98-26451. WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding the Act Regulating State Contracts With Companies Doing Business With or in Burma (Myanmar) Enacted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on June 25, 1996

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 53118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26451]



[[Page 53118]]

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/D-88, WTO/D 95]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding the Act Regulating 
State Contracts With Companies Doing Business With or in Burma 
(Myanmar) Enacted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on June 25, 1996

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 of separate requests for establishment of a dispute 
settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization (WTO), by the European Commission and Japan, to 
examine the Act Regulating State Contracts with Companies Doing 
Business with or in Burma (Myanmar) enacted by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts on June 25, 1996. The Massachusetts statute provides a 
ten percent bid preference on state government procurement contracts to 
firms (U.S. or foreign) not doing business with or in Burma. In this 
dispute, both the European Commission and Japan allege that the 
Massachusetts statute is inconsistent with obligations of the United 
States under the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). USTR 
invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised 
in this dispute.

DATES: Although the USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted by October 31, 1998, to be assured of timely consideration by 
USTR in preparing its first written submission to the panel.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to the Monitoring and Enforcement 
Unit, Office of the General Counsel, Attn: Massachusetts Burma Dispute, 
Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
N.W., Washington, D.C., 20508, [phone]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Ellis, Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs [phone] or 
Rhonda K. Schnare, Assistant General Counsel, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 127(b) of the Uruguay 
Round Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), USTR is providing 
notice that on September 8, 1998, the European Commission and Japan 
submitted separate requests for the establishment of a WTO dispute 
settlement panel to examine whether a Massachusetts law affecting state 
government procurement contracts is inconsistent with United States 
obligations under the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). This 
law requires all Massachusetts state agencies, when awarding government 
procurement contracts, to impose a ten percent price preference in 
favor of companies not doing business with or in Burma.

Major Issues Raised by the European Commission and Japan and Legal 
Basis of Complaints

    The European Commission states that the law does not provide 
treatment no less favorable than that accorded to domestic services and 
suppliers and that it improperly limits access of EC suppliers to 
procurement by a sub-federal authority covered by the GPA. 
Specifically, the EC alleges that the statute is inconsistent with the 
obligations of the U.S. under Articles III, VIII(b), XIII:4(b) and 
XXII:2 of the GPA.
    Japan contends that the Massachusetts statute improperly treats a 
locally established supplier less favorably than another locally 
established supplier on the basis of the degree of foreign affiliation 
or ownership and imposes conditions which are not essential to a firm's 
capability to fulfill the contract. Specifically, Japan alleges that 
the law is inconsistent with the obligations of the U.S. under Articles 
III:1 and III:2, VIII(b), and XIII:4(b) of the GPA.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in the dispute. Comments must be in 
English and provided in fifteen copies. A person requesting that 
information contained in a comment submitted by that person be treated 
as confidential business information must certify that such information 
is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the 
public by the commentator. Confidential business information must be 
clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting color ink at 
the top of each page of each copy.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitted believes that information 
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
    (1) Must do designate the information or advice;
    (2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED ON CONFIDENCE'' 
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. Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 
U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will maintain a file on this dispute settlement 
proceeding, accessible to the public, in the USTR Reading Room: Room 
101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public file will include a listing of 
any comments received by USTR from the public with respect to the 
proceeding; the U.S. submissions to the panel in the proceeding, the 
submissions, or non-confidential summaries of submissions, to the panel 
received from other participants in the dispute, as well as the report 
of the dispute settlement panel, and, if applicable, the report of the 
Appellate Body. An appointment to review the public file (Docket WTO/D-
88, WTO/D 95) Massachusetts Burma Dispute) may be made by calling 
Brenda Webb, [phone]. The USTR Reading Room is open to the 
public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.
Amelia Porges,
Senior Counsel for Dispute Settlement.
[FR Doc. 98-26451 Filed 10-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M