3640 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices

90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which Phlx consents, the

Commission will:

A. By order approve such proposed

rule change, or

B. Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposed rule

change is consistent with the Act.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. Copies of

the submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the Phlx. All

submissions should refer to File No.

SR–Phlx–99–50 and should be

submitted by February 6, 2001.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–1154 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Interest Rates

The Small Business Administration

publishes an interest rate called the

optional ‘‘peg’’ rate (13 CFR 120.214) on

a quarterly basis. This rate is a weighted

average cost of money to the

government for maturities similar to the

average SBA direct loan. This rate may

be used as a base rate for guaranteed

fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This

rate will be 5.875 (57⁄8) percent for the

January–March quarter of FY 2001.

LeAnn M. Oliver,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Financial

Assistance.

[FR Doc. 01–1200 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Identification of Countries Under

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974:

Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for written submissions

from the public.

SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act

of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. § 2242),

requires the United States Trade

Representative (USTR) to identify

countries that deny adequate and

effective protection of intellectual

property rights or deny fair and

equitable market access to U.S. persons

who rely on intellectual property

protection. (Section 182 is commonly

referred to as the ‘‘Special 301’’

provisions in the trade act.) In addition,

the USTR is required to determine

which of these countries should be

identified as Priority Foreign Countries.

Acts, policies or practices which are the

basis of a country’s identification as a

priority foreign country are normally the

subject of an investigation under the

Section 301 provisions of the trade act.

Section 182 of the Trade Act contains a

special rule for the identification of

actions by Canada affecting United

States cultural industries.

USTR requests written submissions

from the public concerning foreign

countries’ acts, policies, and practices

that are relevant to the decision whether

particular trading partners should be

identified under Section 182 of the

Trade Act.

DATES: Submissions must be received on

or before 12:00 noon on Friday,

February 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: 600 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Claude Burcky, Deputy Assistant U.S.

Trade Representative for Intellectual

Property (202) 395–6864; Kira Alvarez

or John Desrocher, Directors for

Intellectual Property (202) 395–6864, or

Stephen Kho, Assistant General Counsel

(202) 395–3851, Office of the United

States Trade Representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to Section 182 of the Trade Act, the

USTR must identify those countries that

deny adequate and effective protection

for intellectual property rights or deny

fair and equitable market access to U.S.

persons who rely on intellectual

property protection. Those countries

that have the most onerous or egregious

acts, policies, or practices and whose

acts, policies or practices have the

greatest adverse impact (actual or

potential) on relevant U.S. products are

to be identified as Priority Foreign

Countries. Acts, policies or practices

that are the basis of a country’s

designation as a Priority Foreign

Country are normally the subject of an

investigation under the Section 301

provisions of the Trade Act.

USTR may not identify a country as

a Priority Foreign Country if it is

entering into good faith negotiations, or

making significant progress in bilateral

or multilateral negotiations, to provide

adequate and effective protection of

intellectual property rights.

In identifying countries that deny

adequate and effective protection of

intellectual property rights in 2001,

USTR will continue to pay special

attention to other countries’ efforts to

reduce piracy of optical media (music

CDs, video CDs, CD–ROMs, and DVDs)

and prevent unauthorized government

use of computer software. USTR will

also focus on countries’ compliance

with their WTO TRIPS obligations,

which for developing country members

came due on January 1, 2000.

Section 182 contains a special rule

regarding actions of Canada affecting

United States cultural industries. The

USTR is obligated to identify any act,

policy or practice of Canada which

affects cultural industries, is adopted or

expanded after December 17, 1992, and

is actionable under Article 2106 of the

North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA). Any such act, policy or

practice so identified shall be treated

the same as an act, policy or practice

which was the basis for a country’s

identification as a Priority Foreign

Country under Section 182(a)(2) of the

Trade Act, unless the United States has

already taken action pursuant to Article

2106 of the NAFTA.

USTR must make the abovereferenced identifications within 30

days after publication of the National

Trade Estimate (NTE) report, i.e., no

later than April 30, 2001.

Requirements for Comments

Comments should include a

description of the problems experienced

and the effect of the acts, policies and

practices on U.S. industry. Comments

should be as detailed as possible and

should provide all necessary