13538 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Notices 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Comments and Notice of 

Public Hearing on Potential Withdrawal 

of Tariff Concessions and Increase in 

Applied Duties in Response to 

European Union (EU) Enlargement 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Request for comments and 

notice of public hearing concerning a 

list of goods for which tariff concessions 

may be withdrawn and duties may be 

increased in the event the United States 

cannot reach agreement with the 

European Communities (EC) for 

adequate compensation owed under 

World Trade Organization (WTO) rules 

as a result of EU enlargement. 

SUMMARY: The United States is 

continuing to negotiate with the EU 

regarding the EU’s provision of adequate 

and permanent compensation to the 

United States for an event that increased 

duties on U.S. imports to EU markets 

above WTO bound rates of duty. On 

January 1, 2007, as part of its 

enlargement process, the EU raised 

tariffs above bound rates on some 

imports into the countries of Romania 

and Bulgaria. If this issue is not 

resolved, the United States may seek to 

exercise its rights under Article XXVIII 

of the General Agreement on Tariffs and 

Trade 1994 (‘‘GATT 1994’’) to withdraw 

substantially equivalent concessions 

and raise tariffs on select goods 

primarily supplied by the EU. The 

Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) 

seeks public comment on the attached 

list of goods for which U.S. tariff 

concessions may be withdrawn and 

applied duties may be raised. The TPSC 

will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, 

April 24, 2007, on the list. 

DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally 

at the hearing must provide written 

notification of their intention, as well as 

a copy of their testimony, by noon on 

April 19, 2007. A hearing will be held 

in Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 

24, 2007. Written comments are due by 

noon on Thursday, April 19, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic 

mail to FR0628@ustr.eop.gov; requests 

to testify should also be addressed to 

Martez Higgins at e-mail: 

FR0628@ustr.eop.gov. Submissions can 

be sent by facsimile to: Martez Higgins 

at fax: (202) 395–3974. The public is 

strongly encouraged to submit 

documents electronically rather than by 

facsimile. (See requirements for 

submissions below). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about procedural questions, 

contact Martez Higgins at (202) 395–

4620. All other questions should be 

directed to: Laurie Molnar, Director for 

European Trade Issues, (202) 395–3320 

or MaryEllen Smith, Director 

Agricultural Trade Policy, (202) 395–

6127; Office of the United States Trade 

Representative. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

WTO rules, the United States is entitled 

to compensation from the EU resulting 

from EU tariff changes as a result of EU 

enlargement. If agreement on 

compensation cannot be reached, the 

United States would be entitled to 

withdraw substantially equivalent 

concessions and apply increased duties 

on products of interest to the EU. 

Enlargement: With the accession to 

the EU of Romania and Bulgaria (‘‘the 

new EU Member States’’), the EU 

withdrew the entire WTO tariff 

schedules of the new EU Member States 

and applied the common external tariff 

of the EU of twenty five to imports into 

the territory of the new EU Member 

States, resulting in increased tariffs on 

certain products. 

Legal Background: Article XXVIII of 

the GATT 1994 establishes that a WTO 

Member may modify or withdraw a 

tariff concession bound in its WTO 

schedule by negotiation and agreement 

with certain affected Members, more 

specifically, those Members that 

initially negotiated the relevant 

concession or are determined to have a 

principal supplying interest or a 

substantial interest in the concession. 

Such affected Members are entitled to 

receive adequate compensation or, in 

the absence of successful compensation 

negotiations, to withdraw ‘‘substantially 

equivalent concessions.’’ Pursuant to 

Article XXIV:6 of the GATT 1994, where 

a WTO Member has modified or 

withdrawn a concession in the 

expansion of a customs union, the 

procedure under Article XXVIII also 

applies. The United States has 

negotiating and compensation rights on 

certain tariff concessions at issue as a 

result of enlargement. Affected WTO 

Members’ rights to withdraw 

substantially equivalent concessions 

under Article XXVIII are time-limited; 

these rights expire within six months of 

the EU’s withdrawal or modification of 

concessions unless exercised or 

extended. WTO Members intending to 

withdraw substantially equivalent 

concessions must provide notice to the 

WTO of their intent at least thirty days 

prior to the effective date of such action. 

Whenever a foreign country 

withdraws, suspends, or modifies the 

application of trade agreement 

obligations of benefit to the United 

States without granting adequate 

compensation, the President is 

authorized under section 125(d) of the 

Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2135) to 

withdraw, suspend or modify the 

application of any substantially 

equivalent trade agreement obligations 

of benefit and proclaim under section 

125(c) such increased duties or other 

import restrictions as are appropriate to 

effect adequate compensation. Section 

125(c) authorizes the President to 

proclaim increased duties or other 

import restrictions as he deems 

necessary or appropriate in order to 

exercise the rights of the United States 

whenever the United States, acting in 

pursuance of its rights or obligations 

under certain trade agreements, 

withdraws, suspends or modifies any 

obligation with respect to foreign trade. 

Section 125(f) provides that the 

President, normally before taking any 

action under section 125 to withdraw, 

suspend, or modify trade agreement 

obligations or to increase duties, must 

provide for a public hearing, at which 

time interested persons will be given an 

opportunity to be present, to produce 

evidence, and to be heard. 

Pursuant to section 125(c), any new 

tariff rates proclaimed by the President 

would not exceed 50 percent above the 

rate set forth in rate column numbered 

2 of the Tariff Schedules of the United 

States, as in effect on January 1, 1975, 

or 20 percent ad valorem above the rate 

existing on January 1, 1975, whichever 

is higher. If imposed, the increased 

duties would apply to imports from all 

countries that are subject to the rates of 

duty set forth in the Column 1 General 

rate of duty column of the Harmonized 

Tariff Schedule of the United States 

(HTSUS). The products affected by a 

suspension of concessions and duty 

increase would be drawn from the list 

of products set forth in the Annex to 

this notice. In recommending any action 

to the President under section 125, the 

TPSC will consider all comments and 

testimony by interested persons 

submitted in accordance with the 

procedures described below. 

Public Comment on Potential Actions; 

Hearing Participation 

Pursuant to section 125(f) of the Trade 

Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2135), the TPSC, 

chaired by the Office of the United 

States Trade Representative, has 

scheduled a public hearing beginning at 

9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, in 

Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20508. Further details 

on the hearing and submission of 

testimony is provided below. In lieu of 

or in addition to participation at the 

public hearing, parties may submit 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Notices 13539 

written comments to be received no 

later than noon, Thursday, April 19, 

2007. 

Written comments and/or written or 

oral testimony of interested persons 

should be limited to the following 

issues: (1) The appropriateness of 

withdrawing WTO tariff concessions 

upon the products listed in the Annex 

to this notice; (2) the appropriateness of 

imposing increased duties upon the 

products listed in the Annex to this 

notice; (3) the levels at which U.S. 

customs duties should be set for 

particular items; and (4) the degree to 

which increased duties might have an 

adverse effect upon U.S. consumers of 

the products listed in the Annex. 

Persons wishing to testify orally at the 

hearing must provide both a written 

notification of their intention and a 

copy of their testimony by noon on 

Thursday, April 19, 2007. The 

notification should include: (1) The 

name, address, and telephone number, 

fax number, and firm or affiliation of the 

person wishing to testify; (2) a short 

(one or two paragraph) summary of the 

oral presentation; and (3) list of goods 

of interest (including HTSUS numbers). 

Remarks at the hearing should be 

limited to no more than five minutes to 

allow for possible questions from the 

TPSC. 

Requirements for Submissions 

In order to facilitate prompt 

processing of submissions, the TPSC 

strongly urges and prefers electronic (email) submissions in response to this 

notice. In the event that an e-mail 

submission is impossible, submissions 

should be made by facsimile. 

Persons making submissions by email should use the following subject 

line: ‘‘EU Enlargement’’ followed by (as 

appropriate) ‘‘Written Comments,’’

‘‘Notice of Testimony,’’ or ‘‘Testimony.’’

Documents should be submitted as 

either Adobe PDF, WordPerfect, 

MSWord, or text (.TXT) files. 

Supporting documentation submitted as 

spreadsheets are acceptable as Quattro 

Pro or Excel. For any document 

containing business confidential 

information submitted electronically, 

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 characters ‘‘P-’’. The ‘‘P-’’ or ‘‘BC-’’

should be followed by the name of the 

submitter. Persons who make 

submissions by e-mail should not 

provide separate cover letters; 

information that might appear in a cover 

letter should be included in the 

submission itself. Similarly, 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. 

Written comments, notices of 

testimony, and testimony will be placed 

in a file open to public inspection 

pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except 

confidential business information 

exempt from public inspection in 

accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. 

Confidential business information 

submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 

2003.6 must be clearly marked 

‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top 

of each page, including any cover letter 

or cover page, and must be accompanied 

by a non-confidential summary of the 

confidential information. All public 

documents and non-confidential 

summaries shall be available for public 

inspection in the USTR Reading Room. 

The USTR Reading Room is open to the 

public, by appointment only, from 10 

a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. An 

appointment to review the file may be 

made by calling (202) 395–6186. 

Appointments must be scheduled at 

least 48 hours in advance. 

General information concerning USTR 

may be obtained by accessing its 

Internet Web site (http://www.ustr.gov). 

ANNEX: PROPOSED WITHDRAWAL OF CONCESSIONS TARIFF LIST

HTS# Description 

MFN 

rate 

2007 

MFN unit 2007 

Proposed 

new 

tariff 

rate 

Proposed 

new tariff 

rate unit 

02032920 ..... Frozen retail cuts of meat of swine, nesoi ................................................... 1.40 cents/kg ............ 92.21 Cents/kg. 

02101200 ..... Bellies (streaky) and cuts thereof of swine, salted, in brine, dried or 

smoked.

1.40 cents/kg ............ 92.9 Cents/kg. 

02101900 ..... Meat of swine other than hams, shoulders, bellies (streaky) and cuts 

thereof, salted, in brine, dried or smoked.

1.40 cents/kg ............ 177.9 Cents/kg. 

07129074 ..... Tomatoes, dried in powder ........................................................................... 9% ........................... 55% 

16010020 ..... Pork sausages and similar products of pork, pork offal or blood; food 

preparations based on these products.

0.80 cents/kg ............ 73.7 Cents/kg. 

16024940 ..... Prepared or preserved pork, not containing cereals or vegetables, nesi .... 1.40 cents/kg ............ 72.8 Cents/kg. 

20019025 ..... Artichokes, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid ...................... 10% 55% 

20032000 ..... Truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid .. 0 20% 

20049010 ..... Antipasto, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, 

frozen.

3% 50% 

20079935 ..... Peach jam ..................................................................................................... 7% 55% 

20087020 ..... Peaches (excluding nectarines), otherwise prepared or preserved, not 

elsewhere specified or included.

17% 55% 

38099350 ..... Finishing agents, dye carriers and other preparations used in leather and 

like industries, < 5% by weight aromatic (mod.) substance(s).

6% 55% 

70133130 ..... Glassware for table or kitchen purposes (o/than drinking glasses), of lead 

crystal, valued over $3 but n/over $5 each.

10.5% 90% 

71141130 ..... Spoons and ladles with handles of sterling silver ........................................ 3.3% 97.5% 

84201020 ..... Calendering or similar rolling machines for making paper pulp, paper or 

paperboard.

0 55% 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
13540 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Notices 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

Carmen Suro-Bredie, 

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee. 

[FR Doc. E7–5268 Filed 3–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W7–P 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Summary: In accordance with the 

requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

which provides opportunity for public 

comment on new or revised data 

collections, the Railroad Retirement 

Board (RRB) will publish periodic 

summaries of proposed data collections. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed information collection is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information has practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of the information; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden related to 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Title and purpose of information 

collection: Supplement to Claim of 

Person Outside the United States; OMB 

3220–0155. Under the Social Security 

Amendments of 1983 (Pub. L. 98–21), 

which amends Section 202(t) of the 

Social Security Act, the Tier I or the 

O/M (overall minimum) portion of an 

annuity and Medicare benefits payable 

under the Railroad Retirement Act to 

certain beneficiaries living outside the 

U.S., may be withheld effective January 

1, 1985. The benefit withholding 

provision of Public Law 98–21 applies 

to divorced spouses, spouses, minor or 

disabled children, students, and 

survivors of railroad employees who (1) 

Initially became eligible for Tier I 

amounts, O/M shares, and Medicare 

benefits after December 31, 1984; (2) are 

not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals; and 

(3) have resided outside the U.S. for 

more than six consecutive months 

starting with the annuity beginning 

date. The benefit withholding provision 

does not apply, however to a beneficiary 

who is exempt under either a treaty 

obligation of the United States, in effect 

on August 1, 1956, or a totalization 

agreement between the United States 

and the country in which the 

beneficiary resides, or to an individual 

who is exempt under other criteria 

specified in Public Law 98–21. 

RRB Form G–45, Supplement to 

Claim of Person Outside the United 

States, is currently used by the RRB to 

determine applicability of the 

withholding provision of Public Law 

98–21. Completion of the form is 

required to obtain or retain a benefit. 

One response is requested of each 

respondent. The RRB estimates that 100 

Form G–45s are completed annually. 

The completion time for Form G–45 is 

estimated at 10 minutes per response. 

The RRB proposes no changes to 

Form G–45. 

Additional Information or Comments: 

To request more information or to 

obtain a copy of the information 

collection justification, forms, and/or 

supporting material, please call the RRB 

Clearance Officer at (312) 751–3363 or 

send an e-mail request to 

Charles.Mierzwa@RRB.GOV. Comments 

regarding the information collection 

should be addressed to Ronald J. 

Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 

North Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611–

2092 or send an e-mail to 

Ronald.Hodapp@RRB.GOV. Written 

comments should be received within 60 

days of this notice. 

Charles Mierzwa, 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–5240 Filed 3–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7905–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55479; File No. SR–Amex–

2006–114] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice 

of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change 

and Amendment No. 1 Thereto 

Clarifying the Continued Listing 

Standards for Units 

March 15, 2007. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’

or ‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that 

on December 4, 2006, the American 

Stock Exchange LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I, II, and 

III below, which Items have been 

prepared substantially by Amex. On 

February 22, 2007, Amex filed 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change. The Commission is publishing 

this notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change, as amended, from 

interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to (1) amend 

Section 1003(g) of the Amex Company 

Guide to strengthen the procedures 

applicable to units when their 

components fall below continued listing 

standards and clarify the application of 

continued listing standards to 

individual components comprising 

units once some (but not all) of the units 

have separated into their component 

parts and (2) make minor, technical 

changes to Sections 1003(a), (c), (d) and 

(f) of the Amex Company Guide. The 

text of the proposal is available at 

Amex, at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, and on Amex’s Web 

site at http://www.amex.com. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

Amex included statements concerning 

the purpose of, and basis for, the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below, and the most 

significant aspects of such statements 

are set forth in Sections A, B, and C 

below. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Section 1003(g) of the Amex Company 

Guide currently provides that the 

Exchange will ‘‘normally consider’’

suspending or delisting units if any of 

their component parts do not meet the 

applicable continued listing standards. 

However, if one or more of the 

components is otherwise qualified for 

listing, such component may remain 

listed. For example, a unit comprised of 

both a common stock component and a 

debt component would face suspension 

or delisting procedures if either the 

common stock or the debt component 

no longer met its applicable continued 

listing standards. As a result, if the debt 

component failed to meet the continued 

listing standards for bonds, both the 

unit and such debt component would be 

subject to suspension or delisting 

procedures, but the common stock 

component could independently remain 

listed and continue to trade on the 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES