38022 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 118 / Monday, June 19, 2000 / Notices

Democratic Republic of Congo.

Republic of the Congo (Congo).

Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (Cote d’Ivoire).

Republic of Djibouti (Djibouti).

Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Equatorial

Guinea).

State of Eritrea (Eritrea).

Ethiopia.

Gabonese Republic (Gabon).

Republic of the Gambia (Gambia).

Republic of Ghana (Ghana).

Republic of Guinea (Guinea).

Republic of Guinea-Bissau (Guinea-Bissau).

Republic of Kenya (Kenya).

Kingdoom of Lesotho (Lesotho).

Republic of Liberia (Liberia).

Republic of Madagascar (Madagascar).

Republic of Malawi (Malawi).

Republic of Mali (Mali).

Islamic Repubic of Mauritania (Mauritania).

Republic of Mauritius (Mauritius).

Republic of Mozambique (Mozambique).

Republic of Namibia (Namibia).

Republic of Niger (Niger).

Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria).

Republic of Rwanda (Rwanda).

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and

Principe (Sao Tome and Principe).

Republic of Senegal (Senegal).

Republic of Seychelles (Seychelles).

Republic of Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone).

Somalia.

Republic of South Africa (South Africa).

Republic of Sudan (Sudan).

Kingdom of Swaziland (Swaziland).

United Republic of Tanzania (Tanzania).

Republic of Togo (Togo).

Republic of Uganda (Uganda).

Republic of Zambia (Zambia).

Republic Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe).

Submitting Written Comments

Interested parties are invited to

submit comments regarding the

eligibility of countries noted above for

designation as beneficiary sub-Saharan

African Countries. All submissions must

include an original and twenty (20)

copies in English. All submissions

should clearly identify on the cover

page of the submission the country of

countries and eligibility criterion or

criteria discussed within the

submission. All pages should be clearly

numbered and include the name of the

person and/or organization submitting

the written comments. Persons

submitting written comments should

provide the original and twenty (20)

copies no later than noon on July 14,

2000, to Gloria Blue, Executive

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee,

Office of the United States Trade

Representative, Room 122, 600 17th

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

Public versions of all documents

relating to this review will be available

for inspection by appointment in the

USTR public reading room.

Appointments may be made from 10

a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. by

calling (202) 395–6186.

Submissions that are granted

‘‘business confidential’’ status and other

information submitted in confidence

will not be available for public

inspection. Business confidential

information will be subject to the

requirements of 15 CFR 2003.6. A

justification as to why the information

contained in the submission should be

treated confidentially must be included

in the submission. If a document

contains such business confidential

information, an original and twenty (20)

copies of the business confidential

versions of the document along with an

original and twenty (20) copies of a nonconfidential version must be submitted.

The document that contains business

confidential information should be

clearly marked ‘‘business confidential’’

at the top and bottom of each page. The

version that does not contain business

confidential information (the public

version) should also be clearly marked

at the top and bottom of every page

(either ‘‘public version’’ or

‘‘nonconfidential’’).

Rosa M. Whitaker,

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for

Africa.

[FR Doc. 00–15406 Filed 6–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Generalized System of Preferences

(GSP); Worker Rights; Deadline for

Submitting Public Comment on

Limitations on Duty-Free Treatment of

Certain Bangladeshi Products

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Notice of request for public

comment.

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public

that because Bangladesh has not taken

sufficient steps to provide

internationally recognized worker

rights, the U.S. government is preparing

to withdraw, in whole or in part, dutyfree treatment accorded to imports from

Bangladesh under the U.S. Generalized

System of Preferences and sets forth the

deadline for submitting public

comments. All GSP eligible products

imported from Bangladesh could be

affected.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: GSP

Subcommittee, Office of the United

States Trade Representative, 600 17th

Street, NW, Room 518, Washington, DC

20508 (Tel. 202/395–6971). Public

versions of all documents relating to

this review may be seen by appointment

in the USTR public Reading Room

between 9:30–12 a.m. and 1–4p.m. (Tel.

202/395–6186).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GSP

program is authorized pursuant to Title

V of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended

(‘‘the Trade Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2461 et

seq.) The GSP program grants duty-free

treatment to designated eligible articles

that are imported from designated

beneficiary developing countries. Once

grated, GSP benefits may be withdrawn,

suspended or limited by the President

with respect to any article or with

respect to any country. In making this

determination, the President must

consider several factors, one of which is

whether or not such country has taken

or is taking steps to afford to workers in

that country (including any designated

zone in that country) internationally

recognized worker rights (19 U.S.C.

2462(c)(7)). Bangladesh is a beneficiary

of the GSP program. In 1999, almost $30

million of Bangladeshi imports

benefitted from GSP.

In 1991 Bangladesh committed to

restore freedom of association to the

nation’s export processing zone (EPZ)

by 1997, and a GSP worker rights review

was terminated. However, the national

labor law still has not been extended to

export processing zones (there now are

more than one).

The AFL filed a petition in June 1999

calling for the revocation of GSP

benefits. The U.S. Government has held

several discussions with Bangladeshi

authorities in an effort to successfully

resolve this issue. However, freedom of

association for workers in the EPZs

remains elusive.

As a result, the Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TPSC) is seeking public

comment on the impact of suspending

duty-free treatment for articles imported

from Bangladesh. After receiving public

comments, a decision will be made on

the articles that will lose GSP benefits.

Complete suspension from GSP will be

considered.

Opportunities for Public Comment and

Inspection Of Comments

The GSP Subcommittee on the TPSC

invites comments in support of, or in

opposition to, limitations of duty-free

treatment on imports from Bangladesh

under the GSP program. The deadline

for submissions is 5 PM on Tuesday,

August 15, 2000.

Comments must be submitted in 15

copies, in English, to the Chairman of

the GSP Subcommittee, Trade Policy

Staff Committee, 600 17th Street, N.W.,

Room 513, Washington, D.C. 20508.

Information and comments will be

subject to public inspection by

appointment with the staff of the USTR

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 118 / Monday, June 19, 2000 / Notices 38023

Public Reading Room, except for

information granted ‘‘business

confidential’’ status pursuant to 15 CFR

2003.6 and 2007.7. If the document

contains business confidential

information, 15 copies of a

nonconfidential version of the

submission along with 15 copies of the

confidential version must be submitted.

The business confidential version of the

submission should be clearly marked

‘‘Submitted in Confidence’’ at the top

and bottom of each and every page of

the document. A nonconfidential

summary of the business confidential

information must be included with the

business confidential submission, along

with a written explanation of why the

business confidential material should be

protected. The version which does not

contain business confidential

information (the public version) should

also be clearly marked at the top and

bottom of each and every page (either

‘‘public version’’ of ‘‘non-confidential’’).

Submissions should comply with 15

CFR Part 2007, including sections

2007.0, and 2007.1.

Jon Rosenbaum,

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade

and Development.

[FR Doc. 00–15410 Filed 6–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Trade Benefits for Caribbean Basin

Countries: Notice of Request for Public

Comment Regarding Eligibility Criteria

for Beneficiaries of the United StatesCaribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

(CBTPA)

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public

comment.

SUMMARY: The Caribbean/Central

America Subcommittee of the Trade

Policy Staff Committee is requesting

public comment on the eligibility of

Caribbean Basin countries to receive the

benefits of the recently-enacted United

States-Caribbean Basin Trade

Partnership Act (CBTPA). This notice

addresses the eligibility criteria that

must be considered under the CBTPA,

the countries considered to be

Caribbean Basin countries under the

CBTPA, and the deadline for written

comments, and explains how written

comments are to be made on the

eligibility criteria elaborated in the

CBTPA. Comments received will be

considered by the Caribbean/Central

America Subcommittee of the Trade

Policy Staff Committee, chaired by

USTR, in developing recommendations

on country eligibility for the President.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

procedural questions, contact: Gloria

Blue, Office of the United States Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,

Room 122, Washington, DC 20508. The

telephone number is (202) 395–3475.

For substantive questions, contact

Bennett Harman, Office of the Western

Hemisphere, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Room 523, Washington, DC 20508.

The telephone number is (202) 395–

5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Signed

into law on May 18, 2000, the Trade and

Development Act of 2000 contains, in

Title II, provisions for enhanced trade

benefits for Caribbean Basin countries.

Titled the ‘‘United States-Caribbean

Basin Trade Partnership Act’’ (CBTPA),

the CBTPA amends the Caribbean Basin

Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), also

known as the Caribbean Basin Initiative

(CBI) (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), to provide

preferential tariff treatment for certain

products presently excluded from such

treatment, including duty-free and

quota-free treatment for certain textile

and apparel articles.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for the enhanced trade

benefits under the CBTPA is limited to

countries that the President designates

as ‘‘CBTPA Beneficiary Countries.’’ The

criteria that the President must take into

account in designating countries as

CBTPA Beneficiary Countries include

the existing criteria in Section 212(b)

and (c) of the CBERA, 19 USC 2702(b)–

(c), as well as several new criteria added

by the CBTPA. The new criteria, which

are set out in section 211(a) of the

CBTPA, include the following:

‘‘(i) Whether the beneficiary country has

demonstrated a commitment to—

‘‘(I) Undertake its obligations under the

WTO, including those agreements listed in

section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, on or ahead of schedule;

and

‘‘(II) Participate in negotiations toward the

completion of the FTAA or another free trade

agreement.

‘‘(ii) The extent to which the country

provides protection of intellectual property

rights consistent with or greater than the

protection afforded under the Agreement on

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights described in section

101(d)(15) of the Uruguay Round Agreements

Act.

‘‘(iii) The extent to which the country

provides internationally recognized worker

rights, including—

‘‘(I) The right of association;

‘‘(II) The right to organize and bargain

collectively;

‘‘(III) A prohibition on the use of any form

of forced or compulsory labor;

‘‘(IV) A minimum age for the employment

of children; and

‘‘(V) Acceptable conditions of work with

respect to minimum wages, hours or work,

and occupational safety and health;

‘‘(iv) Whether the country has

implemented its commitments to eliminate

the worst forms of child labor, as defined in

section 507(6) of the Trade Act of 1974.

‘‘(v) The extent to which the country has

met the counter-narcotics certification

criteria set forth in section 490 of the Foreign

Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2291j) for

eligibility for United States assistance.

‘‘(vi) The extent to which the country has

taken steps to become a party to and

implements the Inter-American Convention

Against Corruption.

‘‘(vii) The extent to which the country—

‘‘(I) Applies transparent,

nondiscriminatory, and competitive

procedures in government procurement

equivalent to those contained in the

Agreement in Government Procurement

described in section 101(d)(17) of the

Uruguay Round Agreements Act; and

‘‘(II) contributes to efforts in international

fora to develop and implement international

rules in transparency in government

procurement.’’

Countries Considered To Be Caribbean

Basin Countries

The following countries are

considered to be Caribbean Basin

countries under the CBTPA:

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Costa Rica

Dominica

Dominican Republic

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Montserrat

Netherlands Antilles

Nicaragua

Panama

St. Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

British Virgin Islands

Submitting Written Comments

Interested parties are invited to

submit comments regarding the

eligibility of countries noted above for

designation as CBTPA beneficiary

countries. All submissions must include

an original and twenty (20) copies in