[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 41 (Friday, March 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12487-12488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04121]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2016-2009]


2016/2017 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Product 
Review: Notice of Availability of Annual Statistics, Acceptance of 
Public Comments and Withdrawal of Certain Petitions

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
announcing the availability of full 2016 calendar year import 
statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. USTR will accept 
public comments submitted by March 22, 2017, 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. USTR also is announcing the withdrawal by 
the petitioners of certain previously accepted CNL waiver petitions.

DATES: Written comments are due by midnight, Wednesday, March 22, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You should submit written comments through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov using docket number 
USTR-2016-0009. Follow the instructions for submitting comments in 
section III below. For alternatives to on-line submissions, please 
contact USTR at [email protected] before transmitting a comment and in 
advance of the deadline.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naomi Freeman, 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].

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 (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 ($175 
million for 2016), 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.
    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 ($23 million for 2016).
    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.
    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2017, unless the President grants a 
waiver. Any CNL-based exclusions, CNL waiver revocations, and decisions 
with respect to de minimis waivers and redesignations will be based on 
full 2016 calendar year import data.

II. 2016 Import Statistics

    In order to provide notice of articles that have exceeded the CNLs 
for 2016 and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding (1) 
potential de minimis waivers and (2) potential redesignations for 2016, 
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-20162017 under the title ``2016 Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations for GSP''. You also can find 
these lists at www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2016-0009. 
There were no articles that were subject to CNL waiver revocation for 
2016 based on the provisions of section 503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 
Act, as amended by Public Law 109-432. You can view full 2016 calendar 
year data for individual tariff subheadings 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 
2016 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 2016 calendar year import data with 
respect to each GSP-eligible article. We advise each interested party 
to conduct its own review of 2016 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 exported in excess of $175 million, 
or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. 
import value, in 2016. These products will be removed from eligibility 
for GSP for the subject countries on July 1, 2017, 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 2016/2017 GSP Annual Review. 
(See 80 FR 50376 and 80 FR 71913). The last column in List I shows the 
product for which a petition has been accepted and is now under review.
    List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above 
the 50 percent

[[Page 12488]]

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 
currently are not receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but may be 
considered for GSP redesignation based on 2016 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. You must submit written comments 
submitted in response to this notice electronically by midnight, 
Wednesday, March 22, 2017. All submissions must be made in English and 
submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov using docket 
number USTR-2016-0009. USTR will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
    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. We strongly advise any person or 
party making a submission 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-2016-0009 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. We strongly prefer that you provide submissions 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, which you should keep, is your confirmation that 
the submission was received into http://www.regulations.gov. 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 the information is business 
confidential and would not customarily be released to the public by the 
submitter. You must clearly designate confidential business information 
by marking the submission ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and 
bottom of the cover page and on each succeeding page, and indicating 
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, you separately must submit a non-confidential version 
(i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential 
version), indicating where confidential information has been redacted. 
We will place the non-confidential version in the docket and it will be 
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. We will make public versions of all 
documents relating to the 2016/2017 Annual Product Review available for 
public viewing in docket USTR-2016-0009 at www.regulations.gov upon 
completion of processing.

IV. Withdrawal of Certain CNL Waiver Petitions

    In a January 23, 2017 Federal Register notice (82 FR 7915), USTR 
announced the acceptance of CNL waiver petitions for the 2016/2017 GSP 
Annual Review. Following the release of full 2016 calendar year trade 
data, the following CNL waiver petitions have been withdrawn from the 
2016/2017 GSP Annual Review because the product imported from the 
subject GSP beneficiary country did not surpass the CNL thresholds for 
2016:

 HTS 6802.99.00 from Brazil
 HTS 0714.90.10 from Ecuador
 HTS 0410.00.00 and HTS 4011.20.10 from Indonesia
 HTS 8525.80.30 and HTS 9001.50.00 from Thailand

The CNL waiver petition for HTS 4409.10.05 from Brazil is being 
considered in the 2016/2017 Annual Review.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-04121 Filed 3-2-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P