[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 134 (Thursday, July 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41209-41211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17023]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Results of the 2011 
Annual GSP Review; Notice of Hearing and Public Comments for Country 
Practice Petitions Accepted as Part of the 2011 Annual GSP Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for submissions.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the results of the 2011 Annual GSP 
Review with respect to: (1) Products considered for addition to the 
list of eligible products for GSP; (2) decisions related to competitive 
need limitations (CNLs), including petitions for waivers of CNLs and 
revocation of previous CNL waivers; (3) redesignations of products 
previously excluded from GSP eligibility for certain countries; and (4) 
petitions to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary countries 
because of country practices. This notice also announces the schedule 
for public comments and a public hearing for four country practice 
petitions newly accepted for review (regarding Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, 
and Ukraine), the closure of the country practices review of Sri 
Lanka's worker rights practices, and the designation of Afghanistan as 
a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 
(SAARC) for purposes of the GSP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tameka Cooper, GSP Program, Office of 
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., 
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 
Federal Register notice. The schedule for review of the country 
practices petitions cited above follows.
    September 13, 2012: Deadline for submission of pre-hearing briefs 
and requests to appear at the September 27, 2012 public hearing; 
submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m.
    September 27, 2012: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff 
Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing on the country practice 
petitions newly accepted in the 2011 Annual GSP Review, i.e., petitions 
concerning practices of Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, and Ukraine, at 1724 F 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
    October 18, 2012: Deadline for submission of post-hearing briefs, 
which must be received by 5:00 p.m.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP program provides for the duty-free 
treatment of designated articles when imported from 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.

Results of the 2011 Annual GSP Review

    In the 2011 Annual Review, the TPSC reviewed: (1) A petition to add 
a product to the list of those eligible for duty-free treatment under 
GSP; (2) certain cotton products for possible designation as eligible 
for GSP benefits when imported from least-developed beneficiary 
developing countries under the GSP program; (3) nine petitions to waive 
CNLs for products from certain beneficiary countries; (4) revocation of 
CNL waivers for products from certain beneficiary countries where 2011 
imports exceeded certain statutory limits; (5) products eligible for de 
minimis waivers of CNLs; (6) redesignation of products previously 
excluded from GSP eligibility for certain beneficiary countries; and 
(7) country practice petitions previously submitted as part of the 2011 
Annual Review and earlier reviews.
    In Presidential Proclamation 8840 of June 29, 2012 the President 
implemented his decisions regarding GSP product eligibility issues 
arising out of the 2011 Annual GSP Review, including CNL waivers, CNL 
revocations, and product redesignations. This notice provides further 
information on the results of the 2011 Annual GSP Review, including 
disposition of country practice petitions. These results, comprising 
eight lists, are available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov in docket USTR-2011-0015, under ``Supporting and 
Related Materials'' and at http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/3487.

Specific Results

    The Administration has decided to defer a decision on final 
disposition of a petition to add certain plastic bags

[[Page 41210]]

(categorized under subheading 3923.21.00.30 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule (HTS)) to the list of products eligible for duty-free 
treatment under GSP for all GSP beneficiary countries. See List I 
(Decision on Petition to Add a Product to the List of Eligible Products 
for GSP).
    Seven cotton fiber products were added to the list of eligible 
products for least-developed beneficiary developing countries of GSP. 
See List II (Decisions on Products Considered for Addition to the List 
of Eligible Products for GSP for Least-Developed Beneficiary Developing 
Countries).
    The President granted petitions for waivers of CNLs for the 
following products: (1) Other acyclic monoamines (HTS 2921.19.60) from 
the Philippines; (2) ``agarbatti'' incense sticks (HTS 3307.41.00) from 
India; (3) seamless rubber gloves (HTS 4015.19.10) from Thailand, and 
(4) certain air conditioning parts (HTS 8415.90.80) from Thailand. The 
disposition of all accepted petitions to grant waivers of CNLs is set 
out in List III (Decisions on Petitions to Grant a Waiver of the 
Competitive Need Limitation).
    The President revoked existing CNL waivers for certain silver 
jewelry articles (HTS 7113.11.50) from Thailand, certain rubber radial 
tires (HTS 4011.20.10) from Thailand, and certain hand-hooked rugs (HTS 
5703.10.20) from India, as reflected in List IV (Decisions on 
Competitive Need Limitation Waiver Revocations).
    Articles that exceeded the CNLs in 2011 and that, effective July 1, 
2012, are excluded from GSP eligibility when imported from a specific 
beneficiary country are described in List V (Products Newly Subject to 
Exclusion by Competitive Need Limitation).
    The President granted de minimis waivers to 97 articles that 
exceeded the 50-percent import-share CNL but for which the aggregate 
value of all U.S. imports of that article was below the 2011 de minimis 
level of $20.5 million. See List VI (Decisions on Products Eligible for 
De Minimis Waivers). The articles for which de minimis waivers were 
granted will continue to be eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP 
when imported from the associated countries.
    The President redesignated one product, kola nuts (HTS 0802.70.20) 
from Cote d'Ivoire, as eligible for GSP. List VII (Decisions on 
Products Eligible for Redesignation) provides the list of the articles 
and associated countries reviewed for redesignation.

Country Practice Petitions

    The status of country practice petitions considered in the 2011 GSP 
Annual Review is described in List VIII (Petitions for Review of 
Country Practices). This list includes petitions accepted as part of 
annual reviews from previous years. USTR, drawing on the advice of the 
TPSC, has accepted for review three country practice petitions 
submitted as part of the 2011 GSP Annual Review--on Fiji regarding 
worker rights and on Indonesia and Ukraine regarding intellectual 
property rights--as well as a petition on Iraq regarding worker rights 
that had been submitted as part of an earlier annual review. USTR has 
deferred a decision on acceptance of a petition on Russia regarding 
expropriation.
    USTR, drawing on the advice of the TPSC, has decided to close the 
country practice review of case 005-CP-08 regarding worker rights in 
Sri Lanka, in view of significant progress made by the government of 
Sri Lanka over the past few years in affording internationally 
recognized worker rights to workers in that country.
    Country practice petitions accepted for review in previous years 
that continue to be under review include: Lebanon, Russia and 
Uzbekistan regarding intellectual property rights, and Bangladesh, 
Georgia, Niger, the Philippines, and Uzbekistan regarding worker 
rights.

Notice of Public Hearing

    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a public hearing on 
Thursday, September 27, 2012 for the four newly accepted country 
practice petitions (Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, and Ukraine) beginning at 
9:30 a.m. at 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508. The hearing will 
be open to the public, and a transcript of the hearing will be made 
available on http://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 ``Requirements for Submissions'' set 
out below, the name, address, telephone number, and email address, if 
available, of the witness(es) representing their organization by 5 
p.m., September 13, 2012. Requests to present oral testimony must be 
accompanied by a written brief or summary statement, in English, and 
also must be received by 5 p.m., September 13, 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 
below and are submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., October 18, 2012. 
Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit pre-
hearing briefs or comments, in English, by 5 p.m., September 13, 2012, 
and post-hearing written briefs or comments, in English, by 5:00 p.m., 
October 18, 2012.
    The GSP Subcommittee strongly encourages submission of all post-
hearing submissions by the October 18, 2012 deadline in order to 
receive timely consideration in the GSP Subcommittee's review of the 
subject petitions. However, if there are new developments or 
information that parties wish to share with the GSP Subcommittee after 
this date, the regulations.gov docket will remain open until June 30, 
2013. Comments, letters, or other submissions related to the subject 
petitions must be posted to the http://www.regulations.gov docket in 
order to be considered by the GSP Subcommittee.

Requirements for Submissions

    All submissions in response to this notice must be submitted 
electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, using docket number 
USTR-2012-0012. All submissions 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 and the GSP Guidebook, 
available at the same link.
    To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket 
number USTR-2012-0012 in the ``Search for'' 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 ``Filter 
Results by'' section on the left side of the screen and click on the 
link entitled ``Comment Now.'' The http://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) the country and 
case number of the subject petition; and (2) ``See attached'' in the 
``Type Comment'' field on the online submission form, and indicate on 
the attachment whether the document is, as

[[Page 41211]]

appropriate, ``Written Comments,'' ``Notice of Intent to Testify,'' 
``Pre-hearing brief,'' or a ``Post-hearing brief.'' The case number and 
country name can be found in the document described above as List VIII 
(Petitions for Review of Country Practices). Submissions should not 
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.
    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.
    Public versions of all documents relating to the review of the 
subject country practice petitions will be made available for public 
viewing in docket USTR-2012-0012 at http://www.regulations.gov upon 
completion of processing and within seven to ten days after the 
relevant deadline for submission.

Afghanistan Added to SAARC

    Section 507(2) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 
2467(2)), authorizes the President to provide that all members of an 
association of countries which is a free trade area or customs union, 
or which is contributing to comprehensive regional economic integration 
among its members through appropriate means, including, but not limited 
to, the reduction of duties, shall be treated as one country for 
purposes of the GSP. In Proclamation 7912 of June 29, 2005, the 
President determined that the members of the South Asian Association 
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should be treated as one country for 
the purposes of GSP, and SAARC members were added to general note 4(a) 
of the HTS. On December 29, 2006, in Proclamation 8098, the President, 
pursuant to section 507(2) of the Trade Act of 1974, announced that 
``Afghanistan is designated as a member of the South Asian Association 
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for purposes of the GSP on the date 
that it becomes a SAARC member. The United States Trade Representative 
shall announce such a date in a notice published in the Federal 
Register.'' The United States Trade Representative hereby announces 
that as of April 3, 2007, Afghanistan became a SAARC member for the 
purposes of the GSP.

William D. Jackson,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences and Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy 
Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2012-17023 Filed 7-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F2-PDEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION