[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 10093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2810]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Termination of Sanctions Imposed on Certain Member States of the
European Communities Pursuant to Title VII of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Termination of sanctions imposed on certain Member States of
the European Communities pursuant to Title VII of the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988.
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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative has determined to
terminate sanctions imposed on certain EC Member States (Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
This determination is based on assurances from the European
Communities that EC telecommunications operators are no longer subject
to discriminatory requirements, and that purchasing by EC
telecommunications operators are now based solely on commercial
considerations, not EC procurement rules. The termination of sanctions
is effective on March 1, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Heilman Grier, Senior Procurement
Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202)
395-9476 or [email protected].
Determination Relating to Sanctions Imposed Under Title VII of the
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988
On May 28, 1993, the United States imposed sanctions on certain
Member States of the European Communities (EC) under Title VII of the
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2515, as
amended) for maintaining, in government procurement of
telecommunications goods, a significant and persistent pattern or
practice of discrimination against U.S. products or services that
results in identifiable harm to U.S. businesses (58 FR 31136). In June
1993, the EC imposed equivalent countermeasures against the United
States.
On March 10, 1994, then-USTR Michael Kantor terminated the
sanctions against the Federal Republic of Germany based on a
determination that Germany had eliminated the discrimination identified
under Title VII (59 FR 11360). The sanctions currently apply to 11 EC
Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
On March 31, 2004, the European Communities adopted new EC
Directives on Government Procurement, which formally exclude
telecommunications operators from their scope. I have received official
assurances from the EC that the purchasing by EC telecommunications
operators is no longer subject to EC procurement rules, but to purely
commercial considerations, and that the EC will also remove its
countermeasures against the United States.
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the President of the
United States in Presidential Determination No. 93-16, I have
determined that the EC Member States referenced above have eliminated
the discrimination identified under Title VII and have therefore
terminated sanctions effective on March 1, 2006.
Rob Portman,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. E6-2810 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P