[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53851-53852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27306]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. 301-113]
Initiation of Section 302 Investigation and Request for Public
Comment: Canadian Export Subsidies and Market Access for Dairy Products
AGENCY: Ofice of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of investigation; request for written
comment.
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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has initiated an
investigation under section 302(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(the Trade Act), with respect to certain acts, policies and practices
of the Government of Canada with respect to export subsidies on dairy
products, and with respect to the operation of Canada's tariff rate
quota (TRQ) for fluid milk. USTR invites written comments from the
public on the matters being investigated and the determinations to be
made under section 304 of the Trade Act.
DATES: This investigation was initiated on October 8, 1997. Written
comments from the public are due on or before noon on Tuesday, November
11, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne Early, Senior Advisor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, (202)
395-6127, Elizabeth Hyman, Office of the General Counsel, (202) 395-
3150, or Daniel Brinza, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel for Natural
Resources, (202) 395-7305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 5, 1997, the National Milk
Producers Federation, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the
International Dairy Foods Association filed a petition to section
302(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2412(a)) alleging that certain
export subsidies of the Government of Canada and Canada's failure to
implement a TRQ for fluid milk constitute acts, policies and practices
that violate, or are inconsistent with and otherwise deny benefits to
the United States under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture and
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (``GATT 1994'').
In particular, the petition alleges that the Government of Canada
maintains a two-tier pricing scheme under which it maintains high
domestic prices and exports manufactured dairy products to world
markets at lower, subsidized prices. Under this system, the milk
producer receives a pooled price controlled by government agencies.
Milk is sold to processors at a high price for domestic consumption
and, with a government permit, as Class 5 industrial milk at the world
price when used as an input in the production of milk products for
export. Subsidized dairy product exports by Canada thus systematically
exceed the ceiling on subsidized exports of such products which Canada
agreed to in the Uruguay Round. The petition alleges that subsidized
Canadian exports are undercutting U.S. prices to major U.S. export
markets, and have led at least one exporting dairy processor to move
its manufacturing operations to Canada in order to benefit from
Canadian dairy export subsidies.
The petition also alleges that the Government of Canada agreed in
the Uruguay Round to provide a TRQ of 64,500 metric tons (product
weight basis) for commercial shipments of fluid milk. Canada
nevertheless does not open the quota on the first day of the quota year
nor does it announce the closure of the quota when it is filled.
Instead, Canada excludes commercial milk imports on the basis of the
claim that tourists and returning Canadian citizens carry pints, quarts
and half gallon containers of fluid milk in such quantity as to fill
the TRQ. The petition alleges that if Canada implemented its TRQ for
fluid milk, U.S. dairy exports to Canada would increase by at least
twenty million dollars annually.
Investigation and Consultations
On October 11, 1997, the USTR determined that an investigation
should be initiated to determine whether certain acts, policies or
practices of the Government of Canada regarding export subsidies and
the failure to open the tariff-rate quota for fluid milk are actionable
under section 301.
As required in section 3903(a) of the Trade Act, the USTR has
requested consultations with the Government of Canada regarding the
issues under investigation. The request was made pursuant to Article 4
of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement
of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII of the GATT 1994, Article 19 of the
Agreement on Agriculture to the extent it incorporates Article XXII of
the GATT 1994, and Article 30 of the Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures to the extent it incorporates Article XXII of
the GATT 1994. If the consultations do not result in a satisfactory
resolution of the matter, the USTR will request the establishment of a
panel pursuant to Article 6 of the DSU. USTR will seek information and
advice from the petitioner and appropriate representatives provided for
under section 135 of the Trade Act in preparing the U.S. presentations
for such consultations.
Under section 304 of the Trade Act, the USTR must determine within
18 months after the date on which this investigation was initiated, or
within 30
[[Page 53852]]
days after the conclusion of WTO dispute settlement procedures,
whichever is earlier, whether any act, policy, or practice or denial of
trade agreement rights described in section 301 of the Trade Act exists
and, if that determination is affirmative, the USTR must determine what
action, if any, to take under section 301 of the Trade Act.
Public Comment: Requirement for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the acts, policies and practices of Canada which are the
subject of this investigation, the amount of burden or restriction on
U.S. commerce caused by these acts, policies and practices, and the
determinations required under section 304 of the Trade Act. Comments
must be filed in accordance with the requirements set forth in 15 CFR
2006.8(b) (55 FR 20593) and must be filed on or before noon on Tuesday,
November 11, 1996. Comments must be in English and provided in twenty
copies to: Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to the Section 301
Committee, Room 22, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
Comments will be placed in a file (Docket 301-113) open to public
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except confidential business
information exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR
2006.15. Confidential business information submitted in accordance with
15 CFR 2006.15 must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a
contrasting color ink at the top of each page on each of 20 copies, and
must be accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential
information. The nonconfidential summary shall be placed in the file
that is open to public inspection. Copies of the public version of the
petition and other relevant documented are available for public
inspection in the USTR Reading Room. An appointment to review the
docket (Docket No. 301-107) may be made by calling Brenda Webb (202)
395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12
noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located in
Room 101.
Irving A. Williamson,
Chairman, Section 301 Committee.
[FR Doc. 97-27306 Filed 10-15-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M
