[Federal Register: December 9, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 236)]
[Notices]
[Page 71466-71468]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09de04-98]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Trade Policy Staff Committee: Public Comments Regarding the WTO
Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and the WTO Dispute Settlement
Understanding (DSU) Negotiations
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting written
public comments on general U.S. negotiating objectives as well as
country-, product-, and service-specific priorities for the
multilateral negotiations and work program in the Doha Development
Agenda (DDA) negotiations conducted under the auspices of the World
Trade
[[Page 71467]]
Organization. The TPSC is seeking to supplement and refine positions in
the light of progress to date in the negotiations, notably, the
Decision Adopted by the WTO General Council on 1 August 2004 on the
Doha Work Program. The TPSC is also seeking comments on proposals
advanced in the WTO review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
DATES: Public comments are due by January 31, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: FR0514@USTR.EOP.GOV.
Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143. The public is strongly
encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile.
(See requirements for submissions below.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General inquiries should be made to
the USTR Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs at (202) 395-6843;
calls on individual subjects will be transferred as appropriate.
Procedural inquiries concerning the public comment process should be
directed to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), (202) 395-
3475. Further information on the WTO, including the declarations,
decisions referred to in this notice or proposals tabled, can be
obtained via the internet at the WTO Web site, http://www.wto.org, and/or the USTR Web site, http://www.ustr.gov. The 2004 President's Annual
Report on the Trade Agreements Program, which is available on the USTR
website, contains extensive information on the WTO, the Fifth WTO
Ministerial Meeting in Canc[uacute]n, Mexico, and the status of work in
the WTO.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Doha Development Agenda: The next meeting of
the WTO at the ministerial-level will be in December 2005. Work in 2005
is expected to focus on the technical issues necessary to move the
agenda forward, particularly in the light of the WTO General Council's
Decision of 1 August 2004, which contained frameworks for the
agriculture and non-agricultural market access negotiations, further
directions for a number of areas in the negotiation including services,
and the launch of negotiations on trade facilitation. Accordingly, the
TPSC seeks to provide a new opportunity for public comment to help
guide U.S. participation in the on-going negotiations.
This request for comment supplements earlier requests for comments,
and there is no need to resubmit comments previously provided to the
TPSC. Submissions were received in response to notices seeking: (1)
Public Comments Regarding the Doha Multilateral Trade Negotiations and
Agenda in the World Trade Organization, published in 67 FR No. 53,
March 19, 2002; (2) Public Comments on Preparations for the Fourth
Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization, November 9-13,
2001 in Doha, Qatar, published in 66 FR 18142, April 5, 2001; (3)
Public Comments for Mandated Multilateral Trade Negotiations on
Agriculture and Services in the WTO and Priorities for Future Market
Access Negotiations on Non-Agricultural Products, published in 65 FR
16450, March 28, 2000; and, (4) Public Comments on Institutional
Improvements to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Particularly with
Respect to the Transparency of its Operations and Outreach to Civil
Society, which included a solicitation of comments regarding the
dispute settlement operations of the WTO and was published in 65 FR
36501, June 8, 2000. New or updated submissions are welcome. The TPSC
will review supplemental or new comments, in conjunction with earlier
submissions, in developing positions.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has provided to the TPSC
the public comments received on agricultural and non-agricultural
products as part of its investigation No. 332-440, Probable Economic
Effects on Reduction or Elimination of U.S. Tariffs, August 9, 2002
(Confidential Report). Hence, these comments need not be resubmitted.
Comments are invited with as much specificity as possible on such
subjects as:
(1) General, commodity or service-specific negotiating objectives;
(2) Country, service or product-specific export interests;
(3) Specific tariff or non-tariff barriers the respondent is facing
in key export markets;
(4) Experience with particular foreign measures that impede U.S.
market access; and,
(5) The methods to be used in negotiating market access
improvements.
Information should be as detailed as possible, including specific
tariff numbers for products under the Harmonized System (HS) wherever
possible, product or service descriptions, current tariff levels faced
in key export markets, and the target tariff rate the respondent is
requesting. Specific recommendations or suggestions on the type of
tariff-cutting mechanism to be used in the negotiations are also
welcome. To assure a thorough and orderly review, the TPSC has
identified the following headings under which comments may be
submitted. Submissions should identify the relevant subject area or
areas to which comments apply. These include:
(A) Agriculture--The framework for the agriculture negotiations is
contained in Annex A of the 1 August WTO General Council Decision.
(B) Non-agricultural or Industrial Market Access (NAMA)--The
framework for the NAMA negotiations is contained in Annex B of the 1
August WTO General Council Decision.
(C) Services--Recommendations for the negotiations in services are
contained in Annex C of the 1 August WTO General Council Decision.
(D) Trade Facilitation--The 1 August 2004 Decision by the WTO
General Council launched multilateral negotiations on Trade
Facilitation, in accordance with modalities set forth in Annex D to the
Decision.
The 1 August 2004 Decision by the WTO General Council also
addressed certain development elements of the Doha Work Program (e.g.,
special and differential treatment, trade-related technical assistance
and implementation-related issues) and the work of other negotiating
bodies (Rules, Trade and the Environment and Trade-Related Intellectual
Property Rights). The TPSC welcomes comments on U.S. negotiating
objectives on these elements of the Doha Work Program as well.
Dispute Settlement--The TPSC also calls attention to the progress
to date in the negotiations to clarify and improve the Dispute
Settlement Understanding. Proposals related to the DSU can be found at
http://www.wto.org in the document series ``TN/DS/W''. The two
proposals of the United States, for example, are found in documents TN/
DS/W/46 (providing for public access to dispute settlement proceedings)
and TN/DS/W/52 (a joint proposal with Chile on ensuring sufficient
flexibility and Member control in the procedures to facilitate
resolving disputes).
In document TN/DS/W/52, the United States proposed, as item (f) of
that proposal, ``providing some form of additional guidance to WTO
adjudicative bodies concerning (i) the nature and scope of the task
presented to them (for example when the exercise of judicial economy is
most useful) and (ii) rules of interpretation of the WTO agreements.''
The TPSC would welcome comments on areas in which to provide such
guidance and the form such guidance should take.
[[Page 71468]]
In addition, proposals have spanned a broad range of topics from a
wide spectrum of Members, both those that are frequent users of the
dispute settlement system and those who have less experience with it.
Proposals have been submitted on almost every phase of the dispute
settlement process. For example, in addition to the U.S. proposals, a
number of proposals have been made to require that a compliance panel
must first review any measures taken to comply before a complaining
party could request authorization to suspend equivalent concessions.
Proposals have also been made to provide for a remand from the
Appellate Body to a panel where there were insufficient factual
findings to allow the Appellate Body to make a legal finding on a
claim. Some of the proposals would result in a significant lengthening
of the dispute settlement process. Proposals have also included ways in
which to use time in the process more efficiently. The TPSC would
welcome comments on any of the proposals made.
Written Submissions: Comments should state clearly the objective(s)
and should contain detailed information supporting the objective(s).
Submissions should clearly indicate the general topic (e.g.,
agriculture, services, non-agricultural market access, etc.). As noted
in the sections on services, agriculture and industrial market access,
the provision of supplemental technical information would be helpful.
This information should be provided in an attachment containing a
spreadsheet or table in Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, Excel, Quatro Pro
or MS Access.
Persons submitting comments may either send one copy by fax to
Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at
(202) 395-6143 or transmit a copy electronically to
FR0514@USTR.EOP.GOV, with ``Doha Work Program'' in the subject line.
For documents sent by fax, USTR requests that the submitter provide a
confirmation copy electronically. The public is strongly encouraged to
submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. USTR
encourages the use of Adobe PDF format to submit attachments to an
electronic mail. Interested persons who make submissions by electronic
mail should not provide separate cover letters; 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.
Comments should be submitted electronically no later than January
31, 2005.
Business confidential information will be subject to the
requirements of 15 CFR 2003.6. Any business confidential material must
be clearly marked as such and must be accompanied by a non-confidential
summary thereof. A justification as to why the information contained in
the submission should be treated confidentially should also be
contained in the submission. In addition, any submissions containing
business confidential information must clearly be marked ``Business
Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the cover page (or letter) and
each succeeding page of the submission. The version that does not
contain business confidential information should also be clearly marked
at the top and bottom of each page, ``Public Version'' or ``Non-
Confidential.''
Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except
for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15
CFR 2003.6 will be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading
Room, Office of the United States Trade Representative. An appointment
to review the file can be made by calling (202) 395-6186. The Reading
Room is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4
p.m. Monday through Friday.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-27037 Filed 12-8-04; 8:45 am]