[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 204 (Monday, October 23, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54319-54321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26190]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Legal Adviser
22 CFR Part 181
[Public Notice 2269]
Coordination and Reporting of International Agreements:
Determination Not To Publish Certain Agreements
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of State is proposing to issue regulations
providing that certain international agreements other than treaties
will not be published in United States Treaties and Other International
Agreements or in the Treaties and Other International Acts Series.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before December 22, 1995.
ADDRESSES: An original and three copies of comments should be sent to
the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs, Office of the Legal
Adviser, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karen Ghaffarkhan or Wynne Teel, Office of the Legal Adviser, (202)
647-2044.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Until 1994, the Case-Zablocki Act, 1 U.S.C. Sec. 112a, directed the
Department of State to publish in United States Treaties and Other
International Agreements ``all treaties to which the United States is a
party * * * and all international agreements other than treaties to
which the United States is a party.'' See 1 U.S.C. Sec. 112a.
Due to resource constraints, the Department of State has been
unable to publish agreements promptly. The Department's experience,
however, has been that public requests have been received for very few
of the unpublished agreements. In many instances the agreements that
have not been published are printed by private publishers. In other
cases, agreements may not be of interest to the public because they
address narrow, technical subjects.
In view of these considerations, Congress enacted Public Law 102-
236 in 1994, to amend the Case-Zablocki Act by authorizing the
Secretary of State to ``determine that publication of certain
categories of agreements is not required if the following criteria are
met:
(1) Such agreements are not treaties which have been brought into
force for the United States after having received Senate advice and
consent pursuant to section 2(2) of Article II of the Constitution of
the United States;
(2) The public interest in such agreements is insufficient to
justify their publication, because (A) as of the date of enactment of
the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995,
the agreements are no longer in force; (B) the agreements do not create
private rights or duties, or establish standards intended to govern
government action in the treatment of private individuals; (C) in view
of the limited or specialized nature of the public interest in such
agreements, such interest can adequately be satisfied by an alternative
means; or (D) the public disclosure of the text of the agreement would,
in the opinion of the President, be prejudicial to the national
security of the United States; and
(3) Copies of such agreements (other than those in paragraph
(2)(D)), including certified copies where necessary for litigation or
other purposes, will be made available by the Department of State upon
request.''
This statute requires that any such determination be published in
the Federal Register.
Discussion
The Department of State has determined that the categories of
international agreements set forth below meet the criteria of Public
Law 102-236 as set forth above. Non-publication of the following
categories of agreements will substantially eliminate the existing
publication backlog, thus permitting future agreements to be published
in a more timely manner. Moreover, in selecting the following
categories, the Department has focussed on a few areas that have a
large volume of agreements that do not appear to be of general public
interest or are frequently revised and readily available from private
sources. The categories of bilateral agreements that the Department
proposes not to publish and the reasons for selection of those
agreements are as follows:
--Debt Rescheduling Agreements adjust the schedules for payment of
principal and interest and arrearages owed by foreign governments to
the United States Government. Since these agreements concern only
governmental debt, there has been very limited indication of public
interest.
--Textile Agreements are undertaken pursuant to section 204 of the
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended. Before the entry into force of
the World Trade Organization (``WTO'') Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing on January 1, 1995, the United States limited the export of
textile and apparel products in some instances through bilateral
textile agreements. Now, the United States' arrangements with WTO
member countries are governed by the WTO Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing, leaving approximately ten bilateral textile agreements in
force with countries that are not members of WTO. A few additional
agreements may be concluded with countries that have not joined the
WTO. Copies of these agreements are made available upon entry into
force by the Economic and Business Bureau of the Department of State.
[[Page 54320]]
--Postal Agreements are agency level agreements that govern
arrangements between postal administrations in various technical areas
such as money order service and express mail. There has been no
indication of public interest in these agreements.
--Military Exercise Agreements govern certain practical aspects of
specific exercises conducted by the United States military in foreign
countries, e.g., documentation required for drivers' permits and for
entry of United States personnel into the foreign country, provision of
utilities, and privileges and immunities of United States personnel
during the specified exercises. These agreements are typically of short
duration, are of a limited and specialized nature, create no private
rights or duties and there has been no indication of public interest.
--Military Personnel Exchange Agreements for reciprocal details of
military personnel between governments address such matters as
allocation of responsibilities (salary, insurance, housing) between
governments, length and conditions of the exchange, and limited
privileges available to the exchanged personnel. These agreements are
of a limited and specialized nature, create no private rights or duties
and there has been no indication of public interest.
--Judicial Assistance Agreements provide for the exchange of
information for specified civil or criminal investigations. Because
these agreements address only identified investigations, there has been
no indication of public interest.
--Mapping Agreements are agency level agreements that establish
cooperative arrangements for cartography, including exchanges of maps,
and charts, exchanges of mapping techniques, and training of personnel.
There has been no indication of public interest in these agreements.
Those government agencies that are interested obtain copies directly
from the Department of State or from the agency that concluded the
agreement.
In addition to the above bilateral agreements, the Tariff Schedules
agreed under the GATT and under the World Trade Organization Agreement,
which establish the parties' initial schedule of concessions and
subsequent tariff schedules, are subject to frequent revision and
correction. Thus, publication of the materials by the Department of
State will not supply the public with the current schedules. Moreover,
these materials are readily available and are updated frequently by
GATT/WTO and other sources.
Classified Agreements, including all bilateral or multilateral
agreements that have been given a national security classification
pursuant to Executive Order No. 12356, or its successors will not be
published.
The Department of State also intends not to publish agreements in
the above categories that were signed before publication of this notice
and not previously published in United States Treaties and Other
International Agreements.
Agreements in the above categories (except classified agreements)
will continue to be listed in the Department of State's annual
publication Treaties in Force.
Finally, it should be noted that United States agencies frequently
enter into contracts and similar arrangements with other governments
that the Department of State does not consider to constitute
international agreements under the criteria established in the
Department's regulations at 22 CFR 181.2. These include, for example,
nonbinding political commitments. They also include such arrangements
as bilateral agreements extending grants of $25 million or less by the
Agency for International Development to foreign governments and P.L.
480 agreements under which the United States sells food commodities to
foreign governments. The Department of State does not publish such
arrangements, as it considers them not to be international agreements
within the meaning of the Case Act.
Legal Requirements
This regulation is not expected to have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the
regulatory Flexibility Act. In addition, this regulation contains no
new information collection or recordkeeping requirements under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. This regulation
has been reviewed under Executive Order No. 12778 and certified to be
in compliance therewith. Further, this regulation has been reviewed
internally by the Department to ensure consistency with the objectives
of E.O. 12866; in addition, because it involves coordination with other
agencies, OMB has been notified of its promulgation.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 181
Treaties.
For the reasons set forth above, Part 181 is proposed to be amended
as follows:
1. The authority for Part 181 is revised to read:
Authority: 1 U.S.C. 112a, 112b; 22 U.S.C. 2658; 22 U.S.C. 3312
and Pub. L. No. 103-236.
2. The heading of Part 181 is revised to read:
PART 181--COORDINATION, REPORTING AND PUBLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
3. The first sentence of Sec. 181.1(a) is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 181.1 Purpose and application.
(a) The purpose of this part is to implement the provisions of 1
U.S.C. 112a and 112b, popularly known as the Case-Zablocki Act
(hereinafter ``the Act''), on the reporting to Congress, coordination
with the Secretary of State and publication of international
agreements. * * *
* * * * *
4. A new Sec. 181.8 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 181.8 Publication.
(a) The following categories of international agreements will not
be published in United States Treaties and Other International
Agreements:
(1) Bilateral agreements for the rescheduling of intergovernmental
debt payments;
(2) Bilateral textile agreements concerning the importation of
products containing specified textile fibers done under the
Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended;
(3) Bilateral agreements between postal administrations governing
technical arrangements;
(4) Bilateral agreements that apply to specified military
exercises;
(5) Bilateral military personnel exchange agreements;
(6) Bilateral judicial assistance agreements that apply only to
specified civil or criminal investigations or prosecutions;
(7) Bilateral mapping agreements;
(8) Tariff and other schedules under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade and under the Agreement for the World Trade
Organization;
(9) Agreements that have been given a national security
classification pursuant to Executive Order No. 12356 or its successors;
and
(b) Agreements on the subjects listed in paragraphs (a) (1) through
(9) of this section that had not been published as of [effective date
of final rule].
(c) Any international agreements in the possession of the
Department of State, other than those in paragraph (a)(9) of this
section, but not published will be made available upon request by the
Department of State.
[[Page 54321]]
Dated: October 17, 1995.
Robert E. Dalton,
Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-26190 Filed 10-20-95; 8:45 am]
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