[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 59 (Monday, March 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17235-17236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06926]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Preferences for Nepal: Request for Public Comments on 
Review of Nepal's Country Eligibility

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review of the 
eligibility of Nepal to receive preferential treatment for the articles 
described in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. 
The South Asia Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee is 
developing recommendations for the President on Nepal's eligibility. 
The Subcommittee is requesting written comments from the public for 
this review. The Subcommittee will consider the written comments in 
developing its recommendations for the President. This notice 
identifies the eligibility criteria that the President must consider in 
determining whether to provide preferential treatment to certain 
articles from Nepal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawn Shackleford, Deputy Assistant 
U.S. Trade Representative for India, or

[[Page 17236]]

Aimee Larsen, Director for GSP, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Washington DC 20508. The telephone 
numbers are (202) 395-9658 or (202) 395-2974, respectively. The email 
addresses are [email protected] or 
[email protected].

DATES: Public comments are due by 5:00 p.m., 30 days from the date of 
publication of this Federal Register Notice.

Background Information

    The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Sec. 915 
of P.L. 114-125) authorizes the President to designate Nepal as 
eligible for preferential treatment for certain articles. The President 
may authorize the provision of preferential treatment for certain 
articles imported directly from Nepal if the President determines that 
Nepal meets the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1) Paragraphs (1), 
(2), and (3) of section 104(a) of African Growth and Opportunity Act 
(AGOA), as amended (Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, 
Pub. L. 106-200) (19 U.S.C. 3703(a)); and (2) section 502 of the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of 
1974) (1974 Act) (19 U.S.C. 2462).
    Section 104(a) of AGOA includes requirements that the country has 
established or is making continual progress toward establishing, inter 
alia: A market-based economy; the rule of law, political pluralism, and 
the right to due process; the elimination of barriers to U.S. trade and 
investment; economic policies to reduce poverty; a system to combat 
corruption and bribery; and the protection of internationally 
recognized worker rights. In addition, AGOA provides that the country 
may not engage in activities that undermine U.S. national security or 
foreign policy interests or engage in gross violations of 
internationally recognized human rights or provide support for acts of 
international terrorism.
    Section 502(b) of the 1974 Act includes bases for ineligibility for 
benefits and section 502(c) includes factors that the President shall 
take into account in determining whether to provide benefits under the 
GSP. Among the factors that the President shall take into account under 
section 502(c) include: An expression by the country to be designated 
as a beneficiary; the level of economic development; whether or not 
other major developed countries are providing preferential treatment; 
the extent to which the country has assured the United States that it 
will provide market access and refrain from unreasonable export 
practices; the extent to which the county is providing adequate and 
effective protection of intellectual property rights; the extent to 
which the country has taken action to reduce trade distorting 
investment practices and policies and reduce or eliminate barriers to 
trade in services; and whether or not the country has taken or is 
taking steps to afford workers with internationally recognized worker 
rights.
    Please see section paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) 104(a) of AGOA and 
section 502 of the 1974 Act for a complete list of relevant eligibility 
criteria.
    Separately, before providing preferential treatment to any article 
from Nepal, the President must also determine, after receiving the 
advice of the United States International Trade Commission, that these 
articles are not import sensitive in the context of imports from Nepal.

Requirements for Submissions

    Persons submitting written comments must do so electronically by 
5:00 p.m., 30 days from the date of publication of this Federal 
Register Notice, using www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2016-
0005. Instructions for submitting business confidential versions are 
provided below. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. All 
written materials must be submitted in English to the Chairman of the 
South Asia Subcommittee of the TPSC.
    To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter the 
docket number 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 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 South Asia 
Subcommittee prefers that submissions be provided as an attached 
document. 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.

Business Confidential Submissions

    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 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 2003.6, will be 
available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. Such submissions may 
be viewed by entering the country-specific docket number in the search 
field at http://www.regulations.gov.

Dawn Shackleford,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for India, Office of the 
U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2016-06926 Filed 3-25-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F6-P