[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17548-17549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8548]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR-2009-0010]
Request for Public Comments Regarding Status of U.S. Equipment
Industry Access to the European Community's (EC) Galileo Program and
European Markets for Related Goods and Services
Agency: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Action: Request for comments.
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Summary: The Trade Policy Staff Committee is seeking the views of
interested parties on six questions regarding U.S. equipment industry
access to the EC Galileo program and European markets for related goods
and services, which pertain to Articles 5, 6, and 8 of the Agreement on
the Promotion, Provision and Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based
Navigation Systems and Related Applications (``Agreement''). USTR will
use this information in connection with its preparation of a report to
Congress, as requested in the explanatory statement accompanying the
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, and to identify issues that may merit
further discussion with the EC and its Member States under the
consultation mechanism established under the Agreement.
Dates: Public comments are due no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 13,
2009.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted electronically to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0010. If you are unable to
provide submissions by http://www.regulations.gov, please contact
Gloria Blue at (202) 395-3475 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission. If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential
information, then the comment should be submitted only by fax to Gloria
Blue at (202) 395-5141.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning
written comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should
be directed to Scott Pietan, Director of Industry, Office of the United
States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC,
(202) 395-9646.
Supplementary Information: In 2004, the United States and the EC and
its Member States signed the Agreement on the Promotion, Provision and
Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related
Applications (``Agreement''), which addresses U.S. and EC satellite
navigation services, in particular the U.S. Global Positioning System,
and the planned EC Galileo system. The Agreement has not yet entered
into force, but it is being provisionally applied. The Agreement may be
found at http://pnt.gov/public/docs/2004/gpsgalileoagreement.pdf. In
addition to addressing signal compatibility and individual and mutual
security concerns, the Agreement calls for non-discrimination and open
markets in trade in civil satellite navigation-related goods and
services.
In an explanatory statement accompanying the Omnibus Appropriations
Act, 2009, Congress requested that USTR report on the status of U.S.
equipment industry access to the EC Galileo program and European
markets for related goods and services, in order to assess EC
compliance with the Agreement. Joint Explanatory Statement to the
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 111-008, 155 Cong. Rec.
H1653, H1840 (daily ed., Feb. 23, 2009). To assist it in fulfilling
that request, and in identifying matters that merit further discussion
with the EC and its Member States in connection with the consultation
mechanism provided under the Agreement, USTR is seeking comments on six
issues:
(1) Has the EC or any of its Member States established any measures
of the type described in Article 5.1 of the Agreement that adversely
affect U.S. equipment industry access to Galileo navigation and timing
signals and services, value added services, augmentations and global
navigation and timing goods, or European markets for related goods and
services?
(2) Has the EC or any of its Member States established any measures
that have the effect, directly or indirectly, of mandating the use of
any civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals or services,
value-added service, augmentation, or global navigation and timing
equipment within its territory, not expressly authorized by the
International Civil Aviation Organization or the International Maritime
Organization, as described in Article 5.2 of the Agreement?
(3) Does the EC or any of its Member States maintain a non-
discriminatory approach with respect to trade in goods and services
related to civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals,
augmentations, and value-added services, consistent with the affirming
statement contained in Article 6.1 of the Agreement?
(4) Are any EC or Member State measures with respect to goods and
services related to civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals
or services, augmentations, and value-added services used as a
disguised restriction on or an unnecessary obstacle to international
trade, as described in Article 6.2 of the Agreement?
(5) Does the EC make publicly available on a non-discriminatory
basis, sufficient information concerning its unencrypted civil
satellite-based navigation and timing signals and augmentations,
consistent with Article 8.1 of the Agreement?
(6) To the extent that it provides civil satellite-based navigation
and timing signals or services, augmentation, or value-added service
for civil users that is encrypted or otherwise has features that allow
the global navigation service provider to deny access, does the EC or
any of its Member States, subject to applicable export controls, afford
to U.S. manufacturers of global navigation and timing equipment or
augmentation or value-added services providers, on a non-discriminatory
basis, access to the information necessary to incorporate such
encryption or other similar features into their equipment, through
licensing of necessary information or other means at market prices,
consistent with the terms set forth in Article 8.2 of the Agreement?
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Persons may submit public comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2009-0010. If you are unable to
provide submission by http://www.regulations.gov, please contact Gloria
Blue at (202) 395-3475 to arrange for an alternative method of
transmission.
To submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket
number USTR-2009-0010 on the home page and click ``go''. The site will
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by
[[Page 17549]]
selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Send a Comment or
Submission.'' (For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This Site'' on the left side
of the home page.) The http://www.regulations.gov site provides the
option of providing comments by filling in a ``General Comments''
field, or by attaching a document. It is expected that most comments
will be provided in an attached document. If a document is attached, it
is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``General Comments''
field.
A person requesting that information contained in a comment
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business
information must certify that such information is business confidential
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter.
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment
containing business confidential information should be submitted only
by fax to Gloria Blue at (202) 395-3475. A non-confidential summary of
the confidential information must be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. The non-confidential summary will be placed in the
docket and open to public inspection.
Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public
inspection, except confidential business information. Comments may be
viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering docket
number USTR-2009-0010 in the search field on the home page.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9-8548 Filed 4-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P