[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60299-60310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29502]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. 301-116]
Initiation of Section 302 Investigation, Proposed Determinations
and Action, and Request for Public Comment: Honduran Protection of
Intellectual Property Rights
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of investigation; proposed determination
and action; request for public comment; and public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) has determined that
the Government of Honduras has failed to provide adequate and effective
means under its laws for foreign nationals to secure, exercise and
enforce exclusive rights in intellectual property and has recommended
that the duty-free treatment accorded Honduras under the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI)
programs be partially withdrawn. In light of the foregoing, the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) is initiating an investigation under
section 302(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Trade Act'')
with regard to acts, policies, and practices of the Government of
Honduras with respect to the protection of intellectual property
rights, and proposes to determine that these acts, policies and
practices are actionable under section 301(b) and that the appropriate
response is a partial suspension of tariff preference benefits
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accorded to Honduras under the GSP and CBI programs. The annex to this
notice sets forth a list of articles of Honduras which could be subject
to the suspension of tariff preference benefits. The USTR invites
interested persons to submit written comments and to participate in a
public hearing concerning the proposed determinations and action.
DATES: This investigation was initiated on October 31,1997. Requests to
appear at the public hearing are due November 14, 1997; written
testimony is due November 24, 1997; a public hearing will be held on
December 4, 1997; and written comments and rebuttal comments are due
December 10, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions should be sent to Sybia Harrison, Staff
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, ATTN: Docket 301-116, Room 223,
Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20508. The public hearing will be held in the main
hearing room of the United States International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Morrissy, Office of Trade and
Development, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202)
395-6971, or William Busis, Office of the General Counsel, Office of
the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-3150.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In June 1992 the Motion Picture Export
Association of America (subsequently renamed the Motion Picture
Association) filed a petition under the GSP program alleging that
Honduras had failed to provide adequate and effective copyright
protection and enforcement of rights of copyright owners. The petition
alleged wide-spread unauthorized broadcasting of pirated videos and the
rebroadcasting of U.S. satellite-carried programming. In addition to
these problems, the Government of Honduras has not provided adequate
copyright protection for books and sound recordings.
Since the receipt of the GSP petition, the United States has held
extensive consultations with the Government of Honduras regarding its
failure to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual
property rights. As a result of these consultations, the Honduran
government has, in the past, provided assurances that enforcement of
intellectual property rights protection laws would improve.
However, the United States has seen a continuing lack of
enforcement of copyright in Honduras. In May of 1997 the TPSC
determined that the Government of Honduras had failed to provide
adequate and effective means under its laws for foreign nationals to
secure, exercise and enforce exclusive rights in intellectual property,
and recommended that the duty-free treatment accorded Honduras under
the GSP and CBI programs be partially withdrawn in four months if these
problems were not remedied. (See 62 FR 28915 of May 28, 1997.) In the
intervening period, the United States Government has consulted with the
Government of Honduras regarding this matter. Despite being notified of
continuing and serious U.S. concerns and possible action by the U.S.
Government in response, the Government of Honduras has still failed to
take sufficient action against continuing and blatant copyright piracy.
For example, recent reports indicate that three major television
stations in Honduras continue to violate the rights of U.S. copyright
owners.
Initiation of Section 302 Investigation
Section 302(b)(1) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(1))
authorizes the USTR to initiate an investigation under Chapter 1 of
Title III of the Trade Act (commonly referred to as ``section 301'')
with respect to any matter to determine whether the matter is
actionable under this provision. Under section 301(b)(1) of the Trade
Act, matters actionable under section 301 include acts, policies, or
practices of a foreign country that are unreasonable and burden or
restrict U.S. commerce. Under section 301(d)(3)(B)(II) of the Trade
Act, unreasonable acts, policies or practices include any act, policy
or practice which denies fair and equitable provision of adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights.
Accordingly, the United States Trade Representative, having
consulted with the appropriate private sector advisory committees, has
determined to initiate an investigation under section 302(b)(1) of the
Trade Act to determine whether certain acts, policies, and practices of
Honduras with regard to the protection of intellectual property rights
are actionable under section 301(b)(1) of the Trade Act.
Proposed Determinations and Action
Based on the failure of the Government of Honduras to provide
adequate protection of intellectual property rights, the USTR proposes
to determine under sections 304(a)(1)(A) and 301(b) of the Trade Act
that the acts, policies, and practices of Honduras with respect to the
protection of intellectual property rights are unreasonable and burden
or restrict United States commerce, and that action by the United
States is appropriate.
Section 301(b)(2) of the Trade Act authorizes the USTR to take all
appropriate and feasible action authorized under section 301(c) to
obtain the elimination of the actionable acts, policies, or practices.
Section 301(c)(1)(C) provides that in a case in which the act, policy,
or practice also fails to meet the eligibility requirements for duty-
free treatment under the GSP program or CBI program, the USTR may
withdraw, limit or suspend such treatment under the GSP or CBI
programs.
The GSP program includes an eligibility requirement concerning the
extent to which the foreign country provides adequate and effective
protection of intellectual property rights (section 502(c)(5) of the
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(c)(5))). The CBI program also includes
eligibility requirements concerning the extent to which the foreign
country provides under its laws adequate and effective means for
foreign nationals to secure, exercise, and enforce exclusive rights in
intellectual property, and the extent to which the foreign country
prohibits its nationals from engaging in the broadcast of copyrighted
material belonging to United States copyright owners without their
express consent (section 212(c)(9) and (10) of the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2712(c)(9) and (10)).
Based on the failure of the Government of Honduras to provide adequate
protection of intellectual property rights, the USTR proposes to
determine that Honduras fails to meet these eligibility requirements of
the CBI and GSP programs.
Accordingly, under section 304(a)(1)(B) and 301(c)(1)(C) of the
Trade Act, the USTR proposes to suspend duty-free treatment accorded
certain products from Honduras under the GSP and CBI programs. In
particular, the USTR is proposing to suspend GSP and CBI duty-free
benefits for certain articles of Honduras, to be chosen from among the
articles listed in the annex to this notice. After considering comments
received and the testimony presented, the USTR will decide which of the
articles listed in the annex will be subject to suspension of duty-free
treatment under the GSP and CBI programs.
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Written Comments and Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Determinations
and Action
In accordance with section 304(b) of the Trade Act, the USTR
invites interested persons to provide written comments on the matters
under investigation and the proposed determinations. With respect to
the proposed action under section 301, comments may address: (1) the
appropriateness of a suspension of GSP and CBI benefits with respect to
articles of Honduras listed in the annex to this notice; (2) the
specific articles from the list in the annex which should be subject to
suspension of GSP and CBI duty-free treatment; and (3) the degree to
which such suspension of duty-free treatment on particular articles of
Honduras might have an adverse effect on U.S. consumers. Written
comments are due by December 10, 1997.
A public hearing addressed to these same issues will be held on
December 4, 1997, in the main hearing room of the United States
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436.
Interested persons wishing to testify orally at the hearings must
provide a written request by November 14, 1997, to Sybia Harrison,
Staff Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, 600 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20508. Requests to
testify must include the following information: (1) name, address,
telephone number, fax number, and firm or affiliation of the person
wishing to testify; and (2) a brief summary of the comments to be
presented. Requests to testify must conform to the requirements of 15
CFR 2006.8(a). After the Chairman of the Section 301 Committee
considers the request to present oral testimony, Ms. Harrison will
notify the applicant of the time of his or her testimony. In addition,
persons presenting oral testimony must submit their complete written
testimony by November 24, 1997.
In order to allow each interested party an opportunity to contest
the information provided by other parties at the hearing, USTR will
accept written rebuttal comments, which must be filed by December 10,
1997. In accordance with 15 CFR 2006.8(c), rebuttal comments should be
limited to demonstrating errors of fact or analysis not pointed out in
the briefs or hearing and should be as concise as possible.
Written comments, written testimony, and rebuttal comments must be
filed in accordance with the requirements set forth in 15 CFR
2006.8(b). Comments must state clearly the position taken, describe
with particularity the supporting rationale, be in English, and be
provided in twenty copies to: Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to the
Section 301 Committee, ATTN: Docket 301-116, Room 223, Office of the
United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC
20508.
All written submissions will be placed in a file (Docket 301-116)
open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except for
confidential business information exempt from public inspection in
accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15. Persons wishing to submit confidential
business information must certify in writing that such information is
confidential in accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15(b), and such information
must be clearly marked ``Business Confidential'' in a contrasting color
ink at the top of each page on each of the twenty copies and must be
accompanied by a nonconfidential summary of the confidential
information. The nonconfidential summary will be placed in the Docket
open to public inspection. An appointment to review the docket may be
made by calling Brenda Webb at (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is
open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00
p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located in Room 101, Office of the
United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC
20508.
Irving A. Williamson,
Chairman, Section 301 Committee.
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[FR Doc. 97-29502 Filed 11-4-97; 3:25 pm]
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