[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17548-17549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8548]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2009-0010]


Request for Public Comments Regarding Status of U.S. Equipment 
Industry Access to the European Community's (EC) Galileo Program and 
European Markets for Related Goods and Services

Agency: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Action: Request for comments.

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Summary: The Trade Policy Staff Committee is seeking the views of 
interested parties on six questions regarding U.S. equipment industry 
access to the EC Galileo program and European markets for related goods 
and services, which pertain to Articles 5, 6, and 8 of the Agreement on 
the Promotion, Provision and Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based 
Navigation Systems and Related Applications (``Agreement''). USTR will 
use this information in connection with its preparation of a report to 
Congress, as requested in the explanatory statement accompanying the 
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, and to identify issues that may merit 
further discussion with the EC and its Member States under the 
consultation mechanism established under the Agreement.

Dates: Public comments are due no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, 
2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted electronically to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0010. If you are unable to 
provide submissions by http://www.regulations.gov, please contact 
Gloria Blue at (202) 395-3475 to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission. If (as explained below) the comment contains confidential 
information, then the comment should be submitted only by fax to Gloria 
Blue at (202) 395-5141.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade 
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should 
be directed to Scott Pietan, Director of Industry, Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC, 
(202) 395-9646.

Supplementary Information: In 2004, the United States and the EC and 
its Member States signed the Agreement on the Promotion, Provision and 
Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related 
Applications (``Agreement''), which addresses U.S. and EC satellite 
navigation services, in particular the U.S. Global Positioning System, 
and the planned EC Galileo system. The Agreement has not yet entered 
into force, but it is being provisionally applied. The Agreement may be 
found at http://pnt.gov/public/docs/2004/gpsgalileoagreement.pdf. In 
addition to addressing signal compatibility and individual and mutual 
security concerns, the Agreement calls for non-discrimination and open 
markets in trade in civil satellite navigation-related goods and 
services.
    In an explanatory statement accompanying the Omnibus Appropriations 
Act, 2009, Congress requested that USTR report on the status of U.S. 
equipment industry access to the EC Galileo program and European 
markets for related goods and services, in order to assess EC 
compliance with the Agreement. Joint Explanatory Statement to the 
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 111-008, 155 Cong. Rec. 
H1653, H1840 (daily ed., Feb. 23, 2009). To assist it in fulfilling 
that request, and in identifying matters that merit further discussion 
with the EC and its Member States in connection with the consultation 
mechanism provided under the Agreement, USTR is seeking comments on six 
issues:
    (1) Has the EC or any of its Member States established any measures 
of the type described in Article 5.1 of the Agreement that adversely 
affect U.S. equipment industry access to Galileo navigation and timing 
signals and services, value added services, augmentations and global 
navigation and timing goods, or European markets for related goods and 
services?
    (2) Has the EC or any of its Member States established any measures 
that have the effect, directly or indirectly, of mandating the use of 
any civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals or services, 
value-added service, augmentation, or global navigation and timing 
equipment within its territory, not expressly authorized by the 
International Civil Aviation Organization or the International Maritime 
Organization, as described in Article 5.2 of the Agreement?
    (3) Does the EC or any of its Member States maintain a non-
discriminatory approach with respect to trade in goods and services 
related to civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals, 
augmentations, and value-added services, consistent with the affirming 
statement contained in Article 6.1 of the Agreement?
    (4) Are any EC or Member State measures with respect to goods and 
services related to civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals 
or services, augmentations, and value-added services used as a 
disguised restriction on or an unnecessary obstacle to international 
trade, as described in Article 6.2 of the Agreement?
    (5) Does the EC make publicly available on a non-discriminatory 
basis, sufficient information concerning its unencrypted civil 
satellite-based navigation and timing signals and augmentations, 
consistent with Article 8.1 of the Agreement?
    (6) To the extent that it provides civil satellite-based navigation 
and timing signals or services, augmentation, or value-added service 
for civil users that is encrypted or otherwise has features that allow 
the global navigation service provider to deny access, does the EC or 
any of its Member States, subject to applicable export controls, afford 
to U.S. manufacturers of global navigation and timing equipment or 
augmentation or value-added services providers, on a non-discriminatory 
basis, access to the information necessary to incorporate such 
encryption or other similar features into their equipment, through 
licensing of necessary information or other means at market prices, 
consistent with the terms set forth in Article 8.2 of the Agreement?

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Persons may submit public comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov docket number USTR-2009-0010. If you are unable to 
provide submission by http://www.regulations.gov, please contact Gloria 
Blue at (202) 395-3475 to arrange for an alternative method of 
transmission.
    To submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket 
number USTR-2009-0010 on the home page and click ``go''. The site will 
provide a search-results page listing all documents associated with 
this docket. Find a reference to this notice by

[[Page 17549]]

selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the 
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Send a Comment or 
Submission.'' (For further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This Site'' on the left side 
of the home page.) The http://www.regulations.gov site provides the 
option of providing comments by filling in a ``General Comments'' 
field, or by attaching a document. It is expected that most comments 
will be provided in an attached document. If a document is attached, it 
is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``General Comments'' 
field.
    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 submitter. 
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such 
and the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top 
and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page. Any comment 
containing business confidential information should be submitted only 
by fax to Gloria Blue at (202) 395-3475. A non-confidential summary of 
the confidential information must be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. The non-confidential summary will be placed in the 
docket and open to public inspection.
    Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection, except confidential business information. Comments may be 
viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering docket 
number USTR-2009-0010 in the search field on the home page.

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
 [FR Doc. E9-8548 Filed 4-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P