[Federal Register: July 2, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 127)]
[Notices]
[Page 39614-39615]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jy03-146]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Trade Policy Staff Committee; Request for Public Comment on Duty
Drawback and Deferral in Free Trade Agreement Negotiations
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) seeks
public comment on the treatment of duty drawback and deferral regimes
in free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations currently underway with
Central
[[Page 39615]]
America, Australia, Morocco, the Southern African Customs Union and the
countries participating in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
DATES: Public comments should be received no later than Noon, July 30,
2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For procedural questions concerning public
comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative at (202)
395-3475. For substantive questions pertaining to this request for
public comment, contact Sarah Sipkins, Director for Market Access,
Office of the USTR, at (202) 395-5656.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Government is seeking public
comment on appropriate disciplines regarding the use of domestic duty
drawback and deferral programs for shipments between parties to the
free trade agreements it is negotiating. Duty drawback and deferral
regimes rebate, defer or reduce duties paid on material inputs
contingent upon exportation of the processed or finished goods. In the
context of an FTA, where inputs are dutiable in the United States and
in the FTA partner country, duty drawback programs can distort
investment decisions by creating an incentive for investors to locate
in the FTA partner country in order to benefit from duty drawback when
exporting processed goods for sale in the U.S. market. These programs
also can create ``export platforms'' for materials produced in third
countries since they de facto provide duty free treatment negotiated
under the FTA to inputs from third countries when the processed goods
are exported to the territory of the FTA partner. For industries in FTA
partner countries, the gains from tariff reduction under an FTAs on
average far exceed any tariff refunds foregone under these programs.
Thus, restrictions on the use of these programs are a standard
feature of most FTAs around the globe. The NAFTA restricts duty
deferral and drawback to the lesser of duties paid on the imported
input or duties paid on the processed good exported to a NAFTA trading
partner. The United States-Chile FTA provides for a gradual phase out
of the use of these programs for shipments between the Parties. U.S.
proposals in ongoing FTA negotiations are modeled on the U.S.-Chile
provision.
All interested parties are invited to provide their written views
and recommendations on this matter. Persons submitting comments should
specify whether the comments apply to all or only some of the FTA
negotiations currently underway.
Request for Comments
Consideration will be given to any written comments that are timely
submitted to USTR. Each person submitting a comment should include his
or her name and address, give reasons for any recommendation and
indicate whether those recommendations apply to all of the above-
referenced negotiations.
In order to facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR
strongly urges and prefers electronic e-mail submissions in response to
this notice. The e-mail address is FR0079@ustr.gov. It is strongly
recommended that comments submitted by mail or express delivery service
to the address for Ms. Sipkins listed above also be sent by e-mail.
Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following subject
line: ``Duty Drawback in FTAs.'' Documents should be submitted as
either WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting
documentation submitted as spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro Pro
or Excel. For any document containing business confidential information
submitted electronically, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of
the public version should begin with the characters ``P-''. The ``P-''
or ``BC-'' should be followed by the name of the submitter. Persons
making submissions by e-mail should not provide separate cover letters;
information that appears 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. Persons submitting written comments
by mail or express delivery service should provide 20 copies, in
English.
Written comments will be placed in a file open to public inspection
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except confidential business information
exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6.
Confidential business information submitted in accordance with 15 CFR
2003.6 must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top of
each page, including any cover letter or cover page, and must be
accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential
information. All public documents and nonconfidential summaries shall
be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR
Reading Room is open to the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m.
to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment
to review the file may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 03-16783 Filed 7-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P