97-12406. Initiation of the Second Round of Accelerated Tariff Elimination Talks Under Provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25992-25995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-12406]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Initiation of the Second Round of Accelerated Tariff Elimination 
Talks Under Provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notification of an opportunity to file petitions requesting 
accelerated tariff elimination under the North American Free Trade 
Agreement.

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SUMMARY: Section 201(b) of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
Implementation Act of 1993 (``the Act'') grants the President, subject 
to the consultation and lay-over requirements of section 103(a) of the 
Act, the authority to proclaim any accelerated schedule for duty 
elimination that may be agreed to by the United States, Mexico and 
Canada under Article 302(3) of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
(``the NAFTA''). This notice opens the second round of consideration 
for accelerated tariff elimination under the NAFTA, and describes the 
procedure for filing petitions. The closing date for filing petitions 
requesting consideration is June 13, 1997. The three NAFTA governments 
will announce the products being provided accelerated reductions on or 
before December 15, 1997, with implementation planned for early 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 
Office of the United States Trade Representative, Room 522, 600 17th 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508; telephone: [phone]; fax: 
[phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Annex 302.2 of the NAFTA establishes the 
timetable for the staged elimination of tariffs on all dutiable goods 
traded between Mexico and the United States and most dutiable goods 
traded between Mexico and Canada. Duties on goods traded between the 
United States and Canada remain subject to the tariff elimination 
timetables agreed to under the U.S-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). 
All goods covered by the tariff elimination provisions agreed to by the 
United States and Canada will be duty free as of January 1, 1998.
    Article 302(3) of the NAFTA provides that, at the request of any 
party to the NAFTA, the parties shall consult to consider accelerating 
the elimination of customs duties set out in the Agreement. Section 
201(b) of the Act grants the President, subject to certain consultation 
and layover requirements, the authority to proclaim any such agreed 
acceleration of the elimination of a U.S. duty. The Statement of 
Administrative Action (SAA) which was approved by the Congress along 
with the NAFTA and Sec. 201(b)(2) of the Act state that the President 
may not consider a request to accelerate the staging of duty reductions 
for an article

[[Page 25993]]

for which the U.S. tariff phaseout period is more than 10 years if a 
request for acceleration with respect to such an article has been 
considered and denied in the preceding 3 calendar years. (That is, a 
request denied in 1997 cannot be reconsidered before 2001.) However, no 
such products were considered during the first NAFTA tariff 
acceleration round. No decision has been made at this time regarding a 
third round.
    Based on the above, and on the experience gained in conducting the 
prior round, the following procedures will apply to the second tariff 
acceleration round, subject to future modifications.

I. Articles Which May Be Petitioned

    Petitions for accelerated tariff elimination may be filed only for 
articles for which the duty is currently scheduled to be eliminated 
after January 1, 1998, as noted in Annex 302.2 of the NAFTA, and 
modified by the first tariff acceleration round and any addition tariff 
reductions implemented by each of the parties. Requests may be made to 
the United States government with respect to trade in originating 
products between the United States and Mexico. As noted above, all 
applicable trade between the United States and Canada will be duty free 
on January 1, 1998, that is, before the conclusion of the second tariff 
acceleration round. Therefore, no U.S.-Canada requests will be 
considered. In addition, no U.S.-Mexico requests will be considered for 
products with tariff elimination currently scheduled for January 1, 
1998. Finally, requests for elimination of duties between Mexico and 
Canada can be requested through the United States government only when 
U.S.-Mexico duties are also subject to that request. Requests for 
accelerated duty elimination on trade solely between Mexico and Canada 
should be made to the governments of Mexico or Canada.
    USTR will generally not act on a petition unless most U.S. 
producers of that particular product consider the request for 
acceleration to be non-controversial. Petitions may request 
acceleration of reductions by one or all of the NAFTA parties. 
Normally, the acceleration of the elimination of tariffs will be 
pursued on a reciprocal basis. Since the consultations will be 
trinational, petitions requesting acceleration by other than all 
parties must note the reasons for excluding any party.

Regarding Products Subject to Petitions Filed in 1994

    (1) Products considered for, but not granted, accelerated 
reductions are subject to the limitations noted above. If met, 
petitions submitted in 1994 can be considered in this second round. 
However, the NAFTA parties will consider petitions on previously 
rejected requests only when there is evidence that conditions have 
changed sufficiently since the prior decision to merit reconsideration. 
As for any other request, petitioners must file new, complete, 
petitions to have such requests considered.
    (2) Products subject to petitions filed in 1994 but not considered 
in the first round can be considered in the second round, if they will 
continue to be dutiable after January 1, 1998. However, due to the time 
elapsed since these petitions were received, petitioners are asked to 
file new petitions to confirm their continued interest and provide 
updated information.

II. Timetable

    Petitions requesting consideration of accelerated duty elimination 
are due at USTR by 5:00 p.m., June 13, 1997. USTR will then published a 
preliminary list of the products to be presented to Mexico and request 
comments on this list as specified in that notice. Trinational meetings 
will begin shortly thereafter, with the announcement of the agreed 
package of accelerated tariffs to be made by December 15, 1997. 
Implementation under the applicable domestic procedures will then begin 
in each country, and should be completed in approximately 90 days. 
Advice from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) 
and the Trade Advisory Committee will also be requested for all 
products on the preliminary list.

III. Format of Petitions

    A model petition format and the information requested is shown in 
the annex to this notice. In order to be considered, petitions for 
accelerated tariff eliminations must conform to the model format and 
contain all essential data elements.
    If a submission contains business confidential material, the 
specific material must be so identified in order to receive 
confidential treatment. In such cases, both a non-confidential and a 
business confidential version of the petition, each clearly marked as 
to its status, must be submitted. None of the information provided in 
sections A and B of the petition may be designated business 
confidential.
    A copy of the petition format and this notice can be obtained from 
the Office of the Western Hemisphere, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR), Room 522, 600 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 
20508, telephone [phone]. Petitioners are encouraged to submit 
requests to USTR via the Internet or on a properly formatted computer 
disk. The form, and instructions for electronic submissions can be 
obtained, beginning May 20, 1997, from the USTR Internet home page: 
www.ustr.gov under the ``What's New'' heading.

IV. General Instructions

    1. Each harmonized tariff system (HTS) number must have a separate 
petition; that is, each petition may request accelerated tariff 
elimination for a single product only. All information contained in a 
petition must pertain solely to the single product that is the subject 
of the petition. A single petition requesting acceleration on more than 
one product cannot be considered.
    2. Product description (number 5). Petitions for acceleration of an 
entire 8-digit tariff subheading must provide the HTS descriptions for 
the United States and Mexico, and for Canada when relevant. Whenever 
possible, petitions should be for the entire 8-digit tariff line. 
However, petitions for acceleration for only certain products 
classified within an 8-digit subheading can be considered when 
necessary. Such petitions must provide the following additional 
information in Section C:
    a. A full and complete description of the article;
    b. The article's principal use in the United States;
    c. The reason the full tariff line should not be considered;
    d. The article's commercial, common or technical name or 
designation; and, as appropriate:
    (1) Illustrative literature;
    (2) The relative quantity by weight of each component materials for 
articles composed of two or more materials;
    (3) Chemical analysis, flow charts, CAS number, etc.;
    e. Any other information that may assist in determining the 
appropriate tariff classification of the article;
    f. A statement of the reason(s) the petitioner believes that the 
article is classified in the 8-digit tariff subheading which the 
petitioner has entered in number 7 of the petition (e.g., outstanding 
classification by Customs or a classification by Customs on liquidated 
entries of the article in question) and;
    g. A copy of any rulings issued by the U.S. Customs Service or the 
appropriate authorities in the Government of Mexico specifying the 
classification of the petitioned product in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States, and the Tariff Schedule of Mexico.

[[Page 25994]]

    h. A statement of the reasons why accelerated duty elimination 
should be considered for only a portion of the 8-digit tariff 
subheading. Petitions for products within an 8-digit which do not 
provide the above information cannot be considered. Brand names or 
trademarks are not acceptable as product descriptions for this purpose 
and their use may result in rejection of the petition.
    3. 8-digit tariff subheading (number 6). Petitions for acceleration 
of tariff elimination under the 1997 U.S. and Mexican tariff schedules 
must provide the correct applicable 8-digit tariff subheading number 
for each of the tariff schedules. As noted above, not more than one 8-
digit subheading in each tariff schedule must be listed in a petition. 
The tariff subheading is requested for Canada in the event Mexico and 
Canada consider acceleration. Commodity numbers contained in Schedule 
B, Statistical Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities 
Exported from the United States, cannot be substituted for the number 
of the 8-digit tariff subheading in the United States, Mexican or 
Canadian tariff schedules. Petitions using Schedule B commodity numbers 
for this purpose cannot be considered. Petitioners are responsible for 
assuring that the products of interest are classified in the tariff 
subheading being petitioned. We recommend that petitions include the 
information described in paragraph 3 above on representative products 
for which the petitioner is seeking accelerated tariff elimination.
    4. Petitioner/product relationship (number 7). At least one item 
must be checked. If item ``e'', ``j'' or ``o'' is checked, specify the 
relationship or interest that the petitioner has in the product.
    5. Supplemental information (Section C). This section of the 
petition should be used to provide information supplementing that 
provided in numbers 1 through 11 (specify the relevant number(s) being 
supplemented), or any other relevant information that may assist in 
consideration of the petition.
    6. Submission of petitions.
    a. Electronic submissions: USTR prefers that petitions be submitted 
in electronic form, either interactively via the Internet, or by 
submission of floppy disk. If disks are being submitted, one hard copy 
of each petition should also be enclosed; if multiple requests are 
being filed, they may be submitted on a single disk, with a hard copy 
list of all the petitions by HTS number included. The form, and 
instructions for electronic submissions can be obtained, beginning May 
20, 1997, from the USTR Internet home page: www.ustr.gov under the 
``What's New'' heading. Technical questions regarding electronic 
submission may be made after May 20 by contacting the USTR computer 
operations office at [phone] during business hours.
    b. Paper submissions: Petitions must be type-written and submitted 
in 10 copies, in English, at the earliest possible date, but not later 
than June 13, 1997 to: Office of the Western Hemisphere, Office of the 
United States Trade Representative, Room 501, 600 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, D.C. 20508, ATTN: NAFTA Tariff Acceleration desk. Petitions 
received after the deadline cannot be considered.

V. Consideration of Petitions

    All petitions received by June 13, 1997, and containing complete 
and correct information as required in this notice will be reviewed and 
a decision made as to which articles will be proposed to the Government 
of Mexico for possible accelerated tariff elimination. As noted above, 
petitions for articles on which the duty is currently scheduled for 
elimination on or before January 1, 1998 in Annex 302.2 of the NAFTA, 
as modified, cannot be considered.
    Petitions not containing complete and accurate information required 
in numbers 1 through 11 of sections A and B cannot be considered.
    Petitions not containing complete and accurate information required 
in numbers 1 through 11 of sections A and B cannot be considered.
    Petitions for products previously considered for acceleration under 
the NAFTA will be considered only if USTR determines that circumstances 
have sufficiently changed to warrant reconsideration at this time. Such 
petitions should include information in Section C of the petition 
documenting such a change. Products considered in the first NAFTA 
rounds are listed in the Federal Register notice May 23, 1994, Volume 
59, Number 98, at pages 26688 through 26690. Information on whether a 
product was considered in the first NAFTA product round may also be 
obtained from: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, NAFTA 
Acceleration Help Desk [phone], or The U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Office of NAFTA [phone].
    Normally, the accelerated elimination of tariffs between the United 
States and Mexico will be pursued on a reciprocal basis. Petitions 
containing requests for the accelerated elimination of Mexican tariffs 
will be treated as applying equally to corresponding U.S. tariff 
treatment, and vice versa. Petitions requesting other than reciprocal 
acceleration must note the reasons for the exclusion of the other 
party.
Peter F. Allgeier,
Associate U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere.

Model Petition To Accelerate the Removal of Tariffs Under the North 
American Free Trade Agreement

1997 Round Form for U.S. Petitioners

Section A. Petitioner Identification

1. Petitioner:---------------------------------------------------------
2. Address:------------------------------------------------------------
3. Contact Person:-----------------------------------------------------
4. Telephone Number: (______)------------------------------------------

Section B. Product Identification and Tariff Information

5. Product Description:------------------------------------------------
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(Important: See paragraph IV.3 of General Instructions. Supplement 
in Section C, if necessary.)
6. The product is classified in the following 8-digit tariff 
subheading:
    a. __________ in the 1997 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States
    b. __________ in the 1997 Tariff Schedule of Mexico
    c. __________ in the 1997 Customs Tariff of Canada
(Note: petitions cannot be accepted without this information.)
7. Petitioner/Product Relationship (check all that apply):
    a. __ Producer in the United States
    b. __ Importer in the United States
    c. __ Exporter in the United States
    d. __ Consumer in the United States
    e. __ Other, in the United States
      Specify: __________
    f. __ Producer in Mexico
    g. __ Importer in Mexico
    h. __ Exporter in Mexico
    i. __ Consumer in Mexico
    j. __ Other, in Mexico
      Specify: __________
    k. __ Producer in Canada
    l. __ Importer in Canada
    m. __ Exporter in Canada
    n. __ Consumer in Canada
    o. __ Other, in Canada
      Specify: __________
8. This petition:
    a. __--covers all products in the U.S. 8-digit tariff subheading
    b. __--does not cover all products in the U.S. 8-digit tariff 
subheading
    c. __--covers all products in the Mexican 8-digit tariff 
subheading
    d. __--does not cover all products in the Mexican 8-digit tariff 
subheading
    e. __--covers all products in the Canadian 8-digit tariff 
subheading
    f. __--does not cover all products in the Canadian 8-digit 
tariff subheading
(Important: If items ``b'', ``d'' or ``f'' are checked, the 
information required in paragraph 3 of the General Instructions for 
product descriptions of single products within an 8-digit subheading 
must be provided with this petition.)

[[Page 25995]]

9. Under the NAFTA, the duty is currently scheduled to be eliminated 
on January 1:
    For U.S. imports: __1999 __2000 __2001 __2002 __2003 __2004 
__2005 __2006 __2007
    For Mexico imports: __1999 __2000 __2001 __2002 __2003 __2004 
__2005 __2006 __2007
10. Accelerated removal is requested for:
    a. __ the United States duty on Mexico
    b. __ the Mexican duty on the U.S.
(Note: if the request is not made for both Parties, note reason for 
exclusion, such as current duty-free status.)
11. The petitioner requests elimination of the tariff/s:
    a. __ immediately without further staging
    b. __ with accelerated staging
      Specify: __________

Section C. Supplemental Information

(Use additional pages as necessary.)

Signature of person filing the petition:-------------------------------
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Title or position:-----------------------------------------------------
Date:------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 97-12406 Filed 5-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M