[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27828-27829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13290]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); Deadline for Submission
of Petitions for the 1997 Annual GSP Product Review
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of the 1997 annual GSP product review.
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SUMMARY: The deadline for the submission of petitions in the 1997
Annual GSP Product Review is 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
GSP Subcommittee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600
17th Street, N.W., Room 518, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number
is (202) 395-6971.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Announcement of 1997 Annual GSP Product Review
The GSP regulations (15 CFR 2007.3 et seq.) provide the schedule of
dates for conducting an annual review unless otherwise specified by a
Federal Register notice. Accordingly, notice is hereby given that, in
order to be considered in the 1997 Annual GSP Product Review, all
petitions to modify the list of articles eligible for duty-free
treatment under the GSP must be received by the GSP Subcommittee of the
Trade Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 2,
1997. Petitions submitted after the deadline will not be considered for
review and will be returned to the petitioner.
The GSP provides for the duty-free importation of designated
articles when imported from designated beneficiary developing
countries. The GSP is authorized by title V of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et. seq.), as amended (the ``Trade Act''), and is
implemented in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24,
1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential
Proclamations. Section 505 of the Trade Act states that duty-free
treatment provided under the GSP shall not remain in effect after May
31, 1997. The 1997 Annual GSP review will be conducted according to a
schedule to be issued in the Federal Register if and when the program
is reauthorized. The review will be based on those petitions that are
submitted prior to the July 2 deadline and accepted for review by the
GSP Subcommittee.
A. 1997 GSP Annual Product Review
Interested parties or foreign governments may submit petitions: (1)
To designate additional articles as eligible for GSP; (2) to withdraw,
suspend or limit GSP duty-free treatment accorded either to eligible
articles under the GSP or to individual beneficiary developing
countries with respect to specific GSP eligible articles; (3) to waive
the competitive need limits for individual beneficiary developing
countries with respect to specific GSP eligible articles; and (4) to
otherwise modify GSP coverage. All product petitions must include a
detailed description of the product and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
(HTS) subheading in which the product is classified.
B. Submission of Petitions and Requests
Petitions to modify GSP treatment should be addressed to GSP
Subcommittee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,
NW., Room 518, Washington, DC 20508. An original and fourteen (14)
copies of each petition must be submitted in English. If the petition
contains business confidential information, an original and fourteen
(14) copies of a nonconfidential version of the submission along with
an original and fourteen (14) copies of the confidential version must
be submitted. In addition, the submission containing confidential
information should be clearly marked ``confidential'' at the top and
bottom of each and every page of the submission. The version that does
not contain business confidential information (the public version)
should also be clearly marked at the top and bottom of each page
(either ``public version'' or ``nonconfidential''). Furthermore,
interested parties submitting petitions that request action with
respect to specific products should list on the first page of the
petition the following information: (1) The requested action; (2) the
HTS subheading in which the product is classified; and (3) if
applicable, the beneficiary country.
All such submissions must conform with the GSP regulations which
are set forth at 15 CFR 2007. These regulations were published in the
Federal Register
[[Page 27829]]
on Tuesday, February 11, 1986 (51 FR 5035). The regulations are printed
in ``A Guide to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)''
(August 1991) (``GSP Guide''). Petitioners are strongly advised to
review the GSP regulations. Submissions that do not provide all
information required by Sec. 2007.1 of the GSP regulations will not be
accepted for review except upon a detailed showing in the submission
that the petitioner made a good faith effort to obtain the information
required. These requirements will be strictly enforced. Petitions with
respect to waivers of the competitive need limitations must meet the
informational requirements for product addition requests in
Sec. 2007.1(c). A model petition format is available from the GSP
Subcommittee and is included in the GSP Guide. Petitioners are
requested to use this model petition format so as to ensure that all
informational requirements are met.
Information submitted (except for information granted ``business
confidential'' status pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6 and other qualifying
information submitted in confidence pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.7) will be
subject to public inspection by appointment only. Appointments may be
made by contacting Ms. Brenda Webb (Tel. 202/395-6186) of the USTR
Public Reading Room.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 97-13290 Filed 5-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3901-01-M
