34786 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices

This open session is solely for

information exchange between the

Cultural Property Advisory Committee

and persons interested in the work of

the Committee pursuant to 19 U.S.C.

2601, et seq., the Convention on

Cultural Property Implementation Act.

Information about the Committee, the

Act, and the 1970 UNESCO Convention

on the Means of Prohibiting and

Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and

Transfer of Ownership of Cultural

Property may be found at http://

exchanges.state.gov/education/culprop.

The Committee will make

presentations about its work and about

implementation of the Act followed by

a question and answer period. In order

to allow the maximum participation

possible, individuals will be limited to

five minutes each for comments/

questions.

Due to the Library’s security

procedures and limited seating, prior

notification of attendance is required.

Attendees must use the entrance on

42nd Street, between Fifth and Sixth

Avenues. Interested persons should

contact the Cultural Property Office at

(202) 619–6612 by 5 pm (ESDT), June

23.

Dated: May 25, 2000.

William B. Bader,

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational

and Cultural Affairs, Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–13543 Filed 5–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–U

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Dockets No. 301–62a and 301–100a]

Proceedings Concerning the European

Communities’ Regime for the

Importation, Sale and Distribution of

Bananas and the European

Communities’ Measures Concerning

Meat and Meat Products

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments

SUMMARY: The interagency Section 301

Committee is soliciting written

comments on possible modifications to

actions taken by the United States as a

result of the European Communities’

(EC) failure to implement the

recommendations and rulings of the

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Dispute Settlement Body in proceedings

regarding (i) the EC’s regime for the

importation, sale, and distribution of

bananas (the EC-Bananas case) and (ii)

the EC’s ban on the import of U.S. meat

and meat products produced from

animals treated with certain hormones

(the EC-Beef Hormones case). Comments

are requested with respect to the

products listed in the annexes to this

notice. The Section 301 Committee will

consider the comments received in

response to this notice, as well as

comments previously received with

respect to particular products.

Accordingly, persons who have

previously submitted comments with

respect to particular products are

requested not to resubmit such

comments, although persons may wish

to submit updates to previously

submitted comments. The relevant

statutory provision provides that the

actions taken by the United States in the

Beef and Bananas cases should be

modified, unless (1) the USTR and the

affected U.S. industries agree that such

changes are unnecessary, or (2)

resolution of the case is imminent.

DATES: To be assured of consideration,

written comments should be submitted

by 5 p.m. on June 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to: Chairman, Section 301

Committee, Attn: Implementation of

WTO Recommendations, Room 100, 600

17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to the

Section 301 Committee, (202) 395–3419,

for questions concerning procedures for

filing submissions in response to this

notice; Ralph Ives, Deputy Assistant

U.S. Trade Representative, (202) 395–

6127, for questions concerning the ECBananas case or the EC-Beef Hormones

case; or William Busis, Associate

General Counsel (202) 395–3150, for

questions concerning procedures under

Section 301 or the WTO Agreement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. The EC-Bananas Case

The EC’s regime governing the

importation, sale, and distribution of

bananas is discriminatory and has

harmed the economic interests of the

United States by denying to U.S.

companies a major portion of their

banana distribution business. WTO

dispute settlement panels have

confirmed that the EC’s banana regime

is inconsistent with the EC’s obligations

under the WTO Agreement.

Furthermore, WTO arbitrators have

determined that the EC’s banana regime

has nullified or impaired U.S. benefits

under the WTO Agreement in the

amount of $191.4 million per year. The

procedural and substantive background

of the U.S. investigation under Sections

301 to 309 of the Trade Act of 1974, as

amended (‘‘Section 301’’) and the

associated WTO proceedings concerning

the EC’s banana regime is set forth in

prior notices (64 FR 19,209, 63 FR

71,665, 63 FR 63,099, 63 FR 56,687, and

63 FR 8248)

As a result of the EC’s failure to

comply with recommendations and

rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement

Body (DSB) to bring its discriminatory

banana regime into compliance with

WTO obligations, on April 19, 1999 the

DSB authorized the United States to

suspend the application to the EC, and

member States thereof, of WTO tariff

concessions and related obligations

covering trade in an amount of $191.4

million per year. Pursuant to that

authorization, the USTR announced a

list of EC products, reprinted in Annex

I to this notice, that would be subject to

a 100 percent rate of duty (64 FR 19209).

Since that time, the United States and

the EC have continued to consult in an

effort to resolve this dispute. However,

the EC has still failed to bring its banana

regime into compliance with the EC’s

obligations under the WTO Agreement.

B. The EC-Beef Hormones Case

The EC bans the import of beef and

beef products produced from animals to

which certain hormones have been

administered, despite the facts that such

products have been consumed safely for

decades and that no scientific basis

exists for imposing such a ban. The

effect of the EC ban is to prohibit the

import of substantially all U.S.-

produced beef and beef products. WTO

panels have confirmed that the EC has

no scientific basis for banning imports

of U.S. beef, and that the EC ban is

inconsistent with the EC’s WTO

obligations. Furthermore, WTO

arbitrators have determined that the

EC’s import ban on U.S. beef and beef

products has nullified or impaired U.S.

benefits under the WTO Agreement in

the amount of $116.8 million each year.

The procedural and substantive

background of the U.S. investigation

under Section 301 and the associated

WTO proceedings concerning the EC’s

beef import ban is set forth in prior

notices (64 FR 40,638 and 64 FR

14,486).

As a result of the EC’s failure to

comply with DSB recommendations and

rulings concerning its beef import ban,

on July 26, 1999 the DSB authorized the

United States to suspend the application

to the EC, and member States thereof, of

WTO tariff concessions and related

obligations covering trade in an amount

of $116.8 million per year. Pursuant to

that authorization, the USTR announced

a list of EC products, reprinted in Annex

III to this notice, that would be subject

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices 34787

to a 100 percent rate of duty (64 FR

40638).

Since that time, the United States and

the EC have continued to consult in an

effort to resolve this dispute. However,

the EC has still failed to bring its

measures governing the import of U.S.

beef and beef products into compliance

with the EC’s obligations under the

WTO Agreement.

C. Section 407 of the Trade and

Development Act of 2000

Section 407 of the Trade and

Development Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106–

200, amends Section 301 by requiring

the USTR to review retaliation lists or

other actions under Section 301 and to

revise them, in whole or in part, 120

days after their initial effective date, and

every 180 days thereafter. The provision

applies to actions taken under Section

301—such as the above-described

actions in the EC-Bananas and the ECBeef Hormones cases—as the result of a

WTO Member’s failure to implement

DSB recommendations in a dispute

settlement proceeding.

Section 407 provides exceptions in

the event that (1) the USTR and the

Section 301 petitioner (or, if USTR selfinitiated the Section 301 investigation,

the affected U.S. industry) agree that

changing the retaliation list or other

action under Section 301 is

unnecessary, or (2) resolution of the

case is imminent.

Section 407 provides that the

standard for making changes is to select

changes that are most likely to result in

implementation of the DSB

recommendations, or in achieving some

other satisfactory resolution of the

dispute. The conference report

accompanying the legislation confirms

that Congress intends for the USTR, in

accordance with WTO dispute

settlement rules, to ensure that the level

of retaliation remains within the level

authorized by the WTO DSB.

The provision also requires that

retaliation lists—both initially and after

each of the periodic changes—include

reciprocal goods of the U.S. industries

affected by a WTO Member’s

noncompliance. This reciprocity

requirement applies to the retaliatory

action in the EC-Beef Hormones case.

However, Section 407 includes an

exception that makes the reciprocity

requirement inapplicable to the

retaliatory action in the EC-Bananas

case.

The Trade and Development Act of

2000 was enacted on May 18, 2000, and

Section 407 of the Act entered into force

on that date. Section 407 does not

include a transition clause specifying

the schedule for changes in existing

retaliation lists (that is, the lists in the

EC-Bananas and EC-Beef Hormones

cases). The conference report

accompanying the legislation states that

the conferees expect initial action

within 30 days after entry into force.

The Section 301 Committee will work to

develop recommendations consistent

with this time frame and with the need

to obtain and to examine public

comments.

D. Request for Public Comments

The Section 301 Committee closely

monitors actions taken under Section

301 to ensure that such actions remain

practicable and effective in terms of

obtaining the elimination of the acts,

policies, or practices of foreign

governments that are the subject of the

301 investigation. To assist in this

monitoring and in the implementation

of Section 407 of the Trade and

Development Act of 2000, the USTR

seeks public comments with respect to

the products on the lists in the Annexes

to this notice.

All products listed in the Annexes

were included on preliminary lists with

respect to which USTR had previously

sought public comment. The Section

301 Committee will consider the

comments received in response to this

notice, as well as comments previously

received with respect to particular

products. Accordingly, persons who

have previously submitted comments

with respect to particular products are

requested not to resubmit such

comments, although persons may wish

to submit updates to previously

submitted comments. The Section 301

Committee will consider all public

comments in developing its

recommendations to the interagency

Trade Policy Staff Committee, which in

turn will provide recommendations to

the United States Trade Representative

(USTR).

Annex I consists of products, drawn

from the list in Annex II, currently

subject to 100 percent duties as a result

of the EC’s noncompliance in the ECBananas case. Annex II consists of a

product list which the United States

included in a request to the WTO DSB

for authorization to suspend WTO

concessions in connection with the ECBananas case. Annex III consists of

products, drawn from the list in Annex

IV, currently subject to 100 percent

duties as a result of the EC’s

noncompliance in the EC-Beef

Hormones case. Annex IV consists of a

product list which the United States

included in a request to the WTO DSB

for authorization to suspend WTO

concessions in connection with the ECBeef Hormones case.

Concerning products currently subject

to 100 percent duties (listed in Annex

I for the EC-Bananas case and Annex III

for the EC-Beef Hormones case), the

Section 301 Committee invites

comments with respect to whether the

products should continue to be subject

to such duties, and with respect to

whether the current 100 percent rate of

duty is high enough to have the

intended effect of being prohibitive.

Concerning products on the attached

lists not currently subject to 100 percent

duties (included in Annex II for the ECBananas case and Annex IV for the ECBeef Hormones case), the Section 301

Committee invites comments with

respect to whether the products should

be subject to 100 percent duties, and

with respect to whether a 100 percent

rate of duty would be high enough to

have the intended effect of being

prohibitive.

The comments sought by the Section

301 Committee with respect to

particular products include (i) whether

maintaining or imposing prohibitive

duties on a particular product would be

practicable or effective in terms of

encouraging a favorable resolution of

the dispute, and (ii) whether

maintaining or imposing prohibitive

duties on a particular product would

cause disproportionate economic harm

to U.S. interests, including small- or

medium-size businesses.

In the annexed products lists, the

items with respect to which comments

are requested are (1) classified in the

indicated headings and the subheadings

of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of

the United States (HTS); and (2) the

product of the indicated member States

of the European Communities. The

product descriptions in the annexes are

for information purposes only; the

product descriptions are not intended to

delimit in any way the scope of

products that are the subject of this

notice. Rather, the numerical headings

and subheadings of the HTS listed in

the annexes govern the scope of this

notice. In the instances where a 4-digit

HTS heading appears in the left column

of the lists, comments are requested

with respect to any of the products

classified in any of the 8-digit

subheadings appearing in the HTS

indented under those 4-digit headings.

To be assured of consideration,

written comments should be submitted

by 5:00 p.m. on June 14, 2000.

Submissions must include on the first

page a clear reference in bold and/or

underlining to: (1) to actions taken in

the EC-Bananas case, the EC-Beef

Hormones case, or both, and (2) the HTS

number(s) and product(s) which are the

subject of the submission. Submissions

34788 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 105 / Wednesday, May 31, 2000 / Notices

must state clearly the position taken and

describe with particularity the

supporting rationale, be in English, and

be provided in twenty copies to:

Chairman, Section 301 Committee, Attn:

Implementation of WTO

Recommendations, Room 100.

Written comments will be placed in

files (Docket No. 301–62a for the ECBeef Hormones case and No. 301–100a

for the EC-Bananas case) open to public

inspection pursuant to 15 CFR

§ 2006.13, except confidential business

information exempt from public

inspection in accordance with 15 CFR

§ 2006.15. Persons wishing to submit

business confidential information must

certify in writing that such information

is confidential in accordance with 15

CFR § 2006.15(b), and such information

must be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS

CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a contrasting color

ink at the top of each page on each of

twenty copies and must be accompanied

by a non-confidential summary of the

confidential information. The nonconfidential summary will be placed in

the docket that is open to public

inspection.

An appointment to review Docket

Nos. 301–62a and 301–100a may be

made by calling Brenda Webb at (202)

395–6186. The USTR Reading Room is

open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12

noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, and is located

in Room 101 of the Office of the United

States Trade Representative.

Dated: May 25, 2000.

William L. Busis,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

BILLING CODE 3190–01–U

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[FR Doc. 00–13548 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–C

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

Proposed Agency Information

Collection Activities; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the Information

Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted

below has been forwarded to the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) for

review and comment. The ICR describes

the nature of the information collection

and its expected burden. The Federal

Register notice with a 60-day comment

period soliciting comments on the

following collections of information was

published on February 16, 2000 (65 FR

7913).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before June 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Robert Brogan, Office of Planning and

Evaluation Division, RRS–21, Federal

Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont

Ave., NW, Mail Stop 17, Washington,

DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6292),

or Dian Deal, Office of Information

Technology and Productivity

Improvement, RAD–20, Federal

Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont

Ave., NW, Mail Stop 35, Washington,

DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6133).

(These telephone numbers are not tollfree.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(PRA), Public Law 104–13, section 2,

109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised

at 44 U.S.C. sections 3501–3520), and its

implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part

1320, require Federal agencies to issue

two notices seeking public comment on

information collection activities before

OMB may approve paperwork packages.

44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5,

1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On February 16,

2000, FRA published a 60-day notice in

the Federal Register soliciting comment

on ICRs that the agency was seeking

OMB approval. 65 FR 7913. FRA

received no comments in response to

this notice.

Before OMB decides whether to

approve these proposed collections of

information, it must provide 30 days for

public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5

CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires

OMB to approve or disapprove

paperwork packages between 30 and 60

days after the 30 day notice is

published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR

1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983,

Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30

day notice informs the regulated

community to file relevant comments

and affords the agency adequate time to

digest public comments before it

renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug.

29, 1995. Therefore respondents should

submit their respective comments to

OMB within 30 days of publication to

best ensure having their full effect. 5

CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983,

Aug. 29, 1995.

The summaries below describe the

nature of the information collection

requirements (ICRs) and the expected

burden. The revised requirements are

being submitted for clearance by OMB

as required by the PRA.

Title: Railroad Locomotive Safety

Standards and Event Recorder.

OMB Control Number: 2130–0004.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Railroads.

Form(s): FRA F 6180.49A.

Abstract: Under regulations issued

pursuant to Congressional mandate, 49

U.S.C. 20137, trains must be equipped

with event recorders. Event recorders

are devices that record train speed, hot

box detection, throttle position, brake

application, brake operations, time and

signal conditions, and any other

function that FRA considers necessary

to monitor the safety of train operations.

Event recorders provide FRA with

information about how trains are

operated, and if a train is involved in an

accident, the devices afford data to FRA

and other investigators necessary to

determine the probable causes of the

accident. Moreover, under 49 CFR Part

229, railroads are required to conduct

daily, periodic, annual, and biennial

tests of locomotives to measure the level

of compliance with Federal regulations.

The collection of information requires

railroads to prepare written records

indicating the repairs needed, the

person making the repairs, and the type

of repairs made. This information

provides a locomotive engineer with

information that the locomotive has

been inspected and is in proper

condition for use in service, and enables

FRA to monitor compliance with the

regulatory standards.

Title: Railroad Signal System

Requirements.

OMB Control Number: 2130–0006.

Type of Request: Extension of the

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Businesses.

Form(s): FRA F 6180.14; FRA F

6180.47.

Abstract: The regulations pertaining

to railroad signal systems are contained

in 49 CFR Parts 233 (Signal System

Reporting Requirements), 235

(Instructions Governing Applications for

Approval of a Discontinuance or

Material Modification of a Signal

System), and 236 (Rules, Standards, and

Instructions Governing the Installation,

Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair of

Systems, Devices, and Appliances).

Section 233.5 provides that each

railroad must report to FRA within 24

hours after learning of an accident or

incident arising from the failure of a

signal appliance, device, method, or

system to function or indicate as

required by Part 236 of this title that