26652 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 89 / Monday, May 8, 2000 / Notices

any countries on the list of countries

that deny fair market opportunities for

U.S. products, suppliers, or bidders in

foreign government-funded airport

construction projects.

DATES: Effective May 1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC, 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Ellis, Director of Government

Procurement Issues, (202) 395–3063; or

Stephen Kho, Assistant General

Counsel, (202) 395–3581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

533 of the Airport and Airway

Improvement Act of 1982, as amended

by section 115 of the Airport and

Airway Safety and Capacity Expansion

Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100–223 (codified

at 49 U.S.C. 50104) (‘‘the Act’’), requires

USTR to decide by May 1, 2000,

whether any foreign countries have

denied fair market opportunities to U.S.

products, suppliers, or bidders in

connection with airport construction

projects of $500,000 or more that are

funded in whole or in part by the

governments of such countries. The list

of such countries must be published in

the Federal Register. For the purposes

of the Act, USTR has decided not to

include any countries on the list of

countries that deny fair market

opportunities for U.S. products,

suppliers, or bidders in foreign

government-funded airport construction

projects.

Charlene Barshefsky,

United States Trade Representative.

[FR Doc. 00–11340 Filed 5–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Identification of Countries That Deny

Adequate Protection, or Market

Access, for Intellectual Property Rights

Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of

1974

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the United States Trade Representative

(USTR) has submitted its annual report

on the identification of those foreign

countries that deny adequate and

effective protection of intellectual

property rights or deny fair and

equitable market access to United States

persons that rely upon intellectual

property protection, and those foreign

countries determined to be priority

foreign countries, to the Committee on

Finance of the United States Senate and

the Committee on Ways and Means of

the United States House of

Representatives, pursuant to section 182

of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended

(the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242).

DATES: This report was submitted on

April 28, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Claude Burcky, Deputy Assistant U.S.

Trade Representative for Intellectual

Property, (202) 395–6864, Donna

DiPaolo, Director for Intellectual

Property, (202) 395–6864, or Stephen

Kho, Assistant General Counsel, (202)

395–3581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

182 of the Trade Act requires USTR to

identify within 30 days of the

publication of the National Trade

Estimates Report all trading partners

that deny adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property rights

or deny fair and equitable market access

to United States persons that rely upon

intellectual property protection. Those

countries that have the most onerous or

egregious acts, policies, or practices that

have the greatest adverse impact (actual

or potential) on the relevant United

States products must be identified as

‘‘priority foreign countries,’’ unless they

are entering into good faith negotiations

or are making significant progress in

bilateral or multilateral negotiations to

provide adequate and effective

protection for intellectual property

rights. In identifying countries in this

manner, the USTR is directed to take

into account the history of intellectual

property laws and practices of the

foreign country, including any previous

identifications as a priority foreign

country, and the history of efforts of the

United States, and the response of the

foreign country, to achieve adequate and

effective protection and enforcement of

intellectual property rights. In making

these determinations, the USTR must

consult with the Register of Copyrights,

the Commissioner of Patents and

Trademarks, and other appropriate

officials of the Federal Government and

take into account information from

other sources, such as information

submitted by interested persons.

On April 28, 2000, USTR identified

59 trading partners that deny adequate

and effective protection of intellectual

property or deny fair and equitable

market access to United States artists

and industries that rely upon

intellectual property protection. USTR

identified Ukraine for potential Priority

Foreign Country designation on August

1, 2000. USTR again designated

Paraguay and China for ‘‘Section 306

monitoring’’ to ensure both countries

comply with the commitments made to

the United States under bilateral

intellectual property agreements.

USTR announced placement of 16

trading partners on the ‘‘Priority Watch

List’’: Argentina, the Dominican

Republic, Egypt, the European Union,

Greece, Guatemala, India, Israel, Italy,

Korea, Malaysia, Peru, Poland, Russia,

Turkey, and Ukraine. USTR placed 39

trading partners on the ‘‘Watch List.’’

Countries that were not mentioned in

the report last year but are on the Watch

List this year include: Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Latvia,

Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In

addition, out-of-cycle reviews will be

conducted of Italy in September, and

Korea and Macau in December 2000.

While El Salvador and the West Bank

and Gaza are not listed, USTR will also

conduct out-of-cycle reviews of each in

September and December 2000,

respectively. Finally, the USTR

announced the initiation of WTO

dispute settlement cases against

Argentina and Brazil, and that it will

take the next step in our dispute with

Denmark and request the establishment

of a WTO panel unless imminent

progress is made.

P. Claude Burcky,

Director of Intellectual Property.

[FR Doc. 00–11341 Filed 5–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Annual Report on Discrimination in

Foreign Government Procurement

Pursuant to Executive Order 13116

(‘‘Title VII’’)

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice if hereby given that the

United States Trade Representative

(‘‘USTR’’) has submitted the annual

report on discrimination in foreign

government procurement, published

herein, to the Committees on Finance

and on Governmental Affairs of the

United States Senate and the

Committees on Ways and Means and on

Government Reform and Oversight of

the United States House of

Representatives, pursuant to the

reinstituted procedures of Title VII of

the Omnibus Trade and

Competitiveness Act of 1988 (‘‘Title