[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63955-63957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24947]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding a 
Hearing for Country Practice Reviews of Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, 
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, South Africa, and Uzbekistan, and for 
the Country Designation Review of Laos

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
announcing a hearing for the GSP country practice reviews of 
Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, South 
Africa, and Uzbekistan, and the country designation review of Laos. 
These reviews will focus on whether: (1) Azerbaijan, Georgia, 
Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are meeting the GSP eligibility criterion 
requiring that a GSP beneficiary country afford workers in that country 
internationally recognized worker rights; (2) Ecuador is meeting the 
GSP eligibility criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary country to act in 
good faith in recognizing as binding or in enforcing applicable 
arbitral awards; (3) Indonesia and South Africa are meeting the GSP 
eligibility criterion requiring adequate and effective protection of 
intellectual property rights; (4) Indonesia and Thailand are meeting 
the GSP eligibility criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary country to 
provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets and basic 
commodity resources; and (5) Laos meets all of the GSP eligibility 
criteria

[[Page 63956]]

and should be newly designated as a GSP beneficiary country. This 
notice includes the schedule for submission of public comments and a 
public hearing.

DATES: 
    January 17, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for submission of 
comments, pre-hearing briefs, and requests to appear at the January 30, 
2020, public hearing.
    January 30, 2020: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff 
Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing on the GSP country 
practice reviews of Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, 
Kazakhstan, Thailand, South Africa, and Uzbekistan, and the country 
designation review of Laos, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
    February 28, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for submission of 
post-hearing briefs.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, using the 
docket number for the appropriate country listed in sections B and C. 
All submission must be in English. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments in sections D through F. For alternatives to on-
line submissions, please contact Claudia Chlebek at 202-395-2974, or 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Claudia Chlebek at 202-
395-2974, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461-2467), as amended, and is implemented 
in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as 
modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.

B. Ongoing Country Practice Reviews of Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, 
Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan, and the Ongoing Country 
Designation Review of Laos

    The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a hearing on January 30, 
2020, for the following country practice reviews:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Country              Basis for petition      Petitioner                     Docket No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ecuador........................  Arbitral Awards...  Chevron             USTR-2013-0013
                                                      Corporation.
Georgia........................  Worker Rights.....  AFL-CIO...........  USTR-2013-0009
Indonesia......................  Intellectual        International       USTR-2013-0011
                                  Property Rights.    Intellectual
                                                      Property Alliance
                                                      (IIPA).
Indonesia......................  Market Access.....  USTR..............  USTR-2018-0007
Kazakhstan.....................  Worker Rights.....  AFL-CIO...........  USTR-2013-0011
Laos...........................  Eligibility.......  Laos..............  USTR-2013-0021
Thailand.......................  Market Access.....  National Pork       USTR-2018-0012
                                                      Producers Council.
Uzbekistan.....................  Worker Rights &     ILRF..............  USTR-2013-0007
                                  Child Labor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Initiation of Country Practice Reviews of Azerbaijan and South 
Africa

    USTR will initiate the country practice reviews of Azerbaijan and 
South Africa. These country practice reviews are undertaken on the 
recommendation of the TPSC pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.0(f) to determine if 
the current laws and practices of Azerbaijan and South Africa meet the 
GSP eligibility criteria. These reviews are the result of country 
eligibility petitions submitted by interested stakeholders and an 
assessment of GSP beneficiary countries conducted by the GSP 
Subcommittee. The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a hearing on 
January 30, 2020, for the following country practice reviews:

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            Country              Basis for petition      Petitioner                     Docket No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azerbaijan.....................  Worker Rights.....  USTR..............  USTR-2019-0021
South Africa...................  Intellectual        IIPA..............  USTR-2019-0020
                                  Property Rights.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Azerbaijan Country Practice Review

    The country practice review of Azerbaijan will focus on whether the 
country is meeting the GSP criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary 
country to take steps to afford workers in that country internationally 
recognized worker rights (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(7)). The GSP Subcommittee 
has identified several potential concerns regarding Azerbaijan's 
compliance with the GSP worker rights criterion including, but not 
limited to, restrictions on freedom of association and a lack of 
effective enforcement mechanisms to protect worker rights. Among other 
concerns, worker organizations in Azerbaijan reportedly face government 
interference and severe restrictions on labor inspections limit the 
ability of workers to exercise internationally recognized worker 
rights.

2. South Africa Country Practice Review

    The country practice review of South Africa will focus on whether 
the country is meeting the GSP criterion requiring a GSP beneficiary 
country to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual 
property rights (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(5)). USTR has accepted a petition 
filed by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). The 
petition alleges that the Government of South Africa does not provide 
adequate and effective copyright protection for U.S. copyrighted works.

D. Notice of Public Hearing

    The GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing beginning at 10:00 a.m. on 
January 30, 2020, to receive information regarding the GSP country 
practice reviews of Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, 
Kazakhstan, Thailand, South Africa, and Uzbekistan, and the country 
designation review of Laos. The hearing will be held in Rooms 1 and 2, 
1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508, and will be open to the public 
and to the press. USTR will make a transcript of the hearing available 
on www.regulations.gov approximately two weeks after the hearing date.

[[Page 63957]]

    USTR must receive your written requests to make an oral 
presentation at the hearing and pre-hearing briefs, statements, or 
comments by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 17, 2020. You must make the 
intent to testify notification in the ``type comment'' field under the 
docket number for the appropriate country listed in sections B and C 
above on the www.regulations.gov website and you should include the 
name, address, telephone number and email address, if available, of the 
person presenting the testimony. You must attach a written brief or 
summary statement in English by using the ``upload file'' field. The 
name of the file also should include who will be presenting the 
testimony. Remarks at the hearing will be limited to no more than five 
minutes to allow for questions from the Subcommittee. The GSP 
Subcommittee will accept post-hearing briefs or statements if they 
conform to the requirements set out below and are submitted in English, 
by 11:59 p.m. on February 28, 2020. You should submit all documents in 
accordance with the instructions in section E below. Parties not 
wishing to appear at the public hearing may submit pre-hearing and 
post-hearing briefs or comments by the relevant deadlines.

E. Requirements for Submissions

    You must submit requests to testify, written comments, and pre-
hearing and post-hearing briefs by the applicable deadlines set forth 
in this notice. You must make all submissions in English via http://www.regulations.gov, using the docket number for the appropriate 
country listed in sections B and C above. USTR will not accept hand-
delivered submissions. To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter the appropriate 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 regulations.gov 
website 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 Subcommittee prefers that you provide submissions in an 
attached document and 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) include the following text (in bold and underlined) (1) 
``[Insert Country] Country Practice Review''; (2) the subject matter; 
and (3) whether the document is a `written comment,' `notice of intent 
to testify,' `pre-hearing brief,' or `post-hearing brief.' Submissions 
should not exceed thirty single-spaced, standard letter-size pages in 
twelve-point type, including attachments. Include any data attachments 
to the submission in the same file as the submission itself, and not as 
separate files.
    You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the 
submission procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. The tracking number 
is confirmation that regulations.gov received the submission. Keep the 
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical 
assistance for the website. USTR may not consider documents you do not 
submit in accordance with these instructions. If you are unable to 
provide submissions as requested, please contact Claudia Chlebek at 
202-395-2974, or [email protected] to arrange for an alternative method 
of transmission. General information concerning USTR is available at 
www.ustr.gov.

F. Business Confidential Submissions

    If you ask USTR to treat information you submitted as business 
confidential information (BCI), you must certify that the information 
is business confidential and that you would not customarily release it 
to the public. You must clearly designate BCI 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 BCI. Additionally, you must include `Business 
Confidential' in the `type comment' field. For any submission 
containing BCI, you must separately submit a non-confidential version, 
i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential version, 
indicating where BCI has been redacted. USTR will post the non-
confidential version in the docket and it will be open to public 
inspection.

G. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    USTR will make public versions of all documents relating to these 
reviews available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2017.4, in the 
appropriate docket at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of 
processing, usually within two weeks of the relevant due date or date 
of the submission.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2019-24947 Filed 11-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F0-P