82 FR 32044 - Request for Comments on Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 131 (July 11, 2017)

The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is seeking comments on the operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as amended by the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). Section 212(f) of the CBERA, as amended, requires the United States Trade Representative to submit a report to Congress regarding the operation of the CBERA and CBTPA (together commonly referred to as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, or CBI) on or before December 31, 2017. The TPSC invites written comments concerning the operation of the CBI, including the performance of each CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary country under the criteria described in sections 212(b), 212(c), and 213(b)(5)(B) of CBERA, as amended. The TPSC will use this information to prepare the report to Congress on the operation of the program.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32044-32046]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14510]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2017-0007]


Request for Comments on Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic 
Recovery Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is seeking comments on 
the operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), as 
amended by the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) (19 U.S.C. 
2701 et seq.). Section 212(f) of the CBERA, as amended, requires the 
United States Trade Representative to submit a report to Congress 
regarding the operation of the CBERA and CBTPA (together commonly 
referred to as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, or CBI) on or before 
December 31, 2017. The TPSC invites written comments concerning the 
operation of the CBI, including the performance of each CBERA and CBTPA 
beneficiary country under the criteria described in sections 212(b), 
212(c), and 213(b)(5)(B) of CBERA, as amended. The TPSC will use this 
information to prepare the report to Congress on the operation of the 
program.

DATES: The TPSC must receive your written comment by September 15, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: The TPSC strongly prefers electronic submissions made 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments in section III below. 
The docket number is USTR-2017-0007. For alternatives to on-line 
submissions, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning 
written comments, contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475. Direct all 
other questions to Albert Pyott at (202) 395-9539.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Section 212(f)(1) of CBERA (19 U.S.C. 2702(f)(1)) requires the 
United States Trade Representative to report on the performance of each 
CBERA or CBTPA beneficiary country. Barbados, Belize, Curacao, Guyana, 
Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago receive benefits 
under both CBERA and CBTPA. Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, 
British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and 
Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines currently receive benefits only 
under CBERA.
    As described in more detail below, the TSPC seeks comments on any 
aspect of the program's operation, including the performance of CBERA 
and CBTPA beneficiary countries under the criteria described in 
sections 212(b), 212(c), and 213(b)(5)(B) of the CBERA, as amended. You 
can access these criteria at http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title19/html/USCODE-2011-title19-chap15.htm. The report also will 
examine the CBI's effect on the volume

[[Page 32045]]

and composition of trade and investment between the United States and 
the CBI beneficiary countries and on advancing U.S. trade policy goals. 
You can access the most recent CBI report at https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2015-CBI-Report-Final.pdf.

II. Reporting Requirements on the Eligibility Criteria for All CBI 
Beneficiary Countries

    The TSPC seeks comments on any aspect of the program's operation, 
including the performance of CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary countries 
using the following criteria:

A. CBERA ``Mandatory'' Criteria

    Under section 212(b) (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)), unless the President 
determines that is in the national economic or security interest of the 
United States, s/he may not designate as a CBI beneficiary country any 
country that:
    1. Is a Communist country.
    2. Has expropriated or nationalized property of U.S. citizens, 
unless the President determines that the country is taking steps to 
resolve the citizen's claim.
    3. Fails to act in good faith in recognizing as binding or in 
enforcing arbitral awards in favor of U.S. citizens or corporations 
owned by U.S. citizens.
    4. Affords preferential treatment to the products of a developed 
country other than the United States that has, or is likely to have, a 
significant adverse effect on U.S. commerce, unless the President has 
received satisfactory assurances that the country will eliminate the 
preferential treatment or acts to assure that there will be no 
significant adverse effect.
    5. Allows the broadcast of copyrighted material, including films or 
television material belonging to United States copyright owners without 
their express consent.
    6. Is not a signatory to a treaty, convention, protocol, or other 
agreement regarding the extradition of U.S. citizens.
    7. Has not or is not taking steps to afford internationally 
recognized worker rights as defined in section 507(4) of the Trade Act 
of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2467(4)) to workers in the country 
(including any designated zone in that country).

B. CBERA ``Discretionary'' Factors

    Under section 212(c) (19 U.S.C. 2702(c)), the President may 
consider the following factors in determining whether to designate any 
country as a CBI beneficiary country:
    1. An expression of a country's desire to be so designated.
    2. The economic conditions and living standards in a country.
    3. The extent to which a country has assured the United States that 
it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets and 
basic commodity resources of the country.
    4. The degree to which the country follows the international trade 
rules of the WTO.
    5. The degree to which a country uses export subsidies or imposes 
export performance requirements or local content requirements that 
distort international trade.
    6. The degree to which the trade policies of a country as they 
relate to other beneficiary countries are contributing to the 
revitalization of the region.
    7. The degree to which a country is undertaking self-help measures 
to promote its own economic development.
    8. Whether or not a country has taken or is taking steps to afford 
to workers in that country (including any designated zone in that 
country) internationally recognized worker rights.
    9. The extent to which a country provides adequate and effective 
legal means for foreign nationals to secure, exercise, and enforce 
exclusive intellectual property rights.
    10. The extent to which a country prohibits its nationals from 
broadcasting U.S. copyrighted materials, including film and television 
material, without their express consent.
    11. The extent to which a country cooperates with the United States 
in the administration of CBI preferences.

C. CBTPA Eligibility Criteria

    Under section 213(b)(5)(B) (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(5)(B)), in 
considering the eligibility of the CBI countries and dependent 
territories that have expressed an interest in receiving the enhanced 
preferences of the CBTPA, the President must take into account the 
existing eligibility criteria of the CBERA, as well as several 
additional revised criteria elaborated in the CBTPA. These additional 
criteria are:
    1. Whether the beneficiary country has demonstrated a commitment to 
undertake its obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 
or ahead of schedule and participate in negotiations toward the 
completion of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) or another 
free trade agreement.
    2. The extent to which the country provides protection of 
intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than the 
protection afforded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights.
    3. The extent to which the country 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.
    4. Whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate 
the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section 507(6) of the 
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2467(6)).
    5. The extent to which the country has met U.S. counter-narcotics 
certification criteria under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
    6. The extent to which the country has taken steps to become a 
party to and implement the Inter-American Convention Against 
Corruption.
    7. The extent to which the country applies transparent, 
nondiscriminatory and competitive procedures in government procurement, 
and contributes to efforts in international fora to develop and 
implement rules on transparency in government procurement.

III. Requirements for Submissions

    In order to ensure the timely receipt and consideration of 
comments, the TPSC strongly encourages on-line submissions, using the 
www.regulations.gov Web site. We must receive your electronic 
submission by the September 15, 2017 deadline. You must submit all 
comments in English and must identify on the first page of the 
submission the subject matter of the comment as the ``CBI Report to 
Congress.''
    To submit a comment via www.regulations.gov, enter docket number 
USTR-2017-0007 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. We will not accept hand-delivered submissions.
    The 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

[[Page 32046]]

File'' field. The TPSC prefers that you provide submissions as an 
attached document. If you attach a document, please type ``CBI Report 
to Congress'' in the ``Type Comment'' field. The TPSC 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. File names 
should reflect the name of the person or entity submitting the 
comments. Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic 
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a 
cover letter 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. Submissions should not exceed 30 single-spaced, 
standard letter-size pages in 12-point type, including attachments.
    For any comments submitted electronically containing 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 submitter 
requesting business confidential treatment must certify that the 
information is business confidential and would not customarily be 
released to the public by the submitter. Additionally, the submitter 
should type ``Business Confidential CBI Report to Congress'' in the 
``Type Comment'' field. If you file comments containing business 
confidential information, you also must separately submit a public 
version of the 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 www.regulations.gov. The tracking number 
is your confirmation that the submission was received into 
www.regulations.gov. The TPSC is not able to provide technical 
assistance for the Web site. The TPSC may not consider documents that 
are not submitted in accordance with these instructions.
    As noted, the TPSC strongly urges submitters to file comments 
through www.regulations.gov. You must make any alternative arrangements 
with Yvonne Jamison in advance of transmitting a comment. You can 
contact Ms. Jamison at (202) 395-3475.
    We will post comments in the docket for public inspection, except 
business confidential information. You can view comments on the 
www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant docket number in 
the search field on the home page. You can find general information 
about the Office of the United States Trade Representative on its Web 
site: http://www.ustr.gov.

Edward B. Gresser,
Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.
[FR Doc. 2017-14510 Filed 7-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F7-P