[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 40822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16201]
[[Page 40822]]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Results of the 2012
Annual GSP Review; Notice of a Country Practice Petition Accepted as
Part of the 2012 Annual GSP Review
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the results of the 2012 Annual GSP
Review with respect to: (1) Products considered for addition to the
list of eligible products for GSP; (2) decisions related to competitive
need limitations (CNLs), including petitions for waivers of CNLs and
revocation of previous CNL waivers; (3) redesignations of products
previously excluded from GSP eligibility for certain countries; and (4)
petitions to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary countries
because of country practices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tameka Cooper, GSP Program, Office of
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is (202) 395-6971; the fax
number is (202) 395-9674, and the email address is [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP program provides for the duty-free
treatment of designated articles when imported from 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.
Results of the 2012 Annual GSP Review
In the 2012 Annual Review, the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC)
reviewed: (1) Petitions to add four different products to the list of
those eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP; (2) one petition to
waive CNLs for a product from a beneficiary country; (3) revocation of
a CNL waiver for a product from a beneficiary country where 2012
imports exceeded certain statutory limits; (4) products eligible for de
minimis waivers of CNLs; (5) redesignation of products previously
excluded from GSP eligibility for certain beneficiary countries; and 6)
one country practice petition submitted as part of the 2012 Annual
Review and several active petitions submitted as part of earlier
reviews.
In a Presidential Proclamation dated June 27, 2013, the President
implemented his decisions regarding GSP product eligibility issues
arising out of the 2012 Annual GSP Review, including CNL waivers and
CNL revocations. This notice provides further information on the
results of the 2012 Annual GSP Review, including the disposition of
country practice petitions. These results, comprising seven lists, are
available for the public to view at http://www.regulations.gov in
docket USTR-2012-0013, under ``Supporting and Related Materials'' and
at http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-review.
Specific Results
The Administration has decided to defer a decision on the final
disposition of petitions to add the following products to the list of
products eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP for all GSP
beneficiary countries: Sweetheart and spray roses (HTS 0603.11.00),
certain frozen vegetables (HTS 0710.80.97), and certain preserved
artichokes (HTS 2005.99.80). The Administration denied the petition to
make certain refined copper wire (HTS 7408.19.00.30) eligible for duty-
free treatment under the GSP. See List I (Decisions on Petitions to Add
Products to the List of Eligible Products for GSP).
The President granted a petition for a waiver of CNLs for calcium
silicon ferroalloys (HTS 7202.99.20) from Brazil. See List II (Decision
on Petition to Grant a Waiver of the Competitive Need Limitations).
Additionally, the President revoked an existing CNL waiver for certain
pneumatic radial tires (HTS 4011.10.10) from Indonesia, as reflected in
List III (Decision on Competitive Need Limitation Waiver Revocations).
Effective July 1, 2013, imports of an article, certain corn (HTS
1005.90.40), from Brazil are excluded from GSP eligibility because
imports of that article from Brazil exceeded the CNL in 2012. See List
IV (Product Newly Subject to Exclusion by Competitive Need Limitation).
The President granted de minimis waivers to 100 articles that
exceeded the 50-percent import-share CNL, but for which the aggregate
value of all U.S. imports of that article was below the 2012 de minimis
level of $21 million. See List V (Decisions on Products Eligible for De
Minimis Waivers). The articles for which de minimis waivers were
granted will continue to be eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP
when imported from the associated countries.
No products previously excluded from GSP eligibility for certain
countries were redesignated as eligible for GSP as a result of the 2012
Annual Review. See List VI (Decisions on Products Eligible for
Redesignation).
Country Practice Petitions
The status of country practice petitions considered in the 2012 GSP
Annual Review is described in List VII (Active and Pending GSP Country
Practice Reviews). This list includes petitions accepted as part of
annual reviews from previous years.
The USTR has accepted for review one country practice petition
submitted as part of the 2012 GSP Annual Review: A petition seeking to
withdraw or suspend GSP benefits for Ecuador on the basis of Ecuador's
alleged failure to meet the GSP statutory eligibility criterion
regarding recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards (19 U.S.C.
2462(b)(2)(E)). The GSP Subcommittee's review of this petition will
consider whether the withdrawal or suspension of GSP benefits is
warranted in light of the type, nature, and content of the awards at
issue, as well as whether Ecuador's actions in response to the awards
comply with the cited eligibility criterion. The review will not
consider the details or merits of either the Ecuadorian domestic
litigation underlying the ongoing arbitral proceedings or the arbitral
proceedings themselves. A subsequent notice published in the Federal
Register will announce the schedule for a hearing and receipt of public
comments, including related filing deadlines, on this newly accepted
country practice case.
As determined in the previously-cited Presidential Proclamation
dated June 27, 2013, the President has suspended Bangladesh's benefits
under the GSP. This suspension will be effective 60 days after the date
the proclamation is published in the Federal Register.
Country practice petitions accepted for review in previous years
that continue to be under review include: Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine,
and Uzbekistan regarding intellectual property rights, and Fiji,
Georgia, Iraq, Niger, the Philippines, and Uzbekistan regarding worker
rights.
William D. Jackson,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System
of Preferences and Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy
Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2013-16201 Filed 7-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F3-P