[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69118-69120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29241]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/DS-58]


WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Section 609 of Public 
Law 101-162 Relating to the Protection of Sea Turtles in Shrimp Trawl 
Fishing Operations

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is 
providing notice that the government of

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Malaysia has requested the establishment of a dispute a settlement 
panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization (WTO) to examine whether the United States has implemented 
the recommendations and rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body 
(DSB) in a dispute involving import restrictions under section 609 of 
Public Law 101-162 (Section 609). Section 609 is intended to promote 
the conservation of endangered sea turtle species by restricting the 
importation of shrimp and shrimp products harvested by methods harmful 
to sea turtles. Interested persons are invited to submit written 
comments concerning the issues raised in the dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any submissions received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before November 30, 2000 to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR in preparing its first written submission to the 
panel.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Sandy McKinzy, Monitoring and 
Enforcement Unit, Office of the General Counsel, Room 122, Office of 
the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20508, Attn: Dispute Regarding U.S. Sea Turtle 
Conservation Law. Telephone: (202) 395-3582.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kira Alvarez, Director for Marine 
Resources and Regional Affairs, (202) 395-7320, or William Busis, 
Associate General Counsel, (202) 395-3150. For questions concerning the 
operation of U.S. import restrictions under Section 609, please contact 
David Hogan, Office of Marine Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and 
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of 
State, Washington DC, telephone number (202) 647-2335.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

Prior WTO Proceedings

    On November 6, 1998, the WTO DSB adopted the reports of a dispute 
settlement panel and the WTO Appellate Body in a case brought by India, 
Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand challenging U.S. restrictions on shrimp 
imports under section 609. The Appellate Body report found that section 
609 itself was not inconsistent with U.S. obligations under the WTO 
Agreement and was, in fact, covered by the WTO provision relating to 
the conservation of exhaustible natural resources. At the same time, 
however, the Appellate Body report found that certain aspects of the 
manner in which section 609 was being implemented, in their cumulative 
effect, were inconsistent with U.S. obligations under the WTO 
Agreement. The Appellate Body report recommended that the United States 
revise its implementation of section 609 accordingly.
    At the time the dispute settlement panel was established, USTR 
published a notice inviting public comments on the issues in the 
dispute. See 62 FR 13,934 (March 24, 1997). The dispute settlement 
panel and Appellate Body reports are publicly available in the USTR 
reading room and on the WTO web site (www.wto.org).

U.S. Implementation

    In November 1998, and after consultations with Congress and other 
stakeholders, the United States notified the DSB that the United States 
intended to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in a 
manner which is consistent not only with U.S. WTO obligations, but also 
with the firm commitment of the United States to the protection of 
endangered sea turtles.
    The United States and the other parties to the dispute reached 
agreement on 13 months as a reasonable period for implementation. The 
13-month period ended in December 1999.
    In March 1999, the Department of State, which administers section 
609, published a notice summarizing steps being taken to implement the 
DSB recommendations and rulings, and requesting comments on proposed 
revisions to the guidelines used for making certifications under 
section 609. See 64 FR 14,481 (March 25, 1999). In July 1999, the 
Department of State published a notice reviewing and responding to the 
comments received on its March 1999 notice, and setting forth revised 
section 609 guidelines. See 64 FR 36,946 (July 8, 1999).
    In January 2000, the United States informed the DSB that the United 
States had implemented the recommendations and rulings of the DSB 
during the 13-month implementation period. The United States explained 
that the implementation steps had both responded to the issues raised 
by the Appellate Body report, and--with the cooperation of the 
countries in the Indian Ocean region--had advanced efforts to conserve 
endangered sea turtles. Those implementation steps included the 
revisions to the Department of State guidelines, efforts to negotiate 
an agreement with the governments of the Indian Ocean region on the 
protection of sea turtles, and renewed offers of technical training in 
sea turtle conservation measures.

Article 21.5  Proceeding

    On October 23, 2000, the Government of Malaysia--one of the four 
complaining parties in the prior WTO proceeding--requested that the DSB 
establish a panel under Article 21.5 of the WTO Understanding on Rules 
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) to examine 
whether the United States had implemented the recommendations and 
rulings of the DSB. Malaysia is claiming that implementation of the DSB 
recommendations and rulings required the U.S. to remove the import 
restrictions imposed under section 609.
    The DSB has established a dispute settlement panel to consider 
Malaysia's claim. As provided under the DSU, the panel is composed of 
the same members as in the prior proceeding. The panel is scheduled to 
issue its report in mid-March, 2001. Pursuant to an understanding 
between the United States and Malaysia, either party may request that 
the WTO Appellate Body review the report of the dispute settlement 
panel.
    The European Communities and the governments of Japan, Ecuador, 
Australia, India, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, and Hong Kong, 
China have indicated their interest to participate in the dispute as 
third parties.

Invitation for Comments

    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.
    Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than 
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be 
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information 
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
    (1) Must so designate the 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

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    (3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR 
maintains 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 includes a listing of any comments received by 
USTR from the public with respect to the dispute; the U.S. submissions 
to the panel; the submissions, or non-confidential summaries of 
submissions, to the panel received from other participants in the 
dispute; as well as the reports of the panel and the Appellate Body. An 
appointment to review the public file (Docket WTO/DS-58, U.S. Sea 
Turtle Conservation Law) 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 United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 00-29241 Filed 11-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P