[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76594-76596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31282]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the
Disposition of a Product Petition From the 2011 GSP Annual Product
Review and the Acceptance of Product Petitions for the 2012 GSP Annual
Product Review
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces (1) the disposition of a petition on
certain pinch-seal plastic bags, accepted in the 2011 GSP Annual
Product Review, and (2) those petitions submitted in connection with
the 2012 GSP Annual Product Review which have been accepted for further
review. This notice also sets forth the schedule for submitting
comments and for public hearings associated with the 2012 review of
petitions and products.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tameka Cooper, GSP Program, Office of
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Room 422,
Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971, the fax
number is (202) 395-9674, and the email address is Tameka_Cooper@ustr.eop.gov.
DATES: The GSP regulations (15 CFR part 2007) provide the schedule of
dates for conducting an annual review, unless otherwise specified in a
notice published in the Federal Register. The schedule for the 2012 GSP
Annual Product Review is set forth below. Notification of any other
changes will be published in the Federal Register.
February 14, 2013--Comments, pre-hearing briefs, and requests to
appear at the GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing on the 2012 GSP Annual
Product Review are due by 5 p.m.
February 28, 2013--GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing on all proposed
or petitioned product additions and competitive need limitation (CNL)
waiver petitions accepted for the 2012 GSP Annual Product Review. See
``Notice of Public Hearing'' below for further details.
March 28, 2013--Submission of post-hearing comments or briefs in
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connection with the GSP Subcommittee Public Hearing are due by 5 p.m.
April 2013--The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is
expected to release the public version of its statutorily-mandated
report providing advice on the probable economic effect of the
prospective addition of products and granting of CNL waiver petitions
considered as part of the 2012 GSP Annual Product Review. Comments on
the USITC report on these products should be submitted via
www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2012-0013, per the guidelines
described below, within 10 calendar days after the date of USITC's
publication of the public version of the report.
July 1, 2013--Effective date for any modifications that the
President proclaims to the list of articles eligible for duty-free
treatment under the GSP resulting from the 2012 Annual Product Review
and for determinations related to CNL waivers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP program provides for the duty-free
importation of designated articles when imported from designated
beneficiary developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by
title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended,
and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November
24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential
Proclamations.
Disposition of a Petition Requesting Modification of Product
Eligibility From the 2011 Annual GSP Review
In the 2011 Annual Review, the Administration deferred a decision
on the final disposition of a petition to add certain pinch-seal
plastic bags (categorized under subheading 3923.21.0030 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)) to the list of products eligible for
duty-free treatment under GSP. The review of this petition has now
concluded, and the Administration has decided to deny the petition. As
a result, there will be no change to the current status of this product
under GSP.
Petitions Requesting Modifications of Product Eligibility for the 2012
Annual GSP Review
In a notice published in the Federal Register on July 30, 2012,
USTR announced the initiation of the 2012 GSP Annual Review and
indicated that the deadline for petitions to modify the list of
products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP
program was October 5, 2012, and the deadline for petitions to waive
CNLs on imports of certain products from specific beneficiary countries
was November 21, 2012 (77 FR 44704).
The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff committee (TPSC) has
reviewed the product and CNL waiver petitions submitted in response to
this announcement, and has decided to accept for review petitions to
add four products to the list of those eligible for duty-free treatment
under GSP and petitions to waive CNLs for 12 products from certain
countries. The accepted product addition petitions are for the
following products, listed by HTS number:
0603.11.00--Fresh cut sweetheart, and spray roses
0710.80.97--Frozen vegetables not otherwise listed, including
frozen broccoli
2005.99.80--Artichokes, prepared or preserved otherwise than
by vinegar or acetic acid
7408.19.0030--Refined copper, wire, w/maximum cross-sectional
dimension of 6 mm or less
The accepted petitions to waive CNLs relate to the following products
listed by HTS number and countries:
0410.00.00-- Miscellaneous edible products of animal origin
(Indonesia)
0603.13.00--Cut orchids (Thailand)
1102.90.25--Rice flour (Thailand)
2106.90.99--Miscellaneous prepared foods (Thailand)
6911.10.37--Porcelain or china table and kitchenware
(Indonesia)
7202.21.50--Ferrosilicon with between 55% and 80% of silicon
by weight (Russia)
7202.30.00--Ferrosilicon manganese (Georgia)
7202.99.20--Calcium silicon ferroalloys (Brazil)
7307.21.50--Certain stainless steel flanges for pipes (India)
7307.91.50--Certain iron or steel flanges for pipes (India)
7408.29.10--Copper plates, sheets, and strip (Thailand)
9506.70.40--Ice skates (Thailand)
A list of all the CNL petitions and products accepted for review is
posted on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-review under the title ``Petitions Accepted in the 2012 GSP
Annual Product Review.'' This list can also be found at
www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2012-0013. No other petitions
to modify the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment under
GSP or to grant CNL waivers have been accepted for the 2012 GSP Annual
Product Review. Acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate
any opinion with respect to the disposition on the merits of the
petition. Acceptance indicates only that the subject petition has been
found eligible for review by the TPSC and that such review will take
place.
The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC invites comments in support of or
in opposition to any product or petition that has been accepted for the
2012 GSP Annual Product Review. The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will
also convene a public hearing on these products and petitions. See
below for information on how to submit a request to testify at this
hearing.
Requirements for Submissions
Submissions in response to this notice (including requests to
testify, written comments, and pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs)
must be submitted by the applicable deadlines set forth in this notice.
All submissions must be made in English and submitted electronically
via http://www.regulations.gov, using docket number USTR-2012-0013.
Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. To make a submission
using http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2012-0013 in
the ``Search for'' field on the home page and click ``Search.'' The
site will provide a search-results page listing all documents
associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by
selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' in the ``Filter Results
by'' section on the left side of the screen and click on the link
entitled ``Comment Now.'' The http://www.regulations.gov Web site
offers the option of providing comments by filling in a ``Type
Comment'' field or by attaching a document using the ``Upload file(s)''
field. The Subcommittee prefers that submissions be provided in an
attached document and that, in such cases, that parties note ``See
attached'' in the ``Type Comment'' field on the online submission form.
At the beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an
attachment) should be the following text (in bold and underlined): (1)
``2012 GSP Annual Review;'' (2) the product description, and related
HTS tariff number; and (3) whether the document is a ``Written
Comment,'' ``Notice of Intent to Testify,'' ``Pre-hearing brief,'' or a
``Post-hearing brief.'' Submissions should not exceed 30 single-spaced,
standard letter-size pages in 12-point type, including attachments. Any
data attachments to the submission should be included in the same file
as the submission itself, and not as separate files.
Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon
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completion of the submissions procedure at http://www.regulations.gov.
The tracking number will be the submitter's confirmation that the
submission was received into http://www.regulations.gov. The
confirmation should be kept for the submitter's records. USTR is not
able to provide technical assistance for the Web site. Documents not
submitted in accordance with these instructions may not be considered
in this review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions
as requested, please contact the GSP Program at USTR to arrange for an
alternative method of transmission.
Business Confidential Submissions
An interested party requesting that information contained in a
submission be treated as business confidential 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. The submission
must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the
cover page and each succeeding page, and the submission should
indicate, via brackets, the specific information that is confidential.
Additionally, ``Business Confidential'' must be included in the ``Type
Comment'' field. For any submission containing business confidential
information, a non-confidential version must be submitted separately
(i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential
version), indicating where confidential information has been redacted.
The non-confidential version will be placed in the docket and open to
public inspection.
Notice of Public Hearing
The GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will hold a hearing on products
and petitions accepted for the 2012 GSP Annual Review beginning at 9:30
a.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2013 at the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F St. NW., Washington, DC 20508.
The hearing will be open to the public, and a transcript of the hearing
will be made available on www.regulations.gov within approximately two
weeks of the hearing. No electronic media coverage will be allowed.
All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the
hearing must submit, following the above ``Requirements for
Submissions,'' the name, address, telephone number, and email address
(if available), of the witness(es) representing their organization to
William D. Jackson, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for GSP.
Requests to present oral testimony in connection with the public
hearing must be accompanied by a written brief or summary statement, in
English, and must be received by 5 p.m., February 14, 2013. Oral
testimony before the GSP Subcommittee will be limited to five-minute
presentations that summarize or supplement information contained in
briefs or statements submitted for the record. Parties not wishing to
appear at the public hearing may submit, in English, pre-hearing briefs
or statements and post-hearing written briefs or statements in
accordance with the ``Requirements for Submissions'' above and by the
above listed due dates. Public versions of all documents relating to
the 2012 Annual Review will be made available for public viewing in
docket USTR-2012-0013 at www.regulations.gov upon completion of
processing and no later than one week after the due date.
William D. Jackson,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2012-31282 Filed 12-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P