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[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8808-8810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3394]

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations (CNLs); Invitation for Public 
Comment on CNL Waivers Subject to Potential Revocation Based on New 
Statutory Thresholds, Possible De Minimis Waivers, and Product 
Redesignations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public of the availability of 
full 2006 calendar year import statistics relating to competitive need 
limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) 
program. Public comments are invited by 5 p.m., Friday, March 16, 2007, 
regarding possible de minimis CNL waivers with respect to particular 
articles and possible redesignations under the GSP program of articles 
currently not eligible for GSP benefits because they previously 
exceeded the CNLs. Additionally,

[[Page 8809]]

public comments are invited by 5 p.m., Friday, March 23, 2007, 
regarding the potential revocation of CNL waivers that meet the new 
statutory thresholds set forth by section 503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the Trade 
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(d)(4)(B)(ii)), as amended by Public Law 
109-432.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The GSP Subcommittee of the Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 1724 F Street, NW., Room F-220, Washington, DC 20508. 
The telephone number is (202) 395-6971.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Competitive Need Limitations

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries (BDCs). The GSP program is authorized by title V 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461, et seq.), as amended (the 
``1974 Act''), and is implemented in accordance with Executive Order 
11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by subsequent Executive Orders 
and Presidential Proclamations.
    Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act sets out the two CNLs. When 
the President determines that a BDC exported to the United States 
during a calendar year either (1) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article 
having a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($125 
million for 2006), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a 
value equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. 
imports of the article from all countries (the ``50 percent CNL''), the 
President must terminate GSP duty-free treatment for that article from 
that BDC by no later than July 1 of the next calendar year.
    De minimis waivers. Under section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act, the 
President may waive the 50 percent CNL with respect to an eligible 
article imported from a BDC if the value of total imports of that 
article from all countries during the calendar year did not exceed the 
applicable de minimis amount for that year ($18 million for 2006).
    Redesignations. Under section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act, if 
imports of an eligible article from a BDC ceased to receive duty-free 
treatment due to exceeding a CNL in a prior year, the President may, 
subject to the considerations in sections 501 and 502 of the 1974 Act, 
redesignate such an article for duty-free treatment if imports in the 
most recently completed calendar year did not exceed the CNLs.
    CNL waiver revocation. Under Section 503(d)(5) of the 1974 Act, a 
CNL waiver remains in effect until the President determines that it is 
no longer warranted due to changed circumstances. Section 
503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 Act, as amended by Public Law 109-432, 
also provides that, ``[n]ot later than July 1 of each year, the 
President should revoke any waiver that has then been in effect with 
respect to an article for 5 years or more if the beneficiary developing 
country has exported to the United States (directly or indirectly) 
during the preceding calendar year a quantity of the article (I)--
having an appraised value in excess of 1.5 times the applicable amount 
set forth in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii) for that calendar year [$187.5 
million in 2006]; or (II) exceeding 75 percent of the appraised value 
of the total imports of that article into the United States during that 
calendar year.''

II. Implementation of Competitive Need Limitations, Waivers, and 
Redesignations

    Exclusions from GSP duty-free treatment where CNLs have been 
exceeded will be effective July 1, 2007, unless granted a waiver by the 
President. Any CNL-based exclusions, CNL waiver revocations, and 
decisions with respect to de minimis waivers and redesignations will be 
based on full 2006 calendar year import data.

III. 2006 Import Statistics

    In order to provide notice of articles that have exceeded the CNLs 
for 2006, and to afford an opportunity for comment regarding potential 
de minimis waivers, redesignations, and the potential revocation of 
waivers that are subject to the new CNL waiver thresholds provided by 
section 503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 Act, as amended by Public Law 109-
432, import data for 2006 are available at http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Development/Preference_Programs/GSP/Section_Index.html). Full 2006 
calendar year data for individual tariff subheadings may be viewed on 
the Web site of the U.S. International Trade Commission at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/.
    The lists available on the USTR Web site contain, for each article, 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 
and BDC country of origin, the value of imports of the article for the 
2006 calendar year, and the percentage of total imports of that article 
from all countries. The annotations on the lists indicate, among other 
things, the status of GSP eligibility.
    The computer-generated lists published on the USTR Web site are for 
informational purposes only. They may not include all articles to which 
the GSP CNLs may apply. All determinations and decisions regarding the 
CNLs of the GSP program will be based on full 2006 calendar year import 
data with respect to each GSP-eligible article. Each interested party 
is advised to conduct its own review of 2006 import data with respect 
to the possible application of the GSP CNL provisions.
    List I on the USTR Web site shows: (a) Articles from BDCs that 
became ineligible for GSP treatment on or before July 1, 2006; and (b) 
GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that exceeded the CNL by having been 
exported in excess of $125 million, or by an amount greater than 50% of 
the total U.S. import value in 2006. Petitions to grant CNL waivers for 
those articles that received GSP benefits during 2006 but stand to lose 
GSP duty-free treatment on July 1, 2007, must have been previously 
submitted in the 2006 GSP Annual Review.
    List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above 
the 50 percent CNL, but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver of 
the 50 percent CNL. Articles eligible for de minimis waivers are 
automatically considered in the GSP annual review process, without 
petitions, and public comments are invited.
    List III shows GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs that are 
currently not receiving GSP duty-free treatment, but that may be 
considered for GSP redesignation based on 2006 trade data and 
consideration of certain statutory factors, as set forth above. 
Recommendations to the President on redesignations are normally made as 
part of the GSP annual review process, and public comments are invited.
    List IV shows articles subject to the new CNL waiver thresholds of 
section 503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the 1974 Act, as amended by Pub. L. 109-
432. Recommendations to the President on revocation of these waivers 
will be made as part of the 2006 GSP annual review process, and public 
comments are invited.

IV. Public Comments

Requirements for Submissions

    All submissions must conform to the GSP regulations set forth at 15 
CFR part 2007, except as modified below. Furthermore, each party 
providing comments should indicate on the first page of the submission 
its name, the relevant HTSUS subheading(s), the BDC of interest, and 
the type of action (e.g., new statutory criteria, de minimis

[[Page 8810]]

waiver or redesignation) in which the party is interested.
    Comments must be submitted, in English, to the Chairman of the GSP 
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) as soon as 
possible, but no later than 5 p.m., Friday, March 16, 2007, for 
comments regarding de minimis waivers or redesignations, and no later 
than 5 p.m., March 23, 2007, for comments on the potential revocation 
of CNL waivers that meet the new statutory thresholds.
    To facilitate prompt consideration of submissions, USTR will only 
accept electronic e-mail submissions in response to this notice. Hand-
delivered submissions either by mail or other delivery options will not 
be accepted. Submissions should be single-copy transmissions in English 
with the total submission not to exceed 20 single-spaced standard 
letter-size pages, including attachments, and three megabytes as a 
digital file attached to an e-mail transmission. The e-mail 
transmission must use either one of the two following subject lines, 
based on the subject of the comment being submitted: ``Comments on 2006 
GSP Redesignation and De minimis Waiver Review,'' or ``Comments on 2006 
CNL Waiver Threshold Review,'' followed by the BDC country of origin 
and HTSUS subheading number as set out in the appropriate list. 
Documents must be submitted as either MSWord (``.doc''), Word Perfect 
(``.wpd''), Adobe (``.pdf'') or text (``.txt'') files. Documents 
submitted as electronic image files or containing imbedded images (for 
example, ``.jpg'', ``.tif'', ``.bmp'', or ``.gif'' files) will not be 
accepted. Spreadsheets submitted as supporting documentation are 
acceptable as Excel, pre-formatted for printing on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch 
paper. To the extent possible, any data attachments to the submission 
should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not 
as separate files.
    If the submission contains business confidential information, 
pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.6, a non-confidential version of the submission 
must also be submitted that indicates where confidential information 
was redacted by inserting asterisks where material was deleted. In 
addition, the confidential version must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of each page of the document. The 
non-confidential version must be clearly marked ``PUBLIC'' or ``NON-
CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of each page. Documents that are 
submitted without any marking may not be accepted or will be considered 
public documents.
    For any document containing business confidential information 
submitted as an electronic attached file to an e-mail transmission, 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 ``BC-'' or ``-''should be followed 
by the name of the party (government, company, union, association, 
etc.) which is submitting the comments.
    E-mail submissions should not include separate cover letters or 
messages in the message area of the e-mail; information that might 
appear in any cover letter should be included directly in the attached 
file containing the submission itself, including the sender's 
identifying information with telephone number, fax number, and e-mail 
address. The e-mail address for submissions to the 2006 GSP 
Redesignation and De minimis Waiver Review is [email protected]. The 
e-mail address for the 2006 CNL Waiver Threshold Review is 
[email protected]. Documents not submitted in accordance with these 
instructions may not be considered in this review. If unable to provide 
submissions by e-mail, please contact the GSP Subcommittee to arrange 
for an alternative method of transmission.
    Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be 
available for public review approximately two weeks after the due date 
by appointment in the USTR Public Reading Room, 1724 F Street NW., 
Washington, DC. Availability of documents may be ascertained, and 
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.

Marideth J. Sandler,
Executive Director, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program, 
and Chair, GSP Subcommittee, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. E7-3394 Filed 2-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P
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