[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 101 (Thursday, May 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25605-25607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12406]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
Initiation of the 2009 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility 
Practices Review and Deadlines for Filing Petitions

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation for public petitions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative (USTR) will receive petitions in 2009 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 
determines that the deadline for submission of country practice 
petitions for the 2009 Annual GSP Product and Country Eligibility 
Practices Review is 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 24, 2009. This notice 
further determines that the deadline for submission of product 
petitions, other than those requesting competitive need limitation 
(CNL) waivers or section 503(c)(1)(E) determinations regarding products 
not produced in the United States on January 1, 1995, is 5 p.m., 
Wednesday, June 24, 2009. The deadline for submission of petitions 
requesting CNL waivers and 503(c)(1)(E) determinations regarding 
products not produced in the United States on January 1, 1995 is 5 
p.m., Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The lists of product petitions and 
country practice petitions accepted for review will be announced in the 
Federal Register at later dates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tameka Cooper, 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, the fax 
number is (202) 395-2961, and the e-mail address is [email protected].
    Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
made available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov upon 
completion of processing and no later than approximately two weeks 
after the relevant due date. Public versions of the petitions submitted 
for the June 24, 2009, deadline will be available in docket USTR-2009-
0015 at http://www.regulations.gov.

I. 2009 Annual GSP Review

    The GSP regulations (15 CFR part 2007) provide the timetable for 
conducting an annual review, unless otherwise specified by Federal 
Register notice. Notice is hereby given that, in order to be considered 
in the 2009 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Eligibility 
Review, all petitions to modify the list of articles eligible for duty-
free treatment under GSP or to review the GSP status of any beneficiary 
developing country must be received by the GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 
24, 2009. Petitions requesting CNL waivers and 503(c)(1)(E) 
determinations regarding products not produced in the United States on 
January 1, 1995, must be received by the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, 
2009, in order to be considered in the 2009 Annual Review. Petitions 
submitted after the respective deadlines will not be considered for 
review.

GSP Product Review Petitions

    Interested parties, including foreign governments, may submit 
petitions to: (1) Designate additional articles as eligible for GSP 
benefits, including to designate articles as eligible for GSP benefits 
only for countries designated as least-developed beneficiary developing 
countries, or only for countries designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan 
African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); 
(2) withdraw, suspend or limit the application of duty-free treatment 
accorded under the GSP with respect to any article, either for all 
beneficiary developing countries, least-developed beneficiary 
developing countries or beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, or 
for any of these countries individually; (3) determine whether a like 
or directly competitive product was produced in the United States on 
January 1, 1995, for the purposes of section 503(c)(1)(E); (4) waive 
the ``competitive need limitations'' for individual beneficiary 
developing countries with respect to specific GSP-eligible articles 
(these limits do not apply to either least-developed beneficiary 
developing countries or AGOA beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
countries); and (5) otherwise modify GSP coverage.

[[Page 25606]]

    As specified in 15 CFR 2007.1, all product petitions must include a 
detailed description of the product and the 8-digit subheading of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under which the 
product is classified.
    Further, product petitions requesting CNL waivers for GSP-eligible 
articles from beneficiary developing countries that exceed the CNLs in 
2009 as well as 503(c)(1)(E) determinations regarding whether a like or 
directly competitive product was produced in the United States on 
January 1, 1995, must be filed in the 2009 Annual Review. In order to 
allow petitioners an opportunity to review additional 2009 U.S. import 
statistics, these petitions may be filed after Wednesday, June 24, 
2009, but must be received on or before the Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 
deadline described above in order to be considered in the 2009 Annual 
Review. Copies will be made available for public inspection at http://www.regulations.gov after the November 17, 2009, deadline.

Country Practices Eligibility Review Petitions

    Any person may submit petitions to review the designation of any 
beneficiary developing country, including any least-developed 
beneficiary developing country, with respect to any of the designation 
criteria listed in sections 502(b) or 502(c) of the Trade Act (19 
U.S.C. 2462(b) and (c)). Petitions to review the designation of 
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries are considered in the Annual 
Review of the AGOA, a separate administrative process not governed by 
the GSP regulations.

II. Requirements for Submissions

    All submissions for the GSP Product and Country Practices 
Eligibility Review must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15 
CFR part 2007, except as modified below. These regulations are 
reprinted in the ``U.S. Generalized System of Preferences Guidebook'' 
(``GSP Guidebook''), available at: http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/asset_upload_file666_8359.pdf.
    Any person or party making a submission is strongly advised to 
review the GSP regulations. A model petition format is available from 
the GSP Subcommittee and is included in the GSP Guidebook. Petitioners 
are requested to use this model petition format so as to ensure that 
all information requirements are met. Submissions in response to this 
notice, with the exception of business confidential submissions, must 
be submitted electronically using http://www.regulations.gov, docket 
number USTR-2009-0015. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. 
Submissions must be submitted in English to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee, Trade Policy Staff Committee, by the applicable deadlines 
set forth in this notice. Submissions that do not provide the 
information required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP 
regulations will not be accepted for review, except upon a detailed 
showing in the submission that the petitioner made a good faith effort 
to obtain the information required.
    To ensure their most timely and expeditious receipt and 
consideration, petitions provided in response to this notice, with the 
exception of business confidential submissions, must be submitted 
online at http://www.regulations.gov. To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2009-0015 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.'' The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
offers the option of providing comments by filling in a ``General 
Comments'' field or by attaching a document. Submissions must be in 
English, with the total submission not to exceed 30 single-spaced 
standard letter-size pages in 12-point type, including attachments. Any 
data attachments to the submission should be included in the same file 
as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
    Given the detailed nature of the information sought by the GSP 
Subcommittee, it is expected that most comments and submissions will be 
provided in an attached document. When attaching a document, type (1) 
The eight-digit HTSUS subheading number, and (2) ``See attached'' in 
the ``General Comments'' field on the online submission form, and 
indicate on the attachment whether the document is a ``Country Practice 
Review Petition'' or ``Product Review Petition for [HTSUS Subheading 
Number], [Product Name], and, if pertinent, [Country].''
    Submissions must include at the beginning of the submission, or on 
the first page (if an attachment), the following text (in bold and 
underlined): (1) ``2009 GSP Annual Review''; and (2) for product 
petitions, the eight-digit HTSUS subheading number in which the product 
is classified; for country practice petitions, the name of the country. 
Furthermore, interested parties submitting petitions that request 
action with respect to specific products should also list at the 
beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an attachment) 
the following information: (1) The requested action; and (2) if 
applicable, the beneficiary developing country.
    Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon 
completion of the submissions procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. 
The tracking number will be the submitter's confirmation that the 
submission was received into http://www.regulations.gov. The 
confirmation should be kept for the submitter's records. USTR is not 
responsible for any delays in a submission due to technical 
difficulties, nor is it able to provide any technical assistance for 
the Web site. Documents not submitted in accordance with these 
instructions may not be considered in this review. If unable to provide 
submissions as requested, please contact the GSP Program to arrange for 
an alternative method of transmission.

Business Confidential Petitions

    Persons wishing to submit business confidential information must 
submit that information by electronic mail to [email protected]. 
Business confidential submissions will not be accepted at http://www.regulations.gov. For any document containing business confidential 
information submitted as a file attached to an e-mail transmission, the 
file name of the business confidential version should begin with the 
characters ``BC.'' The ``BC'' should be followed by the name of the 
party (government, company, union, association, etc.) that is making 
the submission.
    Persons wishing to submit business confidential submissions must 
also follow each of these steps: (1) Provide a written explanation of 
why the information should be protected in accordance with 15 CFR 
2007.7(b), which must be submitted along with the business confidential 
version of the submission; (2) clearly mark the business confidential 
submission ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of each page 
of the submission; (3) indicate using brackets what information in the 
document is confidential; and (4) submit a non-confidential version of 
the submission, marked ``Public'' at the top and bottom of each page, 
that also indicates, using

[[Page 25607]]

asterisks, where business confidential information was redacted or 
deleted from the applicable sentences to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Business confidential submissions that are submitted without the 
required markings, or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-
confidential version, as set forth above, might not be accepted or may 
be considered public documents. The non-confidential summary will be 
placed in the docket and open to public inspection.

III. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice, except for information 
granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be 
available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing and no later than 
approximately two weeks after the relevant due date. Such submissions 
may be viewed by entering the docket number USTR-2009-0015 in the 
search field at: http://www.regulations.gov.

Marideth Sandler,
Executive Director, GSP Program, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9-12406 Filed 5-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P