37084 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 142 / Monday, July 27, 2009 / Notices 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Comments Concerning 

Free Trade Agreement With the 

Republic of Korea 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The United States Trade 

Representative (USTR) is assessing how 

and to what extent the free trade 

agreement (FTA) between the United 

States and the Republic of Korea (Korea) 

signed on June 30, 2007 makes progress 

in achieving the applicable purposes, 

policies, priorities, and objectives of the 

Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority 

Act of 2002 (‘‘TPA Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 3801 

note) as set out in section 2102 of the 

TPA Act and carries out the provisions 

of the May 10, 2007 Congressional– 

Executive Agreement on Trade Policy, 

http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/ 

uploads/factsheets/2007/ 

asset_upload_file127_11319.pdf (‘‘May 

10 Agreement’’). The FTA has not yet 

entered into effect. The interagency 

Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) 

seeks public comment to assist the 

USTR in its assessment. 

DATES: Written comments are due by 

noon, September 15, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

submitted electronically via the Internet 

at http://www.regulations.gov. For 

alternatives to on-line submissions 

please contact Gloria Blue, Executive 

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, 

at (202) 395–3475. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

procedural questions concerning written 

comments, contact Gloria Blue, 

Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 

Committee, at (202) 395–3475. All other 

questions should be directed to Bryant 

Trick, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade 

Representative for Korea, at (202) 395– 

5070. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

On February 2, 2006, after consulting 

with relevant Congressional committees 

and the Congressional Oversight Group, 

the USTR notified Congress of the 

President’s intent to initiate free trade 

agreement negotiations with Korea, 

identified specific objectives for the 

negotiations, and solicited comment 

from interested persons on matters 

relevant to the FTA. 71 FR 6820. On 

April 1, 2007, the President notified 

Congress of his intent to enter into an 

FTA with Korea and representatives of 

the two governments signed the FTA on 

June 30, 2007. The full text of the FTA 

is available at http://www.ustr.gov/ 

trade-agreements/free-tradeagreements/korus-fta/final-text. 

To assist the USTR in assessing how 

and to what extent the FTA makes 

progress in achieving the applicable 

purposes, policies, priorities, and 

objectives of the TPA Act as set out in 

Section 2102 of the TPA Act, and carries 

out the provisions of the May 10 

Agreement, the Chairman of the TPSC 

invites interested persons to provide 

written comments on any provision or 

aspect of the FTA or any other matter 

relevant to the FTA. In particular, the 

TPSC seeks comments regarding: 

(1) How implementation of the FTA 

will affect trade between Korea and the 

United States, in general and with 

respect to particular goods or services; 

(2) Economic costs and benefits to 

U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, 

businesses and consumers of removal of 

tariffs and non-tariff barriers affecting 

trade between the United States and 

Korea; and 

(3) Any additional steps that one or 

both governments should take to 

address specific concerns regarding the 

FTA and the bilateral trade and 

investment relationship. 

Interested persons may submit written 

comments by noon, September 15, 2009 

(see requirements for submission 

below). Written comments should be 

submitted in English and must state 

clearly the position taken and describe 

with particularity the supporting 

rationale. Comments addressing specific 

aspects of the FTA should include 

references to relevant provisions of the 

signed text whenever possible (see 

above for a link to the FTA text). The 

first page of written comments must 

specify the subject matter, including, as 

applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS 

numbers), service sector(s), or other 

subjects (such as investment, 

intellectual property, and/or 

government procurement). 

Public Comment: Requirements for 

Submissions 

To ensure the most timely and 

expeditious receipt and consideration of 

comments, USTR has arranged to accept 

on-line submissions via http:// 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, enter docket 

number USTR–2009–0020 on the home 

page and click ‘‘go’’. The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Find a reference to this notice by 

selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document 

Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link 

entitled ‘‘Send a Comment or 

Submission.’’ (For further information 

on using the http://www.regulations.gov 

Web site, please consult the resources 

provided on the Web site by clicking on 

‘‘How to Use This Site’’ on the left side 

of the home page.) 

The http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site provides the option of making 

submissions by filling in a ‘‘General 

Comments’’ field, or by attaching a 

document. We expect that most 

submissions will be provided in an 

attached document. If a document is 

attached, it is sufficient to type ‘‘See 

attached’’ in the ‘‘General Comments’’ 

field. 

Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) 

or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) are preferred. If 

you use an application other than those 

two, please identify the application in 

your submission. For any comments 

submitted electronically containing 

business confidential information, the 

file name of the business confidential 

version should begin with the characters 

‘‘BC’’. Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page. If you file 

comments containing business 

confidential information you must also 

submit a public version of the 

comments. The file name of the public 

version should begin with the character 

‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’ should be 

followed by the name of the person or 

entity submitting the comments. If you 

submit comments that contain no 

business confidential information, the 

file name should begin with the 

character ‘‘P’’, followed by the name of 

the person or entity submitting the 

comments. Electronic submissions 

should not attach separate cover letters; 

rather, information that might appear in 

a cover letter should be included in the 

comments you submit. Similarly, to the 

extent possible, please include any 

exhibits, annexes, or other attachments 

to a submission in the same file as the 

submission itself and not as separate 

files. 

We strongly urge submitters to use 

electronic filing. If an on-line 

submission is impossible, alternative 

arrangements must be made with Ms. 

Blue prior to delivery for the receipt of 

such submissions. Ms. Blue may be 

contacted at (202) 395–3475. General 

information concerning the Office of the 

United States Trade Representative may 

be obtained by accessing its Internet 

Web site (http://www.ustr.gov). 

Carmen Suro-Bredie, 

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee. 

[FR Doc. E9–17800 Filed 7–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W9–P 


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