[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36470-36473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17723]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Free Area Trade of the Americas
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA)
negotiations; request for pubic comment on initial U.S. objectives for
the nine negotiating groups.
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SUMMARY: The Trade Staff Committee (TPSC) is providing notice of the
United States' participation in trade negotiations with the 33
countries in the Western Hemisphere participating in the Summit of the
Americas \1\ and of the
[[Page 36471]]
principles and objectives for the negotiations to which the 34
countries have agreed. The TPSC invites public comment on initial U.S.
objectives for each of the nine FTAA negotiating groups.
\1\ Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana,
Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, United States, and
Venezuela.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For procedural questions concerning public comments contact Gloria
Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the
United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-3475. All questions
concerning the negotiations should be directed to Karen M. Lezny,
Director for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, Office of the Western
Hemisphere, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202)
395-5190.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 11, 1994, President Clinton and
the 33 other democratically-elected leaders in the Western Hemisphere
met in Miami, Florida for the first Summit of the Americas. They agreed
to conclude negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by
the year 2005, and to achieve concrete progress toward that objective
by the end of the century. The 34 leaders agreed to negotiate a
balanced and comprehensive agreement covering the following areas,
among others: tariffs and non-tariff barriers affecting trade in goods
and services; agriculture; subsidies; investment; intellectual property
rights; government procurement; technical barriers to trade;
safeguards; rules of origin; antidumping and countervailing duties;
sanitary and phytosanitary standards and procedures; dispute
resolution; and competition policy. The 34 Western Hemisphere ministers
responsible for grade met four times; in June 1995 in Denver, Colorado;
in March 1996 in Cartagena, Colombia; in May 1997 in Belo Horizonte,
Brazil; and, in March 1998 in San Jose, Costa Rica, in order to prepare
for the negotiation of the FTAA Agreement. The trade ministers created
11 working groups that collected and analyzed information on existing
trade-related measures in each area to assist them in their
preparations.
At the San Jose meeting in March 1998, the trade ministers
recommended that the Western Hemisphere leaders initiate the
negotiations and provided them recommendations on the structure,
objectives, principles, and venues of the negotiations. The trade
ministers reaffirmed the principles and objectives that have guided
work on the FTAA since Miami, including that the agreement will be
balanced, comprehensive, and WTO-consistent. They also reaffirmed that
the agreement will constitute a single undertaking; will take into
account the needs, economic conditions and opportunities of the smaller
economies; and, will not raise additional barriers to the trade of
other countries. The ministers pledged to continue to avoid to the
greatest extent possible the adoption of policies that adversely affect
trade in the hemisphere. They also reiterated that the negotiation of
the FTAA will take into account the broad social and economic agenda
contained in the Miami Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action
with a view to contributing to raising living standards, to improving
the working conditions of all people in the Americas and to better
protecting the environment.
On April 18-19, 1998, President Clinton and his 33 counterparts in
the Western Hemisphere initiated the Free Trade Area of the Americas
negotiations at the Summit of the Americas meeting in Santiago, Chile.
The leaders agreed to the general framework proposed by the 34 trade
ministers, which include the establishment initially of nine
negotiating groups to be guided by general principles and objectives
and specified objectives as agreed by the ministers in March 1998. The
leaders also agreed to the establishment of a Trade Negotiation
Committee (TNC) composed of the 34 vice ministers responsible for trade
to oversee the negotiation. The TNC held its first meeting on June 17-
19 in Buenos Aires. Three other entities also were established: a
Committee of Government Representatives on Civil Society, a joint
public-private sector Experts Committee on Electronic Commerce, and a
Consultative Group on Smaller Economies.
The nine negotiating groups are for: Market Access,\2\ Agriculture;
Investment; Services; Government Procurement; Dispute Settlement;
Intellectual Property Rights; Subsidies, Antidumping and Countervailing
Duties; and Competition Policy. They will begin their work no later
than September 30, 1998 and will meet in Miami, Florida. The
negotiating groups will be guided in their work by the general
principles and objectives as well as the specific objectives agreed by
the ministers, as set out in Annex I and Annex II of the San Jose
Declaration, reproduced below.
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\2\ The market access negotiating group will cover tariffs, non-
tariff measures, standards and technical barriers to trade (for both
agricultural and industrial products), customs procedures (for both
agricultural and industrial products), rules of origin (for both
agricultural and industrial products), and safeguards (for both
agricultural and industrial products). The agriculture negotiating
group will cover tariff, non-tariff measures, sanitary and
phytosanitary measure (for both agricultural and industrial
products), and export subsidies and other trade-distorting practices
affecting agricultural products in the Hemisphere.
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The establishment of nine negotiating groups is an initial
structure for the negotiations. This structure is flexible and is
expected to be modified over time as required to assist the
negotiations.
Since the Santiago Summit, USTR has held informal consultations
with various sectors of civil society, including consumer, labor,
business and environmental interests, which have expressed views and an
interest in commenting on U.S. positions and objectives for the nine
negotiating groups.
Public Comments
To prepare for the initial meetings of the nine negotiating groups
starting in September 1998, the TPSC invites written comment on what
should be the U.S. positions and objectives with respect to each of the
negotiating groups. U.S. negotiators seek input beyond the general
principles and objectives and specific objectives agreed to in San Jose
by the United States as one of the 34-countries.
USTR will seek additional public comment separately on other issues
related to the FTAA, including the Committee of Government
Representatives on Civil Society and concerning the economic effects of
the removal of duties and nontariff barriers to trade among FTAA
participating countries.
Those persons wishing to submit written comments should provide
twenty (20) typed copies (in English) no later than Wednesday, July 29,
1998, to Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Room 501, 600 17th
Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20508. Comments should state clearly the
position taken and should describe the specific information supporting
that position.
If the submission contains business confidential information,
twenty copies of a non-confidential version must also be submitted. A
justification as to why the information contained in the submission
should be treated confidentially must be included in the submission. In
addition, any submissions containing business confidential information
must be clearly marked ``Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the
cover page (or letter) and of each succeeding page of the
[[Page 36472]]
submission. The version that does not contain confidential information
should also be clearly marked, at the top and bottom of each page,
``public version'' or ``non-confidential.''
Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except
for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15
CFR 2003.6, will be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading
Room, Room 101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600
17th. St., N.W., Washington, D.C. An appointment to review the file may
be made by calling Brenda Webb (202) 395-6186. The Reading Room is open
to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
San Jose Declaration
Annex I--General Principles and Objectives
The negotiations for the construction of the FTAA will be guided
by the following General Principles and Objectives:
General Principles
(a) Decisions in the FTAA negotiating process will be made by
consensus.
(b) Negotiations will be conducted in a transparent manner to
ensure mutual advantage and increased benefits to all participants
of the FTAA.
(c) The FTAA Agreement will be consistent with the rules and
disciplines of the WTO. With this purpose, the participating
countries reiterate their commitment to multilateral rules and
disciplines, in particular Article XXIV of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and its Uruguay Round Understanding,
and Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
(d) The FTAA should improve upon WTO rules and disciplines
wherever possible and appropriate, taking into account the full
implications of the rights and obligations of countries as members
of the WTO.
(e) The negotiations will begin simultaneously in all issue
areas. The initiation, conduct and outcome of the negotiations of
the FTAA shall be treated as parts of a single undertaking which
will embody the rights and obligations as mutually agreed upon.
(f) The FTAA can co-exist with bilateral and sub-regional
agreements, to the extent that the rights and obligations under
these agreements are not covered by or go beyond the rights and
obligations of the FTAA.
(g) Countries may negotiate and accept the obligations of the
FTAA individually or as members of a sub-regional integration group
negotiating as a unit.
(h) Special attention should be given to the needs, economic
conditions (including transition costs and possible internal
dislocations) and opportunities of smaller economies, to ensure
their full participation in the FTAA process.
(i) The rights and obligations of the FTAA will be shared by all
countries. In the negotiation of the various thematic areas,
measures such as technical assistance in specific areas and longer
periods for implementing the obligations could be included on a case
by case basis, in order to facilitate the adjustment of smaller
economies and the full participation of all countries in the FTAA.
(j) The measures agreed upon to facilitate the integration of
smaller economies in the FTAA process shall be transparent, simple
and easily applicable, recognizing the degree of heterogeneity among
them.
(k) All countries shall ensure that their laws, regulations and
administrative procedures conform to their obligations under the
FTAA agreement.
(l) In order to ensure the full participation of all countries
in the FTAA, the differences in their level of development should be
taken into account.
General Objectives
(a) To promote prosperity through increased economic integration
and free trade among the countries of our Hemisphere, which are key
factors for raising standards of living, improving the working
conditions of people in the Americas and better protecting the
environment.
(b) To establish a Free Trade Area, in which barriers to trade
in goods and services and investment will be progressively
eliminated, concluding negotiations no later than 2005 and achieving
concrete progress toward the attainment of this objective by the end
of this century.
(c) To maximize market openness through high levels of
disciplines through a balanced and comprehensive agreement.
(d) To provide opportunities to facilitate the integration of
the smaller economies in the FTAA process in order to realize their
opportunities and increase their level of development.
(e) To strive to make our trade liberalization and environmental
policies mutually supportive, taking into account work undertaken by
the WTO and other international organizations.
(f) To further secure, in accordance with our respective laws
and regulations, the observance and promotion of worker rights,
renewing our commitment to the observance of internationally
recognized core labor standards and acknowledging that the
International Labor organization is the competent body to set and
deal with those core labor standards.
Annex II--Objectives by Issue Area
We have agreed that the negotiations for the construction of the
FTAA, in the different issue area, will be guided by the following
objectives:
Market Access
(a) Consistent with the provisions of the WTO, including article
XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) and
its Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, to progressively
eliminate, tariffs, and non tariff barriers, as well as other
measures with equivalent effects, which restrict trade between
participating countries.
(b) All tariffs will be subject to negotiation.
(c) Different trade liberalization timetables may be negotiated.
(d) To facilitate the integration of smaller economies and their
full participation in the FTAA negotiations.
Agriculture
(a) The objectives of the negotiating group on Market Access
shall apply to trade in agricultural products. Rules of origin,
customs procedures and Technical Barriers to Trade issues will be
addressed in the Market Access negotiating group.
(b) To ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary measures are not
applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or
unjustifiable discrimination between countries or a disguised
restriction to international trade, in order to prevent
protectionist trade practices and facilitate trade in the
hemisphere. Consistent with the WTO Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), said measures
will only be applied to achieve the appropriate level of protection
for human, animal or plant life or health, will be based on
scientific principles, and will not be maintained without sufficient
scientific evidence.
Negotiations in this area involve identifying and developing
measures needed to facilitate trade, following and examining in
depth the provisions set down in the WTO/SPS Agreement.
(c) To eliminate agricultural export subsidies affecting trade
in the Hemisphere.
(d) To identify other trade-distorting practices for
agricultural products, including those that have an effect
equivalent to agriculture export subsidies, and bring them under
greater discipline.
(e) Agricultural products covered are the goods referred to in
Annex I of the WTO Agriculture Agreement.
(f) Incorporate progress made in the multilateral negotiations
on agriculture to be held according to Article 20 of the Agreement
on Agriculture, as well as the results of the review of the SPS
Agreement.
Rules of Origin
(a) To develop an efficient and transparent system of rules of
origin, including nomenclature and certificates of origin, in order
to facilitate the exchange of goods, without creating unnecessary
obstacles to trade.
Customs Procedures
(a) To simplify customs procedures, in order to facilitate trade
and reduce administrative costs.
(b) To create and implement mechanisms to exchange information
in customs issues among FTAA countries.
(c) To design effective systems to detect and combat fraud and
other illicit customs activities, without creating unnecessary
obstacles to foreign trade.
(d) To promote customs mechanisms and measures that ensure
operations be conducted with transparency, efficiency, integrity and
responsibility.
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Investment
(a) To establish a fair and transparent legal framework to
promote investment through the creation of a stable and predictable
environment that protects the investor, his investment and related
flows, without creating obstacles to investments from outside the
hemisphere.
Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade
(a) To eliminate and prevent unnecessary technical barriers to
trade in the FTAA, based on the proposals contained in the Common
Objectives Paper approved by the Working Group.
Subsidies, Antidumping and Countervailing Duties
(a) To examine ways to deepen, if appropriate, existing
disciplines provided in the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures and enhance compliance with the terms of the
WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
(b) To achieve a common understanding with a view to improving,
where possible, the rules and procedures regarding the operation and
application of trade remedy laws in order to not create unjustified
barriers to trade in the Hemisphere.
Government Procurement
(a) The broad objective of negotiations in government
procurement is to expand access to the government procurement
markets of the FTAA countries.
More specifically, the objectives are:
(a) To achieve a normative framework that ensures openness and
transparency of government procurement processes, without
necessarily implying the establishment of identical government
procurement systems in all countries;
(b) To ensure non-discrimination in government procurement
within a scope to be negotiated;
(c) To ensure impartial and fair review for the resolution of
procurement complaints and appeals by suppliers and the effective
implementation of such resolutions.
Intellectual Property Rights
(a) To reduce distortions in trade in the Hemisphere and promote
and ensure adequate and effective protection to intellectual
property rights. Changes in technology must be considered.
Services
(a) Establish disciplines to progressively liberalize trade in
services, so as to permit the achievement of a hemispheric free
trade area under conditions of certainty and transparency;
(b) Ensure the integration of smaller economies into the FTAA
process.
Competition Policy
The objectives of the negotiations are:
(a) General Objectives:
To guarantee that the benefits of the FTAA
liberalization process not be undermined by anti-competitive
business practices.
(b) Specific Objectives:
To advance towards the establishment of juridical and
institutional coverage at the national, sub-regional or regional
level, that proscribes the carrying out of anti-competitive business
practices;
To develop mechanisms that facilitate and promote the
development of competition policy and guarantee the enforcement of
regulations on free competition among and within countries of the
Hemisphere.
Dispute Settlement
(a) To establish a fair, transparent and effective mechanism for
dispute settlement among FTAA countries, taking into account inter
alia the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes.
(b) To design ways to facilitate and promote the use of
arbitration and other alternative dispute settlement mechanisms, to
solve private trade controversies in the framework of the FTAA.
Work in different groups may be interrelated, such as
agriculture and market access; services and investment; competition
policy and subsidies, antidumping and countervailing duties; among
others. The TNC shall identify linkages and outline appropriate
procedures to ensure timely and effective coordination. We agree to
give the mandate to the relevant negotiating groups to study issues
relating to: the interaction between trade and competition policy,
including antidumping measures; market access and agriculture, in
order to identify any areas that may merit further consideration by
us. The groups involved will report their results to the TNC no
later than December 2000. This is without prejudice to decisions
made by the TNC to dissolve, establish or merge groups. Likewise,
the negotiating groups may establish ad-hoc working groups.
[FR Doc. 98-17723 Filed 7-2-98; 8:45 am]
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