3284 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 1995 / Notices

what action, if any, to take under

section 301 of the Trade Act.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments on the acts,

policies, and practices of the

Government of Colombia that are the

subject of this investigation, the amount

of burden or restriction on U.S.

commerce caused by these acts, policies

and practices, and the determinations

required under section 304 of the Trade

Act.

Comments must be filed in

accordance with the requirements set

forth in 15 CFR 2006.8(b) (55 FR 20593)

and are due no later than 12 noon,

Friday, February 10, 1995. Comments

must be in English and provided in

twenty copies to: Sybia Harrison, Office

of the General Counsel, Room 223,

USTR, 600 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20506.

Comments will be placed in a file

(Docket 301–96) open to public

inspection in the USTR Reading Room

pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except

confidential business information

exempt from public inspection in

accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15.

Confidential business information

submitted in accordance with 15 CFR

2006.15 must be clearly marked

‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page on each of 20 copies, and must be

accompanied by a nonconfidential

summary of the confidential

information. The nonconfidential

summary will be placed in the file that

is open to public inspection. An

appointment to review the docket may

be made by calling Brenda Webb (202)

395–6186. The USTR Reading Room is

open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12

noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday

through Friday, and is located in: room

101, Office of the United States Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20506.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

[FR Doc. 95–937 Filed 1–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

[Docket No. 301–97]

Initiation of Section 302 Investigation

Regarding Policies and Practices of

the Government of Costa Rica

Concerning the Exportation of

Bananas to the European Union;

Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of determination

regarding initiation of investigation

under section 302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade

Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C.

2412(b)(1)(A)); request for written

comments.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade

Representative (USTR) has initiated an

investigation under section 302(b)(1)(A)

of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended

(the Trade Act), with respect to certain

acts, policies and practices of the

Government of Costa Rica affecting U.S.

companies that export bananas from

Costa Rica to the European Union.

USTR invites written comments from

the public on the matters being

investigated.

DATES: This investigation was initiated

on January 9, 1995. Written comments

from the public are due on or before 12

noon, on Friday, February 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20506.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward Kaska, Director for European

Services and Agriculture, (202) 395–

3320; or Irving Williamson, Deputy

General Counsel, (202) 395–3432.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act authorizes

the USTR to initiate an investigation

under chapter 1 of Title III of the Trade

Act (commonly referred to as ‘‘section

301’’), with respect to any matter in

order to determine whether the matter is

actionable under section 301. Matters

actionable under section 301 include,

inter alia, acts, policies, and practices of

a foreign country that are unreasonable

or discriminatory and burden or restrict

U.S. commerce.

On September 2, 1994, Chiquita

Brands International, Inc. and the

Hawaii Banana Industry Association

filed a petition pursuant to section

302(a) of the Trade Act alleging that

various policies and practices of the

European Union (EU), Colombia, Costa

Rica, Nicaragua and Venezuela

concerning trade in bananas are

discriminatory, unreasonable and

burden or restrict United States

commerce. In particular, the petition

alleged that the March 29, 1994

Framework Agreement on Bananas

between the EU and Colombia, Costa

Rica, Nicaragua and Venezuela

(Framework Agreement) aggravated the

harm caused by the EU banana import

regime and provided for the

implementation of discriminatory

measures against the U.S. banana

companies.

On October 17, 1994, pursuant to

section 302(a) of the Trade Act, the

USTR initiated an investigation of the

EU practices referred to in the petition,

but decided not to initiate an

investigation of the practices of

Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and

Venezuela because they had not yet

implemented the Framework

Agreement. The USTR called upon

these governments to withdraw from the

Framework Agreement before its

implementation, and to seek reform of

the EU’s banana policy.

On December 27, 1994, the

Government of Costa Rica issued Decree

No. 23917 COMEX–MAG, which

implements the Framework Agreement.

Accordingly, on January 9, 1995, the

USTR determined that an investigation

should be initiated under section

302(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act to

determine whether, as a result of Costa

Rica’s implementation of the

Framework Agreement, the policies and

practices of Costa Rica regarding the

exportation of bananas to the EU are

unreasonable and discriminatory and

burden or restrict U.S. commerce. On

January 9, 1995, the USTR also initiated

such an investigation regarding these

policies and practices.

Investigation and Consultations

Pursuant to section 303(a) of the

Trade Act, the USTR has requested

consultations with the Government of

Costa Rica concerning the issues under

investigation. USTR will seek

information and advice from the

appropriate committees established

pursuant to section 135 of the Trade Act

in preparing the U.S. presentations for

such consultations.

Within 12 months after the date on

which this investigation was initiated

(i.e., on or before January 9, 1996),

pursuant to section 304 of the Trade Act

the USTR must determine, on the basis

of the investigation and the

consultations, whether any act, policy,

or practice described in section 301 of

the Trade Act exists and, if that

determination is affirmative, determine

what action, if any, to take under

section 301 of the Trade Act.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments on the acts,

policies and practices of the

Government of Costa Rica that are the

subject of this investigation, the amount

of burden or restriction on U.S.

commerce caused by these acts, policies

and practices, and the determinations

required under section 304 of the Trade

Act.

Comments must be filed in

accordance with the requirements set
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 1995 / Notices 3285

forth in 15 CFR 2006.8(b) (55 FR 20593)

and are due no later than 12 noon,

Friday, February 10, 1995. Comments

must be in English and provided in

twenty copies to: Sybia Harrison, Office

of the General Counsel, Room 223,

USTR, 600 17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20506.

Comments will be placed in a file

(Docket 301–97) open to public

inspection in the USTR Reading Room

pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except

confidential business information

exempt from public inspection in

accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15.

Confidential business information

submitted in accordance with 15 CFR

2006.15 must be clearly marked

‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page on each of 20 copies, and must be

accompanied by a nonconfidential

summary of the confidential

information. The nonconfidential

summary will be placed in the file that

is open to public inspection. An

appointment to review the docket may

be made by calling Brenda Webb (202)

395–6186. The USTR Reading Room is

open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12

noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday

through Friday and is located in: Room

101, Office of the United States Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20506.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

[FR Doc. 95–939 Filed 1–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

[Docket No. 301–94]

Request for Public Comment

Concerning Proposed Determinations

and Action Pursuant to Section 301:

European Community Banana Import

Regime

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for public comment

concerning (1) whether acts, policies,

and practices of the European Union

(EU) are actionable under section 301 (a)

or (b) of the Trade Act of 1974, as

amended (Trade Act); and (2) if so, what

action, if any, should be taken pursuant

to section 301(c) of the Trade Act.

SUMMARY: The USTR seeks public

comment concerning upcoming

determinations pursuant to section 304

and possible action pursuant to section

301 of the Trade Act with respect to the

investigation of the EU’s trade regime

regarding importation of bananas.

DATES: Written comments from the

public are due on or before 12 noon, on

Friday, February 10, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20506.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward Kaska, Director for European

Services and Agriculture, (202) 395–

3320; or Irving Williamson, Deputy

General Counsel, (202) 395–3432.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

October 17, 1994, pursuant to section

302(a) of the Trade Act, the USTR

initiated an investigation of the

following practices of the EU: (1)

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 404/93

and related rules implementing a

Community banana policy

discriminating against U.S. banana

marketing companies importing bananas

from Latin America, including a

restrictive and discriminatory licensing

scheme designed to transfer market

share to firms traditionally trading

bananas from African, Caribbean and

Pacific (ACP) sources and from EU

overseas territories and dependencies;

and (2) the March 29, 1994 Framework

Agreement on Bananas between the EU

and Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua

and Venezuela (Framework Agreement).

By Federal Register notice dated

October 24, 1994 (59 FR 53495), USTR

requested public comment on the issues

raised in the petition. The comment

period was subsequently extended by a

Federal Register Notice dated

November 21, 1994 (59 FR 60026).

Since initiation of the investigation,

the USTR has conducted consultations

and bilateral discussions with the EU

concerning the issues in the petition.

The USTR also requested the EU to

delay implementation of the Framework

Agreement because implementation

would aggravate the harm caused by

Regulation 404. These efforts have failed

to bring about reform of the EU

practices.

Section 304(a) of the Trade Act

provides that in each investigation

initiated under section 302 of the Trade

Act, the USTR must determine whether

the act, policy or practice is actionable

under section 301. The USTR requests

comments from the public by February

10, 1995 regarding the actionability

under section 301 of the EU practices

referred to above.

If this determination is affirmative,

the USTR must also determine what

action would be appropriate under

subsection (a) or (b) of section 301.

Actions that would be permitted in the

case of a positive determination with

respect to the EU include action to

suspend, withdraw or prevent the

application of benefits of trade

agreement concessions to the EU;

imposition of duties or other import

restrictions on goods of the EU or fees

or restrictions on services of the EU; and

restriction or denial of service sector

access authorizations with respect to

services of the EU. The USTR requests

comments from the public by February

10, 1995 regarding the appropriateness

of such actions, including identification

of goods or services of the EU to which

such measures might appropriately be

applied, as well as identification of

other measures which could be taken

with respect to trade of the EU.

Public Comment

Comments must be filed in

accordance with the requirements set

forth in 15 CFR 2006.8(b) (55FR 20593)

and must be filed by 12 noon, Friday,

February 10, 1995. Comments must be

in English and provided in twenty

copies to: Sybia Harrison, Office of the

General Counsel, Room 223, USTR, 600

17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20506.

Comments will be placed in a file

(Docket 301–94) open to public

inspection in the USTR Reading Room

pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except

confidential business information

exempt from public inspection in

accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15.

Confidential business information

submitted in accordance with 15 CFR

2005.15 must be clearly marked

‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page on each of 20 copies, and must be

accompanied by a nonconfidential

summary of the confidential

information. The nonconfidential

summary shall be placed in the file that

is open to public inspection. An

appointment to review the docket may

be made by calling Brenda Webb (202)

395–6186. The USTR Reading Room is

open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12

noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday

through Friday, and is located in: Room

101, Office of the United States Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20506.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

[FR Doc. 95–938 Filed 1–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M