97-1018. Request for Public Comments on the Negotiation of a Bilateral Trade Agreement Between the United States and Laos

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2211-2212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1018]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Request for Public Comments on the Negotiation of a Bilateral 
Trade Agreement Between the United States and Laos

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
providing notice that the United States is in the process of 
negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the Lao People's 
Democratic Republic (Laos). USTR invites comments from the public on 
concerns or goals of U.S. persons and businesses with respect to trade 
with Laos, and the extent to which the bilateral trade agreement can 
address those concerns or help promote those goals. Comments in 
particular might address current Lao practices that affect (a) market 
access for U.S. exports, such as tariffs and non-tariff measures, (b) 
trade and investment in services; and (c) any other measure that 
impedes trade in goods and services with the United States. Comments 
received will be considered in developing U.S. positions and objectives 
in the process of negotiating the bilateral trade agreement.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before noon on Monday, 
February 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Joseph Damond, Director for 
South-East Asian Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 
17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joseph Damond, Director for Southeast Asia, at [phone], or Thomas 
Robertson, Associate General Counsel, at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States is currently in the 
process of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with Laos. One of 
the central elements of that agreement would be a bilateral commitment 
to extend non-discriminatory, most-favored-nation treatment to the 
products of the other country. We expect legislative action to fulfill 
this obligation on the part of the United States. The agreement may 
also address a wide range of other issues, including: (1) Suspension or 
termination for national security reasons; (2) safeguard arrangements; 
(3) the protection of intellectual property rights; (4) the settlement 
of commercial differences and disputes; (5) the promotion of trade; (6) 
consultations; (7) the grant of national treatment to the products of 
the other country; (8) the grant of trading rights; (9) the elimination 
of market access barriers (e.g., tariffs, import and export 
restrictions, quotas, licensing requirements, customs valuation, and 
fees and charges); (10) the transparency of legal and regulatory 
regimes; (11) state trading and industrial subsidies; (12) government 
procurement; (13) trade-related investment measures; (14) trade in 
services; and (15) investment restrictions.
    USTR invites written comments from the public on market access and 
any other issues to be addressed in the course of the negotiations with 
Laos on the bilateral trade agreement. All comments will be considered 
in developing U.S. positions and objectives during these negotiations 
on each of the issues noted above or otherwise raised by the public. 
Issues of interest might include, but are not necessarily limited to: 
(a) Comments on possible tariff reductions and the removal of border 
measures such as quotas or import licensing requirements; (b) uniform 
application of the trading system; (c) the provision of national 
treatment and nondiscriminatory treatment for imports, especially in 
the area of domestic taxation; (d) transparency in application of trade 
laws and regulations; (e) right of appeal in cases involving 
application of trade laws and other laws concerning trade-related 
issues, such as protection and enforcement of intellectual property 
rights (IPR) and services; (f) customs processing issues, such as 
document certification prior to export, fees, customs valuation, and 
certification requirements; (g) subsidies and domestic supports and 
incentives; (h) safeguard and unfair trade practice procedures applied 
to imports; (i) plant, animal, and human health and safety 
requirements; (j) food standards and other technical barriers to trade; 
(k) activities of state trading enterprises, including restrictions and 
other trade-distorting practices; (l) price controls and policies; (m) 
government procurement practices; and (n) the trade-related aspects of 
investment policies and the protection and enforcement of IPRs. Market 
access issues for services include, but are not limited to, the right 
of establishment for U.S. services providers, the ability to provide 
services on a cross-border basis, and the ability of persons to enter 
temporarily to provide services. Information on products or practices 
subject to these negotiations should include, whenever appropriate, the 
relevant import or export tariff classification number used.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Comments must be in English and provided with fifteen copies. A 
person requesting that information contained in a comment submitted by 
that person be treated as privileged or confidential business 
information must certify that such information is privileged or 
business confidential and would not customarily be released to the 
public by the commenting party. Privileged or confidential business 
information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a 
contrasting color ink at the top of each page of each copy. Persons are 
encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the information 
designated as privileged or business confidential.
    A person requesting that information or advice contained in a 
comment submitted by that person, other than privileged or business 
confidential information, be treated as confidential in accordance with 
section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155)

(1) Must so designate that information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as ``CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting 
color ink at the top of each page of each copy; and
(3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.

    USTR will maintain a file containing the public versions of 
comments, accessible to the public, in the USTR Reading Room: Room 101, 
Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
N.W., Washington DC 20508. The public file will include a listing of 
any comments made to USTR from the public with respect to the 
proceeding. An appointment to review the public file may be made by 
calling Brenda Webb, [phone]. The

[[Page 2212]]

USTR Reading Room is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 
p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Robert Cassidy,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Asia and the Pacific.
[FR Doc. 97-1018 Filed 1-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M