70500 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2004 / Notices 

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 (202) 395–

6186. 

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.

[FR Doc. 04–26676 Filed 12–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W5–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Comments and Notice of 

Public Hearing Concerning Proposed 

Free Trade Agreement With the United 

Arab Emirates (UAE)

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate 

negotiations on a free trade agreement 

with the UAE, request for comments, 

and notice of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: The United States intends to 

initiate negotiations on a free trade 

agreement with the UAE. The 

interagency Trade Policy Staff 

Committee (TPSC) will convene a 

public hearing and seek public 

comment to assist the United States 

Trade Representative (USTR) in 

amplifying and clarifying negotiating 

objectives for the proposed agreement 

and to provide advice on how specific 

goods and services and other matters 

should be treated under the proposed 

agreement.

DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally 

at the hearing must provide written 

notification of their intent to testify, as 

well as their testimony, by January 5, 

2005. A hearing will be held in 

Washington, DC, on January 12, 2005. 

Written comments are due by noon, 

January 25, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic 

mail: FR0509@USTR.EOP.GOV. 

Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, 

Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 

Committee, at (202) 395–6143. The 

public is strongly encouraged to submit 

documents electronically rather than by 

facsimile. (See requirements for 

submissions below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

procedural questions concerning written 

comments or participation in the public 

hearing, contact Gloria Blue, Executive 

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, 

at (202) 395–3475. All other questions 

regarding the UAE should be directed to 

Douglas Bell, Director for the Middle 

East and North Africa, at (202) 395–

4620.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background 

Under section 2104 of the Trade Act 

of 2002 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 3804), for 

agreements that will be approved and 

implemented through trade promotion 

authority (TPA) procedures, the 

President must provide the Congress 

with at least 90 days’ written notice of 

his intent to enter into negotiations and 

must identify the specific objectives for 

the negotiations. Before and after the 

submission of this notice, the President 

must consult with appropriate 

Congressional committees and the 

Congressional Oversight Group (COG) 

regarding the negotiations. Under the 

Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the 

President must (i) afford interested 

persons an opportunity to present their 

views regarding any matter relevant to 

any proposed agreement, (ii) designate 

an agency or inter-agency committee to 

hold a public hearing regarding any 

proposed agreement, and (iii) seek the 

advice of the U.S. International Trade 

Commission (ITC) regarding the 

probable economic effects on U.S. 

industries and consumers of the 

removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers 

on imports pursuant to any proposed 

agreement. 

On November 15, 2004, after 

consulting with relevant Congressional 

committees and the COG, the USTR 

notified the Congress that the President 

intends to initiate free trade agreement 

negotiations with the UAE and 

identified specific objectives for the 

negotiations. In addition, the USTR has 

requested that the ITC provide its advice 

on probable economic effects no later 

than February 28, 2005. This notice 

solicits views from the public on these 

negotiations and provides information 

on a hearing that will be conducted 

pursuant to the requirements of the 

Trade Act of 1974. 

2. Public Comments and Testimony 

To assist the Administration as it 

continues to develop its negotiating 

objectives for the proposed agreement, 

the Chairman of the TPSC invites the 

written comments and/or oral testimony 

of interested persons at a public hearing. 

Comments and testimony may address 

the reduction or elimination of tariffs or 

non-tariff barriers on any articles 

provided for in the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 

that are products of the UAE, any 

concession that should be sought by the 

United States, or any other matter 

relevant to the proposed agreement. The 

TPSC invites comments and testimony 

on all of these matters and, in particular, 

seeks comments and testimony 

addressed to: 

(a) General and commodity-specific 

negotiating objectives for the proposed 

agreement. 

(b) Economic costs and benefits to 

U.S. producers and consumers of 

removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers 

on articles traded with the UAE. 

(c) Treatment of specific goods 

(described by HTSUS numbers) under 

the proposed agreement, including 

comments on 

(1) Product-specific import or export 

interests or barriers, 

(2) Experience with particular 

measures that should be addressed in 

the negotiations, and 

(3) In the case of articles for which 

immediate elimination of tariffs is not 

appropriate, a recommended staging 

schedule for such elimination. 

(d) Adequacy of existing customs 

measures to ensure that imported goods 

originate from the UAE, and appropriate 

rules of origin for goods entering the 

United States under the proposed 

agreement. 

(e) Existing sanitary and 

phytosanitary measures and technical 

barriers to trade imposed by the UAE 

that should be addressed in the 

negotiations. 

(f) Existing barriers to trade in 

services between the United States and 

the UAE that should be addressed in the 

negotiations.

(g) Relevant trade-related intellectual 

property rights issues that should be 

addressed in the negotiations. 

(h) Relevant investment issues that 

should be addressed in the negotiations. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2004 / Notices 70501

(i) Relevant government procurement 

issues that should be addressed in the 

negotiations. 

(j) Relevant environmental and labor 

issues that should be addressed in the 

negotiations. 

Comments identifying as present or 

potential trade barriers laws or 

regulations that are not primarily traderelated should address the economic, 

political, and social objectives of such 

regulations and the degree to which 

they discriminate against producers of 

the other country. At a later date, the 

USTR, through the TPSC, will publish 

notice of reviews regarding (a) the 

possible environmental effects of the 

proposed agreement and the scope of 

the U.S. environmental review of the 

proposed agreement, and (b) the impact 

of the proposed agreement on U.S. 

employment and labor markets. 

A hearing will be held on January 12, 

2005, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, 

NW., Washington, DC. Persons wishing 

to testify at the hearing must provide 

written notification of their intent to 

testify by January 5, 2005. The 

notification should include: (1) The 

name, address, and telephone number of 

the person presenting the testimony; 

and (2) a short (one or two paragraphs) 

summary of the presentation, including 

the subject matter and, as applicable, 

the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), 

service sector(s), or other subjects (such 

as investment, intellectual property, 

and/or government procurement) to be 

discussed. A copy of the testimony must 

accompany the notification. Remarks at 

the hearing should be limited to no 

more than five minutes to allow for 

possible questions from the TPSC. 

Persons with mobility impairments who 

will need special assistance in gaining 

access to the hearing should contact the 

TPSC Executive Secretary. 

Interested persons, including persons 

who participate in the hearing, may 

submit written comments by noon, 

January 25, 2005. Written comments 

may include rebuttal points 

demonstrating errors of fact or analysis 

not pointed out in the hearing. All 

written comments must state clearly the 

position taken, describe with 

particularity the supporting rationale, 

and be in English. The first page of 

written comments must specify the 

subject matter, including, as applicable, 

the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), 

service sector(s), or other subjects (such 

as investment, intellectual property 

and/or government procurement). 

3. Requirements for Submissions 

In order to facilitate prompt 

processing of submissions, the Office of 

the United States Trade Representative 

strongly urges and prefers electronic (email) 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 email should use the following subject 

line: ‘‘United States-United Arab 

Emirates Free Trade Agreement,’’

followed by (as appropriate) ‘‘Notice of 

Intent to Testify,’’ ‘‘Testimony,’’ or 

‘‘Written Comments.’’ Documents 

should be submitted as either 

WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) 

files. Spreadsheets submitted as 

supporting documentation are 

acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. 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 email 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 (202) 395–

6186. 

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.

[FR Doc. 04–26677 Filed 12–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W5–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration 

United We Ride State Coordination 

Grants Announcement

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice identifies state 

agencies selected for United We Ride 

State Coordination Grants and provides 

instructions for applying for the grant 

funds.

EFFECTIVE DATE: State agencies selected 

for State Coordination Grants may begin 

application procedures upon receipt of 

letters from FTA Administrator Jennifer 

L. Dorn informing them of their 

selection. Applicants should submit 

their electronic grant applications to 

FTA by February 28, 2005. Grant 

activities should be complete, with all 

funds drawn down from the grant, by 

February 28, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Applicants may contact the appropriate 

FTA Regional Administrator (see 

Appendix A) for grant-specific issues; or 

Elizabeth Solomon, 202–366–0242, for 

general information about the United 

We Ride State Coordination Grants.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Those 

states selected for funding were found to 

meet the objective of the United We 

Ride initiative which is to implement 

the President’s Executive Order on 

Human Service Transportation 

Coordination by breaking down barriers 

among Federal programs to enhance 

coordination of human service 

transportation programs for individuals 

with disabilities, older adults, and lower 

income populations who depend on 

transportation services to access 

employment, health, and other 

community services. The purpose of the 

State Coordination Grants is to increase 

the overall capacity of states to deliver 

comprehensive and coordinated human 

services transportation that meets the 

needs of transportation-disadvantaged 

individuals and to increase cross-agency 

collaboration to facilitate coordination, 

enhance services, and address 

redundancies of programs and services. 

These grants may be used to assist states 

in conducting a comprehensive state