[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 118 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38023-38024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15407]


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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 States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA)

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and solicitation of public comment.

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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

[[Page 38024]]

English. All submissions should clearly identify on the cover page of 
the submission the country or 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. All submissions must be received no 
later than 5 p.m. on Monday, July 17, 2000,and should be addressed to 
Gloria Blue in 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 scheduled between 9 a.m. and noon and 1 p.m. 
and 4 p.m. by calling (202) 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 non-
confidential 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 ``non-confidential'').

Peter F. Allgeier,
Associate U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere.
[FR Doc. 00-15407 Filed 6-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M