51266 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 172 / Thursday, September 6, 2007 / Notices 

reading room, 1724 F Street NW., 

Washington, DC. Appointments may be 

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

to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, by 

calling (202) 395–6186. 

Notice of Public Hearing 

A hearing will be held by the GSP 

Subcommittee of the TPSC on October 

3, 2007, for product petitions accepted 

for the 2007 GSP Annual Review (i.e., 

for product petitions other than those 

requesting CNL waivers) beginning at 

9:30 a.m. at the Office of the U.S. Trade 

Representative, Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F 

St., NW., Washington, DC 20508. A 

second hearing will be held by the GSP 

Subcommittee of the TPSC on October 

5, 2007 for country practice petitions in 

the 2007 GSP Annual Review. The 

hearings will be open to the public and 

a transcript of the hearings will be made 

available for public inspection or can be 

purchased from the reporting company. 

No electronic media coverage will be 

allowed. 

All interested parties wishing to make 

an oral presentation at the hearing must 

submit, following the above 

‘‘Requirements for Submissions’’, the 

name, address, telephone number, and 

facsimile number and email address, if 

available, of the witness(es) representing 

their organization to Marideth Sandler, 

Executive Director of the GSP Program 

by 5 p.m., September 21, 2007. Requests 

to present oral testimony in connection 

with the public hearing must be 

accompanied by a written brief or 

statement, in English, and also must be 

received by 5 p.m., September 21, 2007. 

Oral testimony before the GSP 

Subcommittee will be limited to fiveminute presentations that summarize or 

supplement information contained in 

briefs or statements submitted for the 

record. Post-hearing briefs or statements 

will be accepted if they conform with 

the regulations cited above and are 

submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., 

October 19, 2007. Parties not wishing to 

appear at the public hearing may submit 

pre-hearing briefs or statements, in 

English, by 5 p.m., September 21, 2007, 

and post-hearing written briefs or 

statements, in English, by 5 p.m., 

October 19, 2007. 

In accordance with sections 

503(d)(1)(A) of the 1974 Act and the 

authority delegated by the President, 

pursuant to section 332(g) of the Tariff 

Act of 1930, the U.S. Trade 

Representative has requested that the 

USITC provide its advice on the 

probable economic effect on U.S. 

industries producing like or directly 

competitive articles and on consumers 

of the elimination of U.S. import duties 

for all GSP beneficiary countries or, 

where applicable, the probable 

economic effect on U.S. industries 

producing like or directly competitive 

articles and on consumers of the 

removal from eligibility for duty-free 

status under GSP for such article from 

the specified countries, with respect to 

the articles that are specified in the 

‘‘List of Petitions Accepted in the 2007 

GSP Annual Review.’’ Comments by 

interested persons on the USITC Report 

prepared as part of the product review 

other than those requesting CNL waivers 

should be submitted by 5 p.m., 10 days 

after the date of USITC publication of its 

report. 

Marideth Sandler, 

Executive Director, Generalized System of 

Preferences (GSP) Program, Office of the U.S. 

Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. E7–17614 Filed 9–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W7–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of 

Brazil, the Czech Republic, and 

Pakistan: Request for Public Comment 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Request for written submissions 

from the public. 

SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act 

of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), 

requires the United States Trade 

Representative (USTR) to identify 

countries that deny adequate and 

effective protection of intellectual 

property rights or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. (Section 182 is commonly 

referred to as the ‘‘Special 301’’

provisions of the Trade Act.) In 

addition, the USTR is required to 

determine which of these countries 

should be identified as Priority Foreign 

Countries. Acts, policies or practices 

that are the basis of a country’s 

identification as a Priority Foreign 

Country are normally the subject of an 

investigation under the section 301 

provisions of the Trade Act. 

On April 27, 2007, USTR announced 

the results of the 2007 Special 301 

Review and stated that Out-of-Cycle 

Reviews of Brazil, the Czech Republic, 

and Pakistan would be conducted this 

year. Pursuant to these Out-of-Cycle 

Reviews, USTR requests written 

submissions from the public concerning 

acts, policies, and practices regarding 

the adequacy and effectiveness of 

intellectual property protection and 

enforcement in Brazil, the Czech 

Republic, and Pakistan. 

DATES: Submissions must be received on 

or before 10 a.m. on Monday, October 

15, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: All comments should be 

addressed to Jennifer Choe Groves, 

Director for Intellectual Property and 

Innovation and Chair of the Special 301 

Committee, Office of the United States 

Trade Representative, and sent (i) 

Electronically, to FR0606@ustr.eop.gov 

(please note, ‘‘FR0606’’ consists of the 

numbers ‘‘zero-six-zero-six,’’) with 

‘‘Brazil, Czech Republic, Pakistan Outof-Cycle Review’’ in the subject line, or 

(ii) by fax, to (202) 395–9458, with a 

confirmation copy sent electronically to 

the E-mail address above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Choe Groves, Director for 

Intellectual Property and Innovation 

and Chair of the Special 301 Committee, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative at (202) 395–4510. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 182 of the Trade Act, USTR 

must identify those countries that deny 

adequate and effective protection for 

intellectual property rights or deny fair 

and equitable market access to U.S. 

persons who rely on intellectual 

property protection. Those countries 

that have the most onerous or egregious 

acts, policies, or practices and whose 

acts, policies or practices have the 

greatest adverse impact (actual or 

potential) on relevant U.S. products are 

to be identified as Priority Foreign 

Countries. Acts, policies or practices 

that are the basis of a country’s 

designation as a Priority Foreign 

Country are normally the subject of an 

investigation under the section 301 

provisions of the Trade Act. 

USTR may not identify a country as 

a Priority Foreign Country if it is 

entering into good faith negotiations, or 

making significant progress in bilateral 

or multilateral negotiations, to provide 

adequate and effective protection of 

intellectual property rights. 

On April 27, 2007, USTR announced 

the results of the 2007 Special 301 

Review and stated that Out-of-Cycle 

Review of Brazil, the Czech Republic, 

and Pakistan would be conducted this 

year. Pursuant to these Out-of-Cycle 

Reviews, USTR requests written 

submissions from the public concerning 

acts, policies, and practices regarding 

the adequacy and effectiveness of 

intellectual property protection and 

enforcement in Brazil, the Czech 

Republic, and Pakistan. 

Requirements for comments: 

Comments should include a description 

of experiences with respect to Brazil, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 172 / Thursday, September 6, 2007 / Notices 51267 

the Czech Republic, or Pakistan in the 

field of intellectual property rights and 

the effect of the acts, policies, and 

practices of Brazil, the Czech Republic, 

or Pakistan on U.S. industry. Comments 

should be as detailed as possible and 

should provide all necessary 

information for assessing the effect of 

any acts, policies, and practices of 

Brazil, the Czech Republic, or Pakistan. 

Any comments that include quantitative 

loss claims should be accompanied by 

the methodology used in calculating 

such estimated losses. 

Comments must be in English. No 

submissions will be accepted via postal 

service mail. Documents should be 

submitted as either WordPerfect, MS 

Word, .pdf, or text (.TXT) files. 

Supporting documentation submitted as 

spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro 

Pro or Excel files. All comments and 

supporting documentation by USTR 

will be made available to the public 

through electronic or other means. A 

submitter requesting that information 

contained in a comment 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 

submitter. A non-confidential version of 

the comment must also be provided. For 

any document containing business 

confidential information, the file name 

of the business confidential version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘BC-’’, 

and the file name of the public version 

should begin with the character ‘‘P-’’. 

The ‘‘P-’’ or ‘‘BC-’’ should be followed 

by the name of the submitter. 

Submissions should not include 

separate cover letters; information that 

might appear in a cover letter should be 

included in the submission itself. To the 

extent possible, any attachments to the 

submission should be included in the 

same file as the submission itself, and 

not as separate files. 

DATES: 

Submissions must be received on or 

before 10 a.m. on Monday, October 15, 

2007. 

All comments should be addressed to 

Jennifer Choe Groves, Director for 

Intellectual Property and Innovation 

and Chair of the Special 301 Committee, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative, and sent (i) 

Electronically, to FR0606@ustr.eop.gov 

(please note, ‘‘FR0606’’ consists of the 

numbers ‘‘zero-six-zero-six,’’ with 

‘‘Brazil, Czech Republic, Pakistan Outof-Cycle Review’’ in the subject line, or 

(ii) by fax, to (202) 395–9458, with a 

confirmation copy sent electronically to 

the e-mail address above. 

Public inspection of submissions: (1) 

Within one business day of receipt, nonconfidential submissions will be placed 

in a public file open for inspection at 

the USTR reading room, Office of the 

United States Trade Representative, 

Annex Building, 1724 F Street, NW., 

Room 1, Washington, DC. An 

appointment to review the file must be 

scheduled at least 48 hours in advance 

and may be made by calling Jacqueline 

Caldwell at (202) 395–6186. The USTR 

reading room is open to the public from 

10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday. 

Christopher S. Wilson, 

Acting Assistant USTR for Intellectual 

Property and Innovation. 

[FR Doc. 07–4335 Filed 9–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W7–M 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket No. WTO/DS–27] 

WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding 

Regarding European Communities—

Regime for the Importation, Sale and 

Distribution of Bananas: Recourse by 

the United States to Article 21.5 of the 

DSU 

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 at the request of 

the United States, the Dispute 

Settlement Body (‘‘DSB’’) of the World 

Trade Organization (‘‘WTO’’), has 

established a dispute settlement panel 

under the Marrakesh Agreement 

establishing the WTO to examine 

whether the European Communities 

(‘‘EC’’) has implemented the 

recommendations and rulings of the 

DSB in a dispute regarding the EC’s 

import regime for bananas. The request 

may be found at http://www.wto.org 

contained in a document designated at 

WT/DS27/83 (see also the similar 

request by Ecuador in the document 

WT/DS27/80). The DSB adopted the 

findings of the panel and Appellate 

Body in this proceeding on September 

25, 1997. The DSB ruled that the EC’s 

import regime for bananas was 

inconsistent with the EC’s obligations 

under the General Agreement on Tariffs 

and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the 

General Agreement on Trade in Services 

(‘‘GATS’’). An arbitrator appointed 

under Article 21.3 of the WTO 

Understanding on Rules and Procedures 

Governing the Settlement of Disputes 

(‘‘DSU’’) awarded the EC a ‘‘reasonable 

period of time’’ in which to come into 

compliance until January 1, 1999. 

Nearly a decade after the DSB made its 

original recommendations and rulings, 

the United States considers that the EC 

has failed to bring its import regime for 

bananas into compliance with its WTO 

obligation. USTR invites written 

comments from the public concerning 

the issues raised in this dispute. 

DATES: Although USTR will accept any 

comments received during the course of 

the dispute, comments should be 

submitted on or before September 21, 

2007 to be assured of timely 

consideration by USTR. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

submitted (i) electronically, to 

FR0718@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘EC 

Bananas (DS27)’’ in the subject line, or 

(ii) by fax, to Sandy McKinzy at (202) 

395–3640, with a confirmation copy 

sent electronically to the electronic mail 

address above, in accordance with the 

requirements for submissions set out 

below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marı ́a L. Paga ́n, Associate General 

Counsel, Office of the United States 

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395–

7305. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USTR is 

providing notice that the United States 

has requested the establishment of a 

WTO dispute settlement compliance 

panel pursuant to the DSU. The Article 

21.5 panel, which will hold its meetings 

in Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to 

issue a report on its findings and 

recommendations by February 29, 2008. 

Prior WTO Proceedings 

On September 25, 1997, the DSB 

adopted its recommendations and 

rulings in a dispute brought by the 

United States, Ecuador, Guatemala, 

Honduras, and Mexico challenging the 

EC’s then existing import regime for 

bananas. The DSB ruled that the EC’s 

import regime for bananas was 

inconsistent with the EC’s obligations 

under the General Agreement on Tariffs 

and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the 

General Agreement on Trade in Services 

(GATS). An arbitrator appointed under 

Article 21.3 of the WTO Understanding 

on Rules and Procedures Governing the 

Settlement of Disputes (DSU) awarded 

the EC a ‘‘reasonable period of time’’ in 

which to come into compliance until 

January 1, 1999. At the end of the 

reasonable period of time, the EC 

implemented a first set of changes to the 

import regime for bananas that were 

found to perpetuate a discriminatory 

tariff-rate quota (‘‘TRQ’’) system and 

license-based system in breach of the 

GATT 1994 and the GATS. In November 

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