[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71707-71708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27909]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Comments Concerning Compliance With 
Telecommunications Trade Agreements

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and reply comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``section 1377''), the 
Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is 
reviewing and requests comments on: The operation, effectiveness, and 
implementation of and compliance with the following agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services of the United 
States: the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') General Agreement on 
Trade in Services; the North American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''); 
U.S. free trade agreements (``FTAs'') with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, 
Morocco, and Singapore; the Dominican Republic-Central America-United 
States Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR''); and any other FTA or 
telecommunications trade agreement coming into force on or before 
January 1, 2009. The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2009.

DATES: Comments are due by noon on December 12, 2008 and reply comments 
by noon on January 16, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 
Committee, ATTN: Section 1377 Comments, Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Hinckley, Office of Services 
and Investment (202) 395-9539; or Amy Karpel, Office of the General 
Counsel (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1377 requires the USTR to review 
annually the operations and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements 
regarding telecommunications products and services of the United States 
that are in force with respect to the United States. The purpose of the 
review is to determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a 
country that has entered into an FTA or other telecommunications trade 
agreement with the United States is inconsistent with the terms of such 
agreement or otherwise denies U.S. firms, within the context of the 
terms of such agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities 
for telecommunications products and services. For the current review, 
the USTR seeks comments on:
    (1) Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is 
inconsistent with its obligations under WTO agreements affecting market 
opportunities for telecommunications products or services, e.g., the 
WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''), including the 
Basic Telecommunications Agreement, the Annex on Telecommunications, 
and any scheduled commitments including the Reference Paper on Pro-
Competitive Regulatory Principles;
    (2) Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with its 
telecommunications obligations under the NAFTA;
    (3) Whether El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, 
Honduras or Nicaragua has failed to comply with its telecommunications 
obligations under the CAFTA-DR;
    (4) Whether Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Morocco, Singapore, or any 
other country for which an FTA with the United States will be in force 
on or before January 1, 2009, has failed to comply with its 
telecommunications obligations under the respective FTA between the 
United States and that country (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Section_Index.html for U.S. FTAs);
    (5) Whether any country has failed to comply with its obligations 
under telecommunications trade agreements with the United States other 
than FTAs, e.g., Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for Conformity 
Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (see http://www.tcc.mac.doc.gov for a collection of trade agreements related, inter 
alia, to telecommunications);
    (6) In regard to issues listed in items (1) to (5) or item (7), 
also consider whether a country employs a legal standard for granting 
injunctions with respect to regulatory decisions that is so lenient 
that it undermines the country's ability to ensure compliance with its 
specific obligations under telecom trade agreements;
    (7) Whether any act, policy, or practice of a country cited in a 
previous section 1377 review remains unresolved (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Sectors/Telecom-E-commerce/Section_1377/Section_Index.html for the 2008 review); and
    (8) Whether any measures or practices impede access to 
telecommunications markets or otherwise deny telecommunications 
products and services of the United States market opportunities with 
respect to any country that is a WTO member or for which an FTA or 
telecommunications trade agreement has entered into force between such 
country and the United States. Measures or practices of interest 
include, for example, prohibitions on voice over Internet protocol 
(VOIP) services; requirements for access or use of networks that limit 
the products or services U.S. suppliers can offer in specific markets; 
the imposition of excessively high licensing fees, and the imposition 
of unnecessary or discriminatory technical regulations or standards in 
the telecom product or services sectors.

Public Comment and Reply Comment: Requirements for Submission

    All comments must be in English, must identify (on the first page 
of the comments) the telecommunications trade agreement(s) discussed 
therein, and must be submitted by noon on December 12, 2008. Reply 
comments must also be in English and must be submitted by noon on 
January 16, 2009. Reply comments should only address issues raised by 
the comments.
    In order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration of comments and reply comments, USTR has arranged to 
accept on-line submissions via www.regulations.gov. To submit comments 
enter docket number USTR-2008-0039 on the home page and click ``go''. 
The site will provide a search-results page listing all documents 
associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by 
selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the 
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Send a Comment or 
Submission.'' (For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov/ Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This Site'' on the left side 
of the home page. We expect that most comments will be provided in an 
attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to type 
``see attached'' in

[[Page 71708]]

the general comments field. Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or 
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) are preferred. If an application other than those 
two is used, please identify in your submission the specific 
application used. For any comments submitted electronically containing 
business confidential information, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page 
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of 
submissions containing business confidential information should also 
attach a public version of their comments. The file name of the public 
version should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' 
should be followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments or reply comments. Filers submitting comments containing no 
business confidential information should name their file using the 
character ``P'', followed by the name of the person or entity 
submitting the comments or reply comments. Electronic submissions 
should not contain separate cover letters; rather, information that 
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission 
itself. Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to a 
submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself 
and not as separate files. All non-confidential comments and reply 
comments may be viewed at http://www.regualtions.gov by entering Docket 
 USTR-2008-0039 in the search field.
    We strongly urge submitters to avail themselves of the electronic 
filing, if at all possible. If an electronic submission is impossible, 
alternative arrangements must be made with Ms. Blue prior to delivery 
of such submissions. Ms. Blue should be contacted at (202) 395-3475.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E8-27909 Filed 11-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P