9888 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Notices

3These guaranteed market sizes range from

between twenty contracts and one hundred

contracts. See PCX Rule 6.87(b) and PCX Rule

6.86(a) and (g). The Exchange notes that the

guaranteed Auto-Ex size in an issue must be the

same as the guaranteed size for manual execution

in that issue, pursuant to PCX Rule 6.86(g).

4 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).

7 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(5)

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

PCX included statements concerning the

purpose of and basis for the proposed

rule change and discussed any

comments it received on the proposed

rule change. The text of these statements

may be examined at the places specified

in Item IV below. The PCX has prepared

summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,

and C below, of the most significant

aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

1. Purpose

The Exchange is modifying its

systems to permit options market sizes

to be disseminated via OPRA. Pursuant

to this systems change, the Exchange

will disseminate the size that the PCX

guarantees in a particular issue for

automatic execution on the Exchange’s

Automatic Execution System (‘‘AutoEx’’) pursuant to PCX Rule 6.87(b) and

for manual execution pursuant to PCX

Rule 6.86(a).3 At this time, the Exchange

intends to disseminate the size of

markets in only those issues that are

quoted and traded in decimals.

2. Statutory Basis

The Exchange believes that the

proposal is consistent with section 6(b)

of the Act,4 in general, and section

6(b)(5),5 in particular, in that they are

designed to facilitate transactions in

securities and promote just and

equitable principles of trade.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The PCX does not believe that the

proposed rule change will impose any

burden on competition.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants, or Others

No written comments were solicited

or received with respect to the proposed

rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Because the foregoing proposed rule

changes an existing trading system of

the Exchange and does not (1) affect the

protection of investors or the public

interest; (2) impose any significant

burden on competition; or (3) have the

effect of limiting the access to or

availability of the system, the proposed

rule filing has become effective

pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) of the

Act 6 and subparagraph (f)(5) of Rule

19b–4 thereunder.7 At any time within

60 days of the filing of the proposed rule

change, the Commission may summarily

abrogate such rule change if it appears

to the Commission that such action is

necessary or appropriate in the public

interest, for the protection of investors,

or otherwise in furtherance of the

purposes of the Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the propsoed rule

change is consistent with the Act.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. Copies of

the submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing also will be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the PCX. All

submissions should refer to File No.

SR–PCX–01–06 and should be

submitted by March 5, 2001.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.8

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–3492 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Determination Under the Caribbean

Basin Trade Partnership Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade

Representative has determined that

Trinidad and Tobago is making

substantial progress toward

implementing and following the

customs procedures required by the

Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

and, therefore, imports of eligible

products from Trinidad and Tobago

qualify for the trade benefits provided

under the Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 6, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher Wilson, Director of Central

America and the Caribbean, Office of

the United States Trade Representative,

(202) 395–5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

(Title II of the Trade and Development

Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106–200)

(CBTPA) amended the Caribbean Basin

Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) to

provide preferential tariff treatment for

imports of certain products of

beneficiary Caribbean and Central

American countries. The trade benefits

provided by the CBTPA are available to

imports of eligible products from

countries that the President designates

as ‘‘CBTPA beneficiary countries,’’

provided that these countries have

implemented and follow, or are making

substantial progress toward

implementing and following, certain

customs procedures that assist the

Customs Service in verifying the origin

of the products.

In Proclamation 7351 of October 2,

2000, the President designated all 24

current beneficiaries under the CBERA

as ‘‘CBTPA beneficiary countries.’’

Proclamation 7351 delegated to the

United States Trade Representative

(USTR) the authority to determine

whether the designated CBTPA

beneficiary countries have implemented

and follow, or are making substantial

progress toward implementing and

following, the customs procedures

required by the CBTPA. The President

directed the USTR to announce any

such determinations in the Federal

Register and to implement them

through modifications of the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States (HTS).

Based on information and

commitments provided by the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Notices 9889

Government of Trinidad and Tobago, I

have determined that Trinidad and

Tobago is making substantial progress

toward implementing and following the

customs procedures required by the

CBTPA. Accordingly, pursuant to the

authority vested in the USTR by

Proclamation 7351, general note 17(a) to

the HTS, U.S. note 7(b) to subchapter II

of chapter 98 of the HTS, and U.S. note

1 to subchapter XX of chapter 98 of the

HTS are each modified by inserting in

alphabetical sequence in the list of

eligible CBTPA beneficiary countries

the name ‘‘Trinidad and Tobago’’. The

foregoing modifications to the HTS are

effective with respect to articles entered,

or withdrawn from warehouse for

consumption, on or after the effective

date of this notice.

Rita D. Hayes,

Acting United States Trade Representative.

[FR Doc. 01–3514 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. WTO/DS223]

WTO Consultations Regarding EU

Tariff Rate Quota on Corn Gluten Feed

From the United States

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the United

States Trade Representative (USTR) is

providing notice that on January 25,

2001, the United States requested

consultations with the European Union

(EU) under the Marrakesh Agreement

Establishing the World Trade

Organization (WTO), regarding the

imposition of a tariff rate quota on corn

gluten feed imported from the United

States. The United States alleges that

this measure is inconsistent with

Articles I, II, and XIX of the GATT 1994,

and Articles 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 of the

Safeguards Agreement. Pursuant to

Article 4.3 of the WTO Dispute

Settlement Understanding (‘‘DSU’’),

such consultations are to take place

within a period of 30 days from the date

of the request, or within a period

otherwise mutually agreed between the

United States and the EU. USTR invites

written comments from the public

concerning the issues raised in this

dispute.

DATES: Although the USTR will accept

any comments received during the

course of the dispute settlement

proceedings, comments should be

submitted on or before February 26,

2001, to be assured of timely

consideration by USTR.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to Sandy

McKinzy, Monitoring and Enforcement

Unit, Office of the General Counsel,

Room 122, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC, 20508, Attn.

Corn Gluten TRQ Dispute, Telephone:

(202) 395–3582.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Willis S. Martyn, Assistant General

Counsel, Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC, (202) 395–3582.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

127(b) of the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C.

3537(b)(1)) requires that notice and

opportunity for comment be provided

after the United States submits or

receives a request for the establishment

of a WTO dispute settlement panel.

Consistent with this obligation, but in

an effort to provide additional

opportunity for comment, USTR is

providing notice that consultations have

been requested pursuant to the WTO

Dispute Settlement Understanding . If

such consultations should fail to resolve

the matter and a dispute settlement

panel is established pursuant to the

DSU, such panel, which would hold its

meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, would

be expected to issue a report on its

findings and recommendations within

six to nine months after it is established.

Major Issues Raised by the United

States

On August 20, 1998, the EU published

Council Regulation No. 1804/98 of

August 14, 1998, which imposed a tariff

rate quota (TRQ) of 5 euros per metric

ton (MT) on the first 2,730,000 MT of

corn gluten feed imported into the EU

from the United States. The TRQ was

made applicable beginning on the

earlier of June 1, 2001 or five days after

the date of the WTO Dispute Settlement

Body’s (DSB) adoption of a decision that

the U.S. quota on wheat gluten, applied

pursuant to Section 201 of the Trade Act

of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251), was

‘‘incompatible with the WTO

Agreements.’’ The EU has cited Articles

8.2 and 8.3 of the WTO Agreement on

Safeguards as authority for this measure.

Its representatives stated that the DSB

adoption of its recommendations and

rulings in United States—Definitive

Safeguard Measures on Imports of

Wheat Gluten from the European

Communities, WT/DS166/AB/R

(January 19, 2000) triggered the

application of the TRQ.

The EU provided written notification

of this measure to the WTO Committee

on Safeguards and the Council for Trade

in Goods, but never placed the measure

on the agenda of the WTO Council for

Trade in Goods. In addition, the EU at

no point consulted with the United

States on how measures imposed by the

EU might meet the requirement to

maintain substantially equivalent levels

of concessions and other obligations to

that existing under the GATT 1994.

Therefore, it appears that the corn

gluten feed TRQ does not satisfy the

requirements of Articles 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3

of the Safeguards Agreement for a

Member to suspend concessions or

other obligations.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the issues raised in the dispute.

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.

Information or advice contained in a

comment submitted, other than business

confidential information, may be

determined by USTR to be confidential

in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of

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

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that

information or advice may qualify as

such, the submitter—

(1) Must so designate the information

or advice;

(2) Must clearly mark the material as

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ in a

contrasting color ink at the top of each

page of each copy; and

(3) Is encouraged to provide a nonconfidential summary of the

information or advice.

Pursuant to section 127(e) of the

URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), 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 non-confidential

comments received by USTR from the

public with respect to the dispute; if a

dispute settlement panel is convened,

the U.S. submissions to that panel, the

submissions, or non-confidential

summaries of submissions, to the panel

received from other participants in the