[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10034-10036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3974]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2011 GSP Annual Product Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces which petitions submitted in connection 
with the 2011 GSP Annual Product Review have been accepted for further 
review. In addition, twelve cotton products will be reviewed for 
possible designation as eligible for GSP benefits for least-developed 
country beneficiaries of the GSP program. This notice also sets forth 
the schedule for submitting comments and for public hearings associated 
with the review of these petitions and products.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tameka Cooper, GSP Program, Office of 
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Room 422, 
Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971, the fax 
number is (202) 395-9674, and the email 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 
notice published in the Federal Register. The schedule for the 2011 GSP 
Annual Product Review is set forth below. Notification of any other 
changes will be published in the Federal Register.
    March 6, 2012--Due date for submission of comments, pre-hearing 
briefs and requests to appear at the GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing on 
the 2011 GSP Annual Product Review.

[[Page 10035]]

    March 20, 2012--GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing on all proposed or 
petitioned product additions and CNL waiver petitions accepted for the 
2011 GSP Annual Product Review. The hearing will be held in Rooms 1 and 
2, 1724 F St. NW., Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
    Late March 2012--A U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) 
public hearing will be held on the probable economic effect of granting 
the proposed or petitioned product additions and CNL waiver petitions. 
(USITC will announce the date, time, and place of this hearing in a 
separate notice published in the Federal Register.)
    April 10, 2012--Due date for submission of post-hearing comments or 
briefs in connection with the GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing.
    Late May 2012--The USITC is scheduled to publish a public version 
of its report providing advice on the probable economic effect of the 
prospective addition of products and granting of CNL waiver petitions 
considered as part of 2011 GSP Annual Product Review. Comments on the 
USITC report on these products will be due 10 calendar days after the 
date of USITC's publication of the public version of the report.
    July 1, 2012: Effective date for any modifications that the 
President proclaims to the list of articles eligible for duty-free 
treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2011 Annual Product Review 
and for determinations related to CNL waivers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP program provides for the duty-free 
importation of designated articles when imported from designated 
beneficiary developing countries. The GSP program 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.

Petitions Requesting Modifications of Product Eligibility

    In a notice published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2011, 
USTR announced the initiation of the 2011 GSP Annual Review and 
indicated that the interagency GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee (TPSC) was prepared to receive petitions to modify the 
list of products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under the 
GSP program and petitions to waive CNLs on imports of certain products 
from specific beneficiary countries. On December 7, 2011, USTR 
announced that the deadline for the filing of such petitions had been 
extended to December 30, 2011 (76 FR 76477; see also 76 FR 67531).
    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC has reviewed the product and CNL 
waiver petitions submitted in response to these announcements, and has 
decided to accept for review one petition to add a product to the list 
of those eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP and nine petitions 
to waive CNLs. Twelve cotton products will also be reviewed for 
possible designation as eligible for GSP benefits for least-developed 
country beneficiaries of the GSP program. The cotton products are being 
considered for GSP eligibility at the initiative of USTR consistent 
with USTR's December 2011 announcement of trade initiatives intended to 
enable least-developed countries to benefit more fully from global 
trade.
    A list of all the petitions and products accepted for review is 
posted on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp/current-review-4 under the title ``Petitions Accepted in the 2011 GSP 
Annual Product Review.'' This list can also be found at 
www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2011-0015. No other petitions 
to modify the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment under 
GSP or to grant CNL waivers have been accepted for 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.
    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC invites comments in support of or 
in opposition to any product or petition that has been accepted for the 
2011 GSP Annual Product Review. The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will 
also convene a public hearing on these products and petitions. See 
below for information on how to submit a request to testify at this 
hearing.

Requirements for Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice (including requests to 
testify, written comments, and pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs), 
with the exception of business confidential submissions, must be 
submitted electronically by 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012, or for post 
hearing briefs only by 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 10, 2012 using 
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2011-0015. Instructions for 
submitting business confidential versions are provided below. Hand-
delivered submissions will not be accepted. Submissions must be 
submitted in English to William D. Jackson, Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee, Trade Policy Staff Committee, by the applicable deadlines 
set forth in this notice.
    All submissions for the GSP Annual Review must conform to the GSP 
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007, except as modified below. 
These regulations are available on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp/gsp-program-inf. Any person or party 
making a submission is strongly advised to review the GSP regulations 
as well as the GSP Guidebook, which is available at the same link.
    To make a submission using www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2011-0015 in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' field on the home page 
and click ``Search.'' 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'' in the top-
middle section of the search-results page, and click on the link 
entitled ``Submit a Comment'' on the right-hand side of the page under 
the heading ``Actions.'' The www.regulations.gov Web site offers the 
option of providing comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field or 
by attaching a document using the ``Upload file(s)'' field. Given the 
detailed nature of the information sought by the GSP Subcommittee, it 
is preferred that submissions be provided in an attached document. When 
attaching a document, type (1) 2011 GSP Annual Product Review; (2) the 
product description, case number, and related Harmonized Tariff System 
(HTS) tariff number; (3) ``See attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field 
on the online submission form, and indicate on the attachment whether 
the document is, as appropriate, ``Written Comments,'' ``Notice of 
Intent to Testify,'' ``Pre-hearing brief,'' or a ``Post-hearing 
brief.'' The product description, case number and HTS subheading number 
can be found in the document ``Petitions Accepted in the 2011 GSP 
Annual Product Review,'' which can be found on the USTR Web site at 
http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp/current-review-4. Submissions should 
not exceed 30 single-spaced, standard letter-size pages in 12-point 
type, including attachments.

[[Page 10036]]

Any data attachments to the submission should be included in the same 
file as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
    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 
able to provide 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 at USTR to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.

Business Confidential Submissions

    A person seeking to request that information contained in a 
submission from that person be treated as business confidential 
information must certify that such information is business confidential 
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such. 
The submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and 
bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page, and the submission 
should indicate, via brackets, the specific information that is 
confidential. Additionally, ``Business Confidential'' must be included 
in the ``Type Comment'' field. Any submission containing business 
confidential information must be accompanied by a separate non-
confidential version of the confidential submission, indicating where 
confidential information has been redacted. The non-confidential 
version will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection.

Notice of Public Hearing

    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a hearing on Tuesday, 
March 20, 2012, on products and petitions accepted for the 2011 GSP 
Annual Review 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 on www.regulations.gov within two weeks of the 
hearing. 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, and email address 
(if available), of the witness(es) representing their organization to 
William D. Jackson, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for GSP 
by 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Requests to present oral testimony 
in connection with the public hearing must be accompanied by a written 
brief or summary statement, in English, and also must be received by 5 
p.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012. 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., Tuesday, April 10, 2012, following 
the ``Requirements for Submissions'' above. Parties not wishing to 
appear at the public hearing may submit pre-hearing briefs or 
statements, in English, by 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 6, 2012, and post-
hearing written briefs or statements, in English, by 5 p.m., Tuesday, 
April 10, 2012, also in accordance with the ``Requirements for 
Submissions'' above. Public versions of all documents relating to the 
2011 Annual Review will be made available for public viewing in docket 
USTR-2011-0015 at www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing and 
no later than one week after the due date.

Donnette R. Rimmer,
Director for the Generalized System of Preferences, Office of the U.S. 
Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2012-3974 Filed 2-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W2-P