[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 184 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54637-54639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22103]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Initiation of a Review
To Consider the Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a Beneficiary
Developing Country Under the GSP
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation of a review to consider
designating the Republic of Kosovo as a beneficiary developing country
(BDC) for purposes of the GSP program, and solicits public comments on
whether Kosovo meets certain eligibility criteria
[[Page 54638]]
for designation as a BDC. Comments are due by Friday, October 17, 2008,
and must be submitted in accordance with the requirements set out
below.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
[email protected]. (Note: the digit before the number in the e-mail
address is the number zero, not a letter.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For assistance, contact Regina Teeter,
USTR's GSP Office at 202-395-6971.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee (TPSC) has initiated a review in order to make a
recommendation to the President as to whether Kosovo meets the
eligibility criteria of the GSP statute. After considering the
recommendation, the President is authorized to, and may, designate
Kosovo as a BDC for purposes of the GSP program.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on whether Kosovo
meets the eligibility criteria set forth below and in section 502(c) of
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)) (the ``Act'').
Eligibility Criteria
The trade benefits of the GSP program are available to any country
that the President designates as a GSP ``beneficiary developing
country.'' In designating countries as GSP beneficiary developing
countries, the President must consider the criteria in sections
502(b)(2) and 502(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C.
2462(b)(2), 2462(c)) (``the Act''). Section 502(b)(2) provides that a
country is ineligible for designation if:
1. Such country is a Communist country, unless--
(a) The products of such country receive nondiscriminatory
treatment, (b) Such country is a WTO Member (as such term is defined in
section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act) (19 U.S.C. 3501(10))
and a member of the International Monetary Fund, and (c) Such country
is not dominated or controlled by international communism.
2. Such country is a party to an arrangement of countries and
participates in any action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect of
which is--
(a) To withhold supplies of vital commodity resources from
international trade or to raise the price of such commodities to an
unreasonable level, and (b) To cause serious disruption of the world
economy.
3. Such country affords preferential treatment to the products of a
developed country, other than the United States, which has, or is
likely to have, a significant adverse effect on United States commerce.
4. Such country--
(a) Has nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise seized ownership
or control of property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights,
owned by a United States citizen or by a corporation, partnership, or
association which is 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United
States citizens, (b) Has taken steps to repudiate or nullify an
existing contract or agreement with a United States citizen or a
corporation, partnership, or association which is 50 percent or more
beneficially owned by United States citizens, the effect of which is to
nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership or control of
property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned, or
(c) Has imposed or enforced taxes or other exactions, restrictive
maintenance or operational conditions, or other measures with respect
to property, including patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so owned,
the effect of which is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise seize
ownership or control of such property, unless the President determines
that--
(i) Prompt, adequate, and effective compensation has been or is
being made to the citizen, corporation, partnership, or association
referred to above, (ii) Good faith negotiations to provide prompt,
adequate, and effective compensation under the applicable provisions of
international law are in progress, or the country is otherwise taking
steps to discharge its obligations under international law with respect
to such citizen, corporation, partnership, or association, or (iii) A
dispute involving such citizen, corporation, partnership, or
association over compensation for such a seizure has been submitted to
arbitration under the provisions of the Convention for the Settlement
of Investment Disputes, or in another mutually agreed upon forum, and
the President promptly furnishes a copy of such determination to the
Senate and House of Representatives.
5. Such country fails to act in good faith in recognizing as
binding or in enforcing arbitral awards in favor of United States
citizens or a corporation, partnership, or association which is 50
percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens, which
have been made by arbitrators appointed for each case or by permanent
arbitral bodies to which the parties involved have submitted their
dispute.
6. Such country aids or abets, by granting sanctuary from
prosecution to, any individual or group which has committed an act of
international terrorism or the Secretary of State makes a determination
with respect to such country under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. Appx. section 2405(j)(1)(A)) or
such country has not taken steps to support the efforts of the United
States to combat terrorism.
7. Such country has not taken or is not taking steps to afford
internationally recognized worker rights to workers in the country
(including any designated zone in that country).
8. Such country has not implemented its commitments to eliminate
the worst forms of child labor.
Section 502(c) provides that, in determining whether to designate
any country as a GSP beneficiary developing country, the President
shall take into account:
1. An expression by such country of its desire to be so designated;
2. The level of economic development of such country, including its
per capita gross national product, the living standards of its
inhabitants, and any other economic factors which the President deems
appropriate;
3. Whether or not other major developed countries are extending
generalized preferential tariff treatment to such country;
4. The extent to which such country has assured the United States
that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and
basic commodity resources of such country and the extent to which such
country has assured the United States that it will refrain from
engaging in unreasonable export practices;
5. The extent to which such country is providing adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights;
6. The extent to which such country has taken action to--
(a) Reduce trade distorting investment practices and policies
(including export performance requirements); and (b) Reduce or
eliminate barriers to trade in services; and
7. Whether or not such country has taken or is taking steps to
afford to workers in that country (including any designated zone in
that country) internationally recognized worker rights. Note that the
Trade Act of 2002 amended paragraph (D) of the definition of the term
``internationally recognized worker rights,'' which now includes: (A)
The right of association; (B) the right to organize and bargain
collectively; (C) a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or
compulsory labor; (D) a minimum age for the employment of children and
a prohibition on the worst
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forms of child labor as defined in paragraph (6) of section 507(4) of
the Act; and (E) acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum
wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
Requirements for Submissions
Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as
possible, but not later than 5 p.m., Friday, October 17, 2008.
In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, USTR
strongly recommends that comments be set out in digital files attached
to e-mails transmitted to the following address: [email protected]
(Note: The digit before the number in the e-mail address is the number
zero, not a letter). For security reasons, hand-delivered submissions
will not be accepted. If you are unable to provide comments by e-mail,
please contact Regina Teeter, USTR's GSP Office at (202) 395-6971 to
arrange for an alternative method of transmission.
Comments should be provided in a single copy and must not exceed 30
single-spaced standard letter-size pages in 12-point type or a digital
file size of three megabytes. E-mails should include the following
subject line: ``Designation of the Republic of Kosovo as a GSP
Beneficiary Country.'' The transmittal message or cover letter
accompanying a submission must be set out exclusively in the digital
file attached to the e-mail transmission--not in the message portion of
e-mail--and must include the sender's name, organization name, address,
telephone number and e-mail address.
Digital files must be submitted in one of the following formats:
WordPerfect (.WPD), Adobe (.PDF), MSWord (.DOC), or text (.TXT) files.
Comments may not be submitted as electronic image files or contain
embedded images, e.g., ``.JPG'', ``.TIF'', ``.BMP'', or ``.GIF''.
Spreadsheet data may be submitted as Excel files, formatted for
printing on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. To the extent possible, any data
accompanying the submission should be set out in the same file as the
submission itself, and not in a separate file.
If a submission contains business confidential information that the
submitter wishes to protect from public disclosure, the confidential
submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and
bottom of each page. In addition, the submission must be accompanied by
a non-confidential version that indicates, with asterisks, where
confidential information was redacted or deleted. The top and bottom of
each page of the non-confidential version must be marked either
``PUBLIC VERSION'' or ``NON-CONFIDENTIAL''. Business confidential
comments that are submitted without the required markings or that are
not accompanied by a properly marked non-confidential version as set
forth above may not be accepted or may be treated as public documents.
The digital file name assigned to any business confidential version
of a submission 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 person
(government, company, union, association, etc.) making the submission.
Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be
available for review approximately two weeks after the due date by
appointment in the USTR public reading room, 1724 F Street, NW.,
Washington, DC. Appointments may be made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling (202) 395-6186.
Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director for the GSP Program, Chairman, GSP Subcommittee of
the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E8-22103 Filed 9-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W8-P