Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 238 / Monday, December 13, 2004 / Notices 72217

Electronic Filing Procedures, ftp://

ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/

electronic_filing_handbook.pdf).

Any submissions that contain 

confidential business information must 

also conform with the requirements of 

§ 201.6 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). 

Section 201.6 of the rules requires that 

the cover of the document and the 

individual pages be clearly marked as to 

whether they are the ‘‘confidential’’ or 

‘‘nonconfidential’’ version, and that the 

confidential business information be 

clearly identified by means of brackets. 

All written submissions, except for 

confidential business information, will 

be made available in the Office of the 

Secretary to the Commission for 

inspection by interested parties. 

The Commission may include some or 

all of the confidential business 

information submitted in the course of 

these investigations in the report it 

sends to the USTR and the President. 

However, should the Commission 

publish a public version of this report, 

such confidential business information 

will not be published in a manner that 

would reveal the operations of the firm 

supplying the information. 

Persons with mobility impairments 

who will need special assistance in 

gaining access to the Commission 

should contact the Secretary at 202–

205–2000.

List of Subjects 

Oman, tariffs, and imports.

Issued: December 7, 2004.

By order of the Commission. 

Marilyn R. Abbott, 

Secretary to the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–27238 Filed 12–10–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Investigation No. 332–464] 

Export Opportunities and Barriers in 

African Growth and Opportunity Act—

Eligible Countries

AGENCY: United States International 

Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and 

scheduling of hearing. 

SUMMARY: Following receipt on 

November 15, 2004, of a request from 

the United States Trade Representative 

(USTR) under section 332(g) of the 

Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332 (g)), 

the Commission instituted investigation 

No. 332–464, Export Opportunities and 

Barriers in African Growth and 

Opportunity Act—Eligible Countries. 

Background 

As requested by the USTR, in its 

report the Commission will identify, 

with respect to each of the 37 subSaharan African countries that are 

eligible for African Growth and 

Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade 

preferences, (1) the major economic 

sectors with the greatest potential for 

growth in export sales, and (2) domestic 

and international barriers that impede 

trade growth in such sectors. The 

Commission will also include in its 

report any information it identifies, in 

the course of its research efforts, 

concerning private sector initiatives and 

technical assistance programs that 

attempt to address such barriers. 

As requested by the USTR, the 

Commission will seek to provide its 

report by June 30, 2005.

DATES: Effective Date: December 6, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Information may be obtained from the 

project leader, Nannette Christ (202–

205–3263 or nannette.christ@usitc.gov) 

or the deputy project leader, Laura Polly 

(202–205–3408 or 

laura.polly@usitc.gov). For information 

on the legal aspects of this investigation, 

contact William Gearhart of the Office of 

the General Counsel (202–205–3091, 

william.gearhart@usitc.gov). The media 

should contact Margaret O’Laughlin, 

Office of Public Affairs (202–205–1819, 

margaret.olaughlin@usitc.gov). 

Public Hearing: A public hearing in 

connection with this investigation is 

scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on 

March 1, 2005, at the U.S. International 

Trade Commission Building, 500 E 

Street, SW., Washington, DC. All 

persons have the right to appear by 

counsel or in person, to present 

information, and to be heard. Persons 

wishing to appear at the public hearing 

should file a letter with the Secretary, 

United States International Trade 

Commission, 500 E St., SW., 

Washington, DC 20436, no later than the 

close of business (5:15 p.m.) on 

February 14, 2005. In addition, persons 

appearing should file prehearing briefs 

(original and 14 copies) with the 

Secretary by the close of business on 

February 16, 2005. Posthearing briefs 

should be filed with the Secretary by the 

close of business on March 11, 2005. In 

the event that no requests to appear at 

the hearing are received by the close of 

business on February 14, 2005, the 

hearing will be canceled. Any person 

interested in attending the hearing as an 

observer or nonparticipant may call the 

Secretary to the Commission (202–205–

1806) after February 14, 2005 to 

determine whether the hearing will be 

held. 

Written Submissions: In lieu of or in 

addition to appearing at the public 

hearing, interested persons are invited 

to submit written statements concerning 

the investigation. Submissions should 

be addressed to the Secretary, United 

States International Trade Commission, 

500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20436. To be assured of consideration 

by the Commission, written statements 

related to the Commission’s report 

should be submitted to the Commission 

at the earliest practical date, and should 

be received by the close of business on 

March 11, 2005. All written 

submissions, including briefs, must 

conform with the provisions of section 

201.8 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). 

Section 201.8 of the rules requires that 

a signed original (or copy designated as 

an original) and fourteen (14) copies of 

each document be filed. In the event 

that confidential treatment of the 

document is requested, at least four (4) 

additional copies must be filed, in 

which the confidential business 

information (CBI) must be deleted (see 

the following paragraph for further 

information regarding CBI). The 

Commission’s rules do not authorize 

filing submissions with the Secretary by 

facsimile or electronic means, except to 

the extent permitted in section 201.8 of 

the rules (see Handbook for Electronic 

Filing Procedures, ftp://ftp.usitc.gov/

pub/reports/

electronic_filing_handbook.pdf). 

Persons with questions regarding 

electronic filing should contact the 

Secretary (202–205–2000 or 

edis@usitc.gov). 

Any submissions, including briefs, 

that contain CBI must also conform with 

the requirements of section 201.6 of the 

Commission’s rules (19 CFR 201.6). 

Section 201.6 of the rules requires that 

the cover of the document and the 

individual pages clearly be marked as to 

whether they are the ‘‘confidential’’ or 

‘‘non-confidential’’ versions, and that 

the CBI be clearly identified by means 

of brackets. All written submissions, 

except for CBI, will be made available 

for inspection by interested parties. 

The Commission may include some or 

all of the CBI it receives in the report it 

sends to the USTR. However, the 

Commission will not publish CBI in the 

public version of the report in a manner 

that would reveal the operations of the 

firm supplying the information. The 

public version of the report will be 

made available to the public on the 

Commission’s Web site. 

The public record for this report may 

be viewed on the Commission’s 

electronic docket (EDIS) at http://

edis.usitc.gov. Hearing impaired 

72218 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 238 / Monday, December 13, 2004 / Notices 

individuals are advised that information 

on this matter can be obtained by 

contacting our TDD terminal on 202–

205–1810. Persons with mobility 

impairments who will need special 

assistance in gaining access to the 

Commission should contact the Office 

of the Secretary at 202–205–2000.

List of Subjects 

AGOA, Sub-Sahran Africa.

Issued: December 8, 2004.

By order of the Commission. 

Marilyn R. Abbott, 

Secretary to the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–27265 Filed 12–10–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Inv. Nos. TA–131–31 and TA–2104–17] 

U.S.-UAE Free Trade Agreement: 

Advice Concerning the Probable 

Economic Effect of Providing DutyFree Treatment for Imports

AGENCY: International Trade 

Commission.

ACTION: Institution of investigation and 

scheduling of public hearing. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 6, 2004.

SUMMARY: Following receipt on 

December 1, 2004, of a request from the 

United States Trade Representative 

(USTR), the Commission instituted 

investigation Nos. TA–131–31 and TA–

2104–17, U.S.-UAE Free Trade 

Agreement: Advice Concerning the 

Probable Economic Effect of Providing 

Duty-Free Treatment for Imports, under 

section 131 of the Trade Act of 1974 and 

section 2104(b)(2) of the Trade Act of 

2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Information specific to these 

investigations may be obtained from 

Robert Carr, Project Leader (202–205–

3402; robert.carr@usitc.gov), or Peder 

Andersen, Deputy Project Leader (202–

205–3388; peder.andersen@usitc.gov), 

Office of Industries, United States 

International Trade Commission, 

Washington, DC 20436. For information 

on the legal aspects of these 

investigations, contact William Gearhart 

of the Office of the General Counsel 

(202–205–3091; 

william.gearhart@usitc.gov). Hearing 

impaired individuals are advised that 

information on this matter can be 

obtained by contacting the TDD 

terminal on (202) 205–1810. General 

information concerning the Commission 

may also be obtained by accessing its 

Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). 

The public record for these 

investigations may be viewed on the 

Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) 

at http://edis.usitc.gov.

Background: On November 15, 2004, 

the USTR notified the Congress of the 

President’s intent to initiate free trade 

agreement negotiations with the United 

Arab Emirates (UAE). Accordingly, the 

USTR, pursuant to section 131 of the 

Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2151), 

requested the Commission to provide a 

report including advice as to the 

probable economic effect of providing 

duty-free treatment for imports of 

products of UAE (i) on industries in the 

United States producing like or directly 

competitive products, and (ii) on 

consumers. In preparing the advice, the 

Commission’s analysis will consider 

each article in chapters 1 through 97 of 

the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States for which U.S. tariffs will 

remain after the United States fully 

implements its Uruguay Round tariff 

commitments. The import advice will 

be based on the 2004 Harmonized Tariff 

System nomenclature and 2003 trade 

data. The advice with respect to the 

removal of U.S. duties on imports from 

UAE will assume that any known U.S. 

nontariff barrier will not be applicable 

to such imports. The Commission will 

note in its report any instance in which 

the continued application of a U.S. 

nontariff barrier to such imports would 

result in different advice with respect to 

the effect of the removal of the duty. 

As also requested, pursuant to section 

2104(b)(2) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 

U.S.C. 3804(b)(2)), the Commission will 

provide advice as to the probable 

economic effect of eliminating tariffs on 

imports of certain agricultural products 

of UAE on (i) industries in the United 

States producing the product concerned, 

and (ii) the U.S. economy as a whole. 

USTR indicated that the 

Commission’s report will be classified 

and that USTR considered it to be an 

interagency memorandum containing 

pre-decisional advice and subject to the 

deliberative process privilege. The 

Commission expects to provide its 

report to USTR by February 28, 2005. 

Public Hearing: A public hearing in 

connection with these investigations is 

scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on 

January 5, 2005, at the United States 

International Trade Commission 

Building, 500 E Street SW., Washington, 

DC. This hearing will be held 

sequentially with a separate 

Commission hearing on January 5, 2005, 

in connection with its investigation 

U.S.-Oman FTA: Advice Concerning the 

Probable Economic Effects of Providing 

Duty-Free Treatment for Imports (Inv. 

Nos. TA–131–30 and TA–2104–16). 

Requests to appear at the public hearing 

should be filed with the Secretary, not 

later than 5:15 p.m., December 17, 2004, 

in accordance with the requirements in 

the ‘‘Submissions’’ section below. In the 

event that, as of the close of business on 

December 17, 2004, no witnesses are 

scheduled to appear, the hearing will be 

canceled. Any person interested in 

attending the hearing as an observer or 

non-participant may call the Secretary 

(202–205–1806) after December 17, 2004 

to determine whether the hearing will 

be held. 

Written Submissions: In lieu of or in 

addition to participating in the hearing, 

interested parties are invited to submit 

written statements or briefs concerning 

these investigations. All written 

submissions, including requests to 

appear at the hearing, statements, and 

briefs, should be addressed to the 

Secretary, United States International 

Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20436. Any prehearing 

statements or briefs should be filed not 

later than 5:15 p.m., December 21, 2004; 

the deadline for filing posthearing 

statements or briefs is 5:15 p.m., January 

12, 2005. All written submissions must 

conform with the provisions of § 201.8 

of the Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 

201.8 of the rules requires that a signed 

original (or a copy designated as an 

original) and fourteen (14) copies of 

each document be filed. In the event 

that confidential treatment of the 

document is requested, at least four (4) 

additional copies must be filed, in 

which the confidential information 

must be deleted (see the following 

paragraph for further information 

regarding confidential business 

information). The Commission’s rules 

do not authorize filing submissions with 

the Secretary by facsimile or electronic 

means, except to the extent permitted by 

§ 201.8 of the rules (see Handbook for 

Electronic Filing Procedures, ftp://

ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/

electronic_filing_handbook.pdf). 

Any submissions that contain 

confidential business information must 

also conform with the requirements of 

§ 201.6 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). 

Section 201.6 of the rules requires that 

the cover of the document and the 

individual pages be clearly marked as to 

whether they are the ‘‘confidential’’ or 

‘‘nonconfidential’’ version, and that the 

confidential business information be 

clearly identified by means of brackets. 

All written submissions, except for 

confidential business information, will 

be made available in the Office of the 

Secretary to the Commission for 

inspection by interested parties.