Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 34 / Thursday, February 20, 1997 / Notices 7815

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding

Regarding Hungary’s Export Subsidies

on Agricultural Products (Docket No.

WTO/D–14)

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 127(b)(1)

of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act

(URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), the

Office of the United States Trade

Representative (USTR) is providing

notice that the United States has

requested the establishment of a dispute

settlement panel under the Agreement

Establishing the World Trade

Organization (WTO), to examine

Hungary’s export subsidies on

agricultural products. More specifically,

the United States alleges that Hungary’s

export subsidies are inconsistent with

the obligations of the WTO Agreement

on Agriculture, including, but not

limited to, Article 3.3, Article 8 and

Article 9.2. USTR also invites written

comments from the public concerning

the issues raised in the dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any

comments received during the course of

the dispute settlement proceedings,

comments should be submitted on or

before March 17, 1997, to be assured of

timely consideration by USTR in

preparing its first written submission to

the panel.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted to Ileana Falticeni, Office of

Monitoring and Enforcement, Room

501, Attn: Hungary Export Subsidies

Dispute, Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William D. Hunter, Attorney, (202) 395–

3582, or Marilyn Moore, Senior

Economist, (202) 395–6127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

January 9, 1997, the United States

requested establishment of a WTO

dispute settlement panel to examine

whether Hungary’s export subsidies on

agricultural products are inconsistent

with the obligations of the WTO

Agreement on Agriculture. Argentina,

Australia and New Zealand also

requested the establishment of a panel.

The WTO Dispute Settlement Body

(DSB) considered the U.S. request at its

meeting on January 22, 1997. Under the

WTO Understanding on Rules and

Procedures Governing the Settlement of

Disputes, the DSB must establish a

panel at the next DSB meeting where a

panel request is on the agenda, unless

the DSB determines by consensus

otherwise. The next scheduled DSB

meeting will be held on February 25,

1997. Under normal circumstances, the

panel, which will hold its meetings in

Geneva, Switzerland, would be

expected to issue a report detailing its

findings and recommendations within

six to nine months after it is established.

Major Issues Raised by the United

States and Legal Basis of Complaint

In Hungary’s Schedule annexed to the

Marrakesh Protocol to the General

Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 1994

(Schedule), Hungary provided an

exclusive list of the agricultural

products or groups of products that

would be eligible for particular

categories of export subsidies.

Hungary’s Schedule also specified the

maximum level of expenditure for such

subsidies that may be allocated or

incurred for each year with respect to

each agricultural product or group of

products, and the maximum quantity of

each agricultural product or group of

products for which such subsidies could

be granted each year. In 1995, Hungary

provided export subsidies on

agricultural products that are not

specified in its Schedule. In addition, in

the case of agricultural products that are

specified in its Schedule, Hungary

provided export subsidies in excess of

its specified budgetary outlay and

quantity commitment levels. Both sets

of circumstances continued in 1996.

Hungary’s export subsidies appear to

be inconsistent with Hungary’s

obligations to limit its export subsidies

under the Agreement on Agriculture,

including, but not limited to, Article

3.3, Article 8, and Article 9.2.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the issues raised in the dispute.

Comments must be in English and

provided in fifteen copies. A person

requesting that information contained in

a comment submitted by that person 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 commenter.

Confidential business information must

be clearly marked ‘‘BUSINESS

CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a contrasting color

ink at the top of each page of each copy.

A person requesting that information

or advice contained in a comment

submitted by that person, other than

business confidential information, be

treated as confidential in accordance

with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act

of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2))—

(1) Must so designate that information

or advice;

(2) must clearly mark the material as

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page of each copy; and

(3) is encouraged to provide a nonconfidential summary of the

information or advice.

Pursuant to section 127(e) of the

URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR will

maintain a file on this dispute

settlement proceeding, accessible to the

public, in the USTR Reading Room:

Room 101, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public

file will include a listing of any

comments received by USTR from the

public with respect to the proceeding;

the U.S. submissions to the panel in the

proceeding; the submissions, or nonconfidential summaries of submissions,

to the panel received from other

participants in the dispute, as well as

the report of the dispute settlement

panel and, if applicable, the report of

the Appellate Body. An appointment to

review the public file (Docket WTO/D–

14 (‘‘U.S.–Hungary Export Subsidies’’)),

may be made by calling Brenda Webb,

(202) 395–6186. The USTR Reading

Room is open to the public from 9:30

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

Monday through Friday.

A. Jane Bradley,

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for

Monitoring and Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 97–4181 Filed 2–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Approval of Noise Compatibility

Program; Tallahassee Regional

Airport, Tallahassee, FL

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) announces its

findings on the noise compatibility

program submitted by the City of

Tallahassee, Florida, under the

provisions of Title I of the Aviation

Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979

(Public Law 96–193) and 14 CFR Part

150. These findings are made in

recognition of the description of Federal

and non-Federal responsibilities in

Senate Report No. 96–52 (1980). On

June 25, 1996, the FAA determined that