[Federal Register: November 16, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 220)]
[Notices]
[Page 69621-69622]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16no05-138]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Comments Concerning Compliance With
Telecommunications Trade Agreements
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and reply comment.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3106) (``section 1377''), the
Office of the United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') is
reviewing and requests comments on: The operation, effectiveness, and
implementation of and compliance with WTO agreements affecting market
opportunities for telecommunications products and services of the
United States; the telecommunications provisions of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''), the Chile, Singapore, and Australia
Free Trade Agreements (``FTA'') and any other FTA coming into force on
or before January 1, 2006; and other telecommunications trade
agreements. The USTR will conclude the review by March 31, 2006.
DATES: Comments are due by noon on December 9, 2005 and Reply Comments
by noon on January 6, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, ATTN: Section 1377 Comments, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arrow Augerot, Office of Industry,
Market Access, and Telecommunications (202) 395-6099; or Amy Karpel,
Office of the General Counsel (202) 395-5804.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1377 requires the USTR to review
annually the operations and effectiveness of all U.S. trade agreements
regarding
[[Page 69622]]
telecommunications products and services of the United States that are
in force with respect to the United States. The purpose of the review
is to determine whether any act, policy, or practice of a country that
has entered into a telecommunications trade agreement with the United
States is inconsistent with the terms of such agreement or otherwise
denies to U.S. firms, within the context of the terms of such
agreements, mutually advantageous market opportunities. For the current
review, the USTR seeks comments on:
(1) Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is
inconsistent with its commitments under WTO agreements affecting market
opportunities for telecommunications products and services, e.g., the
WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (``GATS''), including the
Annex on Telecommunications and any scheduled commitments including the
Reference Paper on Pro-Competitive Regulatory Principles;
(2) Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with its
telecommunications commitments or obligations under NAFTA;
(3) Whether Chile, Singapore, or Australia, or any other FTA
partner with an Agreement that comes into force on or before January 1,
2006 has failed to comply with its telecommunications commitments or
obligations under the respective FTA between the United States and that
country (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Section_Index.html
for U.S. FTAs);
(4) Whether other countries have failed to comply with their
commitments under additional telecommunications agreements with the
United States, e.g., Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for
Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (see http://www.tcc.mac.doc.gov
for a collection of trade agreements, including
ones related to telecommunications); and
(5) Whether there remain outstanding issues from previous section
1377 reviews on those countries or issues previously cited (see http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Sectors/Telecom-E-commerce/Section_1377/Section_Index.html
for the 2005 review);
Public Comment and Reply Comment: Requirements for Submission
All comments must be in English, identify on the first page of the
comments the telecommunications trade agreement(s) discussed therein,
and be submitted by noon on December 16, 2005. Reply comments must also
be in English and be submitted by noon on January 13, 2006. Reply
comments should only address issues raised by the comments.
In order to ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and
consideration of comments and reply comments, USTR has arranged to
accept submissions in electronic format (e-mail). Comments should be
submitted electronically to FR0502@ustr.eop.gov. An automatic reply
confirming receipt of e-mail submission will be sent. E-mail
submissions in Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect are preferred. If a
word processing application other than those two is used, please
include in your submission the specific application used. For any
document submitted electronically containing business confidential
information, the file name of the business confidential version should
begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers must also submit a
public version of their comments. The file name of the public version
should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' and ``P'' should be
followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments or
reply comments. Interested persons who make submissions electronically
should not provide separate cover letters; rather, information that
might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission
itself. Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to the
submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself
and not as separate files. All non-confidential comments and reply
comments will be placed on the USTR Web site, http://www.USTR.gov, and
in the USTR Reading Room for inspection shortly after the filing
deadline, except business confidential information exempt from public
inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6.
We strongly urge use of the electronic filing procedures, if at all
possible. If an e-mail submission is impossible, 15 copies of both the
business confidential and the public versions must be delivered via
private commercial courier, and arrangements must be made with Ms. Blue
prior to delivery for their receipt. Ms. Blue should be contacted at
(202) 395-3475. Because comments and reply comments will be posted on
USTR's Web site, those persons not availing themselves of electronic
filing must submit their 15 copies with a diskette.
An appointment to review the comments may be made by calling the
USTR Reading Room at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to
the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, and is located in Room 3 of 1724 F Street, NW.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 05-22749 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P