Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 1997 / Notices 60299

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

Any information contained in Exchange

documents may be provided by the unit

orally or in writing on the unit’s

letterhead. Following its interview, a

specialist unit may not have any contact

with the listing company and any

follow-up questions by the company

regarding publicly available information

on a unit must be sent to the Exchange.

If the Exchange approves, a response

will be provided. The specialist units in

the group of units interviewed will be

advised of such requests.

Spin-offs/Related Companies

This section of the Policy covers

situations in which a listing company is

a spin-off of or related to a listed

company. Currently these situations are

handled as new listings, with allocation

open to all specialist units.

Under the proposed revisions of the

Policy, a listing company that is a spinoff or related company may choose to

stay with the specialist unit registered

in the related listed company.

If the listing company chooses to have

the Allocation Committee select its

specialist, the listing company may

request, and the Allocation Committee

will honor, that it not be traded by the

specialist unit that trades the related

listed company. Alternatively, the

listing company may choose Option 2

and request that the Allocation

Committee include or exclude from the

group of specialist units, the specialist

registered in the related listed stock.

The Exchange believes that the pilot

program, as amended, should be made

permanent in that it has successfully

established flexible procedures for the

listing company to effectively

participate in the selection process of

specialist units that are most suitable to

make quality markets in the listing

company’s stock.

2. Statutory Basis

The NYSE believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with the

requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the

Act 5 that an Exchange have rules that

are designed to promote just and

equitable principles of trade, to remove

impediments to and perfect the

mechanism of a free and open market

and a national market system and, in

general, to protest investors and the

public interest. The Exchange believes

that the experience gained from the

pilot program suggests that the

amendments to the Policy are consistent

with these objectives in that they enable

the Exchange to further enhance the

process by which stocks are allocated

between specialist units to ensure

fairness and equal opportunity in the

process.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange believes that the

proposal does not impose any burden

on competition that is not necessary or

appropriate in furtherance of the

purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants or Others

Comments were neither solicited nor

received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register or

within such longer period (i) as the

Commission may designate up to 90

days of such date if it finds such longer

period to be appropriate and publishes

its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to

which the self-regulatory organization

consents, the Commission will:

B. Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views and

arguments concerning the foregoing.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of the

submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying at

the Commission’s Public Reference

Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of the NYSE. All submissions

should refer to File Number SR–NYSE–

97–30 and should be submitted by

November 28, 1997.

Fifth Street, N.W., Wahsington, D.C.

20549. Copies of the submission, all

subsequent amendments, all written

statements with respect to the proposed

rule change that are filed with the

Commission and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying at

the Commission’s Public Reference

Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of the NYSE. All submissions

should refer to File Number SR–NYSE–

97–30 and should be submitted by

November 28, 1997.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.6

[FR Doc. 97–29473 Filed 11–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. 301–116]

Initiation of Section 302 Investigation,

Proposed Determinations and Action,

and Request for Public Comment:

Honduran Protection of Intellectual

Property Rights

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of initiation of

investigation; proposed determination

and action; request for public comment;

and public hearing.

SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TPSC) has determined that

the Government of Honduras has failed

to provide adequate and effective means

under its laws for foreign nationals to

secure, exercise and enforce exclusive

rights in intellectual property and has

recommended that the duty-free

treatment accorded Honduras under the

Generalized System of Preferences

(GSP) and the Caribbean Basin Initiative

(CBI) programs be partially withdrawn.

In light of the foregoing, the United

States Trade Representative (USTR) is

initiating an investigation under section

302(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, as

amended (the ‘‘Trade Act’’) with regard

to acts, policies, and practices of the

Government of Honduras with respect

to the protection of intellectual property

rights, and proposes to determine that

these acts, policies and practices are

actionable under section 301(b) and that

the appropriate response is a partial

suspension of tariff preference benefits
60300 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 1997 / Notices

accorded to Honduras under the GSP

and CBI programs. The annex to this

notice sets forth a list of articles of

Honduras which could be subject to the

suspension of tariff preference benefits.

The USTR invites interested persons to

submit written comments and to

participate in a public hearing

concerning the proposed determinations

and action.

DATES: This investigation was initiated

on October 31,1997. Requests to appear

at the public hearing are due November

14, 1997; written testimony is due

November 24, 1997; a public hearing

will be held on December 4, 1997; and

written comments and rebuttal

comments are due December 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written submissions should

be sent to Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant

to the Section 301 Committee, ATTN:

Docket 301–116, Room 223, Office of

the United States Trade Representative,

600 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC

20508. The public hearing will be held

in the main hearing room of the United

States International Trade Commission,

500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC

20436.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Morrissy, Office of Trade and

Development, Office of the United

States Trade Representative, (202) 395–

6971, or William Busis, Office of the

General Counsel, Office of the United

States Trade Representative, (202) 395–

3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In June

1992 the Motion Picture Export

Association of America (subsequently

renamed the Motion Picture

Association) filed a petition under the

GSP program alleging that Honduras

had failed to provide adequate and

effective copyright protection and

enforcement of rights of copyright

owners. The petition alleged widespread unauthorized broadcasting of

pirated videos and the rebroadcasting of

U.S. satellite-carried programming. In

addition to these problems, the

Government of Honduras has not

provided adequate copyright protection

for books and sound recordings.

Since the receipt of the GSP petition,

the United States has held extensive

consultations with the Government of

Honduras regarding its failure to

provide adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property

rights. As a result of these consultations,

the Honduran government has, in the

past, provided assurances that

enforcement of intellectual property

rights protection laws would improve.

However, the United States has seen

a continuing lack of enforcement of

copyright in Honduras. In May of 1997

the TPSC determined that the

Government of Honduras had failed to

provide adequate and effective means

under its laws for foreign nationals to

secure, exercise and enforce exclusive

rights in intellectual property, and

recommended that the duty-free

treatment accorded Honduras under the

GSP and CBI programs be partially

withdrawn in four months if these

problems were not remedied. (See 62 FR

28915 of May 28, 1997.) In the

intervening period, the United States

Government has consulted with the

Government of Honduras regarding this

matter. Despite being notified of

continuing and serious U.S. concerns

and possible action by the U.S.

Government in response, the

Government of Honduras has still failed

to take sufficient action against

continuing and blatant copyright piracy.

For example, recent reports indicate that

three major television stations in

Honduras continue to violate the rights

of U.S. copyright owners.

Initiation of Section 302 Investigation

Section 302(b)(1) of the Trade Act (19

U.S.C. 2412(b)(1)) authorizes the USTR

to initiate an investigation under

Chapter 1 of Title III of the Trade Act

(commonly referred to as ‘‘section 301’’)

with respect to any matter to determine

whether the matter is actionable under

this provision. Under section 301(b)(1)

of the Trade Act, matters actionable

under section 301 include acts, policies,

or practices of a foreign country that are

unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S.

commerce. Under section

301(d)(3)(B)(II) of the Trade Act,

unreasonable acts, policies or practices

include any act, policy or practice

which denies fair and equitable

provision of adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property

rights.

Accordingly, the United States Trade

Representative, having consulted with

the appropriate private sector advisory

committees, has determined to initiate

an investigation under section 302(b)(1)

of the Trade Act to determine whether

certain acts, policies, and practices of

Honduras with regard to the protection

of intellectual property rights are

actionable under section 301(b)(1) of the

Trade Act.

Proposed Determinations and Action

Based on the failure of the

Government of Honduras to provide

adequate protection of intellectual

property rights, the USTR proposes to

determine under sections 304(a)(1)(A)

and 301(b) of the Trade Act that the

acts, policies, and practices of Honduras

with respect to the protection of

intellectual property rights are

unreasonable and burden or restrict

United States commerce, and that action

by the United States is appropriate.

Section 301(b)(2) of the Trade Act

authorizes the USTR to take all

appropriate and feasible action

authorized under section 301(c) to

obtain the elimination of the actionable

acts, policies, or practices. Section

301(c)(1)(C) provides that in a case in

which the act, policy, or practice also

fails to meet the eligibility requirements

for duty-free treatment under the GSP

program or CBI program, the USTR may

withdraw, limit or suspend such

treatment under the GSP or CBI

programs.

The GSP program includes an

eligibility requirement concerning the

extent to which the foreign country

provides adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property rights

(section 502(c)(5) of the Trade Act (19

U.S.C. 2462(c)(5))). The CBI program

also includes eligibility requirements

concerning the extent to which the

foreign country provides under its laws

adequate and effective means for foreign

nationals to secure, exercise, and

enforce exclusive rights in intellectual

property, and the extent to which the

foreign country prohibits its nationals

from engaging in the broadcast of

copyrighted material belonging to

United States copyright owners without

their express consent (section 212(c)(9)

and (10) of the Caribbean Basin

Economic Recovery Act, as amended (19

U.S.C. 2712(c)(9) and (10)). Based on the

failure of the Government of Honduras

to provide adequate protection of

intellectual property rights, the USTR

proposes to determine that Honduras

fails to meet these eligibility

requirements of the CBI and GSP

programs.

Accordingly, under section

304(a)(1)(B) and 301(c)(1)(C) of the

Trade Act, the USTR proposes to

suspend duty-free treatment accorded

certain products from Honduras under

the GSP and CBI programs. In

particular, the USTR is proposing to

suspend GSP and CBI duty-free benefits

for certain articles of Honduras, to be

chosen from among the articles listed in

the annex to this notice. After

considering comments received and the

testimony presented, the USTR will

decide which of the articles listed in the

annex will be subject to suspension of

duty-free treatment under the GSP and

CBI programs.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 1997 / Notices 60301

Written Comments and Public Hearing

Regarding Proposed Determinations

and Action

In accordance with section 304(b) of

the Trade Act, the USTR invites

interested persons to provide written

comments on the matters under

investigation and the proposed

determinations. With respect to the

proposed action under section 301,

comments may address: (1) the

appropriateness of a suspension of GSP

and CBI benefits with respect to articles

of Honduras listed in the annex to this

notice; (2) the specific articles from the

list in the annex which should be

subject to suspension of GSP and CBI

duty-free treatment; and (3) the degree

to which such suspension of duty-free

treatment on particular articles of

Honduras might have an adverse effect

on U.S. consumers. Written comments

are due by December 10, 1997.

A public hearing addressed to these

same issues will be held on December

4, 1997, in the main hearing room of the

United States International Trade

Commission, 500 E Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20436.

Interested persons wishing to testify

orally at the hearings must provide a

written request by November 14, 1997,

to Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to the

Section 301 Committee, Office of the

U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th

Street NW, Washington, DC 20508.

Requests to testify must include the

following information: (1) name,

address, telephone number, fax number,

and firm or affiliation of the person

wishing to testify; and (2) a brief

summary of the comments to be

presented. Requests to testify must

conform to the requirements of 15 CFR

2006.8(a). After the Chairman of the

Section 301 Committee considers the

request to present oral testimony, Ms.

Harrison will notify the applicant of the

time of his or her testimony. In addition,

persons presenting oral testimony must

submit their complete written testimony

by November 24, 1997.

In order to allow each interested party

an opportunity to contest the

information provided by other parties at

the hearing, USTR will accept written

rebuttal comments, which must be filed

by December 10, 1997. In accordance

with 15 CFR 2006.8(c), rebuttal

comments should be limited to

demonstrating errors of fact or analysis

not pointed out in the briefs or hearing

and should be as concise as possible.

Written comments, written testimony,

and rebuttal comments must be filed in

accordance with the requirements set

forth in 15 CFR 2006.8(b). Comments

must state clearly the position taken,

describe with particularity the

supporting rationale, be in English, and

be provided in twenty copies to: Sybia

Harrison, Staff Assistant to the Section

301 Committee, ATTN: Docket 301–116,

Room 223, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20508.

All written submissions will be

placed in a file (Docket 301–116) open

to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR

2006.13, except for confidential

business information exempt from

public inspection in accordance with 15

CFR 2006.15. Persons wishing to submit

confidential business information must

certify in writing that such information

is confidential in accordance with 15

CFR 2006.15(b), and such information

must be clearly marked ‘‘Business

Confidential’’ in a contrasting color ink

at the top of each page on each of the

twenty copies and must be accompanied

by a nonconfidential summary of the

confidential information. The

nonconfidential summary will be placed

in the Docket open to public inspection.

An appointment to review the docket

may be made by calling Brenda Webb at

(202) 395–6186. The USTR Reading

Room is open to the public from 9:30

a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, and is

located in Room 101, Office of the

United States Trade Representative, 600

17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20508.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

BILLING CODE 3190–01–P
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[FR Doc. 97–29502 Filed 11–4–97; 3:25 pm]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–C