E9-20519. Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA); Notice Regarding the 2009 Annual Review

AGENCY:

Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION:

Notice and request for petitions.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the 2009 Annual Review of the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA). Under this process, petitions may be filed calling for the limitation, withdrawal or suspension of ATPA or ATPDEA benefits by presenting evidence that the eligibility criteria of the program are not being met. USTR will publish in the Federal Register a list of petitions filed in response to this announcement and accepted for review.

DATES:

The deadline for the submission of petitions for the 2009 Annual ATPA Review is September 22, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Petitions should be submitted electronically via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. For alternatives to on-line submissions please contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bennett M. Harman, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Latin America, Office of the Americas, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is [phone] and the facsimile number is [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The ATPA (19 U.S.C. 3201-06), as renewed and amended by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) in the Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-210) and extended by the Andean Trade Preference Act, (Pub L. 110-436), provides for trade benefits for eligible Andean countries. The current beneficiaries of the ATPA are Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Consistent with Section 3103(d) of the ATPDEA, USTR promulgated regulations (15 CFR part 2016) (68 FR 43922) regarding the review of eligibility of articles and countries for the benefits of the ATPA, as amended. The 2009 Annual ATPA Review is the sixth such review to be conducted pursuant to the ATPA review regulations. To qualify for the benefits of the ATPA and ATPDEA, each country must meet several eligibility criteria, as set forth in sections 203(c) and (d), and section 204(b)(6)(B) of the ATPA, as amended (19 U.S.C. 3202(c), (d); 19 U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B)). Under section 203(e) of the ATPA, as amended (19 U.S.C. 3202(e)), the President may withdraw or suspend the designation of any country as an ATPA or ATPDEA beneficiary country, and may also withdraw, suspend, or limit preferential treatment for any product of any such beneficiary country, if the President determines that, as a result of changed circumstances, the country is not meeting the eligibility criteria.

The ATPA regulations provide the schedule of dates for conducting an annual review, unless otherwise specified by Federal Register notice. Notice is hereby given that, in order to be considered in the 2009 Annual ATPA Review, all petitions to withdraw or suspend the designation of a country as an ATPA or ATPDEA beneficiary country, or to withdraw, suspend, or limit application of preferential treatment to any article of any ATPA beneficiary country under the ATPA, or to any article of any ATPDEA beneficiary country under section 204(b)(1), (3), or (4) (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(1), (3), (4)) of the ATPA, must be received by the Andean Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee no later than 5 p.m. EDT on September 22, 2009. Petitioners should consult 15 CFR 2016.0 regarding the content of such petitions.

Requirements for Submissions: To ensure the most timely and expeditious receipt and consideration of petitions, USTR has arranged to accept on-line submissions via http://www.regulations.gov. To submit petitions via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number USTR-2009-0024 on the home page and click “go”. The site will provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting “Notice” under “Document Type” on the left side of the search-results page, and click on the link entitled “Send a Comment or Submission.” (For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on “How to Use This Site” on the left side of the home page.)

The http://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of making submissions by filling in a “General Comments” field, or by attaching a document. Petitions should be submitted as attachments. When doing this it is sufficient to type “See attached” in the “General Comments” field.

Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) are preferred. If you use an application other than those two, please identify the application in your submission.

Persons wishing to file comments containing business confidential information must submit a business confidential version and a public version. The file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters “BC”. Any page containing business confidential information must be clearly marked “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” on the top of that page. Persons wishing to file comments containing business confidential information must also provide, in a separate submission, a public version of the comments. The file name of the public version should begin with the character “P”. The “BC” and “P” should be followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. If you submit comments that contain no business confidential information, the file name should begin with the character “P”, followed by the name of the person or entity submitting the comments. Electronic submissions should not attach separate cover letters; rather, information that might appear in a cover letter should be included in the comments you submit. Similarly, to the extent possible, please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments to a submission in the same file as the submission itself and not as separate files.

We strongly urge submitters to use electronic filing. If an on-line submission is impossible, alternative arrangements must be made with Ms. Blue prior to delivery for the receipt of such submissions. Ms. Blue may be contacted at [phone]. General information concerning the Office of the United States Trade Representative may be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov).

Carmen Suro-Bredie,

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.