05-2188. Request for Public Comment Regarding Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) Beneficiary Countries

AGENCY:

Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with section 203(f) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) (19 U.S.C. 3201), as amended by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act , the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting the views of interested parties on whether the countries designated as ATPA beneficiary countries in Presidential Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002, are meeting the eligibility criteria provided for in section 204(b)(6)(B) of the ATPA. This information will be used in the preparation of a report to the U.S. Congress on the operation of the program.

DATES:

Public comments are due at USTR no later than 5 p.m., March 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Submissions by electronic mail: [e-mail]. Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at [phone]. The public is strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by facsimile. See requirements for submissions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Russell Smith, Office of the Americas, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Room 523, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone number is [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Signed into law on August 6, 2002, the Trade Act of 2002 contains, in title XXXI, provisions for enhanced trade benefits for eligible Andean countries. Titled the “Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act” (ATPDEA), the ATPDEA renews the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), and amends the ATPA to provide preferential treatment for certain products previously excluded from such treatment. In Presidential Proclamation 7616 of October 31, 2002, the President designated Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as ATPA beneficiary countries. Section 203(f) of the ATPA requires the USTR, not later than April 30, 2005, to submit to Congress a report on the operation of the ATPA. Section 203(f)(2) requires USTR, before submitting such report, to request comments on whether beneficiary countries are meeting the criteria set forth in section 204(b)(6)(B) (which incorporates by reference the criteria set forth in sections 203(c) and (d)). USTR refers interested parties to the Federal Register notice published on August 15, 2002 (67 FR 53379), for a full list of the eligibility criteria.

Requirements for Submissions. In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the Office of the United States Trade Representative strongly urges and prefers electronic (e-mail) submissions in response to this notice. In the event that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be made by facsimile.

Persons making submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: “ATPA Beneficiary Countries.” Documents should be submitted as either WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. If any document submitted electronically contains business confidential information, the file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters “BC-,” and the file name of the public version should begin with the characters “P-.” The “P-” or “BC-” should be followed by the name of the submitter. Persons who make submissions by e-mail should not provide separate cover letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself. To the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files.

Written comments, notice of testimony, and testimony will be placed in a file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except business confidential information exempt from public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential information submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” at the top of each page, including any cover letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a non-confidential summary of the confidential information. All public documents and non-confidential summaries shall be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public, by appointment only, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling [phone].

Carmen Suro-Bredie,

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.