[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4524-4526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01099]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Invitation for Applications for Inclusion on the Dispute 
Settlement Rosters for U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'').

ACTION: Invitation for applications.

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SUMMARY: The United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (the 
``Agreement'') calls for the Parties to establish four rosters of 
individuals that would be available to serve as panelists in dispute 
settlement proceedings arising under the Agreement. A general roster is 
required to be established under Chapter Twenty (Dispute Settlement). 
Chapter Twelve (Financial Services), Chapter Sixteen (Labor), and 
Chapter Seventeen (Environment) require the establishment of separate 
rosters for disputes arising under those chapters. USTR is inviting 
interested persons to apply to be on any of the rosters under the 
Agreement, as indicated below.

DATES: Applications should be received no later than March 14, 2014 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted electronically to 
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0002. If you are unable to 
submit an application using www.regulations.gov, please contact Sandy 
McKinzy at (202) 395-9483 to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the form of 
the

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application, contact Sandy McKinzy, Legal Technician, USTR Office of 
Monitoring and Enforcement, at (202) 395-3582. For other inquiries, 
contact Greta Peisch, Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is seeking applications from interested 
persons to serve on one or more of the rosters under the Agreement. The 
details for how to apply are provided below as is a short description 
of the rosters. In response to this notice, USTR will accept 
applications from U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries.

Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the Agreement

    The Agreement is a bilateral agreement in force between the United 
States and Panama. Chapter 20 of the Agreement sets out detailed 
procedures for the resolution of disputes arising under the Agreement. 
Dispute settlement involves three stages: (1) Consultations between the 
Parties to try to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the 
matter; (2) efforts by the Free Trade Commission, comprising cabinet-
level representatives from the United States and Panama, to resolve the 
matter; and (3) resort to an arbitral panel to make a determination 
regarding the matter at issue between the Parties. The panel is 
composed of three individuals normally chosen by the Parties, or 
selected by lot, from a roster.
    The Agreement requires the Parties to establish a roster of up to 
twenty individuals who are willing and able to serve as panelists. The 
roster is to include up to seven individuals who are nationals of each 
Party and up to six individuals who are not nationals of either Party. 
Individuals on the roster are appointed by agreement of the Parties for 
a minimum term of three years, and remain on the list until the Parties 
form a new roster. See Article 20.7.1 of the Agreement.
    The Agreement provides for the Parties to agree on a chair and then 
for each party to select one panelist, normally from the roster. If the 
Parties are unable to agree on a chair within 15 days, the chair is 
selected by lot from among roster members who are not nationals of a 
Party. Similarly, if a Party fails to select a panelist within 15 days 
of selection of the chair, the panelist is selected by lot from among 
the roster members who are nationals of the Party. Accordingly, 
applications are sought from applicants who are nationals of the United 
States, Panama, or any non-Party country.
    The text of the Agreement can be found on the USTR Web site (http://www.ustr.gov/uspanamatpa).

Criteria for Eligibility for Inclusion on the Roster

    To qualify for inclusion on the roster, an applicant must: (1) Be 
objective, reliable, and possess sound judgment; (2) have expertise or 
experience in law, international trade, other matters covered by the 
Agreement, or the resolution of disputes arising under international 
trade agreements; (3) be independent of, and not be affiliated with or 
take instructions from, either Party; and (4) comply with a code of 
conduct established by the Parties.

Procedures for Selection of Members of the Rosters

    An interagency committee chaired by USTR prepares a preliminary 
list of candidates eligible for inclusion on the rosters. After 
consultation with the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, USTR 
selects the final list of individuals that the United States will 
nominate for inclusion on the rosters. The members of the rosters are 
appointed by agreement of the Parties to the Agreement.

Applications

    Eligible individuals who wish to be considered for inclusion on one 
or more of the rosters are invited to submit applications. However, 
eligible individuals who have submitted a prior application for one or 
more lists under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States 
Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR''), chapter 20 of the North American 
Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''), the United States-Peru Trade 
Promotion Agreement, the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement 
(``USAFTA''), the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement 
(``USCTPA''), the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (``KORUS''), 
the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (``USMFTA''), or the 
United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (``USSFTA'') in response 
to the Federal Register notices of January 28, 2010 (75 FR 4607) or 
June 25, 2012 (77 FR 37948) have the option as explained below of 
simply indicating that they would like their application also to 
include the United States-Panama TPA and submitting updates (if any) to 
their applications on file.
    Applications must be typewritten, and should be headed 
``Application for Inclusion on a U.S.-Panama TPA Roster.'' Applicants 
must specify for which of the four rosters they wish to be considered: 
General, Financial Services, Labor, or Environment. Applicants may 
specify more than one roster. Applications should include the following 
information, and each section of the application should be numbered as 
indicated:
    1. Name of the applicant.
    2. Business address, telephone number, fax number, and email 
address.
    3. Citizenship(s).
    4. Current employment, including title, description of 
responsibility, and name and address of employer.
    5. Relevant education and professional training.
    6. Fluency in any relevant language other than English, written and 
spoken.
    7. Post-education employment history, including the dates and 
addresses of each prior position and a summary of responsibilities.
    8. Relevant professional affiliations and certifications, 
including, if any, current bar memberships in good standing.
    9. A list and copies of publications, testimony, and speeches, if 
any, concerning the relevant area(s) of expertise. Judges or former 
judges should list relevant judicial decisions. Only one copy of 
publications, testimony, speeches, and decisions need be submitted.
    10. A list of international trade proceedings or domestic 
proceedings relating to international trade matters or other relevant 
matters in which the applicant has provided advice to a party or 
otherwise participated.
    11. Summary of any current and past employment by, or consulting or 
other work for, the Government of the United States or the Government 
of Panama.
    12. The names and nationalities of all foreign principals for whom 
the applicant is currently or has previously been registered pursuant 
to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, 22 U.S.C. 611 et seq., and the 
dates of all registration periods.
    13. A short statement of qualifications and availability for 
service on dispute settlement panels under the Agreement, including 
information relevant to the applicant's familiarity with international 
trade law and relevant area(s) for the roster for which the applicant 
seeks to be considered, and willingness and ability to make time 
commitments necessary for service on panels.
    14. On a separate page, the names, addresses, telephone and fax 
numbers of three individuals willing to provide information concerning 
the applicant's qualifications for service, including the

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applicant's character, reputation, reliability, judgment, and 
familiarity with the relevant area of expertise.

Prior Applicants

    As indicated above, an individual who has submitted an application 
in response to the Federal Register notices of January 28, 2010 (75 FR 
4607) or June 25, 2012 (77 FR 37948) need only indicate that the 
individual is interested in having their application also include the 
Agreement, specify under which of the two Federal Register notices the 
individual had previously submitted an application, and submit updates 
(if any) to the individual's application(s) on file.

Public Disclosure

    Applications normally will not be subject to public disclosure and 
will not be posted publicly on www.regulations.gov. Applications may be 
shared with other agencies, the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and 
the Government of Panama for their consideration in determining whether 
to appoint persons to the relevant roster.

False Statements

    False statements by an applicant regarding his or her personal or 
professional qualifications, or financial or other relevant interests 
that bear on the applicant's suitability for placement on a roster or 
appointment to a panel are subject to criminal sanctions under 18 
U.S.C. 1001.

Privacy Act

    The following statements are made in accordance with the Privacy 
Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). Provision of the information 
requested above is voluntary; however, failure to provide the 
information will preclude consideration as a candidate for inclusion on 
a list. This information is maintained in a system of records entitled 
``Dispute Settlement Panelists Roster.'' Notice regarding this system 
of records was published in the Federal Register on November 30, 2001 
(66 FR 59837). The information provided is needed, and will be used by 
USTR, other federal government trade policy officials concerned with 
dispute settlement under the Agreement, and officials of the Panama to 
select well-qualified individuals for inclusion on the rosters and for 
service on dispute settlement panels.

Daniel E. Brinza,
Senior Counsel for Dispute Settlement.
[FR Doc. 2014-01099 Filed 1-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F4-P