[Federal Register: February 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 31)]
[Notices]
[Page 7532-7534]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17fe04-142]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning
Proposed United States-Andean Free Trade Agreement
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate negotiations on a free trade
agreement between the United States and Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and
Bolivia (hereinafter ``the Andean countries''), request for comments,
and notice of public hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States intends to initiate negotiations with four
Andean countries on a free trade agreement. The interagency Trade
Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek
public comment to assist the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
in amplifying and clarifying negotiating objectives for the proposed
agreement and to provide advice on how specific goods and services and
other matters should be treated under the proposed agreement.
DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention, as well as their testimony, by
March 10, 2004. A hearing will be held in Washington, DC, beginning on
March 17, 2004, and will continue as necessary on subsequent days.
Written comments are due by noon, March 30, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: FR0411@ustr.gov (notice of
intent to testify and written testimony); FR0412@ustr.gov (written
comments).
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: For procedural questions concerning
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria
Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee,
[[Page 7533]]
at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to Bennett
Harman, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Latin America,
at (202) 395-9446.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
Under section 2104 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act
of 2002 (TPA Act) (19 U.S.C. 3804), for agreements that will be
approved and implemented through TPA procedures, the President must
provide the Congress with at least 90 days written notice of his intent
to enter into negotiations and must identify the specific objectives
for the negotiations. Before and after the submission of this notice,
the President must consult with appropriate Congressional committees
and the Congressional Oversight Group regarding the negotiations. Under
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the President must (i) afford
interested persons an opportunity to present their views regarding any
matter relevant to any proposed agreement, (ii) designate an agency or
inter-agency committee to hold a public hearing regarding any proposed
agreement, and (iii) seek the advice of the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC) regarding the probable economic effects on U.S.
industries and consumers of the removal of tariffs and non-tariff
barriers on imports pursuant to any proposed agreement.
On November 18, 2003, after consulting with relevant Congressional
committees and the Congressional Oversight Group, the USTR notified the
Congress that the President intends to initiate free trade agreement
negotiations with the Andean countries and identified specific
objectives for the negotiations. In addition, the USTR has requested
the ITC's probable economic effects advice. This notice solicits views
from the public on these negotiations and provides information on a
hearing, which will be conducted pursuant to the requirements of the
Trade Act of 1974.
2. Public Comments and Testimony
To assist the Administration as it continues to develop its
negotiating objectives for the proposed agreement, the Chairman of the
TPSC invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested
persons at a public hearing. Comments and testimony may address the
reduction or elimination of tariffs or non-tariff barriers on any
articles provided for in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS) that are products of one of the Andean countries, any
concession which should be sought by the United States, or any other
matter relevant to the proposed agreement. The TPSC invites comments
and testimony on all of these matters and, in particular, seeks
comments and testimony addressed to:
(a) General and commodity-specific negotiating objectives for the
proposed agreement.
(b) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of
removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to U.S.-Andean trade.
(c) Treatment of specific goods (described by Harmonized System
tariff numbers) under the proposed agreement, including comments on (1)
product-specific import or export interests or barriers, (2) experience
with particular measures that should be addressed in the negotiations,
and (3) in the case of articles for which immediate elimination of
tariffs is not appropriate, a recommended staging schedule for such
elimination.
(d) Adequacy of existing customs measures to ensure Andean origin
of imported goods, and appropriate rules of origin for goods entering
the United States under the proposed agreement.
(e) Existing Andean countries' sanitary and phytosanitary measures
and technical barriers to trade.
(f) Existing barriers to trade in services between the United
States and the Andean countries that should be addressed in the
negotiations.
(g) Relevant trade-related intellectual property rights issues that
should be addressed in the negotiations.
(h) Relevant commercial and investment issues that should be
addressed in the negotiations.
(i) Relevant government procurement issues that should be addressed
in the negotiations.
(j) Relevant environmental issues that should be addressed in the
negotiations.
(k) Relevant labor issues that should be addressed in the
negotiations.
Comments identifying as present or potential trade barriers, laws,
or regulations that are not primarily trade-related should address the
economic, political and social objectives of such regulations and the
degree to which they discriminate against producers of the other
country. At a later date, the USTR, through the TPSC, will publish
notice of reviews regarding (a) the possible environmental effects of
the proposed agreement and the scope of the U.S. environmental review
of the proposed agreement, and (b) the impact of the proposed agreement
on U.S. employment and labor markets.
A hearing will be held on March 17, 2004, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F
Street, NW., Washington, DC. If necessary, the hearing will continue on
subsequent days. Persons wishing to testify at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention by March 10, 2004. The
notification should include: (1) The name, address, and telephone
number of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a short (one or
two paragraph) summary of the presentation, including the subject
matter and, as applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service
sector(s), or other subjects (such as investment, intellectual property
and/or government procurement) to be discussed. A copy of the testimony
must accompany the notification. Remarks at the hearing should be
limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions
from the TPSC. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special
assistance in gaining access to the hearing should contact the TPSC
Executive Secretary.
Interested persons, including persons who participate in the
hearing, may submit written comments by noon, March 30, 2004. Written
comments may include rebuttal points demonstrating errors of fact or
analysis not pointed out in the hearing. All written comments must
state clearly the position taken, describe with particularity the
supporting rationale, and be in English. The first page of written
comments must specify the subject matter, including, as applicable, the
product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service sector(s), or other subjects
(such as investment, intellectual property and/or government
procurement).
3. Requirements for Submissions
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the Office
of the United States Trade Representative strongly urges and prefers
electronic (e-mail) submissions in response to this notice. In the
event that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be
made by facsimile.
Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following
subject line: ''United States--Andean Free Trade Agreement'' followed
by (as appropriate) ''Notice of Intent to Testify,'' ''Testimony, or
''Written Comments.'' Documents should be submitted as either
WordPerfect, SWord, 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
[[Page 7534]]
the characters ``P-''. The ``P-'' or ``BC-'' should be followed by the
name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by e-mail should
not provide separate cover letters; information that might appear in a
cover letter should be included in the submission itself. 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.
Written comments, notice of testimony, and testimony will be placed
in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except
business confidential information exempt from public inspection in
accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential 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 must be scheduled at
least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling (202) 395-6186.
General information concerning the Office of the United States
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site
(http://www.ustr.gov).
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 04-3390 Filed 2-13-04; 8:45 am]