[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24342-24345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11458]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-567]


Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2017 
Review

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of institution of investigation and scheduling of public 
hearing.

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SUMMARY: Following receipt of a request on May 18, 2018, from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-567, 
Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2017 Review, 
for the purpose of providing advice and information relating to the 
possible designation of additional articles, removal of articles, 
waiver of competitive need limitations, redesignation of articles, and 
denial of a de minimis waiver.

DATES: 
June 4, 2018: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing.
June 7, 2018: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and statements.
June 14, 2018: Public hearing.
June 21, 2018: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and statements.
June 21, 2018: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
September 7, 2018: Transmittal of Commission report to the USTR.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, are located in the United States International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC. All written submissions 
should be addressed to the Secretary, United States International Trade 
Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. The public record 
for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information specific to this 
investigation may be obtained from Sabina Neumann, Project Leader, 
Office of Industries (202-205-3000 or [email protected]), Mark 
Brininstool, Deputy Project Leader, Office of Industries (202-708-1395 
or [email protected]), or Marin Weaver, Technical Advisor, 
Office of Industries (202-205-3461 or [email protected]). For 
information on the legal aspects of this investigation, contact William 
Gearhart of the Commission's Office of the General Counsel (202-205-
3091 or [email protected]). The media should contact Margaret 
O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations (202-205-1819 or 
[email protected]). Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
at 202-205-1810. General information concerning the Commission may also 
be obtained by accessing its website (http://www.usitc.gov). Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
202-205-2000.
    Background: In his letter, the USTR requested the advice and 
information described below.
    (1) Advice concerning the probable economic effect of elimination 
of U.S. import duties on certain articles from all beneficiary 
developing countries under the GSP program. In accordance with sections 
503(a)(1)(A), 503(e), and 131(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended 
(``the 1974 Act'') and pursuant to the authority of the President 
delegated to the USTR by sections 4(c) and 8(c) and (d) of Executive 
Order 11846 of March 31, 1975, as amended, and pursuant to section 
332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, the USTR notified the Commission that 
the articles identified in Table A of the Annex to the USTR request 
letter are being considered for designation as eligible articles for 
purposes of the GSP program. The USTR requested that the Commission 
provide its advice as to the probable economic effect on total U.S. 
imports, U.S. industries producing like or directly competitive 
articles, and on U.S. consumers of the elimination of U.S. import 
duties on the articles identified in Table A of the Annex to

[[Page 24343]]

the USTR request letter for all beneficiary developing countries under 
the GSP program (see Table A below).

 Table A--Petitions Submitted for Products To Be Considered for Addition
                  to the List of GSP-Eligible Products
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      HTS subheading           Brief description          Countries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0808.30.40...............  Pears, fresh, if entered  Beneficiary
                            during the period from    Developing
                            July 1 through the        Countries.
                            following March 31,
                            inclusive.
0814.00.80...............  Peel of citrus fruit,     Beneficiary
                            excl. orange or citron    Developing
                            and peel, nesi, of        Countries.
                            melon, fresh, frozen,
                            dried or provisionally
                            preserved.
1207.29.00...............  Cotton seeds, whether or  Beneficiary
                            not broken, other than    Developing
                            seed for sowing.          Countries.
1512.11.00...............  Sunflower-seed or         Beneficiary
                            safflower oil, crude,     Developing
                            and their fractions,      Countries.
                            whether or not refined,
                            not chemically modified.
2008.99.05...............  Apples, otherwise         Beneficiary
                            prepared or preserved,    Developing
                            nesi.                     Countries.
2918.99.05...............  p-Anisic acid;            Beneficiary
                            clofibrate and 3-         Developing
                            phenoxybenzoic acid.      Countries.
2918.99.43...............  Aromatic carboxylic       Beneficiary
                            acids with additional     Developing
                            oxygen function and       Countries.
                            their anhydrides,
                            halide, etc deriv
                            described in add US
                            note 3 to sect VI,
                            nesoi.
2918.99.47...............  Other aromatic            Beneficiary
                            carboxylic acids with     Developing
                            additional oxygen         Countries.
                            function and their
                            anhydrides, halide, etc
                            deriv (excluding goods
                            in add US note 3 to sec
                            VI).
4010.33.30...............  Transmission V-belts of   Beneficiary
                            vulcanized rubber, V-     Developing
                            ribbed, circumference     Countries.
                            exceeding 180 cm but
                            not exceeding 240 cm,
                            combined with textile
                            materials.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) Advice concerning the probable economic effect of removal of 
certain articles from certain countries from eligibility for duty-free 
treatment. The USTR notified the Commission that two articles are being 
considered for removal from eligibility for duty free treatment under 
the GSP program from certain countries. Under authority delegated by 
the President, pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 
with respect to the article listed in Table B of the Annex to the USTR 
request letter, the USTR requested that the Commission provide its 
advice as to the probable economic effect of the removal from 
eligibility for duty-free treatment under the GSP program for these 
articles from certain countries on total U.S. imports, U.S. industries 
producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers 
(see Table B below).

  Table B--Petitions Submitted To Remove Duty-Free Status From Certain
    Countries for a Product on the List of Eligible Articles for the
                    Generalized System of Preferences
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading             Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009.89.6011 and 2009.89.6019.  Cherry juice--Part of   Turkey.
                                 2009.89.60 ``Juice of
                                 any other single
                                 fruit, nesoi''.
3920.51.50....................  Nonadhesive plates,     Indonesia and
                                 sheets, film, foil      Thailand.
                                 and strip,
                                 noncellular, not
                                 combined with other
                                 materials, of
                                 polymethyl
                                 methacrylate, not
                                 flexible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (3) Advice concerning waiver of certain competitive need 
limitations. Under authority delegated by the President, pursuant to 
section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, and in accordance with 
section 503(d)(1)(A) of the 1974 Act, the USTR requested that the 
Commission provide advice on whether any industry in the United States 
is likely to be adversely affected by a waiver of the competitive need 
limitations (CNL) specified in section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act for 
the countries and articles specified in Table C of the attached Annex 
to the request letter (see Table C below). The USTR also requested that 
the Commission provide its advice as to the probable economic effect on 
total U.S. imports, as well as on consumers, of the requested waivers. 
With respect to the competitive need limit in section 
503(c)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the 1974 Act, the USTR requested that the 
Commission use the dollar value limit of $180,000,000. Further, 
pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 and in accordance 
with section 503(c)(2)(E) of the 1974 Act, the USTR requested that the 
Commission provide its advice with respect to whether a like or 
directly competitive article was produced in the United States in any 
of the preceding three calendar years.

           Table C--Petitions Submitted for Waiver of GSP CNLs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading             Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0410.00.00....................  Edible products of      Indonesia.
                                 animal origin, nesi.
2836.91.00....................  Lithium carbonates....  Argentina.
3301.13.00....................  Essential oils of       Argentina.
                                 lemon.
6802.99.00....................  Monumental or building  Brazil.
                                 stone & arts.
                                 thereof, nesoi,
                                 further worked than
                                 simply cut/sawn,
                                 nesoi.
7202.50.00....................  Ferrosilicon chromium.  Kazakhstan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) Advice concerning redesignations. The USTR notified the 
Commission that seven articles are being considered for redesignation 
as eligible articles for purposes of the GSP program. Under authority 
delegated by the President,

[[Page 24344]]

pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, the USTR 
requested that the Commission provide its advice as to the probable 
economic effect on total U.S. imports, on U.S. industries producing 
like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers of the 
elimination of U.S. import duties on the articles in Table D of the 
Annex to the USTR request letter from the listed beneficiary countries.

    Table D--Petitions Submitted for Redesignation of Excluded Items
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading             Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2007.99.48....................  Apple, quince and pear  Argentina.
                                 pastes and purees,
                                 being cooked
                                 preparations.
2306.30.00....................  Oilcake and other       Argentina.
                                 solid residues,
                                 resulting from the
                                 extraction of
                                 vegetable fats or
                                 oils, of sunflower
                                 seeds.
2841.90.20....................  Ammonium perrhenate...  Kazakhstan.
2909.50.40....................  Odoriferous or          Indonesia.
                                 flavoring compounds
                                 of ether-phenols,
                                 ether-alcohol-phenols
                                 & their halogenated,
                                 sulfonated, nitrated,
                                 nitrosated
                                 derivatives.
4107.11.80....................  Full grain unsplit      Argentina.
                                 whole bovine (not
                                 buffalo) nesoi and
                                 equine leather nesoi,
                                 w/o hair, prepared
                                 after tanning or
                                 crusting, fancy, not
                                 4114.
6802.93.00....................  Monumental or building  India.
                                 stone & arts.
                                 thereof, of granite,
                                 further worked than
                                 simply cut/sawn,
                                 nesoi.
7202.93.80....................  Ferroniobium, nesoi...  Brazil.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (5) Advice concerning redesignation and advice on whether a like or 
directly competitive domestic article was produced in any of the 
preceding three years. The USTR notified the Commission that one 
article is being considered for redesignation as an eligible article 
for purposes of the GSP program. Under authority delegated by the 
President, pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, the 
USTR requested that the Commission provide its advice as to the 
probable economic effect on total U.S. imports, on U.S. industries 
producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers 
of the elimination of U.S. import duties on the articles in Table E of 
the Annex to the USTR request letter from the listed beneficiary 
countries. Further, pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 
1930 and in accordance with section 503(c)(2)(E) of the 1974 Act, the 
USTR requested that the Commission provide its advice as to whether a 
like or directly competitive article was produced in the United States 
in any of the preceding three calendar years.

     Table E--Petition Submitted for Redesignation of Excluded Item
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading             Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4412.31.41, Including           Plywood sheets n/o 6mm  Indonesia.
 4412.31.4150 and 4412.31.4160.  thick, with specified
                                 tropical wood outer
                                 ply, with face ply
                                 nesoi, not surface
                                 covered beyond clear/
                                 transparent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (6) Advice concerning denial of de minimis waiver. The USTR 
notified the Commission that one article from a GSP beneficiary country 
is being considered for denial of a de minimis CNL waiver. Under 
authority delegated by the President, pursuant to section 332(g) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, with respect to the article listed in Table F of 
the Annex to the USTR request letter, the USTR requested that the 
Commission provide its advice as to the probable economic effect of the 
removal from eligibility for duty-free treatment under the GSP program 
of this article from the specified country on total U.S. imports, on 
U.S. industries producing like or directly competitive articles, and on 
U.S. consumers. Further, pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930 and in accordance with section 503(c)(2)(E) of the 1974 Act, 
the USTR requested that the Commission provide its advice with respect 
to whether a like or directly competitive article was produced in the 
United States in any of the preceding three calendar years.

       Table F--Petition Submitted for Denial of De Minimis Waiver
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading             Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3802.90.10....................  Bone black............  Brazil.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Time for reporting, HTS detail, portions of report to be 
classified. As requested by the USTR, the Commission will provide the 
requested advice and information by September 7, 2018. The USTR asked 
that the Commission issue, as soon as possible thereafter, a public 
version of the report containing only the unclassified information, 
with any confidential business information deleted. As requested, the 
Commission will provide its economic effect advice and statistics 
(profile of the U.S. industry and market and U.S. import and export 
data) and any other relevant information or advice separately and 
individually for each U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for 
all products subject to the request. The USTR indicated that those 
sections of the Commission's report and working papers that contain the 
Commission's advice and assessment will be classified as 
``confidential.'' The USTR also stated that his office considers the 
Commission's report to be an inter-agency memorandum that will contain 
pre-decisional advice and be subject to the deliberative process 
privilege.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing in connection with this 
investigation will be held at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
June 14, 2018. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed 
with

[[Page 24345]]

the Secretary no later than 5:15 p.m., June 4, 2018. All pre-hearing 
briefs and statements should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., June 7, 
2018; and all post-hearing briefs and statements should be filed no 
later than 5:15 p.m., June 21, 2018. All requests to appear, and pre- 
and post-hearing briefs and statements should be filed in accordance 
with the requirements of the ``written submissions'' section below.
    Written Submissions: In lieu of or in addition to appearing at the 
hearing, interested parties are invited to file written submissions 
concerning this investigation. All written submissions should be 
addressed to the Secretary, and should be received not later than 5:15 
p.m., June 21, 2018. All written submissions must conform to the 
provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook 
on Filing Procedures require that interested parties file documents 
electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) 
true paper copies by 12:00 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. 
In the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, 
interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper 
copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the 
confidential information must be deleted (see the following paragraph 
for further information regarding confidential business information). 
Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the 
Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (202-205-1802).
    Confidential Business Information: Any submissions that contain 
confidential business information must also conform with the 
requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the rules requires that the 
cover of the document and the individual pages be clearly marked as to 
whether they are the ``confidential'' or ``non-confidential'' version, 
and that the confidential business information is clearly identified by 
means of brackets. All written submissions, except for confidential 
business information, will be made available for inspection by 
interested parties.
    The Commission may include some or all of the confidential business 
information submitted in the course of this investigation in the report 
it sends to the USTR. Additionally, all information, including 
confidential business information, submitted in this investigation may 
be disclosed to and used: (i) By the Commission, its employees and 
Offices, and contract personnel (a) for developing or maintaining the 
records of this or a related proceeding, or (b) in internal 
investigations, audits, reviews, and evaluations relating to the 
programs, personnel, and operations of the Commission including under 5 
U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. government employees and contract 
personnel (a) for cybersecurity purposes or (b) in monitoring user 
activity on U.S. government classified networks. The Commission will 
not otherwise disclose any confidential business information in a 
manner that would reveal the operations of the firm supplying the 
information.
    Summaries of Written Submissions: The Commission intends to publish 
summaries of the positions of interested persons. Persons wishing to 
have a summary of their position included in the report should include 
a summary with their written submission. The summary may not exceed 500 
words, should be in MSWord format or a format that can be easily 
converted to MSWord, and should not include any confidential business 
information. The summary will be published as provided if it meets 
these requirements and is germane to the subject matter of the 
investigation. The Commission will identify the name of the 
organization furnishing the summary and will include a link to the 
Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS) where the 
full written submission can be found.

    By order of the Commission.
     Issued: May 23, 2018.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-11458 Filed 5-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P