Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2017 / Notices 52765 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

[Docket Number USTR–2017–0014] 

Generalized System of Preferences: 

Import Statistics Relating to 

Competitive Need Limitations and 

Deadline for Filing Petitions 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice of statistics availability 

and deadline for submission of 

petitions. 

SUMMARY: Import statistics for the first 

nine months of 2017 relating to 

competitive need limitations (CNLs) 

under the Generalized System of 

Preferences (GSP) program are available 

on the Office of the United States Trade 

Representative (USTR). These import 

statistics identify some articles for 

which the 2017 trade levels may exceed 

statutory CNLs. 

In a Federal Register notice dated 

August 11, 2017, USTR said it would 

announce the procedures to receive 

petitions requesting waivers of CNLs. 

This notice provides those procedures. 

Interested parties may find the import 

statistics useful in deciding whether to 

submit a petition to waive the CNLs for 

individual beneficiary developing 

countries (BDCs) with respect to specific 

GSP-eligible articles. USTR will 

announce decisions on the petitions 

accepted for review, a schedule for any 

related public hearings, and the 

opportunity to provide comments, in 

the Federal Register at a later date. 

DATES: The GSP Subcommittee of the 

Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) 

must receive your CNL waiver petition 

by midnight, December 5, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers 

electronic submissions made through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// 

www.regulations.gov. The docket 

number is USTR–2017–0014. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments in 

section D below. For alternatives to online submissions, please contact Naomi 

Freeman at (202) 395–2974. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Naomi Freeman at (202) 395–2974 or 

GSP@ustr.eop.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The GSP program provides for the 

duty-free treatment of designated 

articles when imported from designated 

BDCs. The GSP program is authorized 

by Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), as amended, and is 

implemented in accordance with 

Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 

1975, as modified by subsequent 

Executive Orders and Presidential 

Proclamations. 

B. Competitive Need Limitations 

Section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act 

(19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(A)) sets out the 

two different measures for CNLs. When 

the President determines that a BDC has 

exported to the United States during a 

calendar year either (1) a quantity of a 

GSP-eligible article having a value in 

excess of the applicable amount for that 

year ($180 million for 2017), or (2) a 

quantity of a GSP-eligible article having 

a value equal to or greater than 50 

percent of the value of total U.S. imports 

of the article from all countries (50 

percent CNL), the President must 

terminate GSP duty-free treatment for 

that article from that BDC no later than 

July 1st of the next calendar year, unless 

the President grants a waiver before the 

exclusion goes into effect. Interested 

parties should submit CNL waiver 

petitions based on 2017 annual review 

procedures in the event that the 

Congress extends the GSP program 

beyond its current December 31, 2017 

expiration date. CNLs do not apply to 

least-developed countries or 

beneficiaries of the African Growth and 

Opportunity Act. 

Any interested party may submit a 

petition seeking a waiver of the 2017 

CNL for individual BDCs with respect to 

specific GSP-eligible articles. In 

addition, under section 503(c)(2)(F) of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(F)), 

the President may waive the 50 percent 

CNL with respect to an eligible article 

imported from a BDC, if the value of 

total imports of that article from all 

countries during the calendar year did 

not exceed the applicable de minimis 

amount for that year ($23.5 million for 

2017). 

C. Interim 2017 Import Statistics 

USTR has compiled interim import 

statistics for the first nine months of 

2017 to provide advance notice of 

articles that may exceed the CNLs 

shown below for 2017. You also can 

find this information on the USTR Web 

site at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/ 

preference-programs/generalizedsystem-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/ 

gsp-2017-annual. Full calendar year 

2017 data for individual tariff 

subheadings will be available in 

February 2018 on the Web site of the 

U.S. International Trade Commission at 

http://dataweb.usitc.gov/. 

USTR has organized the interim 2017 

import statistics to show, for each 

article, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

of the United States (HTSUS) 

subheading and BDC of origin, the value 

of imports of the article from the 

specified country for the first nine 

months of 2017, and the corresponding 

share of total imports of that article from 

all countries. The list includes the GSPeligible articles from BDCs which, based 

on interim nine-month 2017 data, 

exceed $120 million, or an amount 

greater than 42 percent of the total value 

of U.S. imports of that product. 

A. 0410.00.00: Edible products of 

animal origin, nesi (Indonesia) 

B. 0714.40.10: Fresh or chilled taro 

(Colocasia spp.), whether or not sliced 

or in the form of pellets (Ecuador) 

C. 2106.90.98: Other food preps nesoi, 

incl preps for the manufacture of 

beverages, non-dairy coffee whiteners, 

herbal teas and flavored honey 

(Thailand) 

D. 2909.19.18: Ethers of acyclic 

monohydric alcohols & deriv, nesoi 

(Brazil) 

E. 3808.91.30: Insecticides, nesoi, 

containing an inorganic substance, 

put up for retail sale (India) 

F. 3823.11.00: Stearic acid (Indonesia) 

G. 4011.20.10: New pneumatic radial 

tires, of rubber, of a kind used on 

buses or trucks (Indonesia) 

H. 6802.99.00: Monumental or building 

stone & arts. thereof, nesoi, further 

worked than simply cut/sawn, nesoi 

Brazil) 

I. 7403.19.00: Refined copper, 

unwrought articles nesoi (Brazil) 

J. 8450.20.00: Household- or laundrytype washing machines, each of a dry 

linen capacity exceeding 10 kg 

(Thailand) 

K. 9001.50.00: Spectacle lenses of 

materials other than glass, unmounted 

(Thailand) 

USTR is providing the list on its Web 

site, which includes the relevant ninemonth trade statistics for each of these 

products, as a courtesy for informational 

purposes only. The list is based on 

interim 2017 trade data, and may not 

include all articles that may be affected 

by the GSP CNLs. Regardless of whether 

or not an article is included on the list 

referenced in this notice, all 

determinations and decisions regarding 

application of the CNLs of the GSP 

program will be based on full calendaryear 2017 import data for each GSPeligible article. USTR advises interested 

parties to conduct their own review of 

anticipated full calendar-year 2017 

import data with regard to the possible 

application of GSP CNLs. 

D. Requirements for Submissions 

In order to be assured of 

consideration, you must submit your 

petition by the midnight, December 5, 

2017, deadline to docket number USTR– 


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52766 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2017 / Notices 

2017–0014 via www.regulations.gov. All 

submissions in response to this notice 

must conform to the GSP regulations set 

forth at 15 CFR part 2007—https://

www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?SID=271bd12a5ef9cae0c4c178d

1131ac292&mc=true&node=

pt15.3.2007&rgn=div5—except as 

modified below. 

The GSP Subcommittee strongly 

encourages on-line submissions, using 

the https://www.regulations.gov Web 

site. All submissions must be in English 

and must be transmitted electronically 

via www.regulations.gov using docket 

number USTR–2017–0014. To make a 

submission via www.regulations.gov, 

enter the appropriate docket number on 

the home page and click ‘‘search.’’ The 

site will provide a search-results page 

listing all documents associated with 

this docket. Find a reference to this 

notice and click on the link entitled 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ For further 

information on using the 

www.regulations.gov Web site, please 

consult the resources provided on the 

Web site by clicking on ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of the 

home page. 

USTR will not accept hand-delivered 

submissions. USTR will not accept 

submissions for review that do not 

provide the information required by 

sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP 

regulations, except upon a detailed 

showing in the submission that the 

petitioner made a good faith effort to 

obtain the information required. 

The https://www.regulations.gov Web 

site allows users to provide comments 

by filling in a ‘‘Type Comment’’ field, or 

by attaching a document using an 

‘‘Upload File’’ field. The GSP 

Subcommittee prefers that you provide 

submissions as an attached document. If 

you attach a document, it is sufficient to 

type ‘‘See attached’’ in the ‘‘Type 

Comment’’ field. USTR prefers 

submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or 

Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the 

submission is in another file format, 

please indicate the name of the software 

application in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ 

field. At the beginning of the 

submission or on the first page (if an 

attachment), include the following text 

(in bold and underlined): (1) ‘‘2017 CNL 

Petition’’ and (2) the eight-digit HTSUS 

subheading number in which the 

product is classified. Interested parties 

submitting petitions that request action 

with respect to specific products also 

should list at the beginning of the 

submission, or on the first page (if an 

attachment) the following information: 

(1) The requested action; and (2) if 

applicable, the beneficiary developing 

country. Submissions should not exceed 

30 single-spaced, standard letter-size 

pages in 12-point type, including 

attachments. 

Please do not attach separate cover 

letters or data attachments to electronic 

submissions; rather, include any such 

information in the comments 

themselves. Similarly, to the extent 

possible, please include any exhibits, 

annexes, or other attachments in the 

same file as the comment itself, rather 

than submitting them as separate files. 

For any electronic submissions that 

contain 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 and the submission 

should clearly indicate, via brackets, 

highlighting, or other means, the 

specific information that is business 

confidential. A filer requesting business 

confidential treatment must certify that 

the information is business confidential 

and would not customarily be released 

to the public by the submitter. Filers of 

submissions containing business 

confidential information also must 

submit a public version of their 

comments that we will place in the 

docket for public inspection. 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. Filers submitting comments 

containing no business confidential 

information should name their file using 

the name of the person or entity 

submitting the comments. 

You will receive a submission 

tracking number upon completion of the 

submissions procedure at https://

www.regulations.gov. The tracking 

number is your confirmation that the 

submission was received into https://

www.regulations.gov. The GSP 

Subcommittee is not able to provide 

technical assistance for the Web site. 

The GSP Subcommittee may not 

consider documents that are not 

submitted in accordance with these 

instructions. 

As noted, the GSP Subcommittee 

strongly urges submitters to file 

comments through 

www.regulations.gov. You must make 

any alternative arrangements with 

Naomi Freeman in advance of 

transmitting a comment. You can 

contact Ms. Freeman at (202) 395–2974. 

We will post comments in the docket 

for public inspection, except business 

confidential information. You can view 

comments on the https://

www.regulations.gov Web site by 

entering the relevant docket number in 

the search field on the home page. 

Erland Herfindahl, 

Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative 

for the Generalized System of Preferences and 

Chair of the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade 

Policy Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. 

Trade Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24579 Filed 11–13–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F8–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice To Rescind Notice of Intent To 

Prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement: Taylorsville Mobility Study, 

Salt Lake County, State of Utah 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Rescind Notice of Intent to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the Taylorsville 

Mobility Study. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this 

notice to advise the public that the 

Notice of Intent (NOI), issued on March 

2, 2010, to prepare an EIS is being 

rescinded for the proposed Taylorsville 

Mobility Study transportation project. 

The proposed EIS was to analyze and 

address the regional transportation 

connectivity needs on the west side of 

the Salt Lake Valley in the area bounded 

by 6200 South, 4700 South; Bangerter 

Highway and Redwood Road in Salt 

Lake County, State of Utah. For Further 

Information, contact: Edward T. 

Woolford, Environmental Program 

Manager, Federal Highway 

Administration, 2520 West 4700 South, 

Suite 9A, Salt Lake City, Utah 84129, by 

telephone (801) 955–3524. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the 

area mentioned is being rescinded after 

an initial planning analysis, conducted 

by FHWA and the Utah Department of 

Transportation, concluded the analysis 

did not lead to the initiation of an EIS 

or a Federal agency action. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: November 7, 2017. 

Edward Woolford, 

Environmental Program Manager, Federal 

Highway Administration, Salt Lake City, 

Utah. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24623 Filed 11–13–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 


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