[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27159-27161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12421]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 332-572]


Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2018 
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 June 4, 2019, from the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (Commission) instituted investigation No. 332-572, 
Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2018 Review, 
for the purpose of providing advice and information relating to the 
possible removal of articles, waiver of competitive need limitations, 
and redesignation of articles.

DATES: 
    June 18, 2019: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the public 
hearing.
    June 18, 2019: Deadline for filing pre-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    July 2, 2019: Public hearing.
    July 8, 2019: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and 
statements.
    July 8, 2019: Deadline for filing all other written submissions.
    September 9, 2019: 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 Mark Brininstool, Project Leader, 
Office of Industries (202-708-1395 or [email protected]), 
Sharon Ford, Deputy Project Leader, Office of Industries (202-205-3084 
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 (https://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 removal of 
certain articles from certain countries from eligibility for duty-free 
treatment. The USTR notified the Commission that two articles from 
Pakistan are being considered for removal from eligibility for duty-
free treatment under the GSP program. 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 A 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 Pakistan on total U.S. imports, on U.S. industries 
producing like or directly competitive articles, and on U.S. consumers 
(see table A below).

 Table A--Petitions Submitted To Remove Duty-Free Status From The Listed
    Countries for a Product on the List of Eligible Articles for the
                    Generalized System of Preferences
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading            Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3907.61.00....................  Polyethylene           Pakistan.
                                 terephthalate,
                                 having a viscosity
                                 number of 78 ml/g or
                                 higher.
3907.69.00....................  Polyethylene           Pakistan.
                                 terephthalate,
                                 having a viscosity
                                 number less than 78
                                 ml/g.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) Advice concerning the 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 (CNLs) specified in section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act 
for the countries and articles specified in table B of the annex to the 
request letter (see table B 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 limitation in section 
503(c)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the 1974 Act, the USTR requested that the 
Commission use the dollar value limit of $185 million. Further, 
pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 and in accordance 
with section

[[Page 27160]]

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 B--Petitions Submitted for Waiver of GSP CNLs
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        HTS subheading            Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3823.11.00....................  Stearic acid.........  Indonesia.
9001.50.00....................  Spectacle lenses of    Thailand.
                                 materials other than
                                 glass, unmounted.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (3) Advice concerning redesignations. The USTR notified the 
Commission that four articles are being considered for redesignation as 
eligible articles 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 C of the annex to the USTR request letter from the listed 
beneficiary countries (see table C below). 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 C--Petitions Submitted for Redesignation of Excluded Items From
                          the Listed Countries
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        HTS subheading            Brief description         Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0603.13.00....................  Orchids, fresh cut...  Thailand.
4412.10.05....................  Plywood, veneered      Indonesia.
                                 panels and similar
                                 laminated wood, of
                                 bamboo.
4412.31.4155..................  Plywood sheets n/o     Indonesia.
                                 6mm thick, with
                                 specified tropical
                                 wood outer ply, with
                                 face ply nesoi, not
                                 surface covered
                                 beyond clear/
                                 transparent.
4418.73.40....................  Assembled flooring     Indonesia.
                                 panels of bamboo,
                                 other than for
                                 mosaic, multilayer,
                                 having a face ply
                                 more than 6mm in
                                 thickness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, 2019. 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 probable 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 of probable economic effects on 
domestic industries, on U.S. imports, and on U.S. consumers, 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 
July 2, 2019. Requests to appear at the public hearing should be filed 
with the Secretary no later than 5:15 p.m., June 18, 2019. All pre-
hearing briefs and statements should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m., 
June 18, 2019; and all post-hearing briefs and statements should be 
filed no later than 5:15 p.m., July 8, 2019. 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., July 8, 2019. All written submissions must conform to the 
provisions of Sec.  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 (https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf) requires 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 Sec.  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

[[Page 27161]]

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 for cybersecurity purposes. 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 and should specifically state 
the summary is intended for that purpose, and it should be titled as 
such. 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 
included in the report 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: June 7, 2019.
Katherine Hiner,
Supervisory Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2019-12421 Filed 6-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P