[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5044-5045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2885]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC); Request for Comments
Concerning Foreign Government Discrimination in Procurement
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice requests written submissions from the public
concerning discrimination against U.S. products and services by foreign
governments in their procurement practices. This information will be
used in compiling the annual report on government procurement specified
by Section 305 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Trade Agreements
Act), as amended by Title VII of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988 and Title III, Section 341 of the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act of 1994 (19 U.S.C. 2515).
Section 305 of the Trade Agreement Act requires the President to
submit an annual report on the extent to which foreign countries
discriminate against U.S. products or services in making government
procurement. Section 341 of the Uruguay Round Agreement Act specifies
that the report also contain
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information about countries which employ non-transparent procurement
procedures or fail to maintain effective prohibitions on bribery and
other corrupt practices. Specifically, the President is required to
identify any countries that:
(a) Are signatories to the former GATT and/or WTO Agreement on
Government Procurement (Agreement) and are not in compliance with the
requirements of the Agreement;
(b) Are signatories to the Agreement; are in compliance with the
Agreement, but maintain a significant and persistent pattern or
practice of discrimination in the government procurement of products or
services from the United States not covered by the Agreement, which
results in identifiable harm to U.S. business; and whose products or
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government; or
(c) Are not signatories to the Agreement and maintain a significant
and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination in government
procurement of products or services from the United States, which
results in identifable harm to U.S. business, and whose products or
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government; or
(d) Are not signatories to the Agreement and fail to apply
transparent and competitive procedures to its government procurement
equivalent to those in the Agreement and whose products and services
are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government; or
(e) Are not Signatories to the Agreement and fail to maintain and
enforce effective prohibitions on bribery and other corrupt practices
in connection with government procurement and whose products and
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government.
The functions vested in the President under Section 305 of the
Trade Agreements Act were delegated to the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) pursuant to Section 4-101 of Executive Order
12661 (54 FR 779).
DATES: Submissions containing the information described below must be
received on or before March 1, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to Carolyn Frank, Executive
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508, and
must include not less than twenty (20) copies. Submissions will be
available for public inspection by appointment with the staff of the
USTR Public Reading Room, except for information granted ``business
confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6. Any business
confidential material must be clearly marked as such at the top of the
cover page or letter and each succeeding page and must be accompanied
by a nonconfidential summary.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elena Bryan (202-395-5097) or Mark Linscott (202-395-3063), Office of
WTO and Multilateral Affairs, or Laura B. Sherman (202-395-3150),
Office of the General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative,
600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 305 of the Trade Agreements Act
requires an annual report to be submitted no later than April 30, 1996
to the appropriate Committees of the House of Representatives and the
Senate. The USTR is required to request consultations with any
countries identified in the report to remedy the procurement practices
cited in the report.
Effective January 1, 1996, the new WTO Government Procurement
Agreement entered into force and the United States withdrew from the
GATT Government Procurement Code. Therefore, this year's Title VII
review will include both agreements. The WTO Code significantly expands
coverage beyond goods to include services, including construction, and
to procurement of goods, services and construction by subcentral
governments and government enterprises. Singapore and Hong Kong are
members of the GATT Code but have yet to join the WTO Code, although
Singapore has requested accession to the WTO Code and tabled a first
offer. The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a member of the WTO Code but may
delay implementation until January 1, 1997. The ROK was not a member of
the GATT Code. Otherwise, and with the exception of the United States,
the membership in the GATT and WTO Codes are identical.
USTR invites submissions from interested parties concerning foreign
government procurement practices that should be considered in
developing the annual report. Pursuant to Section 305(d)(5) of the
Trade Agreements Act, submissions are sought from any interested
parties in the United States and in countries that are signatories to
the Agreement, as well as in other foreign countries whose products or
services are acquired in significant amounts by the U.S. Government.
Each submission should provide, in order, the following general
information: (1) the party submitting the information; (2) the foreign
country or countries that are the subject of the submission and the
entities of each subject country's government whose practices are being
cited, and (3) the U.S. products or services that are affected by the
non-compliance or discrimination.
Each submission should also provide specific information on the
particular problem: (1) noncompliance with the former GATT Agreement on
Government Procurement or new WTO Government Procurement Agreement; (2)
the type of discrimination encountered, including information regarding
the date and nature of affected procurement(s); (3) policies or
practices which are discriminatory, not transparent or anti-competitive
(where possible, include copies of discriminatory laws, policies or
regulations), and (4) the extent to which the problem has impeded the
ability of U.S. suppliers to participate in procurements on terms
comparable to those available to suppliers of the country in question
when they are seeking to sell goods or services to the U.S. Government;
(5) examples of failure to maintain and enforce effective prohibitions
on bribery and other corrupt practices in connection with government
procurement.
Finally, each submission should: (1) If applicable, identify
provisions of the former GATT or WTO Codes which are not being observed
by the country identified or describe how the country identified has
maintained a significant and persistent pattern or practice of
discrimination in government procurement of non-Code-covered goods or
services; (2) identify the specific impact of the discriminatory policy
or practice on U.S. businesses (including an estimate of the value of
market opportunities lost and, if any, the cost of preparing bids which
are rejected during the course of procurement evaluation for
discriminatory reasons), and (3) describe the extent of which the
products or services of the country identified are acquired in
significant amounts by the U.S. Government.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 96-2885 Filed 2-8-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110-01-M
