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)

Page Range		32044-32046
FR Document		2017-14510

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 Issue 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2017)

[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

Document Created: 2018-11-14 10:21:40
Document Modified: 2018-11-14 10:21:40

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.
Dates		The TPSC must receive your written comment by September 15, 2017.
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.
FR Citation		82 FR 32044