80 FR 48951 - African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under AGOA in Calendar Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and Request for Public Comments
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 157 (August 14, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 157 (August 14, 2015)
| Page Range | 48951-48953 | |
| FR Document | 2015-20142 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 2015)] [Notices] [Pages 48951-48953] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-20142] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under AGOA in Calendar Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and Request for Public Comments AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Notice and request for comments; notice of hearing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice announces the initiation the annual review of the eligibility of the sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff [[Page 48952]] Committee (Subcommittee) is developing recommendations for the President on AGOA country eligibility for calendar year 2016. The Subcommittee is requesting written public comments for this review and will conduct a public hearing on this matter. The Subcommittee will consider the written comments, written testimony, and oral testimony in developing recommendations for the President. Comments received related to the child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor in the preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor as required under section 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000. This notice identifies the eligibility criteria under AGOA that must be considered under AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan African countries that are currently eligible for the benefits of AGOA and those that were ineligible for such benefits in 2015. Pursuant to the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (TPEA), this year's review of the Republic of South Africa's eligibility is being considered in a separate out of cycle review (see 80 FR 43156). DATES: September 3, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the September 10, 2015 public hearing, and for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, or comments on sub-Saharan African countries' AGOA eligibility. September 10, 2015: AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the TPSC will convene a public hearing on AGOA eligibility. September 16, 2015: Deadline for filing post-hearing briefs, statements, or comments on this matter. ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0011. See ``Requirements for Submission,'' below. If you are unable to make a submission at www.regulations.gov, please contact Yvonne Jamison, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395-3475 to make other arrangements. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please contact Yvonne Jamison, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Room F516, Washington, DC 20508, at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to Constance Hamilton, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395-9514. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AGOA (Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-200) (19 U.S.C. 2466a et seq.), as amended, authorizes the President to designate sub-Saharan African countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries eligible for duty-free treatment for certain additional products not included for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ``1974 Act'')), as well as for the preferential treatment for certain textile and apparel articles. The President may designate a country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country eligible for these benefits of AGOA if he determines that the country meets the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1) Section 104 of AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3703); and (2) section 502 of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2462). Section 104 of AGOA includes requirements that the country has established or is making continual progress toward establishing, inter alia: A market-based economy; the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process; the elimination of barriers to U.S. trade and investment; economic policies to reduce poverty; a system to combat corruption and bribery; and the protection of internationally recognized worker rights. In addition, the country may not engage in activities that undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests or engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Please see section 104 of AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act for a complete list of the AGOA eligibility criteria. Recognizing that concerns have been raised about the compliance with section 104 of AGOA of certain beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, Section 105(d)(4)(E) of the TPEA (Pub. L. 114-27) requires the President to initiate an out-of-cycle review not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of the TPEA with respect to whether the Republic of South Africa is meeting the eligibility requirements set forth in section 104 of AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act. The Subcommittee is therefore conducting this year's review of South Africa's eligibility under a separate process (see 80 FR 43156). Section 506A of the 1974 Act provides that the President shall monitor and review annually the progress of each sub-Saharan African country in meeting the foregoing eligibility criteria in order to determine whether each beneficiary sub-Saharan African country should continue to be eligible, and whether each sub-Saharan African country that is currently not a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, should be designated as such a country. If the President determines that a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country is not making continual progress in meeting the eligibility requirements, he must terminate the designation of the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. Pursuant to the TPEA, however, the President may also withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of duty-free treatment with respect to specific articles from a country if he determines that it would be more effective in promoting compliance with AGOA-eligibility requirements than terminating the designation of the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. For 2015, 39 countries were designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. These countries, as well as the countries currently designated as ineligible, are listed below. The Subcommittee is seeking public comments in connection with the annual review of sub-Saharan African countries' eligibility for AGOA's benefits. The Subcommittee will consider any such comments in developing recommendations to the President related to this review. Comments related to the child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor in making the findings required under section 504 of the 1974 Act. The following sub-Saharan African countries were designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2015: Angola Republic of Benin Republic of Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Republic of Cabo Verde Republic of Cameroon Republic of Chad Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros Republic of Congo Republic of Cote d'Ivoire Republic of Djibouti Ethiopia Gabonese Republic Republic of Ghana Republic of Guinea Republic of Guinea-Bissau Republic of Kenya Kingdom of Lesotho Republic of Liberia Republic of Madagascar Republic of Malawi Republic of Mali Islamic Republic of Mauritania Republic of Mauritius Republic of Mozambique Republic of Namibia [[Page 48953]] Republic of Niger Federal Republic of Nigeria Republic of Rwanda Sao Tome & Principe Republic of Senegal Republic of Seychelles Republic of Sierra Leone Republic of South Africa United Republic of Tanzania Republic of Togo Republic of Uganda Republic of Zambia The following sub-Saharan African countries were not designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2015: Central African Republic Democratic Republic of Congo The Gambia Republic of Equatorial Guinea State of Eritrea Somalia Republic of South Sudan Republic of Sudan Kingdom of Swaziland Republic of Zimbabwe Notice of Public Hearing In addition to written comments from the public on the matters listed above, the Subcommittee of the TPSC will convene a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2015, to receive testimony related to sub-Saharan African countries' eligibility for AGOA's benefits. Requests to present oral testimony at the hearing and pre-hearing briefs, statements, or comments must be received by September 3, 2015. The hearing will be held at 1724 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20508 and will be open to the public and to the press. A transcript of the hearing will be made available on www.regulations.gov within approximately two weeks of the hearing. All interested parties wishing to present oral testimony at the hearing must submit, following the ``Requirements for Submissions'' set out below, the name, address, telephone number, and email address, if available, of the witness(es) representing their organization by 5 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2015. The intent to testify notification must be made in the ``Type Comment'' field under docket number USTR- 2015-0011 on the regulations.gov Web site and should include the name, address, and telephone number of the person presenting the testimony. A summary of the testimony should be attached by using the ``Upload File'' field. The name of the file should also include who will be presenting the testimony. Remarks at the hearing should be limited to no more than five minutes to allow for possible questions from the TPSC. All documents should be submitted in accordance with the instructions below. Requirements for Submissions Persons submitting a notification of intent to testify and/or written comments must do so electronically by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2015, using www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015- 0011. Instructions for submitting business confidential versions are provided below. Hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted. All written materials must be submitted in English to the Chairman of the AGOA Implementation Subcommittee of the TPSC. Business Confidential Submissions An interested party requesting that information contained in a submission be treated as business confidential information must certify that such information is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such. The submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page, and the submission should indicate, via brackets, the specific information that is confidential. Additionally, ``Business Confidential'' must be included in the ``Type Comment'' field. For any submission containing business confidential information, a non-confidential version must be submitted separately (i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential version), indicating where confidential information has been redacted. The non-confidential version will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection. Public Viewing of Review Submissions Submissions in response to this notice, except for information granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. Such submissions may be viewed by entering the country-specific docket number in the search field at www.regulations.gov. Edward Gresser, Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee. [FR Doc. 2015-20142 Filed 8-13-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290-F5-P
![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 2015 / Notices 48951
renewal of an existing computer (5) Notify applicants and beneficiaries Sections 1839(i) and 1860D–13(a)(7)
matching program that we are currently that their records are subject to of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i) and
conducting with IRS. matching; and 1395w-113(a)(7)) requires our
(6) Verify match findings before Commissioner to determine the amount
DATES: We will file a report of the
reducing, suspending, terminating, or of an enrollee’s premium subsidy
subject matching program with the
denying a person’s benefits or adjustment, or premium increase, if the
Committee on Homeland Security and
payments. MAGI is above the applicable threshold
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; the
Committee on Oversight and B. SSA Computer Matches Subject to as established in section 1839(i) of the
Government Reform of the House of the Privacy Act Act (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i)).
Representatives; and the Office of We have taken action to ensure that D. CATEGORIES OF RECORDS AND PERSONS
Information and Regulatory Affairs, all of our computer matching programs COVERED BY THE MATCHING PROGRAM
Office of Management and Budget comply with the requirements of the We will provide IRS with identifying
(OMB). The matching program will be Privacy Act, as amended. information with respect to enrollees
effective as indicated below. from the Master Beneficiary Record
Kirsten J. Moncada,
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may system of records, SSA/ORSIS 60–0090,
Executive Director, Office of Privacy and
comment on this notice by either Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel. published at 71 FR 1826 (January 11,
telefaxing to (410) 966–0869 or writing 2006). We will maintain the MAGI data
to the Executive Director, Office of Notice of Computer Matching Program, provided by IRS in the Medicare
Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the SSA With the Department of the Database system of records, SSA/ORSIS
General Counsel, Social Security Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 60–0321, originally published at 69 FR
Administration, 617 Altmeyer Building, A. PARTICIPATING AGENCIES 77816 (December 28, 2004), and revised
6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD SSA and IRS at 71 FR 42159 (July 25, 2006).
21235–6401. All comments received IRS will extract MAGI data from the
will be available for public inspection at B. PURPOSE OF THE MATCHING PROGRAM Return Transaction File, which is part of
this address. The purpose of this matching program the Customer Account Data Engine
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The is to set forth the terms under which IRS Individual Master File, Treasury/IRS
Executive Director, Office of Privacy will disclose to us certain return 24.030, published at 77 FR 47948
and Disclosure, Office of the General information for the purpose of (August 10, 2012).
Counsel, as shown above. establishing the correct amount of
E. INCLUSIVE DATES OF THE MATCHING PROGRAM
Medicare Part B (Part B) premium
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: subsidy adjustments and Medicare The effective date of this matching
A. General prescription drug coverage premium program is October 1, 2015; provided
increases under sections 1839(i) and that the following notice periods have
The Computer Matching and Privacy 1860D–13(a)(7) of the Social Security lapsed: 30 days after publication of this
Protection Act of 1988 (Public Law Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 1395r(i) and notice in the Federal Register and 40
(Pub. L.) 100–503), amended the Privacy 1395w–113(a)(7)), as enacted by section days after notice of the matching
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) by describing the 811 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, program is sent to Congress and OMB.
conditions under which computer Improvement, and Modernization Act of The matching program will continue for
matching involving the Federal 2003 (MMA; Pub. L. 108–173) and 18 months from the effective date and,
government could be performed and section 3308 of the Affordable Care Act if both agencies meet certain conditions,
adding certain protections for persons of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–148). it may extend for an additional 12
applying for, and receiving, Federal months thereafter.
benefits. Section 7201 of the Omnibus C. AUTHORITY FOR CONDUCTING THE MATCHING
[FR Doc. 2015–20175 Filed 8–13–15; 8:45 am]
PROGRAM
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
L. 101–508) further amended the The legal authority for this agreement
Privacy Act regarding protections for is section 6103(1)(20) of the Internal
such persons. Revenue Code (IRC 6103(1)(20)), which
authorizes IRS to disclose specified OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
The Privacy Act, as amended, TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
regulates the use of computer matching return information to us with respect to
by Federal agencies when records in a taxpayers whose Part B and/or
African Growth and Opportunity Act
system of records are matched with prescription drug coverage insurance
(AGOA): Request for Public Comments
other Federal, State, or local government premium(s) may (according to IRS
on Annual Review of Country Eligibility
records. It requires Federal agencies records) be subject to premium subsidy
for Benefits Under AGOA in Calendar
involved in computer matching adjustment pursuant to section 1839(i)
Year 2016; Scheduling of Hearing, and
programs to: or premium increase pursuant to section
Request for Public Comments
1860D–13(a)(7) of the Act for the
(1) Negotiate written agreements with
purpose of establishing the amount of AGENCY: Office of the United States
the other agency or agencies
any such adjustment or increase. The Trade Representative.
participating in the matching programs;
return information IRS will disclose ACTION: Notice and request for
(2) Obtain approval of the matching includes adjusted gross income and
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
agreement by the Data Integrity Boards comments; notice of hearing.
specified tax-exempt income,
of the participating Federal agencies; collectively referred to in this agreement SUMMARY: This notice announces the
(3) Publish notice of the computer as modified adjusted gross income initiation the annual review of the
matching program in the Federal (MAGI). This return information will be eligibility of the sub-Saharan African
Register; used by officers, employees, and our countries to receive the benefits of the
(4) Furnish detailed reports about contractors to establish the appropriate African Growth and Opportunity Act
matching programs to Congress and amount of any such adjustment or (AGOA). The AGOA Implementation
OMB; increase. Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
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![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 2015 / Notices 48953
Republic of Niger All documents should be submitted in DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Republic of Nigeria accordance with the instructions below.
Republic of Rwanda Federal Aviation Administration
Sao Tome & Principe Requirements for Submissions
[Summary Notice No. 2015–49]
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles Persons submitting a notification of
intent to testify and/or written Petition for Exemption; Summary of
Republic of Sierra Leone Petition Received; Lockheed Martin
Republic of South Africa comments must do so electronically by
5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2015, Corporation
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Togo using www.regulations.gov, docket AGENCY: Federal Aviation
Republic of Uganda number USTR–2015–0011. Instructions Administration (FAA), DOT.
Republic of Zambia for submitting business confidential ACTION: Notice.
The following sub-Saharan African versions are provided below. Hand-
countries were not designated as delivered submissions will not be SUMMARY: This notice contains a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African accepted. All written materials must be summary of a petition seeking relief
countries in 2015: submitted in English to the Chairman of from specified requirements of Title 14
Central African Republic the AGOA Implementation of the Code of Federal Regulations. The
Democratic Republic of Congo Subcommittee of the TPSC. purpose of this notice is to improve the
The Gambia public’s awareness of, and participation
Republic of Equatorial Guinea Business Confidential Submissions in, the FAA’s exemption process.
State of Eritrea Neither publication of this notice nor
An interested party requesting that
Somalia the inclusion or omission of information
Republic of South Sudan information contained in a submission
in the summary is intended to affect the
Republic of Sudan be treated as business confidential legal status of the petition or its final
Kingdom of Swaziland information must certify that such disposition.
Republic of Zimbabwe information is business confidential and
would not customarily be released to DATES: Comments on this petition must
Notice of Public Hearing the public by the submitter. identify the petition docket number and
In addition to written comments from Confidential business information must must be received on or before
the public on the matters listed above, be clearly designated as such. The September 3, 2015.
the Subcommittee of the TPSC will submission must be marked ‘‘BUSINESS ADDRESSES: Send comments identified
convene a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom by docket number FAA–2015–3257
Thursday, September 10, 2015, to of the cover page and each succeeding using any of the following methods:
receive testimony related to sub-Saharan page, and the submission should • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
African countries’ eligibility for AGOA’s indicate, via brackets, the specific http://www.regulations.gov and follow
benefits. Requests to present oral the online instructions for sending your
information that is confidential.
testimony at the hearing and pre-hearing comments electronically.
Additionally, ‘‘Business Confidential’’
briefs, statements, or comments must be • Mail: Send comments to Docket
must be included in the ‘‘Type Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of
received by September 3, 2015.
The hearing will be held at 1724 F Comment’’ field. For any submission Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey
Street NW., Washington, DC 20508 and containing business confidential Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West
will be open to the public and to the information, a non-confidential version Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC
press. A transcript of the hearing will be must be submitted separately (i.e., not as 20590–0001.
made available on www.regulations.gov part of the same submission with the • Hand Delivery or Courier: Take
within approximately two weeks of the confidential version), indicating where comments to Docket Operations in
hearing. confidential information has been Room W12–140 of the West Building
All interested parties wishing to redacted. The non-confidential version Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
present oral testimony at the hearing will be placed in the docket and open Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
must submit, following the to public inspection. a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
‘‘Requirements for Submissions’’ set out Friday, except Federal holidays.
below, the name, address, telephone Public Viewing of Review Submissions • Fax: Fax comments to Docket
number, and email address, if available, Submissions in response to this Operations at 202–493–2251.
of the witness(es) representing their notice, except for information granted Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C.
organization by 5 p.m., Thursday, ‘‘business confidential’’ status under 15 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the
September 3, 2015. The intent to testify CFR 2003.6, will be available for public public to better inform its rulemaking
notification must be made in the ‘‘Type viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at process. DOT posts these comments,
Comment’’ field under docket number without edit, including any personal
www.regulations.gov upon completion
USTR–2015–0011 on the information the commenter provides, to
of processing. Such submissions may be
regulations.gov Web site and should http://www.regulations.gov, as
include the name, address, and viewed by entering the country-specific described in the system of records
telephone number of the person docket number in the search field at notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
presenting the testimony. A summary of www.regulations.gov. be reviewed at http://www.dot.gov/
the testimony should be attached by Edward Gresser, privacy.
using the ‘‘Upload File’’ field. The name Acting Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee. Docket: Background documents or
of the file should also include who will comments received may be read at
[FR Doc. 2015–20142 Filed 8–13–15; 8:45 am]
be presenting the testimony. Remarks at http://www.regulations.gov at any time.
BILLING CODE 3290–F5–P
the hearing should be limited to no Follow the online instructions for
more than five minutes to allow for accessing the docket or go to the Docket
possible questions from the TPSC. Operations in Room W12–140 of the
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Document Created: 2018-02-23 10:59:22
Document Modified: 2018-02-23 10:59:22
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| Action | Notice and request for comments; notice of hearing. | |
| Dates | September 3, 2015: Deadline for filing requests to appear at the September 10, 2015 public hearing, and for filing pre-hearing briefs, statements, or comments on sub-Saharan African countries' AGOA eligibility. | |
| Contact | For procedural questions, please contact Yvonne Jamison, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street NW., Room F516, Washington, DC 20508, at (202) 395-3475. All other questions should be directed to Constance Hamilton, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395-9514. | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 48951 |
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