[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 184 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54637-54639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22103]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review 
To Consider the Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a Beneficiary 
Developing Country Under the GSP

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider 
designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country 
(BDC) for purposes of the GSP program, and solicits public comments on 
whether Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria

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for designation as a BDC. Comments are due by Friday, October 17, 2008, 
and must be submitted in accordance with the requirements set out 
below.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to: 
[email protected]. (Note: the digit before the number in the e-mail 
address is the number zero, not a letter.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For assistance, contact Regina Teeter, 
USTR's GSP Office at 202-395-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review in order to make a 
recommendation to the President as to whether Kosovo meets the 
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute. After considering the 
recommendation, the President is authorized to, and may, designate 
Kosovo as a BDC for purposes of the GSP program.
    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on whether Kosovo 
meets the eligibility criteria set forth below and in section 502(c) of 
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)) (the ``Act'').

Eligibility Criteria

    The trade benefits of the GSP program are available to any country 
that the President designates as a GSP ``beneficiary developing 
country.'' In designating countries as GSP beneficiary developing 
countries, the President must consider the criteria in sections 
502(b)(2) and 502(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 
2462(b)(2), 2462(c)) (``the Act''). Section 502(b)(2) provides that a 
country is ineligible for designation if:
    1. Such country is a Communist country, unless--
    (a) The products of such country receive nondiscriminatory 
treatment, (b) Such country is a WTO Member (as such term is defined in 
section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19 U.S.C. 3501(10)) 
and a member of the International Monetary Fund, and (c) Such country 
is not dominated or controlled by international communism.
    2. Such country is a party to an arrangement of countries and 
participates in any action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect of 
which is--
    (a) To withhold supplies of vital commodity resources from 
international trade or to raise the price of such commodities to an 
unreasonable level, and (b) To cause serious disruption of the world 
economy.
    3. Such country affords preferential treatment to the products of a 
developed country, other than the United States, which has, or is 
likely to have, a significant adverse effect on United States commerce.
    4. Such country--
    (a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise seized ownership 
or control of property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, 
owned by a United States citizen or by a corporation, partnership, or 
association which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United 
States citizens, (b) Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify an 
existing contract or agreement with a United States citizen or a 
corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more 
beneficially owned by United States citizens, the effect of which is to 
nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of 
property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, or 
(c) Has imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive 
maintenance or operational conditions, or other measures with respect 
to property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, 
the effect of which is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize 
ownership or control of such property, unless the President determines 
that--
    (i) Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is 
being made to the citizen, corporation, partnership, or association 
referred to above, (ii) Good faith negotiations to provide prompt, 
adequate, and effective compensation under the applicable provisions of 
international law are in progress, or the country is otherwise taking 
steps to discharge its obligations under international law with respect 
to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or (iii) A 
dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or 
association over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to 
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement 
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and 
the President promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the 
Senate and House of Representatives.
    5. Such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as 
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States 
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which 
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent 
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their 
dispute.
    6. Such country aids or abets, by granting sanctuary from 
prosecution to, any individual or group which has committed an act of 
international terrorism or the Secretary of State makes a determination 
with respect to such country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or 
such country has not taken steps to support the efforts of the United 
States to combat terrorism.
    7. Such country has not taken or is not taking steps to afford 
internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country 
(including any designated zone in that country).
    8. Such country has not implemented its commitments to eliminate 
the worst forms of child labor.
    Section 502(c) provides that, in determining whether to designate 
any country as a GSP beneficiary developing country, the President 
shall take into account:
    1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
    2. The level of economic development of such country, including its 
per capita gross national product, the living standards of its 
inhabitants, and any other economic factors which the President deems 
appropriate;
    3. Whether or not other major developed countries are extending 
generalized preferential tariff treatment to such country;
    4. The extent to which such country has assured the United States 
that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and 
basic commodity resources of such country and the extent to which such 
country has assured the United States that it will refrain from 
engaging in unreasonable export practices;
    5. The extent to which such country is providing adequate and 
effective protection of intellectual property rights;
    6. The extent to which such country has taken action to--
    (a) Reduce trade distorting investment practices and policies 
(including export performance requirements); and (b) Reduce or 
eliminate barriers to trade in services; and
    7. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to 
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in 
that country) internationally recognized worker rights. Note that the 
Trade Act of 2002 amended paragraph (D) of the definition of the term 
``internationally recognized worker rights,'' which now includes: (A) 
The right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain 
collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or 
compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children and 
a prohibition on the worst

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forms of child labor as defined in paragraph (6) of section 507(4) of 
the Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum 
wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

Requirements for Submissions

    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as 
possible, but not later than 5 p.m., Friday, October 17, 2008.
    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 in the e-mail address is the number 
zero, not a letter). For security reasons, hand-delivered submissions 
will not be accepted. If you are unable to provide comments by e-mail, 
please contact Regina Teeter, USTR's GSP Office at (202) 395-6971 to 
arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
    Comments should be provided in a single copy and must not exceed 30 
single-spaced standard letter-size pages in 12-point type or a digital 
file size of three megabytes. E-mails should include the following 
subject line: ``Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a GSP 
Beneficiary Country.'' 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 
e-mail--and must include the sender's name, organization name, address, 
telephone number 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 set out in the same file as the 
submission itself, and not in a separate file.
    If a submission contains business confidential information that the 
submitter wishes to protect from public disclosure, the confidential 
submission 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 that 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 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.

Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of 
the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E8-22103 Filed 9-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P