Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices 69599

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Oceans, International

Environmental and Scientific Affairs

[Public Notice No. 3475]

Public Meeting To Discuss

Preparations for Negotiations on an

International Agreement Through the

United Nations Environment Program

on Persistent Organic Pollutants

SUMMARY: The United States

Government, through an interagency

working group chaired by the U.S.

Department of State, is preparing for the

fifth and final negotiations through the

United Nations Environment Program

(UNEP) on a global agreement to address

the release of certain persistent organic

pollutants (POPs). The final negotiating

session is scheduled to take place in

Johannesburg, South Africa, on

December 4–9, 2000. The Department of

State will host a public meeting for

environmental non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) in advance of this

session to outline issues likely to arise

in the context of the negotiations. The

public meeting will take place on

Tuesday, November 21, 2000, from

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 7835

of the U.S. Department of State, 2201 C

Street NW, Washington, DC. To

expedite their entrance into the

building, attendees should provide to

Eunice Mourning of the Office of

Environmental Policy, U.S. Department

of State (tel. 202–647–9266, fax 202–

647-5947) their name, organization, date

of birth and Social Security number by

noon on Monday, November 20, 2000.

Attendees should enter the C Street

entrance and bring picture identification

with them. For further information,

please contact Dr. Marie Ricciardone,

U.S. Department of State, Office of

Environmental Policy (OES/ENV), Room

4325, 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC

20520. Phone 202–736–4660, fax 202–

647–5947, e-mail

RicciardoneMD@state.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The UNEP POPs Negotiations

The POPs treaty is the first global

treaty to address in a comprehensive

manner the risks to human health and

the environment of chemicals and other

pollutants. The treaty will in the first

instance deal with twelve substances:

aldrin, endrin, hexachlorobenzene,

toxaphene, chlordane, dieldrin,

heptachlor, mirex, DDT, PCBs, dioxins

and furans. These substances fall into

three categories: Pesticides, industrial

chemicals, and unintended by-products

of combustion and industrial processes.

These global negotiations are an

ambitious undertaking, since they

encompass a broad range of measures to

address POPs of transboundary concern.

These range from controls on

production and use for commercial

chemicals, controls on POPs wastes, and

controls on by-products that come from

combustion and industrial processes.

For many countries, this will be the first

time that these substances have been

controlled, and the effects are likely to

be far-reaching.

Since the U.S. and other developed

countries have already taken actions on

these chemicals, a major goal for the

agreement is broad participation by

developing countries and, consequently,

meaningful reductions in the amount of

pollutants that are released into the

environment. A critical part of the

agreement will be technical and

financial assistance mechanisms to help

developing countries effectively

implement their obligations.

Timetable and Point of Contact

The POPs Intergovernmental

Negotiating Committee (INC) expects to

complete its work at its fifth session in

Johannesburg. In preparation for the

fifth session of the INC, the State

Department is preparing its position for

the negotiation, and has scheduled a

public meeting to be held on Tuesday,

November 21, 2000 from 11:00 a.m. to

12:30 p.m. in Room 7835 of the U.S.

Department of State. Members of the

interagency working group who will

participate in the proposed negotiation

will provide an overview of U.S.

preparations for the fifth session. The

U.S. Department of State is issuing this

notice to help ensure that interested and

potentially affected parties are aware of

and knowledgeable about these

negotiations, and have an opportunity to

offer comments. Those organizations or

individuals which cannot attend the

meeting, but wish to either submit a

written comment or to remain informed,

should provide Eunice Mourning of the

Office of Environmental Policy, U.S.

Department of State (phone 202–647–

9266; fax 202–647–5947) with their

statement and/or their name,

organization, address, telephone and fax

numbers, and their e-mail address.

Dated: November 14, 2000.

Bob Ford,

Deputy Director, Office of Environmental

Policy, U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–29519 Filed 11–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–06–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/DS–176]

WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding

Regardin United States of America—

Section 211 of the Department of

Commerce Appropriations Act, 1999

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the United

States Trade Representative (‘‘USTR’’) is

providing notice of the establishment

and composition of a dispute settlement

panel under the Marrakesh Agreement

Establishing the World Trade

Organization (‘‘WTO’’) requested by the

European Communities and their

Member States (the ‘‘EC’’). The EC has

asked that the panel examine whether

section 211 of the ‘‘Omnibus

Appropriations Act of 1998’’ [sic] is

consistent with U.S. obligations under

the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related

Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

(‘‘TRIPs Agreement’’). The statutory

provision to which the EC refers is

section 211 of the Department of

Commerce Appropriations Act, 1999, as

included in Pub. L. 105–277 (‘‘Section

211’’). Section 211 concerns the

registration or enforcement, by Cuban

entities or their successors in interest, of

trademarks, trade-names, or commercial

names that are substantially similar to

trademarks, trade-names, or commercial

names associated with businesses

confiscated without compensation by

the Cuban government, without the

consent of the previous owners of the

trademarks, trade-names or commercial

names.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any

comments received during the course of

the dispute settlement proceedings,

comments should be submitted by

November 28, 2000, to be assured of

timely consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted to Sandy McKinzy, Litigation

Assistant, Office of Monitoring and

Enforcement, Room 122, Att: Section

211, Office of the United States Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, D.C., 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: L.

Daniel Mullaney, Associate General

Counsel, at (202) 395–3581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to section 127(b) of the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C.

3537(b)(1)), USTR is providing notice

that, on October 26, 2000, the WTO

Director-General appointed the

following persons to serve as panelists

69600 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices

in this dispute: H.E. Mr. Wade

Armstrong, Chairman; Mr. Franc ̧ois

Dessemontet, Member; and Mr. Armand

de Mestral, Member. This appointment

was made pursuant to Article 8.7 of the

WTO Dispute Settlement

Understanding. Under normal

circumstances, the panel, which will

hold its meetings in Geneva,

Switzerland, is expected to issue a

report detailing its findings and

recommendations within six to nine

months after it is established. USTR

solicited comments from the public on

the issues in this dispute in a Federal

Register notice dated August 1, 2000 (65

FR 46999); those comments are on file

at USTR and need not be resubmitted in

reponse to this notice.

Major Issues Raised and Legal Basis of

the Complaint

In is request for the establishment of

a panel, the EC alleges that three

substantive provisions of section 211 are

inconsistent with the TRIPs Agreement:

1. The EC alleges that Section

211(a)(1) limits the right to register or

renew trademarks, trade-names or

commercial names at the United States

Patent and Trademark Office, in

violation of TRIPs Article 2.1, in

conjunction with Article 6 quinquies

A(1) of the Paris Convention for the

Protection of Industrial Property (1967)

(‘‘Paris Convention’’), and TRIPs Article

15.1. The EC alleges that Section

211(a)(1) does this by, in the case of

trademarks, trade-names and

commercial names that are substantially

similar to trademarks, trade-names, or

commercial names associated with

businesses confiscated without

compensation by the Cuban

government, requiring the consent of the

original owner or his successor-ininterest of the trademark, trade-name, or

commercial name.

2. The EC alleges that Section

211(a)(2)—by providing that U.S. courts

shall not recognize, enforce, or

otherwise validate common law or

registration rights asserted by

designated nationals or their successors

in interest in trademarks, trade-names

and commercial names that are

substantially similar to trademarks,

trade-names, or commercial names

associated with businesses confiscated

without compensation by the Cuban

government—violates TRIPs Art. 2.1, in

conjunction with Articles 6 bis (1) and

8 of the Paris Convention, and TRIPs

Article 16.1 (which require WTO

Members to provide protection for wellknown trademarks and for trade names).

The EC also alleges that Section

211(a)(2) violates the TRIPs enforcement

provisions, such as TRIPs Article 42,

and the most favored nation and

national treatment provisions of the

TRIPs Agreement (TRIPs Articles 3.1,

2.1 (in conjunction with Article 2(1) of

the Paris Convention), and 4).

3. Finally, the EC allegs that Section

211(b)—by providing that U.S. courts

shall not recognize, enforce, or

otherwise validate treaty rights asserted

by designated nations or their

successors in interest in trademarks,

trade-names and commercial names that

are substantially similar to trademarks,

trade-names, or commercial names

associated with businesses confiscated

without compensation by the Cuban

government (unless the original owner

consents)—violates TRIPs Art. 2.1, in

conjunction with Articles 6 bis (1) and

8 of the Paris Convention (requiring

protection of well-known trademarks

and of trade-names) and TRIPs Articles

3.1, 4, 16.1, and 42 (provisions

concerning most favored nation

treatment, national treatment, trademark

rights conferred, and fair and equitable

enforcement procedures).

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the issues raised in this dispute or other

matters related to this dispute.

Comments must be in English and

provided in fifteen copies to Sandy

McKinzy at the address provided above.

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

submitting person. 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 submitting person

believes that information or advice may

qualify as such, the submitting person—

(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

(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, D.C. 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 parties

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/DS–176,

‘‘Section 211’’) may be made by calling

Brenda Webb, (202) 395–6186. The

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. 00–29482 Filed 11–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2000–8252]

Collection of Information Under

Review by Office of Management and

Budget (OMB): OMB Control Numbers

2115–0012 and 2115–0518

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Coast Guard intends to seek the

approval of OMB for the renewal of two

Information Collection Requests (ICRs).

The ICRs comprise (1) U.S. Coast Guard

Academy—Preliminary Application and

Supplemental Forms and (2)

International Oil Pollution Prevention

Certificate. Before submitting the ICRs

to OMB, the Coast Guard is requesting

comments on the items described

below.

DATES: Comments must reach the Coast

Guard on or before January 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to

the Docket Management System (DMS)

[USCG 2000–8252], U.S. Department of

Transportation (DOT), room PL–401,

400 Seventh Street SW., Washington,

DC 20590–0001, or deliver them to room

PL–401, located on the Plaza Level of

the Nassif Building at the same address

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday