[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33149-33150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16283]



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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Concerning European Ban on the 
Import of Meat From Animals Treated With Certain Hormones

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 127(b)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements 
Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that a dispute 
settlement panel convened under the Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization (WTO) at the request of the United States will 
examine the European Communities' ban on the importation of meat from 
animals treated with certain hormones. USTR also invites written 
comments from the public concerning the issues raised in the dispute.

DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the 
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be 
submitted on or before July 24, 1996, in order to be assured of timely 
consideration by USTR in preparing its first written submission to the 
panel.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Carolyn Frank, Executive 
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Room 501, Attn: Hormone 
dispute, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, 
N.W., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Daniel Brinza, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel for Natural 
Resources, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395-
7305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the United States' request, a WTO dispute 
settlement panel will examine whether the European Community (EC) 
Council Directive Prohibiting the Use in Livestock Farming of Certain 
Substances Having a Hormonal Action and related measures are consistent 
with the EC's obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (S&P Agreement), the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), and the Agreement on Agriculture.
    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway have reserved their 
rights to intervene in the panel proceedings as third parties.
    Members of the panel are currently being selected, and the panel is 
expected to meet as necessary at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, 
Switzerland to examine the dispute. Under normal circumstances, the 
panel would be expected to issue a report detailing its findings and 
recommendations in six to nine months.

Major Issues Raised by the United States and Legal Basis of 
Complaint

    The EC's measures (which in addition to the Directive cited above 
include, but are not limited to, the Council Directive of March 7, 
1988, (88/146/EEC); the directives referenced in that directive (72/
462/EEC, 81/602/EEC, 81/851/EEC, 81/852/EEC, and 85/358/EEC) the 
decisions referred to in Article 6(2) of directive 88/146/EEC; the 
control program referred to in Article 6(7) of directive 88/146/EEC; 
the derogations referred to in Article 7 of directive 88/146/EEC; and 
any amendments or modifications) adversely affect imports of U.S. meat 
and meat products and have no legitimate basis. They appear to be 
inconsistent with the EC's obligations under the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade 1994, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to 
Trade, and the Agreement on Agriculture. The provisions of these 
agreements with which these measures appear to be inconsistent include, 
but are not limited to, the following:
    (1) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, Article III or 
Article XI;
    (2) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures, Articles 2, 3 and 5;
    (3) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, Article 2; and
    (4) Agreement on Agriculture, Article 4.
    These measures also appear to nullify or impair the benefits 
accruing to the United States directly or indirectly under the cited 
agreements.

Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions

    Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning the issues raised in the dispute.

[[Page 33150]]

Comments must be in English and provided in fifteen copies. 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 commenter. Confidential 
business information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' 
in a contrasting color ink at the top of each page of each copy.
    A person requesting that information or advice contained in a 
comment submitted by that person, other than business confidential 
information, be treated as confidential in accordance with section 
135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155)--
    (1) must so designate that information or advice;
    (2) must clearly mark the material as ``CONFIDENTIAL'' in a 
contrasting color ink at the top of each page of each copy; and
    (3) is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the 
information or advice.
    Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA, USTR will maintain a file 
on this dispute settlement proceeding, accessible to the public, in the 
USTR Reading Room, Room 101, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508. The public 
file will include a listing of any comments made to USTR from the 
public with respect to the proceeding; the U.S. submissions to the 
panel in the proceeding; the submissions, or non-confidential summaries 
of submissions, to the panel received from other participants in the 
dispute, as well as the report of the dispute settlement panel and, if 
applicable, the report of the Appellate Body. An appointment to review 
the public file (Docket WTO/D-6, ``U.S.-EC: Hormones Directive''), 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.
Jennifer Hillman,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-16283 Filed 6-25-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M