[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10338-10339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3758]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Trade Policy Staff Committee; Review of Guatemala's Beneficiary 
Status Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for comments in connection with review of Guatemala's 
beneficiary status under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is conducting a review 
of Guatemala's status as a beneficiary country under the Caribbean 
Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). This review will focus on 
Guatemala's performance with respect to worker rights, based on the 
eligibility criteria established in the CBTPA and objectives identified 
to the Government of Guatemala in October 2000. The TPSC is requesting 
written comments from the public to assist in developing information 
regarding Guatemala's current performance in the area of worker rights.

DATES: Public comments should be received by noon, March 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted to: Gloria Blue, 
Executive Secretary, TPSC, Office of the USTR, 600 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20508 Attention: Guatemala CBTPA Review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
public comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, TPSC, Office 
of the USTR, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508 (202) 395-3475. 
All other questions regarding the review should be addressed to 
Christopher Wilson, Director for Central America and the Caribbean, 
Office of the Western Hemisphere of the USTR (202) 395-5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    On October 2, 2000, the President designated Guatemala as a CBTPA 
beneficiary country. This designation followed a review by the TPSC of 
Guatemala's adherence to the eligibility criteria established in the 
CBTPA, including (1) an evaluation of the extent to which Guatemala 
provides internationally recognized worker rights, including the right 
of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, a 
prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor, a 
minimum age for the employment of children, and acceptable conditions 
of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational 
safety and health, and (2) whether Guatemala has implemented its 
commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
    The review of Guatemala's eligibility for the CBTPA preferences 
involved extensive consideration of the worker rights situation in that 
country. The United States raised specific concerns with respect to 
anti-union violence, labor law reform, the rights of association and 
collective bargaining, and other issues. Guatemalan officials were 
taking some steps to address these concerns. For example, the United 
States welcomed the Ministry of Labor's efforts to that date to 
facilitate a resolution to the situation arising from a 1999 incident 
involving violence against banana workers. The Guatemalan executive 
branch had also presented legislation to bring the country's labor laws 
into conformity with ILO recommendations.
    On the basis of these actions and assurances, the TPSC in October 
recommended that the President designate Guatemala as a CBTPA 
beneficiary country. However, the United States indicated its concern 
that the overall worker rights environment in Guatemala represented a 
threat to those seeking to advance basic, internationally-recognized 
rights for workers. Instances of anti-union violence were cited. The 
widespread impunity for those who provoked and carried out such 
violence was a particularly serious concern.
    Consequently, at the time Guatemala's CBTPA designation was 
announced, the U.S. Trade Representative also announced that 
Guatemala's CBTPA beneficiary country status would be reviewed in April 
2001, with a focus on further improvements in the area of worker 
rights. This review will cover the following factors: (a) Actions taken 
by the Guatemalan executive branch, within its authority, to ensure the 
physical safety and human and civil rights of union leaders and the 
effective criminal prosecution of persons charged with provoking anti-
union violence, including killings of union leaders; (b) steps taken by 
the Government of Guatemala to provide for the re-employment of the 900 
banana workers that were fired in 1999 and settlement of related labor 
law violations; (c) progress towards enacting a new Labor Code; and (d) 
performance in labor law enforcement and judicial administration 
related to the protection of labor rights.
    As a further indication of the seriousness with which the United 
States views these issues, the U.S. Trade Representative initiated a 
review of Guatemala's eligibility as a beneficiary developing country 
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), also to be concluded 
in April 2001, and focusing on the government's response to anti-union 
violence and other aspects of internationally recognized worker rights. 
USTR requested public comments in connection with this review through a 
Federal Register notice dated January 10, 2001.

Written Comments

    Persons submitting written comments should provide twenty (20) 
copies by the date and to the address specified above. If possible, 
comments should be submitted before this date. Where possible, please 
supplement written comments with a computer disk of the submission. The 
disk should have a label identifying the software used and the 
submitter.
    Comments should provide information on the current situation for 
worker rights in Guatemala, focusing in particular on the factors in 
the review summarized above. Due to the overlapping nature of the CBTPA 
review process and the GSP review process, individuals and 
organizations which have submitted comments in connection with the GSP 
review are informed that those comments will also be considered in 
connection with the CBTPA review and do not need to be resubmitted.

[[Page 10339]]

    Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except 
for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 
CFR 2003.6, will be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading 
Room (Room 101) at the address noted above. An appointment to review 
the file may be made by calling Brenda Webb at (202) 395-6186. The 
Reading Room is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
    Business confidential information, including any information 
submitted on disks, will be subject to the requirements of 15 CFR 
2003.6. If a submission contains business confidential information, 
twenty copies of a public version that does not contain confidential 
information must be submitted. A justification as to why the 
information contained in the submission should be treated 
confidentially must be included in the submission. In addition, any 
submissions containing business confidential information must be 
clearly marked ``Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the cover page 
(or letter) and each page where such information appears. The version 
that does not contain confidential information should also be clearly 
marked, at the top and bottom of each page, ``public version'' or 
``non-confidential.''

Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 01-3758 Filed 2-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-P