14112 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 57 / Tuesday, March 25, 1997 / Notices

Department has been requested by both

State agencies and retailers to establish

policy in this area.

Requested Information

In light of the discussions that

continue to take place, the Department

is interested in obtaining information.

Interoperability is recognized as being

good for recipients and good for

retailers, but it would appear to raise

costs. We want to learn more about

these costs: the nature of these costs and

to what degree they will appear.

Towards that end, the Department

wishes to obtain input regarding the

anticipated frequency of interoperable

food stamp transactions, the relative

costs to provide interoperability, and

who might best bear the costs. More

formally stated:

(1) How many interstate transactions

are expected to occur and how often

will they occur?

(2) Should interoperability between

State EBT systems be required?

(3) What are the interstate costs and

the factors that make up those costs?

Comments are encouraged on these

specific issues proposed for

consideration as well as any additional

issues that should be considered within

the scope of this review. Comments will

assist the Department in determining

whether policy changes are appropriate.

Dated: March 11, 1997.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator, Food and Consumer Service.

[FR Doc. 97–7453 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

Foreign Agricultural Service

Notice of a Request for Extension and

Revision of a Currently Approved

Information Collection

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Department’s

intention to request an extension for,

and amendment to, a currently

approved information collection in

support of the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import

Quota Licensing program.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received on or before April 21, 1997 to

be assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Richard P. Warsack, Dairy

Import Quota Manager, STOP 1021, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250–1021, or

telephone (202) 720–2916. All

comments received will be available for

public inspection in room 5541–S at the

above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Dairy Import Tariff-Rate Quota

Import Licensing Program.

OMB Number: 0551–0001.

Expiration Date of Approval: June 30,

1997.

Type of Request: Extension and

revision of a currently approved

information collection.

Abstract: The currently approved

information collection supports Import

Regulation 1, Revision 8 (Revision 8) (7

CFR 6.20–6.36) which was published in

the Federal Register on October 9, 1996

(61 FR 53002), and governs the

administration of the import licensing

system for certain dairy products subject

to tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). The TRQs

were established in the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTS) as a result of entry into force of

certain provisions in the Uruguay

Round Agreement. Imports of nearly all

cheese made from cow’s milk (except

soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie) and

certain noncheese dairy products are

subject to TRQs and the licensing

provisions of Revision 8. Import

licenses are issued each quota year to

eligible licensees and are valid for 12

months (January 1 through December

31). Holders of such licenses may enter

dairy articles at the lower in-quota tariff

rates. Importers who do not hold

licenses may enter dairy articles at the

higher over-quota tariff rates. Under

Revision 8, there are three types of

licenses: (1) historical licenses (listed in

Appendix 1); (2) nonhistorical licenses

(listed in Appendix 2); and (3)

designated licenses under which U.S.

importers are designated by the

government of a foreign country to

import certain cheese articles from that

country (listed in Appendix 3).

For each quota year, all applicants

must submit form FAS 923 (Rev. 7–96).

This form requests applicants to: (1)

identify whether they are applying for a

license as an importer, designated

importer, manufacturer, or exporter of

certain dairy products; and (2) certify

they meet the eligibility requirements of

§ 6.23 of the Import Regulation (7 CFR

6.23). Importers or exporters must attach

documentation required by § 6.23 and

§ 6.24 as proof of eligibility for import

licenses. Applicants for nonhistorical

licenses for cheese and/or noncheese

dairy products must also submit form

FAS–923A and/or FAS–923B (Rev. 7–

96). This form requires applicants

identify requests for licenses listed on

the form in descending rank-order.

After licenses are issued, § 6.26

requires licensees to surrender by

October 1 any license amount that a

licensee does not intend to enter that

year. To the extent practicable, the

Licensing Authority reallocates these

amounts to existing licensees for the

remainder of that year. The information

collection is being amended to include:

(1) form FAS–924A, License Surrender

Form, and (2) form FAS–924B,

Application for Additional License

Amounts. Form FAS–924A will require

licensees to complete a table listing the

license number and surrender amount

for each license being surrendered.

Form FAS–924B will accompany a

Notice to Importers which identifies

license amounts available for

reallocation. Form FAS–924B will

require licensees to complete a table

listing (1) the additional amounts being

requested for specific dairy articles and

the supplying country, and (2) the

existing license to which the additional

amount should be added, if applicable.

The Department is currently developing

an automated scanning system to

expedite the surrender and reallocation

process which will require uniform

submission of such information.

The estimated total annual burden in

the OMB inventory for the currently

approved information collection is 375

hours. The estimated burden will be

reduced by 105 hours to 270 hours. The

estimated reduction is based on a

reduction in the number of respondents

which has mainly resulted from the

strengthened eligibility requirements

and increased disciplines of Revision 8,

and recent widespread consolidation of

firms among licensees. The estimated

public reporting burden for the 1997

quota year and each quota year

thereafter is set forth in the table below.

Estimates

FAS–923,

923A, 923B

(Rev. 7–96)

(one form)

FAS–924A,

924B

(one form)

Est. number of

respondents ... 340.00 100.00

Est. responses

per respondent .................. 1.00 1.00

Est. hours per

response ........ 0.75 0.15

Est. total annual

burden in

hours .............. 255.00 15.00

Aggregate total .. 270.00 estimated annual

burden in hours

Copies of this information collection

can be obtain from Valerie Countiss, the

Agency Information Collection

Coordinator, at (202) 720–6713.

The Department requests comments

regarding the accuracy of the burden
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 57 / Tuesday, March 25, 1997 / Notices 14113

estimate, ways to minimize the burden,

including the use of automated

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology, or any other

aspect of the collection of information.

Comments should be submitted in

accordance with the Dates and

Additional Information or Comments

sections above. All comments will be

summarized and included in the request

for OMB approval, and will also become

a matter of public record.

Signed at Washington, D.C., March 14,

1997.

August Schumacher, Jr.,

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[FR Doc. 97–7388 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

FY 1997 Emerging Markets Program

and Solicitation of Proposals

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of FY 1997 Emerging

Markets Program and solicitation of

proposals.

SUMMARY: The Foreign Agricultural

Service (FAS) invites proposals to

promote the export of, and improve the

market access for, U.S. agricultural

products to emerging markets in fiscal

year (FY) 1997 under the Emerging

Markets Program (the Program). The

Program is authorized by the Food,

Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade

Act of 1990, as amended (the Act).

Proposals will be considered from any

agricultural or agribusiness

organization, with certain restrictions as

indicated below. Program funds

available for FY 1997 under this notice

are approximately $4 million. All

agricultural products are eligible for

consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional information, including

Program guidelines, may be obtained

from and applications submitted to:

Emerging Markets Office, Foreign

Agricultural Service, Room 6506 South

Building, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250–

1032, Fax: (202) 690–4369.

INTENT OF THE PROGRAM: The premise of

the Program is that emerging markets

can benefit from U.S. governmental

assistance as the private sector moves to

develop these markets through normal

corporate or trade promotional

activities.

The Act defines an emerging market

as any country that the Secretary of

Agriculture determines:

(1) Is taking steps toward a marketoriented economy through the food,

agriculture, or rural business sectors of

the economy of the country; and

(2) Has the potential to provide a

significant market for United States

agricultural commodities or products of

Untied States agricultural commodities.

There is no set list of emerging market

countries; however, the following

administrative criteria will be used to

determine whether a particular country

will be considered an emerging market:

(1) Per capita income less than $8355;

(2) Population is greater than 1

million; and

(3) Positive economic growth factors.

The Program provides technical

assistance and is not intended for

projects targeted at end-user consumers.

Ineligible activities include in-store

promotions, restaurant promotions,

advertising, and branded promotions.

Funding is on a project-by-project basis.

The Program complements the efforts of

other FAS marketing programs. The

emphasis is on market access

opportunities. Once a market access

issue has been addressed by this

Program, further market development

activities may be considered under

other programs such as GSM–102 or

GSM–103 credit programs, the Market

Access Program (MAP), or the Foreign

Market Development Program (FMD).

Preference will be given to proposals

based upon (1) clear demonstration of

the degree to which the private

agribusiness is willing to commit its

own funds to seek export business in an

emerging market (leveraged funds), and

(2) the immediacy and volume of U.S.

agricultural exports which will result

from the completion of the proposal.

Additional criteria considered in

approving proposal are outlined in the

‘‘Applications’’ section below.

ACTIVITIES: The Program includes but is

not limited to the following types of

activities: (1) Projects that facilitate the

collection and use of market

information that benefit both U.S.

exporters and the recipient country; (2)

Projects to develop free trade policies

that benefit both U.S. exporters and the

recipient country; (3) Short-term

training in agriculture and agribusiness

that will benefit U.S. exporters; (4)

Projects that specifically address various

constraints to U.S. food, fish, and

forestry product exports, including

sanitary and phytosanitary issues and

other non-tariff barriers, such as

infrastructure-related issues; (5) Projects

that directly assist U.S. exporters

through the funding of feasibility

studies, markets research, orientation

visits, specialized training, business

workshops, and other forms of technical

assistance; and (6) Projects and

assessments to improve overseas

country-wide food and business

systems, to reduce trade barriers, to

increase prospects for U.S. trade and

investment in emerging markets, and to

determine the potential for export credit

guarantees for commodities, facilities

and services. In making proposals,

applicants may want to address market

access opportunities such as inadequate

distribution, infrastructure (including

government infrastructure)

impediments, insufficient information,

sanitary and phytosantiary concerns,

quality issues, lack of financing options

or resources, need for establishing trade

contacts, or lace of familiarity with U.S.

products.

ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS: Any U.S.

agricultural or agribusiness organization

may apply to the Program. U.S.

participants in the FMD and MAP

programs, however, are eligible only for

specific types of activities such as quick

response marketing initiatives, food

safety and regulation issues, and

sectorial assessments for trade and

investment, not funded under FMD and

MAP. They may, however, participate in

export-oriented projects with another

agricultural organization which has

primary responsibility for the project(s).

DATES: Proposals for FY 1997 funding

must be received not later than April 30,

1997. Funding decisions are anticipated,

but cannot be guaranteed, within 45

days of this deadline.

APPLICATIONS: To assist FAS in making

determinations under the Program, FAS

recommends that all applications

contain complete information about the

proposed project and the applicant(s)

and be not longer than ten (10) pages in

length. This information may include:

name of the person/organization

submitting proposal; date of proposal;

company/organization affiliation and

address (as applicable); telephone and

fax numbers; full title of proposal;

precis of the proposal, including

objectives, proposed activities, benefits

to U.S. agricultural exports, target

country/countries for proposed

activities, projected starting date for

project, and funding amount requested;

summary and detailed description of

proposed project; specific trade

constraint addressed; benefits to U.S.

agricultural exports; agricultural trade

data for target country/countries,

including U.S. market share; time

line(s); detailed project budget,

including other sources of funding for

the project and contributions from

participating organizations; whether

similar activities are or have previously

been funded in target country/countries

(i.e., under MAP and/or FMD programs);