[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 57 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11150-11152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05614]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2019-0001]


2019 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Annual 
GSP Product and Country Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of statistics availability and announcement of annual 
GSP review.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs) because of country practices; add products 
to GSP eligibility; remove products from GSP eligibility for one or 
more countries; waive competitive need limitations (CNLs); deny de 
minimis waivers for products eligible for de minimis waivers; and 
redesignate currently excluded products. This review will include 
separate hearings on product petitions and country eligibility reviews, 
which USTR will announce in the Federal Register at a later date.

DATES: April 18, 2019 at midnight EST: Deadline for petitions to modify 
the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary developing countries because 
of country practices; petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions 
on GSP product eligibility additions or removals; petitions to deny de 
minimis waivers; petitions to redesignate an excluded product; and 
petitions for continuation of CNLs that have exceeded certain 
thresholds. USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 
18, 2019 deadline. USTR will announce the petitions accepted for 
review, along with a schedule for any related public hearings and the 
opportunity for the public to provide comments, at a later date.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket 
number is USTR-2019-0001. For alternatives to on-line submissions, 
please contact Lauren Gamache at [email protected], or 202-395-2974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Gamache at [email protected], or 
202-395-2974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 2018 Import Statistics Related to CNLs, De Minimis Waivers, and 
Product Redesignations

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated 
articles when imported from designated beneficiary developing 
countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act of 
1974, as amended (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2461-2467), and is implemented 
in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as 
modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
    USTR posted the 2018 import statistics relating to CNLs, de minimis 
waivers, and product redesignations on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/IssueAreas/gsp/2018_Import_Statistics_Relating_to_CNLs_De_Minimis_Waivers_and_Product_Redesignations.pdf These statistics include four lists.
    I. List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that exceeded 
a CNL by having been imported into the United States in 2018 in excess 
of $185 million, or in a quantity equal to or greater than 50 percent 
of the total U.S. import value for this product in 2018. Unless the 
President grants a waiver in response to a petition filed by an 
interested party, these products will be removed from GSP eligibility 
on November 1, 2019.
    II. List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are 
above the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver 
since total U.S. imports of the product are less than $24 million. 
Articles eligible for de minimis waivers automatically are considered 
in the GSP annual review process without the filing of a petition. As 
described below, USTR will only accept petitions in opposition to a 
potential de minimis waiver for a particular product.
    III. List III identifies GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs 
that currently are not receiving GSP duty-free treatment but may be 
considered for GSP redesignation based on 2018 trade data and 
consideration of certain statutory factors. Note that products 
exceeding the 50 percent CNL may be considered for redesignation if 
there was no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product 
in the last three years.

[[Page 11151]]

    IV. List IV identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that 
currently have a CNL waiver but have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL 
threshold. Unless the President grants a continuation of the waiver in 
response to a petition filed by an interested party, these products 
will be removed from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2019.

II. 2019 Annual GSP Review

A. Country Practice Review Petitions

    An interested party may submit a petition to review the GSP 
eligibility of any beneficiary developing country with respect to any 
of the designation criteria listed in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of the 
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(b) and (c)).

B. GSP Product Review Petitions

    An interested party may submit the following petitions:
     Product addition petitions: Petitions to designate 
additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including designating 
articles as eligible only if the articles are imported from countries 
designated as least-developed beneficiary developing countries, or as 
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act (AGOA). Petitioners seeking to add products to 
eligibility for GSP benefits should note that, as provided in section 
503(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)), certain articles may not 
be designated as eligible articles under GSP.
     Product withdrawal petitions: Petitions to withdraw, 
suspend, or limit the application of duty-free treatment accorded under 
GSP with respect to any article.
     Competitive need limitation waiver petitions: Any 
interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2019 CNL 
for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to 
specific GSP-eligible articles (these limits, however, do not apply to 
least-developed beneficiary developing countries or AGOA beneficiary 
countries). Interested parties filing CNL waiver petitions should 
indicate whether there was production of a like or directly competitive 
product in the United States during the previous three calendar years 
(that is, 2016 to 2018).
     Petitions for denial of de minimis waivers: USTR 
automatically will consider all de minimis waivers. Thus, USTR only 
will accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers. Interested parties 
may submit comments in support of particular de minimis waivers that 
USTR will consider in its decision making process.
     Petitions for redesignation: Interested parties may file 
petitions to grant redesignation of products for which imports are 
below the dollar value CNL ($185 million for 2018) and that are below 
50 percent of total U.S. imports. If a petitioner believes there has 
been no U.S. production of a like or directly competitive product in 
the past three years, USTR also will consider petitions to grant 
redesignation of products for which imports are below the dollar value 
CNL ($185 million for 2018) but imports exceed 50 percent of total U.S. 
imports.
     Petitions for continuation of CNL waiver: Interested 
parties may file petitions to grant a continuation of the current CNL 
waiver of articles from BDCs that currently have had a CNL waiver in 
effect for 5 years or more and have exceeded 150 percent of the CNL 
threshold or 75 percent of total U.S. imports.

III. Requirements for Submissions

A. General Requirements

    All submissions for the GSP Annual Review must conform to the GSP 
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007 (https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=2688e93e7a801d4294d011d7afcc7347&mc=true&node=pt15.3.2007&rgn=div5), except as modified below.
    All submissions in response to this notice must be in English and 
must be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, using 
docket number USTR-2019-0001. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions. USTR will not accept submissions that do not provide the 
information required by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP 
regulations, unless the petitioner explains in detail that they made a 
good faith effort to obtain the information required.
    To make a submission via http://www.regulations.gov, enter the 
docket number for this review--USTR-2019-0001--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.' For additional 
information on using the http://www.regulations.gov website, please 
consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on `how to 
use this site' on the left side of the home page.
    The regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by 
filling in a `type comment' field or by attaching a document using the 
`upload file(s)' field. USTR prefers that submissions be provided in an 
attached document. Submissions must include, at the beginning of the 
submission, or on the first page (if an attachment), the following text 
(in bold and underlined): (1) 2019 GSP Annual Review and (2) the eight 
or ten digit HTSUS subheading number in which the product is classified 
(for product petitions) or the name of the country (for country 
practice petitions).
    Furthermore, petitions that request action with respect to specific 
products also should list at the beginning of the submission, or on the 
first page (if an attachment) the following information: (1) The 
requested action and (2) if applicable, the beneficiary developing 
country. 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.
    You will receive a submission tracking number that you should keep 
for you records upon completion of the submission procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. The tracking number 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 regulations.gov website. USTR may not consider documents that you 
do not submit in accordance with these instructions. If you cannot 
provide submissions as requested, please contact Lauren Gamache at 
(202)396-2974 to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.

B. Business Confidential Petitions

    A submitter requesting that USTR treat information contained in a 
submission 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 each 
succeeding page, and indicating, via brackets, the specific information 
that is confidential. Additionally, you must include `business 
confidential' in the `type comment.' field. For any submission 
containing business confidential information, you also must submit a 
separate non-confidential version (i.e., not as part of the same

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submission with the confidential version), indicating where 
confidential information has been redacted. USTR will place the non-
confidential version in the docket and it will be open to public 
inspection.
    Business confidential submissions that are submitted without the 
required markings, or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-
confidential version, as set forth above, might not be accepted or may 
be considered public documents.

C. 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. You can view 
submissions by entering the docket number USTR-2019-0001 in the search 
field at http://www.regulations.gov.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2019-05614 Filed 3-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P