Federal Register: December 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 239)
DOCID: FR Doc 02-31364
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Trade Representative, Office of United States
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Trade Policy Staff Committee:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate negotiations on a free trade agreement between the United States and Australia, request for comments, and notice of public hearing.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Proposed United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement
DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention, as well as their testimony, by January 3, 2003. A
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hearing will be held in Washington, DC, beginning on January 15, 2003
and will continue as necessary on subsequent days. Written comments are
due by noon, January 21, 2003.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The United States intends to initiate negotiations with Australia 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.
SUMMARY:
U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement—; Negotiations hearing; comment request,
SUPPLEMENTAL 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 interagency 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 nontariff barriers on imports pursuant to any proposed agreement.
On November 13, 2002, 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 Australia and identified specific objectives for the negotiations. In addition, the USTR has requested the ITC's probable economic effects advice. The ITC intends to provide this advice no later than June 3, 2003. 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 nontariff barriers on any
articles provided for in the harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS) that are products of Australia, 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 commodityspecific negotiating objectives for the proposed agreement.
(b) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of
removal of tariffs and nontariff barriers to U.S.Australian trade.
(c) Treatment of specific goods (described by Harmonized System
tariff numbers) under the proposed agreement, including comments on (1)
Productspecific 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 Australian
origin of imported goods, and appropriate rules of origin for goods entering the United States under the proposed agreement.
(e) Existing Australian sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade.
(f) Existing barriers to trade in services between the United
States and Australia that should be addressed in the negotiations.
(g) Relevant traderelated intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations.
(h) Relevant investment issues that should be addressed in the negotiations.
(i) Relevant government procurement issues that should be addressed in the negotiations.
(j) Relevant environmental and labor issues that should be
addressed in the negotiations. Comments identifying as present or
potential trade barriers laws or regulations that are not primarily
traderelated 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 January 15, 2003, 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 January 3, 2003. 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 January 21, 2003. 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 particularly 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).
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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 (email) submissions in response to this notice. In the event that an email submission is impossible, submissions should be made by facsimile.
Persons making submissions by email should use the following subject line: ``United StatesAustralia Free Trade Agreement'' followed by (as appropriate) ``Notice of Intent to Testify,'' ``Testimony,'' or ``Written Comments.'' 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 of the public version should begin with the characters ``P''. The ``P'' or ``BC'' should be followed by the name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by email 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) 3956186.
General information concerning the Office of the United States
Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site (www.ustr.gov).
Carmen SuroBredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 0231364 Filed 121102; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 319001M
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, at (202) 395 3475. All other questions should be directed to Barbara Weisel, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Southeast Asia and the Pacific at (202) 3956813.