[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 25 (Monday, February 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6440-6441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2601]


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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 Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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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 no later than 5 p.m., March 6, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted electronically via the Internet 
at http://www.regulations.gov. Business confidential information only 
may be submitted via e-mail to [email protected]. See below for 
details.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-3475. All other questions 
regarding the ATPA should be directed to Bennett Harman, Deputy 
Assistant USTR for Latin America, at (202) 395-9446.

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. In Proclamation 8323 of November 25, 2008, the 
President determined that Bolivia no longer satisfies the eligibility 
criteria and suspended Bolivia's status as a beneficiary country for 
purposes of the ATPA and ATPDEA. Section 203(f) of the ATPA (19 U.S.C. 
3202(f)) requires the USTR, not later than April 30, 2009, 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.
    Requirements for Submissions. Persons submitting comments must do 
so in English and must identify (on the first page of the submission) 
the ``ATPA Beneficiary Countries.'' Written comments must be received 
by March 6, 2009.
    In order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration of comments, USTR has arranged to accept on-line 
submissions, with the exception of business confidential submissions, 
via http://www.regulations.gov. To submit testimony and comments via 
http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2009-0006 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.)
    The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of 
making submissions by filling in a ``General Comments'' field, or by 
attaching a document. We expect that most submissions will be provided 
in an attached document. If a document is attached, it is sufficient to 
type ``See attached'' in 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.
    Persons wishing to submit business confidential information must 
submit that information by electronic mail to [email protected]. Only 
business confidential submissions will be accepted at 
[email protected], and business confidential submissions will not be 
accepted at http://www.regulations.gov; however, public or non-
confidential submissions that accompany business confidential 
submissions should be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov. For any 
comments submitted electronically containing business confidential 
information, the file name of the business confidential version should

[[Page 6441]]

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 must also submit 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 will be placed on the 
USTR Web site, http://www.ustr.gov pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9-2601 Filed 2-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P