36502 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

The TPSC invites written comments

from the public on the important

institutional issues raised about the

WTO in terms of its openness and

accountability, including its outreach to

citizens. The Administration has been

active in seeking institutional

improvements to the WTO, while

preserving its intergovernmental nature.

For example, the United States has

consistently called for the WTO to build

upon past progress by (i) expanding the

range of WTO documents available to

the public; (ii) strengthening the

guidelines for consultations with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); (iii)

enhancing the WTO’s program of

symposia and consultations on specific

topics of mutual interest; (iv) expanding

and improving the use of Internet

facilities to reach more stakeholders in

more creative ways; and (v) broadening

the range of WTO meetings and events

that would be open to the public. Last

year, the United States specifically

called upon the WTO membership to

agree upon methods to permit the

organizations of civil society (including

businesses, labor organizations,

agricultural producers, environmental

groups, academic associations and

others) to observe meetings, as

appropriate, and share views as Member

delegations develop policy. The United

States has proposed updating the 1996

WTO General Council Decisions on

Document Derestriction and Relations

with NGOs as a near term opportunity

for making progress in certain of these

areas, but additional opportunities and

progress should be pursued—including

with respect to opening dispute

settlement panel proceedings to public

observation and clarifying procedures

for acceptance of amicus curiae

submissions from interested nongovernmental parties.

In terms of dispute settlement, the

United States has proposed that the

WTO procedures include a mechanism

to permit non-governmental

stakeholders to present their written

views on disputes, and that the WTO

allow the public to observe WTO panel

and appellate proceedings. The United

States continues to urge other WTO

Members to work with the United States

to enhance the transparency of the WTO

dispute settlement process, through

changes in the working procedures

applied in individual disputes, and

through an ongoing assessment of the

operation of the WTO Dispute

Settlement Understanding.

The United States has taken many

steps on its own to improve the

transparency of the WTO dispute

settlement process. USTR seeks public

comment, through a Federal Register

notice, on every dispute settlement

proceeding where the United States is a

party. USTR also makes its written

submissions to panels and the WTO

Appellate Body available to the public

as soon as they are submitted. The

United States routinely requests the

parties to any WTO case (even cases in

which it is not a party) to provide it

with a copy of their submissions or nonconfidential summaries for release to

the public.

USTR makes WTO panel reports

available to the public upon receipt, and

the WTO makes WTO panel and

Appellate Body reports available on the

Internet for downloading the day after

they are circulated in Geneva, and

sometimes the same day. This is also

true of other WTO documents regarding

disputes. The consultation requests and

panel requests in every dispute are

circulated to all WTO Members in all

three official languages (English, French

and Spanish) as public documents, and

immediately put on the WTO website.

Any member of the public can access

WTO documents through the Internet

and follow the progress of WTO

disputes on that website. In this way,

members of the public can find out from

these WTO documents that there will be

a panel proceeding and what issues the

panel will address, even before the

panel is established.

Written Comments

Comments are welcome with as much

specificity as the respondent can

provide on the range of opportunities

which should be sought for achieving

greater transparency and openness as

well as on the nature of achievements to

be sought. The Administration is

particularly interested in determining if

there are additional mechanisms that

can be utilized to ensure broader

interaction with consumer and other

parties interested in developments in

the WTO and the trading system. This

is part of a broader dialogue initiated by

the Administration these issues.

Submissions need not duplicate

submissions provided in response to the

March 28 solicitation regarding

objectives for the mandated negotiations

in agriculture and services and potential

industrial market access negotiation.

Persons submitting written comments

should provide twenty (20) copies no

later than July 10, 2000 to Gloria Blue,

Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff

Committee, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, Room 122, 600

17th Street Northwest, Washington, DC

20508. Written comments submitted in

connection with this request, except for

information granted ‘‘business

confidential’’ status pursuant to 15 CFR

2003.6, will be available for public

inspection in the USTR Reading Room,

Room 101, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

Northwest, Washington, DC. An

appointment to review the file may be

made by calling Brenda Webb at 202–

395–6186. The Reading Room is open to

the public from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon,

and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday

through Friday.

Business confidential information

will be subject to the requirements of 15

CFR 2003.6. Any business confidential

material must be clearly marked as such

on the cover letter or page and each

succeeding page, and must be

accompanied by a non-confidential

summary thereof. If the submission

contains business confidential

information, twenty copies of a public

version that does not contain

confidential information must be

submitted. A justification as to why the

information contained in the

submission should be treated

confidentially must be included in the

submission. In addition, any

submissions containing business

confidential information must be clearly

marked ‘‘Confidetnial’’ at the top and

bottom of the cover page (or letter) and

each succeeding page of the submission.

The version that does not contain

confidential information should also be

clearly marked at the top and bottom of

each page ‘‘Public Version’’ or ‘‘NonConfidential.’’

Carmen Suro-Bredie,

Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

[FR Doc. 00–14514 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3901–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2000–6950]

Information Collection Under Review

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB): 2115–0614 and 2115–

0545

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

request for comments announces that

the Coast Guard has forwarded the two

Information Collection Reports (ICRs)

abstracted below to OMB for review and

comment. Our ICRs describe the

information that we seek to collect from

the public. Review and comment by

OMB ensure that we impose only

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36503

paperwork burdens commensurate with

our performance of duties.

DATES: Please submit comments on or

before July 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send comments to

both (1) the Docket Management System

(DMS), U.S. Department of

Transportation (DOT), room PL–401,

400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC

20590–0001, and (2) the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs

(OIRA), Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), 725 17th Street NW,

Washington, DC 20503, to the attention

of the Desk Officer for the USCG.

Copies of the complete ICRs are

available for inspection and copying in

public docket USCG 2000–6950 of the

Docket Management Facility between 10

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays; for

inspection and printing on the internet

at http://dms.dot.gov; and for inspection

from the Commandant (G–SII–2), U.S.

Coast Guard, room 6106, 2100 Second

Street SW, Washington, DC, between 10

a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barbara Davis, Office of Information

Management, 202–267–2326, for

questions on this document; Dorothy

Walker, Chief, Documentary Services

Division, U.S. Department of

Transportation, 202–366–9330, for

questions on the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

This request constitutes the 30-day

notice required by OMB. The Coast

Guard has already published [65 FR

10143 (February 25, 2000)] the 60-day

notice required by OMB. That request

elicited no comments.

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard invites comments on

the proposed collections of information

to determine whether the collections are

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Department. In

particular, the Coast Guard would

appreciate comments addressing: (1)

The practical utility of the collections;

(2) the accuracy of the Department’s

estimated burden of the collections; (3)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information that is the

subject of the collections; and (4) ways

to minimize the burden of collections

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Comments, to DMS or OIRA, must

contain the OMB Control Numbers of all

ICRs addressed. Comments to DMS

must contain the docket number of this

request, USCG 2000–6950. Comments to

OIRA are best assured of having their

full effect if OIRA receives them 30 or

fewer days after the publication of this

request.

Information Collection Requests

1. Title: Alteration of Unreasonable

Obstructive Bridges.

OMB Control Number: 2115–0614.

Type of Request: Extension of

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Owners of bridges.

Form(s): N/A.

Abstract: The collection of

information requires the owner of a

bridge whose bridge the Coast Guard

has found to be an unreasonable

obstruction to navigation to prepare,

and submit to the Coast Guard, general

plans and specifications of that bridge.

Annual Estimated Burden Hours: The

estimated burden is 120 hours annually.

2. Title: Financial Responsibility for

Water Pollution (Vessels).

OMB Control Number: 2115–0545.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Vessels operators or

owners of vessels over 300 gross tons.

Forms: CG–5585, CG–5586, CG–5586–

1, CG–5586–2, CG–5586–3, CG–5586–4,

CG–5586–5.

Abstract: The collection of

information requires operators of vessels

over 300 gross tons to submit to the

Coast Guard evidence of their financial

responsibility to meet the maximum

amount of liability in case of an oil spill

or hazardous substance incident.

Annual Estimated Burden Hours: The

estimated burden is 2,162 hours

annually.

Dated: May 31, 2000.

Daniel F. Sheehan,

Director of Information and Technology.

[FR Doc. 00–14505 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

May 30, 2000.

The Department of Treasury has

submitted the following public

information collection requirement(s) to

OMB for review and clearance under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13. Copies of the

submission(s) may be obtained by

calling the Treasury Bureau Clearance

Officer listed. Comments regarding this

information collection should be

addressed to the OMB reviewer listed

and to the Treasury Department

Clearance Officer, Department of the

Treasury, Room 2110, 1425 New York

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before July 10, 2000 to be

assured of consideration.

Bureau of the Public Debt (PD)

OMB Number: 1535–0012.

Form Number: PD F 1455.

Type of Review: Extension.

Title: Request by Fiduciary for

Reissue of United States Savings Bonds/

Notes.

Description: PD F 1455 is use by

fiduciary to request distribution of U.S.

Savings Bonds/Notes to the person(s)

entitled.

Respondents: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

72,000.

Estimated Burden Hours Per

Respondent: 30 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Reporting Burden

Hours: 36,000 hours.

OMB Number: 1535–0025.

Form Number: PD F 3360.

Type of Review: Extension.

Title: Request for Reissue of United

States Savings Bonds/Notes in the Name

of a Person or Persons Other Than the

Owner (Including Legal Guardian,

Custodian for a Minor Under a Statute,

etc.).

Description: This form is used by the

owner to request reissue of Savings

Bonds/Notes in the name of another

person.

Respondents: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

50,000.

Estimated Burden Hours Per

Respondent: 10 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Reporting Burden

Hours: 8,350 hours.

OMB Number: 1535–0032.

Form Number: PD F 3565.

Type of Review: Extension.

Title: Application for Disposition of

Retirement Plan and/or Individual

Retirement Bonds Without

Administration of Deceased Owner’s

Estate.

Description: This form is used by

heirs of deceased owners of Retirement

Plan and/or Individual Retirement

bonds to request disposition when no

beneficiaries are designated.

Respondents: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

50.

Estimated Burden Hours Per

Respondent: 20 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.