[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 194 (Wednesday, October 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60731-60732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25548]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Results of the GSP 
Limited Product Review, Including Actions Related to Competitive Need 
Limitations (CNLs)

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the results of the GSP Limited Product 
Review launched in July 2015, including: (1) The designation of certain 
cotton products as eligible for GSP benefits when imported from least-
developed beneficiary developing countries (LDBDCs), and (2) the 
results of the review of CNL-related issues arising from 2014 import 
data, including CNL waivers, CNL waiver revocations, requests for 
redesignation of certain products, and de minimis CNL waivers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Larsen, Director for GSP, Office 
of the United States Trade Representative. The telephone number is 
(202) 395-2974, the fax number is (202) 395-9674, and the email address 
is [email protected].

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, and is 
implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 
1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential 
Proclamations.
    The GSP program expired on July 31, 2013. GSP was reauthorized on 
June 29, 2015, by the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. The GSP 
program is now effective through December 31, 2017, with retroactive 
effect through July 31, 2013. Pursuant to the Trade Preferences 
Extension Act of 2015, exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where 
CNLs have been exceeded for calendar year 2014 will be effective 
October 1, 2015, unless granted a waiver by the President.

Results of the GSP Limited Product Review

    Pursuant to Section 203 of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 
2015, the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) conducted a limited GSP 
review encompassing products that, based on full-year 2014 import data, 
are subject to CNL-related actions, including exclusions, waivers, and 
revocation of waivers, as well as redesignations. As part of this 
review, the TPSC considered: (1) Petitions to waive CNLs for two 
products from Thailand; (2) revocation of CNL waivers for three 
products from beneficiary countries where 2014 imports exceeded certain 
statutory limits; (3) requests for redesignation of products previously 
excluded from GSP eligibility for certain beneficiary countries; and 
(4) products eligible for de minimis waivers of CNLs. As part of this 
review, the TPSC also considered the possible designation of certain 
cotton products for eligibility for GSP benefits when imported from 
LDBDCs under the GSP program.
    In a Presidential Proclamation dated September 30, 2015, the 
President implemented his decisions regarding GSP product eligibility 
issues arising out of this GSP product review, including CNL waivers 
and CNL revocations. This notice provides further information on the 
results of the GSP Limited Product Review. These results, comprising 
five lists, are available for the public to view at http://www.regulations.gov in docket USTR-2015-0007, under ``Supporting and 
Related Materials'' and at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-20142015.

Specific Results

    The President designated five upland cotton fiber products as 
eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP when imported from LDBDCs. 
See List I (Products Added to the List of Eligible Products for GSP for 
Least Developed Beneficiary Developing Countries). This designation is 
pursuant to the authority granted to the President in Section 202 of 
the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 and consistent with USTR's 
December 2011 announcement of trade initiatives intended to enable 
least-developed countries to benefit more fully from global trade.
    The President granted petitions for waivers of CNLs for two 
products from Thailand: (1) Coconuts otherwise prepared or preserved 
(HTS 2008.19.15) and (2) copper alloys (other than brass, cupro-nickel 
or nickel-silver), wire,

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coated or plated with metal (HTS 7408.29.10). See List II (Decision on 
Petitions to Grant Waiver of the Competitive Need Limitation). 
Additionally, the President revoked existing CNL waivers for three 
products: (1) Certain plywood sheets (HTS 4412.31.40) from Indonesia; 
(2) certain copper, stranded wire (HTS 7413.00.10) from Turkey; and (3) 
certain copper cables and plaited bands (HTS 7413.00.50) from Turkey. 
See List III (Revocations of Competitive Need Limitation Waivers).
    The President also redesignated certain articles from GSP-eligible 
countries that had previously exceeded the CNLs, but had fallen below 
the CNL for total annual trade in 2014. The President redesignated as 
GSP-eligible: (1) Oilcake and other solid residues, resulting from the 
extraction of vegetable fats or oils, of sunflower seeds (HTS 
2306.30.00) from Ukraine; (2) rare gases, other than argon (HTS 
2804.29.00) from Ukraine; (3) insulated ignition wiring sets and other 
wiring sets of a kind used in vehicles, aircraft or ships (HTS 
8544.30.00) from Indonesia; and (4) parts of railway/tramway 
locomotives/rolling stock, axles (HTS 8607.19.03) from Ukraine. See 
List IV (Products Receiving GSP Redesignation).
    The President granted de minimis waivers to 98 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 2014 de minimis 
level of $22 million. See List V (Products Receiving 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.

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. 2015-25548 Filed 10-6-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F6-P