[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 39 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10356-10358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04301]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


2015/2016 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Product 
Review: Inviting Public Comments on Possible Actions Related to 
Competitive Need Limitations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of full 2015 calendar 
year import statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) 
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The Office 
of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will accept public 
comments submitted by April 1, 2016, regarding: (1) Possible de minimis 
CNL waivers; and (2) possible redesignations of articles currently not 
eligible for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNL 
thresholds. This notice also announces the withdrawal by the 
petitioners of certain previously accepted CNL waiver petitions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Larsen, Director for GSP, Office 
of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., 
Washington DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-2974 and the 
email address is [email protected].

DATES:  Public comments are due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Statutory Provisions Related to CNLs

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs). 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'').
    Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act sets out the two CNLs. When 
the President determines that a BDC exported to the United States 
during a calendar year either: (1) A quantity of a GSP-eligible article 
having a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($170 
million for 2015), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a 
value equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. 
imports of the article from all countries (the ``50 percent'' CNL), the 
President must terminate GSP duty-free treatment for that article from 
that BDC by no later than July 1 of the next calendar year, unless a 
waiver is granted. (Note--as announced in a November 17, 2015, Federal 
Register notice (FRN), petitions for CNL waivers are being considered 
under a separate timeline than that of the actions on CNLs set forth in 
this FRN).
    De minimis waivers: Under section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act, the 
President may waive the 50 percent CNL with respect to an eligible 
article imported from a BDC if the value of total imports of that 
article from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the 
applicable de minimis amount for that year ($22.5 million for 2015).
    Redesignations: Under section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act, if 
imports of an eligible article from a BDC ceased to receive duty-free 
treatment due to exceeding a CNL in a prior year, the President may, 
subject to the considerations in sections 501 and 502 of the 1974 Act, 
redesignate such an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the 
most recently completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.
    CNL waiver revocation: Under Section 503(d)(5) of the 1974 Act, a 
CNL waiver remains in effect until the President determines that it is 
no longer warranted due to changed circumstances. Section 
503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 Act, as amended by Public Law 109-432, 
also provides that, ``[n]ot later than July 1 of each year, the 
President should revoke any waiver that has then been in effect with 
respect to an article for five years or more if the beneficiary 
developing country has exported to the United States (directly or 
indirectly) during the preceding calendar year a quantity of the 
article--(I) having an appraised value in excess of 1.5 times the 
applicable amount set forth in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii) for that 
calendar year ($255 million in 2015); or (II) exceeding 75 percent of 
the appraised value of the total imports of that article into the 
United States during that calendar year.''
    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2016, unless granted a waiver by the 
President. Any CNL-based exclusions, CNL waiver revocations, and 
decisions with respect to de minimis waivers and

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redesignations will be based on full 2015 calendar year import data.

II. 2015 Import Statistics

    In order to provide notice of articles that have exceeded the CNLs 
for 2015 and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding (1) 
potential de minimis waivers and (2) potential redesignations for 2015, 
USTR has posted product lists on the USTR Web site at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-20152016 under the title ``2015 Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations for the Generalized System of 
Preferences.'' These lists can also be found at www.regulations.gov in 
Docket Number USTR-2015-0013. There were no articles that were subject 
to CNL waiver revocation for 2015 based on the provisions of Section 
503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 Act, as amended by Public Law 109-432. 
Full 2015 calendar year data for individual tariff subheadings may also 
be viewed on the Web site of the U.S. International Trade Commission at 
http://dataweb.usitc.gov.
    The lists available on the USTR Web site contain, for each article, 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 
and BDC country of origin, the value of imports of the article for the 
2015 calendar year, and the percentage of total U.S. imports of that 
article from all countries.
    The lists published on the USTR Web site are for informational 
purposes only. They may not include all articles to which the GSP CNLs 
may apply. All determinations and decisions regarding the CNLs of the 
GSP program will be based on full 2015 calendar year import data with 
respect to each GSP-eligible article. Each interested party is advised 
to conduct its own review of 2015 import data with respect to the 
possible application of the GSP CNL provisions.
    List I on the USTR Web site shows GSP-eligible articles from BDCs 
that exceeded a CNL by having been imported in excess of $170 million, 
or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. 
import value, in 2015. These products will be removed from eligibility 
for GSP for the subject countries on July 1, 2016, unless the President 
grants a waiver for the product for the subject country in response to 
a petition filed by an interested party. Such petitions for CNL waivers 
must have been previously submitted in the 2015/2016 GSP Annual Review. 
(See 80 FR 50376 and 80 FR 71913.) The last column in List I shows 
those products for which petitions have been accepted and are now under 
review.
    List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above 
the 50 percent CNL, but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver of 
the 50 percent CNL. Articles eligible for de minimis waivers are 
automatically considered in the GSP annual review process, without the 
filing of a petition. List III shows GSP-eligible articles from certain 
BDCs that are currently not receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but that 
may be considered for GSP redesignation based on 2015 trade data and 
consideration of certain statutory factors. Recommendations to the 
President on de minimis waivers and redesignations will be made as part 
of the GSP annual review process, and public comments (including 
comments in support of or in opposition to de minimis waivers and 
redesignations) are invited in accordance with the Requirements for 
Submissions below.

III. Public Comments

Requirements for Submissions

    Written comments submitted in response to this notice must be 
submitted electronically by 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2016. All 
submissions must be made in English and submitted electronically via 
http://www.regulations.gov, using docket number USTR-2015-0013. Hand-
delivered submissions will not be accepted.
    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 https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/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 http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket 
number USTR-2015-0013 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. The Subcommittee prefers that submissions be provided in an 
attached document and, in such cases, that parties note ``See 
attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field on the online submission form.
    At the beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an 
attachment), please note that the submission is in response to this 
Federal Register notice and indicate the specific product(s) (including 
the eight-digit HTSUS subheading) that is the subject of the comment 
and on which of the relevant lists described above (e.g., List I) it 
appears. 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 
responsible for any delays in a submission due to technical 
difficulties, nor is it able to provide any technical assistance for 
the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Documents not submitted in 
accordance with these instructions may not be considered in this 
review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions as 
requested, please contact the GSP program at USTR to arrange for an 
alternative method of transmission.

Business Confidential Petitions

    An interested party requesting that information contained in a 
submission 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. For any submission containing business confidential 
information, a non-confidential version must be submitted separately 
(i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential 
version), indicating where

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confidential information has been redacted. The non-confidential 
version will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection.

Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice, except for information 
granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR part 2003.6, will 
be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR part 2007.6 at 
http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing, usually 
within two weeks of the relevant due date or date of the submission. 
Public versions of all documents relating to the 2015/2016 Annual 
Product Review will be made available for public viewing in docket 
USTR-2015-0013 at www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing.

IV. Withdrawal of Certain CNL Waiver Petitions

    In a January 11, 2016 Federal Register notice (see 81 FR 1275), 
USTR announced the acceptance of CNL waiver petitions for the 2015/2016 
GSP Annual Review. Following the release of full 2015 calendar year 
trade data, the following petitioners have withdrawn their CNL waiver 
petition from the 2015/2016 GSP Annual Review because the product 
imported from the subject GSP beneficiary country did not surpass the 
CNL thresholds for 2015:
     CamelBak Products LLC: HTS 4202.92.04 from the Philippines
     Government of Tunisia: HTS 1509.10.40 from Tunisia
     Government of Ukraine: HTS 2804.29.00 from Ukraine
     Lenox Corporation: HTS 6911.10.37 from Indonesia
    An updated list of the CNL waiver petitions being considered in the 
2015/2016 review can be found on the USTR Web site at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-20152016 under the title ``Product and CNL Waiver 
Petitions Accepted for the 2015/2016 GSP Annual Review.'' This list can 
also be found at www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2015-0013.

William D. Jackson,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2016-04301 Filed 2-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F6-P