53410 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Notices 

Department Basic Authorities Act, as 

amended (22 U.S.C. 2651a), I hereby 

delegate to the Under Secretary for 

Political Affairs, to the extent 

authorized by law, all authorities and 

functions vested in the Secretary of 

State or the head of agency by any act, 

order, determination, delegation of 

authority, regulation, or executive order, 

now or hereafter issued. This delegation 

includes all authorities and functions 

that have been or may be delegated or 

redelegated to other Department 

officials but does not repeal delegations 

to such officials. 

This delegation shall apply when both 

the Secretary of State and the Deputy 

Secretary of State are absent or 

otherwise unavailable or when either 

the Secretary or the Deputy requests that 

the Under Secretary exercise such 

authorities and functions. 

Notwithstanding this delegation of 

authority, the Secretary of State and the 

Deputy Secretary of State may exercise 

any function or authority delegated by 

this delegation. 

This memorandum shall be published 

in the Federal Register. 

Dated: August 26, 2005. 

Condoleezza Rice, 

Secretary of State, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 05–17808 Filed 9–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket No. 301–121] 

Modification of Action Under Section 

301(b); Out-of-Cycle Review Under 

Section 182; and Request for Public 

Comment: Intellectual Property Laws 

and Practices of the Government of 

Ukraine 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Modification of action under 

Section 301(b); out-of-cycle review 

under Section 182; and request for 

public comment. 

SUMMARY: The United States Trade 

Representative (‘‘Trade Representative’’) 

has determined that an appropriate 

response to the Government of 

Ukraine’s adoption of important 

improvements to its legislation 

protecting intellectual property rights 

(‘‘IPR’’) is to terminate the 100% ad 

valorem duties currently in place on 

Ukrainian exports. In addition, the 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative (‘‘USTR’’) is conducting 

an out-of-cycle review (‘‘OCR’’) under 

Section 182 (commonly referred to as 

the ‘‘Special 301’’ provision) of the 

Trade Act of 1974, as amended (‘‘Trade 

Act’’) focused on whether Ukraine has 

implemented fully the legislative 

improvements and has otherwise 

strengthened IPR enforcement. At the 

conclusion of the OCR, the Trade 

Representative will determine whether 

to revoke the identification of Ukraine 

as a priority foreign country (‘‘PFC’’) 

and accordingly to change Ukraine’s 

status on the Special 301 list, and 

whether to restore Ukraine’s benefits 

under the Generalized System of 

Preferences (‘‘GSP’’). USTR requests 

written comments from the public 

concerning these matters. 

DATES: The termination of increased 

duties is effective with respect to 

articles entered, or withdrawn from 

warehouse, for consumption on or after 

August 30, 2005. Comments should be 

submitted by 5 p.m. on October 14, 

2005. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special 

Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, 

and sent (i) electronically, to 

FR0524@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘UkraineIPR’’ in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, 

to (202) 395–9458, with a confirmation 

copy sent electronically to the email 

address above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions concerning procedures for 

filing comments in response to this 

notice: Sybia Harrison, Staff Assistant to 

the Section 301 Committee, USTR, (202) 

395–3419; for questions concerning the 

Special 301 out-of-cycle review: Jennifer 

Choe Groves, Director for Intellectual 

Property and Chair of the Special 301 

Committee, USTR, (202) 395–4510, 

Laurie Molnar, Director for European 

and Mediterranean Trade Affairs, USTR, 

(202) 395–4620, or Stephen Kho, 

Associate General Counsel, USTR, (202) 

395–3150; for questions concerning 

procedures under Section 301: William 

Busis, Associate General Counsel and 

Chairman of the Section 301 Committee, 

USTR, (202) 395–3150; and for 

questions concerning entries: Teiko 

Campbell, Program Officer, Office of 

Trade Compliance and Facilitation, U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection, 

Department of Homeland Security, (202) 

344–2698. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

History of the 301 Investigation 

On March 12, 2001, the Trade 

Representative identified Ukraine as a 

PFC under Special 301. The PFC 

identification was based on deficiencies 

in Ukraine’s acts, policies and practices 

regarding IPR protection, including 

weak enforcement, as evidenced by 

alarming levels of piracy of optical 

media products (such as CDs and 

DVDs), and the failure of the 

Government of Ukraine to enact 

adequate and effective IPR legislation to 

address optical media piracy. The Trade 

Representative simultaneously initiated 

an investigation (Docket 301–121) under 

Section 301(b) of the Trade Act in order 

to investigate these IPR protection 

issues. See 66 FR 18,346 (April 6, 2001). 

In August 2001, the Trade 

Representative determined that the acts, 

policies, and practices of Ukraine with 

respect to IPR protection were 

unreasonable and burdened or restricted 

United States commerce, and were thus 

actionable under section 301(b) of the 

Trade Act. As an initial action in 

response, the Trade Representative 

suspended GSP treatment accorded to 

products of Ukraine, effective August 

24, 2001. See 66 FR 42,246 (Aug. 10, 

2001). 

In December 2001, the Trade 

Representative took the additional 

action of imposing 100% ad valorem 

tariffs on certain Ukrainian exports with 

an annual trade value of approximately 

$75 million, effective January 23, 2002. 

The trade value of the action was based 

on the level of the burden on U.S. 

commerce resulting from Ukraine’s 

inadequate protection of U.S. IPR. See 

67 FR 120 (Jan. 2, 2002). 

In July 2005, USTR notified in writing 

representatives of U.S. copyright 

industries that, pursuant to Section 

307(c) of the Trade Act, the suspension 

of Ukraine’s GSP benefits would 

terminate unless USTR received a 

written request for a continuation from 

one or more representatives of U.S. 

copyright industries prior to the fouryear anniversary of the GSP suspension 

(i.e., prior to August 24, 2005). U.S. 

copyright industry representatives 

responded in writing prior to August 24, 

2005 by requesting that the GSP 

suspension remain in place until USTR 

determines that Ukraine has adequately 

improved IPR enforcement. 

Accordingly, the suspension of GSP 

benefits continued under Section 307(c) 

of the Trade Act. 

Since 2001, the Government of the 

United States has been working with the 

Government of Ukraine to address the 

IPR protection issues that are the subject 

of this investigation. In particular, the 

United States has been encouraging 

Ukraine (i) to improve its IPR 

legislation, and (ii) to enhance 

enforcement of existing IPR laws by, for 

example, shutting down pirate optical 

disc factories. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Notices 53411 

Ukraine’s July 2005 Legislation and 

Termination of 100% ad valorem 

Duties 

On July 6, 2005, the Ukrainian 

parliament approved a package of 

important amendments to its Laserreadable Disc Law (the ‘‘optical media 

amendments’’) that strengthen Ukraine’s 

licensing regime and enforcement 

capabilities to stem the illegal 

production and trade of optical media 

products. President Yushchenko signed 

the amendments into law on July 26, 

2005, and they were formally 

promulgated on August 2, 2005. 

Section 307(a) of the Trade Act 

authorizes the Trade Representative to 

‘‘modify or terminate any [Section 301] 

action, subject to the specific direction, 

if any, of the President * * * if * * * 

such action is being taken under Section 

301(b) and is no longer appropriate.’’ In 

passing the optical media amendments, 

the Government of Ukraine has 

addressed one of the two issues (those 

being inadequate IPR legislation and 

inadequate IPR enforcement) that were 

the basis of the PFC designation and the 

Trade Representative’s finding that 

Ukraine’s inadequate IPR protections 

were actionable under Section 301(b). 

The Trade Representative has 

determined that an appropriate response 

to Ukraine’s adoption of the optical 

media amendments is to terminate the 

100% ad valorem duties that have been 

in place since January 2002. As set out 

in the Annex to this notice, the 

termination of 100% ad valorem duties 

is effective with respect to articles 

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 

for consumption on or after August 30, 

2005. Prior to terminating the 100% ad 

valorem duties, USTR consulted with 

U.S. copyright industries and at this 

time is providing an opportunity for 

public comment. 

Out-of-Cycle Review and Next Steps 

The other action previously taken 

under Section 301—the August 2001 

suspension of Ukraine’s GSP benefits—

will continue pending the results of the 

OCR of Ukraine’s Special 301 status. 

The OCR focuses on whether Ukraine 

has fully implemented the optical media 

amendments and has otherwise 

improved its IPR enforcement. 

At the conclusion of the OCR, the 

Trade Representative will consider (1) 

whether to take action under section 

182(c)(1)(A) of the Trade Act, which 

authorizes the Trade Representative to 

revoke the identification of any foreign 

country as a PFC at any time; and (2) 

whether to terminate the suspension of 

GSP benefits. As specified below, USTR 

seeks public comments in relation to the 

OCR and the possible restoration of 

Ukraine’s GSP benefits. 

Request for Public Comments 

USTR invites public comments on the 

following matters: 

(i) 100% ad valorem duties—

Comments on the termination of the 

100% ad valorem duties, which (as 

noted) is effective for entries on or after 

August 30, 2005; 

(ii) GSP benefits—Comments on the 

suspension of Ukraine’s GSP benefits, 

including the effectiveness of the GSP 

suspension in achieving the objectives 

of the 301 investigation; the effects of 

the GSP suspension on the U.S. 

economy, including consumers; and the 

possible restoration of GSP benefits 

upon conclusion of the OCR; and 

(iii) OCR—Comments addressing the 

Special 301 status of Ukraine in the 

light of Ukraine’s enforcement of its IPR 

laws, including a description of any 

problems with and/or improvements in 

IPR enforcement in Ukraine (including, 

but not limited to, implementation of 

the optical media amendments) and the 

effect of such problems and/or 

improvements on U.S. commerce. 

Submitters should feel free to address 

any or all of the above matters. 

Submitters should make their comments 

as detailed as possible and should 

provide all necessary information for 

assessing the assertions made in the 

comments. 

Comments should be submitted by 5 

p.m. on October 14, 2005. All comments 

should be addressed to Sybia Harrison, 

Special Assistant to the Section 301 

Committee, and sent (i) electronically, 

to FR0524@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘UkraineIPR’’ in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, 

to (202) 395–9458, with a confirmation 

copy sent electronically to the email 

address above. No submissions will be 

accepted via postal service mail. 

Documents should be submitted as 

either WordPerfect, MS Word, or text 

(.TXT) files. Supporting documents 

submitted as spreadsheets are 

acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. 

Submissions should not include 

separate cover letters; information that 

might appear in a cover letter should be 

included in the submission itself. To the 

extent possible, any attachments to the 

submission should be included in the 

same file as the submission itself, and 

not as separate files. Comments must be 

in English. 

In accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15, a 

submitter may request that information 

contained in a comment be treated as 

confidential business information 

exempt from public inspection. In such 

case, the submitter must also provide a 

non-confidential version of the 

comment. For any document containing 

confidential business information, the 

file name of the business confidential 

version should begin with the characters 

‘‘BC-’’, and the file name of the public 

version should begin with the character 

‘‘P-’’. The ‘‘P-’’ or ‘‘BC-’’ should be 

followed by the name of the submitter. 

Public Inspection of Submissions 

Within one business day of receipt, 

non-confidential submissions will be 

placed in a public file open for 

inspection at the USTR reading room, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative, Annex Building, 1724 F 

Street, NW., Room 1, Washington, DC. 

An appointment to review the file must 

be scheduled at least 48 hours in 

advance and may be made by calling 

Jacqueline Caldwell at (202) 395–6186. 

The USTR reading room is open to the 

public from 10 a.m. to noon and from 

1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 

Friday. 

William Busis, 

Chairman, Section 301 Committee. 

Annex 

I. Effective with respect to 

merchandise entered, or withdrawn 

from warehouse, for consumption on or 

after August 30, 2005, the imposition of 

100 percent ad valorem tariffs as 

provided in subheadings 9903.27.01 

(affecting articles in subheading 

2710.19.05, 2710.19.10, 2710.99.05 or 

2710.99.10); 9903.27.02 (affecting 

articles in subheading 2804.29.00); 

9903.27.03 (affecting articles in 

subheading 2825.60.00); 9903.27.04 

(affecting articles in subheading 

2849.20.10 or 2849.20.20); 9903.27.05 

(affecting articles in subheading 

3105.51.00); 9903.27.06 (affecting 

articles in subheading 3206.11.00 or 

3206.19.00); 9903.27.07 (affecting 

articles in subheading 4804.51.00); 

9903.27.08 (affecting articles in 

subheading 6403.99.60, 6403.99.75 or 

6403.99.90); 9903.27.09 (affecting 

articles in subheading 6404.19.35); 

9903.27.10 (affecting articles in 

subheading 7102.10.00); 9903.27.11 

(affecting articles in subheading 

7102.31.00 or 7102.39.00); 9903.27.12 

(affecting articles in subheading 

7115.10.00); 9903.27.13 (affecting 

articles in heading 7402.00.00); 

9903.27.14 (affecting articles in 

subheading 7601.20.90); and 9903.27.15 

(affecting articles in subheading 

8418.69.00) of the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States is 

terminated. 

II. Effective August 30, 2005, the 

instruction in the notice of January 2, 

2002, 67 FR 120, that ‘‘any merchandise 

53412 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Notices 

subject to this determination that is 

admitted to U.S. foreign-trade zones on 

or after January 23, 2002 must be 

admitted as ‘‘privileged foreign status’’

as defined in 19 CFR 146.41’’ is 

terminated. 

[FR Doc. 05–17751 Filed 9–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W5–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket Nos. FMCSA–98–4334, FMCSA–99–

5578, FMCSA–99–6480, FMCSA–2000–7363, 

FMCSA–2000–8398, FMCSA–2001–9258, 

FMCSA–2001–9561, FMCSA–2003–14504] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of exemption; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

FMCSA decision to renew the 

exemptions from the vision requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations for 20 individuals. The 

FMCSA has statutory authority to 

exempt individuals from vision 

standards if the exemptions granted will 

not compromise safety. The agency has 

concluded that granting these 

exemptions will provide a level of safety 

that will be equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety maintained 

without the exemptions for these 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. 

DATES: This decision is effective 

September 23, 2005. Comments from 

interested persons should be submitted 

by October 11, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT DMS Docket 

Numbers FMCSA–98–4334, FMCSA–

99–5578, FMCSA–99–6480, FMCSA–

2000–7363, FMCSA–2000–8398, 

FMCSA–2001–9258, FMCSA–2001–

9561, and FMCSA–2003–14504 by any 

of the following methods: 

• Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments on the DOT electronic docket 

site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

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

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

numbers for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see the Public 

Participation heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://dms.dot.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading under 

Regulatory Notices. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL–

401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 

Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal Holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Office of Bus and 

Truck Standards and Operations, (202) 

366–4001, FMCSA, Department of 

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 

e.t., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public 

Participation: The DMS is available 24 

hours each day, 365 days each year. You 

can get electronic submission and 

retrieval help guidelines under the 

‘‘help’’ section of the DMS Web site. If 

you want us to notify you that we 

received your comments, please include 

a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments on-line. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review the Department of 

Transportation’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78) or you 

may visit http://dms.dot.gov. 

Exemption Decision 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), 

the FMCSA may renew an exemption 

from the vision requirements in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), which applies to drivers 

of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a 

two-year period if it finds ‘‘such 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level that would be achieved 

absent such exemption.’’ The 

procedures for requesting an exemption 

(including renewals) are set out in 49 

CFR part 381. This notice addresses 20 

individuals who have requested renewal 

of their exemptions in a timely manner. 

The FMCSA has evaluated these 20 

applications for renewal on their merits 

and decided to extend each exemption 

for a renewable two-year period. They 

are: 

Grady L. Black, Jr. 

John A. Chizmar 

Weldon R. Evans 

Richard L. Gagnebin 

Orasio Garcia 

Chester L. Gray 

James P. Guth 

Rayford R. Harper 

Paul M. Hoerner 

Edward E. Hooker 

Michael S. Maki 

John E. Musick 

Kenneth A. Reddick 

Leonard Rice, Jr. 

Richard C. Simms 

Edd J. Stabler, Jr. 

James T. Sullivan 

Steven C. Thomas 

Edward A. Vanderhei 

Larry J. Waldner 

These exemptions are extended 

subject to the following conditions: (1) 

That each individual have a physical 

examination every year (a) by an 

ophthalmologist or optometrist who 

attests that the vision in the better eye 

continues to meet the standard in 49 

CFR 391.41(b)(10), and (b) by a medical 

examiner who attests that the individual 

is otherwise physically qualified under 

49 CFR 391.41; (2) that each individual 

provide a copy of the ophthalmologist’s 

or optometrist’s report to the medical 

examiner at the time of the annual 

medical examination; and (3) that each 

individual provide a copy of the annual 

medical certification to the employer for 

retention in the driver’s qualification 

file and retain a copy of the certification 

on his/her person while driving for 

presentation to a duly authorized 

Federal, State, or local enforcement 

official. Each exemption will be valid 

for two years unless rescinded earlier by 

the FMCSA. The exemption will be 

rescinded if: (1) The person fails to 

comply with the terms and conditions 

of the exemption; (2) the exemption has 

resulted in a lower level of safety than 

was maintained before it was granted; or 

(3) continuation of the exemption would 

not be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 

31136(e).