Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 97 / Friday, May 17, 1996 / Notices 24999

International Environmental and

Scientific Affairs, Department of State,

Washington, DC 20520–7818; telephone:

(202) 647–3940.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

609 prohibits imports of shrimp from

foreign nations unless the President

certifies to the Congress by May 1 of

each year either: (1) that the harvesting

nation has adopted a program governing

the incidental capture of sea turtles in

its commercial shrimp fishery

comparable to the program in effect in

the United States; or (2) that the fishing

environment in the harvesting nations

does not pose a threat of the incidental

taking of sea turtles. The President has

delegated the authority to make this

certification to the Department of State.

Revised State Department guidelines for

making the required certifications were

published in the Federal Register on

April 19, 1996 (FR Vol. 61, No. 77, pp.

17342–17344).

A December, 1995 U.S. Court of

International Trade decision expanded

the scope of Section 609 to include all

countries which harvest shrimp. On

April 30, 1996, the Department of State

certified that 36 of the affected countries

have met the requirements of the law.

As a result, shrimp imports from all

other countries harvested with

commercial fishing technology which

may adversely affect sea turtles were

prohibited pursuant to Section 609

effective May 1, 1996. The ban on

shrimp imports from Suriname (in effect

since May 1, 1993) and French Guiana

(in effect since May 1, 1992) remain in

place.

The countries that were certified on

April 30, 1996, are Argentina, the

Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Brunei,

Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,

Denmark, the Dominican Republic,

Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany,

Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland,

Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, the

Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,

Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Russia,

Sri Lanka, Sweden, Trinidad and

Tobago, the United Kingdom, Uruguay

and Venezuela.

Of these, the Department certified that

the fishing environment in some

countries does not pose a threat of the

incidental taking of sea turtles protected

by Section 609. The following 15

nations have shrimp fisheries only in

cold waters where there is essentially no

risk of taking sea turtles: Argentina,

Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark,

Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,

Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom,

and Uruguay. The following 8 nations

only harvest shrimp using manual

rather than mechanical means to

retrieve nets: the Bahamas, Brunei, the

Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica,

Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka. Use of such

small-scale technology does not

adversely affect sea turtles.

The following countries were certified

as having adopted programs to reduce

the incidental capture of sea turtles in

shrimp fisheries comparable to the

program in effect in the United States:

Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,

El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana,

Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,

Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

In implementing the ban on shrimp

imports from all countries not certified,

any shipment with a recorded date of

export prior to May 1, 1996, will be

allowed entry into the United States

even if it arrives on or after May 1, 1996.

That is, shipments in transit prior to the

effective date of the ban are not barred

from entry.

The Department of State

communicated the certifications under

Section 609 to the Office of Trade

Operations of the United States Customs

Service in a letter transmitted on May 2,

1996.

As is clear from the revised guidelines

issued by the Department of State on

April 19, 1996, the implementation of

the Court of International Trade’s order

has required certain procedural

refinements. The Department will keep

these guidelines under close review

throughout the upcoming year to ensure

the effective implementation of Section

609, and will carefully review their

effectiveness and enforceability before

making any 1997 certifications. It is the

intention of the Department to promote

the development of comprehensive TED

programs in all harvesting nations

where shrimp trawl fisheries pose a risk

to sea turtles. Any comments on or

information regarding the effectiveness

of the implementation process is

welcome.

Technical Revision

Public Notice 2368, ‘‘Revised Notice

of Guidelines for Determining

Comparability of Foreign Programs for

the Protection of Turtles in Shrimp

Trawl Fishing Operations,’’ (61 FR

17342), is revised as follows:

‘‘IV. Related Determinations’’ is

amended to read ‘‘III. Related

Determinations’’.

In Section III (as amended above),

paragraph (b), the reference to ‘‘Sections

II and III’’ is amended to read ‘‘Sections

I and II’’.

Dated: May 13, 1996.

David A. Colson,

Ambassador, Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Oceans.

[FR Doc. 96–12371 Filed 5–16–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–09–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Trade Policy Staff Committee; Public

Comments on the Accessions of

Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Saudi

Arabia, and Ukraine to the World Trade

Organization (WTO), and on U.S.

Participation in Negotiations for the

Terms of Those Accessions

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TPSC) is requesting written

public comments concerning U.S.

commercial interests and other issues

related to the accession of Albania,

Armenia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and

Ukraine to the WTO. Public comments

should include, but not be limited to,

information concerning these countries’

current trade policies and practices

which affect (A) market access for U.S.

exports, e.g., tariffs, non-tariff measures;

(B) trade and investment in services,

and (C) other aspects of their trade

regimes subject to WTO provisions that

affect U.S. trade interests. Comments

received will be considered in

developing U.S. positions and objectives

for the multilateral and bilateral

negotiations that will determine the

terms of WTO accession for Albania,

Armenia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and

Ukraine.

DATES: Public comments are due by

noon on Friday, June 21, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barbara Chattin, Director for Tariff

Negotiations (202–395–5097), Peter

Collins, Deputy Assistant USTR for

Services and Investment (202–395–

7271) or Cecilia Leahy Klein, Director

for WTO Accessions (202–395–3063),

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Chairman of the Trade Policy Staff

Committee invites written comments

from the public on market access and

other issues to be addressed in the

course of negotiations with Albania,

Armenia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and

Ukraine for accession to the WTO. Each

of these countries has applied for

membership in the WTO and has
25000 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 97 / Friday, May 17, 1996 / Notices

initiated negotiations with other WTO

members. The terms of membership will

be negotiated in bilateral meetings with

government representatives and in

meetings of the Working Parties

established by the Members of the WTO

to conduct the negotiations. All

comments will be considered in

developing U.S. positions and objectives

for participation in these negotiations,

establishment of schedules of

commitments and concessions in the

areas of agriculture, industrial goods,

and trade and investment in services,

and for development of the elements of

these countries’ protocols of accession

to the WTO.

The Committee is seeking public

comments on the possible affect on U.S.

trade of these countries’ accession to the

WTO, with particular reference to tariffs

applied to imports and any other trade

measures currently applied by Albania,

Armenia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, and

Ukraine that could be subject to the

provisions of the WTO, particularly

market access issues for goods and

services or practices that could affect

the competitiveness of U.S. goods and

services in those markets. Issues of

interest to the TPSC include, but are not

limited to: (a) Comments on possible

tariff reductions and the removal of

border measures such as quotas or

import licensing requirements; (b)

uniform application of the trading

system (c) the provision of national

treatment and nondiscriminatory

treatment for imports, especially in the

area of domestic taxation; (d)

transparency in application of trade

laws and regulations; (e) right of appeal

in cases involving application of trade

laws and other laws relating to WTO

provisions, such as protection and

enforcement of intellectual property

rights (IPR) and services; (f) customs

processing issues, such as document

certification prior to export, fees,

customs valuation, and certification

requirements; (g) industrial export and

domestic subsidies; (h) agricultural

export subsidies and domestic supports

and incentives; (i) safeguard and unfair

trade practice procedures applied to

imports; (j) plant, animal, and human

health and safety requirements; (k)

labeling and shelf-life requirements; (l)

food standards and other technical

barriers to trade; (m) utilization of

preshipment inspection services; (n)

activities of state trading enterprises,

including restrictions and other tradedistorting practices; (o) price controls

and policies; (p) government

procurement practices; (q) policies

concerning trade in civil aircraft, and (r)

the trade-related aspects of investment

policies and the protection and

enforcement of IPRs. Market access

issues for services include, but are not

limited to, the right of establishment for

U.S. services providers, the ability to

provide services on a cross border basis,

and the ability of persons to enter

temporarily to provide services.

Information on products or practices

subject to these negotiations should

include, whenever appropriate, the

import or export tariff classification

number used by these countries for the

product concerned. Submissions also

should clearly separate issues by

country.

Persons submitting written comments

should provide a statement, in twenty

copies, by noon, Friday, June 21, 1996,

to Carolyn Frank, Executive Secretary,

TPSC, Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative, Room 501, 600 17th

Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20508.

Non-confidential information received

will be available for public inspection

by appointment, in the USTR Reading

Room, Room 101, Monday through

Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For an

appointment call Brenda Webb on 202–

395–6186. Business confidential

information will be subject to the

requirements of 15 CFR § 2003.6. Any

business confidential material must be

clearly marked as such on the cover

letter or page and each succeeding page,

and must be accompanied by a nonconfidential summary thereof. Other

countries pursuing WTO accession

whose negotiations are not yet

sufficiently advanced to warrant a

request for public comment are Algeria,

Belarus, Cambodia, Jordan, Kazakhstan,

Kyrghyzstan, the Former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia, Moldova,

Nepal, Seychelles, Sudan, Tonga,

Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Frederick L. Montgomery,

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

[FR Doc. 96–12426 Filed 5–16–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

[Docket No. 301–92]

Request for Public Comment and

Notice of Public Hearing:

Determination Involving Expeditious

Action; Proposed Determination

Concerning What Further Action To

Take Under Section 301(a) in

Response to the People’s Republic of

China’s Unsatisfactory Implementation

of the 1995 Agreement on Enforcement

of Intellectual Property and Market

Access

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of determination on

expeditious action and proposed

determination on further action; request

for public comment; notice of public

hearing.

SUMMARY: Based on monitoring carried

out pursuant to subsection 306(a) of the

Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C.

2416(a)), the Acting United States Trade

Representative (USTR) considers that

China is not satisfactorily implementing

the 1995 Agreement on Enforcement of

Intellectual Property Rights and Market

Access (1995 Agreement) China entered

into to resolve the intellectual property

rights (IPR) enforcement and market

access issues subject to investigation

under Title III, chapter I of the Trade

Act. In light of this, the USTR must,

pursuant to sections 306(b), determine

what further action to take under

section 301(a) of the Trade Act (19

U.S.C. 2411(a)). The USTR proposes to

take the following action: To impose

prohibitive tariffs on imports of certain

products of China to be drawn from the

lists of products set forth in the Annexes

to this Notice.

Since the products listed in Annex II

to this Notice are subject to quantitative

restrictions and it is essential to prevent

surges of imports into the U.S. market,

the USTR, pursuant to section 304(b)(1)

of the Trade Act, has determined that

expeditious action is necessary.

Pursuant to section 301(a) and (c) of the

Trade Act, the USTR has directed the

Commissioner of Customs, to limit by

date of export entries of the textile and

apparel products listed in Annex II, over

the 30-day period (commencing with

exports from China on or after May 15,

1996) to 15 percent of the 1996 adjusted

level for each category of product. In

addition, the USTR has requested the

Chair of the Committee on

Implementation of Textile Agreements

(CITA) to amend CITA’s relevant

directives dated November 30, 1995,

and December 13, 1995, in order to

facilitate Customs implementation of

this determination, and to inform

Customs accordingly.

Pursuant to section 304(b) and 306(c)

of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2414(b) and

2416(c)), the USTR is seeking public

comments and will hold a public

hearing on June 6–7, 1996, regarding the

expeditious action taken and a proposed

determination on what further action to

take.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Requests to testify at the

hearing must be submitted by noon,

Wednesday, May 22, 1996; written

testimony is due by noon, Friday, May

31, 1996; and written rebuttals are due

by 5:00 p.m., Monday, June 10, 1996.

Written comments on the proposed