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);
14114 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 57 / Tuesday, March 25, 1997 / Notices

why participating organization(s) are

unlikely to carry out activities without

Federal financial assistance; and

qualifications of applicant(s) (as

attachment).

Signed at Washington, DC on March 17,

1997.

August Schumacher, Jr.,

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[FR Doc. 97–7404 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

Forest Service

Eastern Washington Cascades

Province Advisory Committee Meeting

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Eastern Washington

Cascades Province Advisory Committee

will meet on April 10, 1997, in the

Wenatchee National Forest Supervisor’s

office large conference room, 215

Melody Land, Wenatchee, Washington.

The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and

continue until 3:00 p.m. Agenda items

to be covered will include agency

updates and developing advice on

riparian zone management and grazing

management under the Northwest

Forest Plan. All Eastern Washington

Cascades Province Advisory Committee

meetings are open to the public.

Interested citizens are welcome to

attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Paul Hart, Designated Federal

Official, USDA, Wenatchee National

Forest, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee,

Washington, 98801, 509–662–4335.

Dated: March 6, 1997.

Paul Hart,

Acting Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee

National Forest.

[FR Doc. 97–7399 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Dunloup Creek Watershed, West

Virginia

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to reauthorize

federal funding.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Watershed

protection and Flood Prevention Act,

Pub. L. 83–566, and the Soil

Conservation Guidelines (7 CFR part

622); U.S. Department of Agriculture

gives notice of intent to reauthorize

Federal funding for the Dunloup Creek

Watershed Project, Fayette and Raleigh

Counties, West Virginia. Upon

reauthorization, NRCS will initiate

planning assistance under the small

watershed program. A period of 60 days

from the publication date of this notice

in the Federal Register is provided for

those who wish to comment on this

action.

FOR COMMENTS OR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT: Roger Lee Bensey, State

Conservationist, Natural Resources

Conservation Service 75 High Street,

Room 301, Morgantown, West Virginia,

26505, telephone: 304 291–4153; Fax:

304 291–5628.

Dated: March 17, 1997.

Roger L. Bensey,

State Conservationist.

(This activity is listed in the Catalog of

Federal Domestic Assistance under NO.

10.904, Watershed Protection and Flood

Prevention, and is subject to the provisions

of Executive Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with State

and local officials.)

[FR Doc. 97–7381 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

Rural Housing Service

Notice of Recipients of Fiscal Year

1996 Section 515 Loan Funds

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service

(RHS) has compiled a list of all

recipients of fiscal year (FY) 1996 loan

funds under Section 515 of the Housing

Act of 1949 (Section 515). The intended

effect of this action is to inform the

public of recipients of FY 1996 Section

515 funds.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia L. Reese-Foxworth, Senior Loan

Specialist, Rural Rental Housing

Branch, Multi-Family Housing

Processing Division, Rural Housing

Service, USDA, Stop 0781, Washington,

D.C., 20250, telephone (202) 720–1604

(this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Programs Affected

This program is listed in the Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance under

Number 10.415, Rural Rental Housing

Loans.

Discussion of Notice

The information available is a 53-page

compilation of borrower names, names

of the general partners, project name

and location, number of units

developed, and RHS loan amount. This

information is available to all interested

parties and can be obtained by writing

RHS at the following address: USDA,

RHS, Multi-Family Housing Processing

Division, Stop 0781, Washington, D.C.,

20250. The request must be

accompanied by a self-addressed, selfstamped envelope. Envelopes must be a

minimum of 11′′×9′′ in size, and bear

first class postage of $1.25. Requests

without the required return envelope

and postage will not be acknowledged

or responded to.

Dated: March 11, 1997.

Jan E. Shadburn,

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 97–7403 Filed 3–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Export Administration

Information Systems Technical

Advisory Committee; Notice of

Partially Closed Meeting

A meeting of the Information Systems

Technical Advisory Committee will be

held April 15 & 16, Room 1617M–2, in

the Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th

Street between Constitution and

Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. This Committee

advises the Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Export Administration

with respect to technical questions that

affect the level of export controls

applicable to information systems

equipment and technology.

April 15

Closed Session 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

1. Discussion of matters properly

classified under Executive Order 12958,

dealing with U.S. export control

programs and strategic criteria related

thereto.

April 16

General Session 9:00 a.m.–12:00p.m.

2. Opening remarks by the Chairman.

3. Update on implementation of the

Wassenaar Arrangement.

4. Presentation on Hewlett-Packard

Company key-recovery products for the

International Cryptographic Framework.

5. Comments or presentations by the

public.

Closed Session 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

6. Discussion of matters properly

classified under Executive Order 12958,

dealing with U.S. export control

programs and strategic criteria related

thereto.

The General Session of the meeting is

open to the public and a limited number