[Ip-health] USTR's Request for comments on the Korea FTA

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.wb-infokiosk.org/bp.php?url=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fa257.g.akamaitech.net=
%2F7%2F257%2F2422%2F01jan20061800%2Fedocket.access.gpo.gov%2F2006%2Fpdf%2FE=
6-1770.pdf

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Proposed
Free Trade Agreement With Republic of Korea

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate negotiations on a free trade
agreement with the Republic of Korea, request for comments, and notice
of public hearing.

SUMMARY: The United States intends to initiate negotiations with the
Republic of Korea (Korea) on a free trade agreement (FTA). The
interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public
hearing and seek public comment to assist the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) in amplifying and clarifying negotiating
objectives for the proposed agreement and to provide advice on how
specific goods and services and other matters should be treated under
the proposed agreement.

DATES: Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention, as well as their testimony, by
March 3, 2006. A hearing will be held in Washington, DC, beginning on
March 14, 2006 and will continue as necessary on subsequent days.
Written comments are due by noon, March 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submissions by electronic mail: FR0607@ustr.eop.gov (notice
of intent to testify and written testimony); FR0608@ustr.eop.gov
(written comments). Submissions by facsimile: Gloria Blue, Executive
Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 3956143. The public is
strongly encouraged to submit documents electronically rather than by
facsimile, (See requirements for submissions below.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning
written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria
Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202)
395-3475. All other questions should be directed to Scott Ki, Senior
Director for Korea, at (202) 395-5070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

Under section 2104 of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of
2002 (TPA Act) (19 U.S.C. 3804), for agreements that will be approved
and implemented through TPA procedures, the President must provide the
Congress with at least 90 days' written notice of his intent to enter
into negotiations and identify the specific objectives for the
negotiations. Before and after the submission of this notice, the
President is to consult with appropriate Congressional committees and
the Congressional Oversight Group (COG) regarding the negotiations.
Under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the President must (i) afford
interested persons an opportunity to present their views regarding any
matter relevant to any proposed agreement, (ii) designate an agency or
inter-agency committee to hold a public hearing regarding any proposed
agreement, and (iii) seek the advice of the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC) regarding the probable economic effects on U.S.
industries and consumers of the removal of tariffs and non-tariff
barriers on imports pursuant to any proposed agreement.

On February 2, 2006, after consulting with relevant Congressional
committees and the COG, the USTR notified the Congress that the
President intends to initiate free trade agreement negotiations with
Korea and identified specific objectives for the negotiations. In
addition, the USTR has requested that the ITC provide its advice on the
probable economic effects of the free trade agreement. This notice
solicits views from the public on these negotiations and provides
information on a hearing that will be conducted pursuant to the
requirements of the Trade Act of 1974.

2. Public Comments and Testimony

To assist the Administration as it continues to develop its negotiating
objectives for the proposed agreement, the Chairman of the TPSC invites
written comments and/or oral testimony of interested persons at a public
hearing. Comments and testimony may address the reduction or elimination
of tariffs or non-tariff barriers on any articles provided for in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) that are
products of Korea, any concession which should be sought by the United
States, or any other matter relevant to the proposed agreement. The TPSC
invites comments and testimony on all of these matters and, in
particular, seeks comments and testimony addressed to:

(a) General and commodity-specific negotiating objectives for the
proposed agreement.

(b) Economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of
removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers affecting United States-Korea
trade,

(c) Treatment of specific goods (described by HTSUS numbers) under the
proposed agreement, including comments on:

(1) product-specific import or export interests or barriers,

(2) experience with particular measures that should be addressed in the
negotiations, and

(3) in the case of articles for which immediate elimination of tariffs
is not appropriate, a recommended staging schedule for such elimination.

(d) Adequacy of existing customs measures to ensure Korean origin of
imported goods, and appropriate rules of origin for goods entering the
United States under the proposed agreement.

(e) Existing Korean sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical
barriers to trade that should be addressed in the negotiations.

(f) Existing barriers to trade in services between the United States and
Korea that should be addressed in the ne otiations.

(g) Relevant electronic commerce issues that should be addressed in the
ne otiations.

(h) Relevant trade-related intellectual property rights issues that
should be addressed in the negotiations.

(i) Relevant investment issues that should be addressed in the negotiations=
.

(j) Relevant competition-related matters that should be addressed in the
ne otiations.

(k) Relevant government procurement issues that should be addressed in
the ne otiations.

(l) Relevant environmental issues that should be addressed in the
negotiations.

(m) Relevant labor issues that should be addressed in the negotiations.

Comments identifying as present or potential trade barriers laws or
regulations that are not primarily traderelated should address the
economic, political, and social objectives of such laws or regulations
and the degree to which they discriminate against producers of the other
country. At a later date, the USTR, through the TPSC, will publish
notice of reviews regarding (a) the possible environmental effects of
the proposed agreement and the scope of the U.S. environmental review of
the proposed agreement, and (b) the impact of the proposed agreement on
U.S. employment and labor markets.

A hearing will be held beginning on March 14, 2006, in Rooms 1 and 2,
1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. If necessary, the hearing will
continue on subsequent days. Persons wishing to testify at the hearing
must provide written notification of their intention by March 3, 2006.
The notification should include: (1) The name, address, and telephone
number of the person presenting the testimony; and (2) a short (one or
two paragraph) summary of the presentation, including the subject matter
and, as applicable, the product(s) (with HTSUS numbers), service
sector(s), or other subjects (such as investment, intellectual property,
and/ or government procurement) to be discussed. A copy of the testimony
must accompany the notification. Remarks at the hearing should be
limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions
from the TPSC. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special
assistance in gaining access to the hearing should contact the TPSC
Executive Secretary.

Interested persons, including persons who participate in the hearing,
may submit written comments by noon, March 24, 2006. Written comments
may include rebuttal points demonstrating errors of fact or analysis not
pointed out in the hearing. All written comments must state clearly the
position taken, describe with particularity the supporting rationale,
and be in English, 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).

3. Requirements for Submissions

In order to facilitate prompt processing of submissions, the Office of
the United States Trade Representative strongly urges and prefers
electronic (email) submissions in response to this notice. In the event
that an e-mail submission is impossible, submissions should be made by
facsimile.

Persons making submissions by email should use the following subject
line: "United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement" followed by
(as appropriate) "Notice of Intent to Testify," "Testimony," or "Written
Comments." Documents should be submitted as either WordPerfect, MSWord,
or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets
are acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel. If any document submitted
electronically contains business confidential information, the file name
of the business confidential version should begin with the characters
"BC-," and the file name of the public version should begin with the
characters "P-." The "P-" or "BC-" should be followed by the name of the
submitter. Persons who make submissions by e-mail should not provide
separate cover letters; information that might appear in a cover letter
should be included in the submission itself. To the extent possible, any
attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the
submission itself, and not as separate files.

Written comments, notice of testimony, and testimony will be placed in a
file open to public inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2003.5, except
business confidential information exempt from public inspection in
accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6. Business confidential information
submitted in accordance with 15 CFR 2003.6 must be clearly marked
"BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL" at the top of each page, including any cover
letter or cover page, and must be accompanied by a non-confidential
summary of the confidential information. All public documents and
non-confidential summaries shall be available for public inspection in
the USTR Reading Room. The USTR Reading Room is open to the public, by
appointment only, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m, to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled at
least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling (202) 3956186.

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 PolicyStaff Committee.
1FR Doc. E6-1770 Filed 2-8-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P

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Mike Palmedo
Research and Web
Consumer Project on Technology
T =96 202-332-2670
F =96 202-332-2673
mpalmedo@cptech.org