previous GSP annual reviews that continue to be 
under review in the 2008 GSP Annual Review, and sets forth the schedule 
for comment and public hearings on these petitions, for requesting 
participation in the hearings, 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. [2008 Annual review].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Regina Teeter, GSP Program, Office of 
the United States Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-214, 
Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971, fax 
number is (202) 395-9481, and e-mail address is [email protected].

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 schedule for the 2008 annual review is set 
forth below. Notification of any other changes will be given in the 
Federal Register.
    October 3, 2008--Due date for submission of pre-hearing briefs and 
requests to appear at the GSP

[[Page 53055]]

Subcommittee Public Hearing that include the name, address, telephone, 
fax, email address and organization of witnesses for accepted product 
petitions.
    October 10, 2008--Availability of January through August 2008 data 
on the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Web site (http://dataweb.usitc.gov). The Federal Register notice announcing the 
availability of eight months of import statistics will not include a 
``warning list'' of products that may exceed statutory competitive need 
limitations (CNLs). Each interested party is responsible for conducting 
its own review of 2008 import data with regard to the possible 
application of GSP CNLs and submission of a petition to waive the CNLs.
    October 20, 2008--GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing on all product 
petitions accepted for the 2008 GSP Annual Review in Rooms 1 and 2, 
1724 F St., NW., Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
    November 3, 2008--Due date for submission of post-hearing briefs.
    November 13, 2008--Due date for submission of new petitions to 
grant waivers to CNLs for products exceeding the CNLs in 2008.
    December 2008--USITC scheduled to publish report on products for 
product petitions in the 2008 GSP Annual Review. Comments on USITC 
report on these products due 10 calendar days after USITC date of 
publication.
    June 30, 2009--Modifications to the list of articles eligible for 
duty-free treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2008 Annual Review 
will be announced on or about June 30, 2009, 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 May 15, 2008, USTR announced 
that the deadline for the filing of product petitions, other than those 
requesting waivers of ``competitive need limitations'' (CNLs), and 
country practice petitions for the 2008 GSP Annual Review was June 18, 
2008 (73 FR 28174). The deadline for the filing of product petitions 
requesting waivers of the CNLs was announced to be November 13, 2008. 
The product petitions received have requested changes in the list of 
GSP-eligible products by adding new products and by removing products 
from specific GSP-eligible countries.
    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 2008 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/tata/hts/)), 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 
continued the review of several country practice petitions (see ``List 
of Petitions Accepted in the 2008 GSP Annual Review'' posted on the 
USTR Web site). The decision regarding whether to accept the new 
country practice petitions submitted for review in the 2008 GSP Annual 
Review is planned for January 2009. A Federal Register notice will be 
published announcing the decision.

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 thus far for the 
2008 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 eight digit HTSUS 
subheading number, if applicable, as shown in the ``List of Petitions 
Accepted in the 2008 GSP Annual Review'' available at: http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/Section_Index.html [2008 Annual Review].

Requirements for Submissions

    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) on the 
deadlines set forth in this notice.
    In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR 
strongly recommends that comments be set out in digital files attached 
to e-mails transmitted to the following address: [email protected] 
(Note: The digit before the number ``8'' in the email address is the 
number ``zero'', not a letter. If you are unable to provide comments by 
e-mail, please contact Regina Teeter at USTR's GSP Office at (202) 395-
6971 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission. For security 
reasons, hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. Comments 
should be provided in a single copy and must not exceed 30 single-
spaced standard letter-size pages in 12-point type and three megabytes 
as a digital file attached to an e-mail transmission. E-mails should 
use the following subject line: ``2008 GSP Annual Review'' followed by 
the Case Number and, if a product petition, the eight digit HTSUS 
subheading number found in the ``List of Petitions Accepted in the 2008 
GSP Annual Review'' (for example, 2008-05 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 ``2008-05 
7202.99.20 Written Comments''.) The transmittal message or cover letter 
accompanying a submission must be set out exclusively in the digital 
file attached to the e-mail transmission--not in the message portion of 
the e-mail--and must include the sender's name, organization name, 
address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
    Digital files must be submitted in one of the following formats: 
WordPerfect (.WPD), Adobe (.PDF), MSWord (.DOC), or text (.TXT) files. 
Comments may not be submitted as electronic image files or contain 
embedded images, e.g., ``.JPG'', ``.TIF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF''. 
Spreadsheet data may be submitted as Excel files, formatted for 
printing on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. To the extent possible, any data 
accompanying the submission should be included in the same file as the 
submission itself, and not in a separate file.

[[Page 53056]]

    If the submission contains business confidential information that 
the submitter wishes to protect from public disclosure, the 
confidential version must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the 
top and bottom of each page. In addition, the submission must be 
accompanied by a non-confidential version that indicates, with 
asterisks, where confidential information was redacted or deleted. The 
top and bottom of each page of the non-confidential version must be 
marked either ``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''. Business 
confidential comments that are submitted without the required markings 
or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-confidential version as 
set forth above may not be accepted or may be treated as public 
documents.
    The digital file name assigned to any business confidential version 
of a submission 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 
(government, company, union, association, etc.) making the submission.
    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 
October 20, 2008, for product petitions accepted for the 2008 GSP 
Annual Review (i.e., for product petitions other than those requesting 
CNL waivers) beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, Rooms 1 and 2, 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 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, 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., October 3, 2008. 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., 
October 3, 2008. 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., 
November 3, 2008. Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing 
may submit pre-hearing briefs or statements, in English, by 5 p.m., 
October 3, 2008, and post-hearing written briefs or statements, in 
English, by 5 p.m., November 3, 2008.
    With respect to petitions to add or remove articles from the ``List 
of Product Petitions Accepted in the 2008 GSP Annual Review,'' and 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 the probable economic effect of such additions or 
removals on U.S. industries producing like or directly competitive 
articles and on consumers. Comments by interested persons on the USITC 
Report prepared as part of the product review other than those 
requesting CNL waivers should be submitted by 5 p.m., 10 calendar 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. E8-21341 Filed 9-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P