36500 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

Major Issues Raised by the United

States

The Agreement on Customs Valuation

sets forth a clear hierarchy for the

determination of the customs value of

imported goods, and in no case may the

customs value be determined on the

basis of a minimum price (Articles 1

through 7). Romania’s customs code,

directives and regulations arbitrarily

establish minimum and maximum

import prices for such products as meat,

eggs, fruits and vegetables, clothing,

footwear, and certain distilled spirits.

Additionally, Romania has instituted

burdensome procedures for

investigating import prices when the

C.I.F. value falls below the minimum

import price.

Therefore, on May 31, 2000, the

United States requested consultations

with Romania under certain WTO

agreements regarding Romania’s

customs valuation practices. Romania’s

customs valuation regime utilizes

unpublished arbitrary minimum import

prices to supplant the valuation

methodology established in Articles 1

through 7 of the CVA, and therefore

appears to be inconsistent with that

Agreement. Furthermore, if an

importer’s declared value falls below

the set minimum price, a ‘‘guarantee’’ is

required based on the difference

between the declared value and the

minimum price. The use of this

guarantee operates as a rejection of the

declared value in a manner inconsistent

with Articles 1 through 7 of the CVA

and, in practice, a refund is not given

to importers that established the

correctness of the declared value. The

United States’ consultation request also

alleges that Romania’s customs regime

is inconsistent with general notes 1, 2,

and 4 of Annex 1 of the CVA; Articles

II, X, and XI of the GATT 1994; Article

4.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture;

and Articles 2 and 7 of the Agreement

on Textiles and Clothing.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the issues raised in the dispute.

Comments must be in English and

provided in fifteen copies. A person

requesting that information contained in

a comment submitted by that person be

treated as confidential business

information must certify that such

information is business confidential and

would not customarily be released to

the public by the commenter.

Confidential business information must

be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS

CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a contrasting color

ink at the top of each page of each copy.

Information or advice contained in a

comment submitted, other than business

confidential information, may be

determined by USTR to be confidential

in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of

the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that

information or advice may qualify as

such, the submitter—

(1) Must so designate the information

or advice;

(2) Must clearly mark the material as

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page of each copy; and

(3) Is encouraged to provide a nonconfidential summary of the

information or advice.

Pursuant to section 127(e) of the

URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will

maintain a file on this dispute

settlement proceeding, accessible to the

public, in the USTR Reading Room:

Room 101, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508. The

public file will include a listing of any

comments received by USTR from the

public with respect to the dispute; if a

dispute settlement panel is convened,

the U.S. submission to that panel, the

submissions, or non-confidential

summaries of submissions, to the panel

received from other participants in the

dispute, as well as the report of the

panel; and, if applicable, the report of

the Appellate Body. An appointment to

review the public file (Docket WTO/D–

198, Romania Customs Valuation

Dispute) may be made by calling Brenda

Webb, (202) 395–6186. The USTR

Reading Room is open to the public

from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m.

to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A. Jane Bradley,

Assistant United States Trade Representative

for Monitoring and Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 00–14512 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/D–197]

WTO Consultations Regarding Brazil

Customs Valuation Regime

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the United

States Trade Representative (USTR) is

providing notice that on May 31, 2000,

the United States requested WTO

consultations with Brazil regarding its

system for verification of the declared

values of imported goods, such as textile

products. Brazil uses minimum

reference prices both as a requirement to

obtain import licenses and/or as a base

requirement for import. In practice, this

system works to prohibit the import of

products with declared values below

established minimum prices, and, as

such, appears to violate provisions of

the Agreement on Customs Valuation;

the GATT 1994; the Agreement on

Import Licensing Procedures; the

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing;

and the Agreement on Agriculture.

Pursuant to Article 4.3 of the WTO

Dispute Settlement Understanding

(‘‘DSU’’), such consultations are to take

place within a period of 30 days from

the date of the request, or within a

period otherwise mutually agreed

between the United States and Brazil.

USTR invites written comments from

the public concerning the issues raised

in this dispute.

DATES: Although the USTR will accept

any comments received during the

course of the dispute settlement

proceedings, comments should be

submitted on or before July 31, 2000 to

be assured of timely consideration by

USTR.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to Sandy

McKinzy, Monitoring and Enforcement

Unit, Office of the General Counsel,

Room 122, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC, 20508, Attn:

Brazil Customs Valuation Dispute.

Telephone: (202) 395–3582.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David J. Ross, Associate General

Counsel, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC, (202) 395–3581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

127(b) of the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C.

3537(b)(1)) requires that notice and

opportunity for comment be provided

after the United States submits or

receives a request for the establishment

of a WTO dispute settlement panel.

Consistent with this obligation, but in

an effort to provide additional

opportunity for comment, USTR is

providing notice that consultations have

been requested pursuant to the WTO

Dispute Settlement Understanding. If

such consultations should fail to resolve

the matter and a dispute settlement

panel is established pursuant to the

DSU, such panel, which would hold its

meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, would

be expected to issue a report on its

findings and recommendations within

six to nine months after it is established.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36501

Major Issues Raised by the United

States

On February 13, 1998, Brazil

established under Decree No. 2.498/98

and other related statutes and

regulations a system to verify the

declared values of imported goods. In

practice, however, Brazil utilizes this

verification system—in conjunction

with non-automatic import licensing

procedures—to prohibit or restrict the

import of products with declared values

below the minimum prices. This

situation appears inconsistent with

Articles 1 through 7, and 12 of the

Agreement on Customs Valuation;

general notes 1, 2, and 4 of Annex 1 of

the Agreement on Customs Valuation;

Articles II and XI of the GATT 1994;

Articles 1 and 3 of the Agreement on

Import Licensing Procedures; Articles 2

and 7 of the Agreement on Textiles and

Clothing; and Article 4.2 of the

Agreement on Agriculture.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the issues raised in the dispute.

Comments must be in English and

provided in fifteen copies. A person

requesting that information contained in

a comment submitted by that person be

treated as confidential business

information must certify that such

information is business confidential and

would not customarily be released to

the public by the commenter.

Confidential business information must

be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS

CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a contrasting color

ink at the top of each page of each copy.

Information or advice contained in a

comment submitted, other than business

confidential information, may be

determined by USTR to be confidential

in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of

the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that

information or advice may qualify as

such, the submitter—

(1) Must so designate the information

or advice;

(2) Must clearly mark the material as

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page of each copy; and

(3) Is encouraged to provide a nonconfidential summary of the

information or advice.

Pursuant to section 127(e) of the

URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will

maintain a file on this dispute

settlement proceeding, accessible to the

public, in the USTR Reading Room:

Room 101, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public

file will include a listing of any

comments received by USTR from the

public with respect to the dispute; if a

dispute settlement panel is convened,

the U.S. submissions to that panel, the

submissions, or non-confidential

summaries of submissions, to the panel

received from other participants in the

dispute, as well as the report of the

panel; and, if applicable, the report of

the Appellate Body. An appointment to

review the public file (Docket WTO/D–

197, Brazil Customs Valuation Dispute)

may be made by calling Brenda Webb,

(202) 395–6186. The USTR Reading

Room is open to the public from 9:30

a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

A. Jane Bradley,

Assistant United States Trade Representative

for Monitoring and Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 00–14513 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Trade Policy Staff Committee;

Solicitation of Public Comments on

Institutional Improvements to the

World Trade Organization (WTO),

Particularly With Respect to the

Transparency of its Operations and

Outreach to Civil Society

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TPSC) is soliciting public

comments on U.S. objectives and

proposals for improving the functioning

of the WTO, particularly with respect to

its outreach activities and the

transparency of its operations, and in

light of the WTO’s ongoing work

program and mandated negotiations in

agriculture and services. Attention is

drawn to the solicitation of Public

Comments for the Mandated

Multilateral Trade Negotiations on

Agriculture and Services in the WTO

and Priorities for Future Market Access

Negotiations on Non-Agricultural

Goods, published on March 28, 2000

(Volume 65, Number 60). That notice

called for public comments on general

as well as specific negotiating

objectives. The issues of outreach and

transparency are on-going matters before

the WTO and the subject of continuing

consultations conducted under the

auspices of the WTO General Council. It

is also anticipated that, like other

internation institutions, the WTO will

need to continue to consider

appropriate responses to the challenges

as well as the benefits offered by

‘‘globalization’’ as its future agenda is

fashioned. The TPSC, therefore, also

welcomes comments on whether and

how the WTO might undertake

activities to ensure that the social,

environmental and development

dimensions of continued trade

liberalization are adqquately addressed.

Comments received will be considered

by the Executive Branch in formulating

U.S. positions for these discussions and

deliberations.

DATES: Public comments are due by July

10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

Moore, Office of WTO and Multilateral

Affairs, at (202) 395–5097, or Karissa

Kovner, Office of the Environment and

Natural Resources, at (202) 395–6169.

Procedural inquiries concerning the

public comment process should be

directed to Gloria Blue, Executive

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee,

Office of the United States Trade

Representative, (202) 395–3475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information about the WTO can be

obtained via the WTO website

(www.wto.org) Attention is also drawn

to the 2000 Trade Policy Agenda and

1999 Annual Report of the President of

the United States on the Trade

Agreements Program, which can be

found on USTR’s website

(www.ustr.gov) via the ‘‘What’s New’’

icon. Chapter 2 of the Report presents a

report to the Congress assessing the first

five years’ operation of the WTO, the

annexes to which contain substantial

background information on the WTO, its

organization and the work of its

Councils and Committees. Also

accessible via USTR’s website are U.S.

submissions made to the WTO General

Council as part of the preparatory

process for the third WTO Ministerial

Conference in December 1999,

including submissions covering

agricultural, services and non-agcultural

market access as well as trade and

sustainable development, trade and core

labor standards and WTO institutional

issues (e.g., transparency and openness).

Information about U.S. contributions to

and participation in the WTO’s 1999

High Level Meeting on Trade and the

Environment can also be obtained via

the ‘‘What’s New’’ icon. Finally, the

USTR home page includes a recent

communication from USTR to the

Chairman of the WTO General Council

reiterating U.S. priorities for improving

the internal and external transparency

of the WTO and its subsidiary bodies.