65760 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 210 / Tuesday, October 30, 2012 / Notices 

the ratio of the national average wage 

index for 2011 ($42,979.61) to that for 

1997 ($27,426.00) produces the amount 

of $1,567.11. We then round this 

amount to $1,600. Accordingly, the 

election worker coverage threshold 

amount is $1,600 for 2013. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 

Program Nos. 96.001 Social SecurityDisability Insurance; 96.002 Social SecurityRetirement Insurance; 96.004 Social SecuritySurvivors Insurance; 96.006 Supplemental 

Security Income) 

Dated: October 23, 2012. 

Michael J. Astrue, 

Commissioner of Social Security. 

[FR Doc. 2012–26663 Filed 10–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 8077] 

U.S. National Commission for 

UNESCO; Notice of Meeting 

The U.S. National Commission for 

UNESCO will host its Annual Meeting 

on Monday, November 26, from 10:00 

a.m. until 3:30 p.m. E.S.T. The meeting 

will convene in room 309 of the George 

Washington University Marvin Center at 

800 21st Street NW., Washington, DC. 

The meeting will have a series of 

speakers offering information about 

UNESCO and the current state of United 

States engagement with the 

Organization. The meeting will also 

feature a public comment session, 

limited to approximately 15 minutes in 

total, with two minutes allowed per 

speaker. 

For more information or to arrange to 

participate in this meeting (including 

requests for reasonable 

accommodation), individuals should 

contact Francine Randolph, Office of 

UNESCO Affairs, Washington, DC 

20037. Telephone (202) 663–0026; Fax 

(202) 663–0035. 

The National Commission may be 

contacted via email at 

DCUNESCO@state.gov, or via phone at 

(202) 663–0026. Its Web site can be 

accessed at: http://www.state.gov/p/io/ 

unesco/. 

Dated: October 19, 2012. 

Kelly O. Siekman, 

National Commission for UNESCO, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–26673 Filed 10–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–19–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Public Comments To 

Compile the Reports on Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers 

to Trade 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice and Request for 

Comments. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 181 of the 

Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 

U.S.C. 2241), the Office of the United 

States Trade Representative (USTR) is 

required to publish annually the Reports 

on Sanitary and Phytosanitary and 

Technical Barriers to Trade. With this 

notice, the Trade Policy Staff Committee 

(TPSC) is requesting interested persons 

to submit comments to assist it in 

identifying significant sanitary and 

phytosanitary and standards-related 

barriers to U.S. exports of goods for 

inclusion in these two reports. 

These reports were published as the 

2012 Report on Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Measures (2012 SPS 

Report) and the 2012 Report on 

Technical Barriers to Trade (2012 TBT 

Report) respectively. The TPSC invites 

written comments from the public on 

issues that USTR should examine in 

preparing the SPS and TBT Reports. 

DATES: Public comments are due not 

later than November 15, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be 

made via the Internet at 

www.regulations.gov under the 

following dockets (based on the subject 

matter of the submission): 

SPS Measures: USTR–2012–0032. 

Standards-related Measures: USTR– 

2012–0033. 

For alternatives to on-line 

submissions please contact TBD USTR 

(202–395–3475). The public is strongly 

encouraged to file submissions 

electronically rather than by facsimile or 

mail. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions regarding the SPS Report or 

substantive questions or comments 

concerning SPS measures should be 

directed to Jane Doherty, Director of 

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Affairs, 

USTR (202–395–6127). Questions 

regarding the TBT Report or substantive 

questions or comments concerning 

standards-related measures should be 

directed to Jennifer Stradtman, Director, 

Technical Barriers to Trade, USTR (202– 

395–4498). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SPS 

and TBT Reports set out inventories of 

SPS and standards-related non-tariff 

barriers to trade. These inventories 

facilitate U.S. negotiations aimed at 

reducing or eliminating these barriers. 

The reports also provide a valuable tool 

in enforcing U.S. trade laws and 

strengthening the rules-based trading 

system. The 2012 and earlier SPS and 

TBT Reports may be found on USTR’s 

Internet Home Page (http:// 

www.ustr.gov) under ‘‘USTR News’’ 

under the tab ‘‘Reports’’. 

To ensure compliance with the 

applicable statutory mandate and the 

Obama Administration’s commitment to 

focus on the most significant foreign 

trade barriers, USTR will be guided by 

the existence of active private sector 

interest in deciding which restrictions 

to include in the SPS and TBT Reports. 

Topics on which the TPSC Seeks 

Information: To assist USTR in the 

preparation of the SPS and TBT Reports, 

commenters should submit information 

related to:(1) SPS measures; or(2) 

standards-related measures (including 

standards, technical regulations, and 

conformity assessment procedures). 

Such measures should constitute 

significant foreign trade barriers to U.S. 

exports. 

SPS and TBT Reports: On April 2, 

2012, USTR released two reports 

focusing on foreign trade barriers—one 

on SPS measures (SPS Report) and the 

other on standards-related measures 

(TBT report). USTR also released SPS 

and TBT Reports in 2011 and 2010. 

These reports serve as tools to bring 

greater attention and focus to resolving 

SPS and standards-related measures that 

may be inconsistent with international 

trade agreements to which the United 

States is a party or that otherwise act as 

significant foreign barriers to U.S. 

exports. USTR plans to use comments 

on SPS and standards-related measures 

submitted pursuant to this notice in 

producing these two reports. 

The following information describing 

SPS and standards-related measures 

may help commenters to file 

submissions on particular foreign trade 

barriers under the appropriate docket. 

SPS Measures: Generally, SPS 

measures are measures applied to 

protect the life or health of humans, 

animals, and plants from risks arising 

from additives, contaminants, pests, 

toxins, diseases, or disease-carrying and 

causing organisms. SPS measures can 

take such forms as specific product or 

processing standards, requirements for 

products to be produced in disease-free 

areas, quarantine regulations, 

certification or inspection procedures, 

sampling and testing requirements, 

health-related labeling measures, 

maximum permissible pesticide residue 


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