83 FR 14540 - Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Revisions to the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadline for Filing Petitions; GSP Renewal and Technical Modifications

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 65 (April 4, 2018)

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary countries because of country practices; add products to GSP eligibility; remove products from GSP eligibility for one or more countries; waive competitive need limitations (CNLs); deny de minimis waivers for products eligible for de minimis waivers; and redesignate currently excluded products. This review will include separate hearings on product petitions and country eligibility reviews, which will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14540-14542]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06783]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket Number USTR-2017-0004]


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice of Revisions to 
the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Product and Country Practices Review; Deadline 
for Filing Petitions; GSP Renewal and Technical Modifications

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of procedures for submission of petitions from the 
public.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
will consider petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP beneficiary 
countries because of country practices; add products to GSP 
eligibility; remove products from GSP eligibility for one or more 
countries; waive competitive need limitations (CNLs); deny de minimis 
waivers for products eligible for de minimis waivers; and redesignate 
currently excluded products. This review will include separate hearings 
on product petitions and country eligibility reviews, which will be 
announced in the Federal Register at a later date.

DATES: To be considered in the 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review, USTR must 
receive your petition by Monday, April 16, 2018 at midnight EST. This 
is the deadline for petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP 
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices; 
petitions requesting waivers of CNLs; petitions on GSP product 
eligibility additions and removals; petitions to deny de minimis 
waivers; or petitions to redesignate an excluded product.
    USTR will not consider petitions submitted after the April 16, 2018 
deadline. USTR will announce decisions on which petitions are accepted 
for review, along with a schedule for any related public hearings and 
the opportunity for the public to provide comments, at a later date.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments in section III below. The docket 
number is USTR-2017-0004. For alternatives to on-line submissions, 
please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-9666.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl at (202) 395-6364 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free treatment of designated 
articles when imported from beneficiary developing countries. The GSP 
program is authorized by Title V of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended 
(Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), and is implemented in accordance 
with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as modified by 
subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.
    The 2017 GSP Annual Product Review: The Interim Import Statistics 
Relating to Competitive Need Limitations is posted on the USTR website 
at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/gsp-2017-review. These statistics 
include three lists:
    List I identifies GSP-eligible articles from beneficiary developing 
countries (BDCs) that exceeded a CNL by having been imported into the 
United States in 2017 in excess of $180 million, or in a quantity equal 
to or greater than 50 percent of the total U.S. import value for this 
product in 2017. Unless the President grants a waiver in response to a 
petition filed by an interested party, these products will be removed 
from GSP eligibility on November 1, 2018.
    List II identifies GSP-eligible articles from BDCs that are above 
the 50 percent CNL but that are eligible for a de minimis waiver. 
Petitions are not necessary for these products to be considered for de 
minimis waivers. As described below, petitions only will be accepted in 
opposition to potential de minimis waivers for these products.
    List III identifies GSP-eligible articles from certain BDCs that 
currently are not receiving GSP duty-free treatment but may be 
considered for GSP redesignation in response to a petition filed by an 
interested party. Note that products exceeding 50 percent of imports 
may be considered for redesignation if there was no U.S. production in 
the last three years.

II. 2017/2018 Annual GSP Review

A. GSP Product and Beneficiary Country Review Petitions

    Certain GSP Product Addition and Removal Petitions were submitted 
for review in 2017, as were petitions to modify the GSP status of GSP 
beneficiary developing countries because of country practices. Due to 
the lapse in authorization of GSP, and a resulting change in the 
schedule for the annual GSP review, USTR is reopening the window for 
submitting GSP product and country petitions. Any petitions previously 
submitted for this review do not need to be resubmitted.

B. Changes Resulting From Recent Legislation

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141) 
reauthorized the GSP program and made a number of modifications. First, 
the GSP program is authorized through December 31, 2020, retroactive to 
January 1, 2018 (see the USTR GSP website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp for details on retroactive authorization, effective date 
of authorization, and refund procedures). Second, Public Law 115-141 
established a new timeline for the GSP review: The date for exclusion 
of items exceeding CNLs changed from July 1 to November 1. Third, with 
respect to the date for determining whether a product is not produced 
in the United States, Public Law 115-141 changed the date so that 
instead of requiring that the product not have been produced in the 
United States on January 1, 1995, the product must not have been 
produced in the United States ``in any of the preceding three calendar 
years.'' For the 2017/2018 Annual Review this means calendar years 2015 
to 2017. Interested parties filing CNL waiver petitions and 
redesignation petitions should indicate whether there was production of 
a like or directly

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competitive product in the United States during the previous three 
calendar years (that is, 2015 to 2017).

C. Country Practice Review Petitions

    An interested party may submit a petition to review the GSP 
eligibility of any beneficiary developing country with respect to any 
of the designation criteria listed in sections 502(b) and 502(c) of the 
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(b) and (c)).

D. GSP Product Review Petitions

    An interested party, including foreign governments, may submit the 
following petitions:
     Product Addition Petitions: Petitions to designate 
additional articles as eligible for GSP benefits, including to 
designate articles as eligible only if the articles are imported from 
countries designated as least-developed beneficiary developing 
countries, or as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Petitioners seeking to add 
products to eligibility for GSP benefits should note that, as provided 
in section 503(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)), certain 
articles may not be designated as eligible articles under GSP.
     Product Withdrawal Petitions: Petitions to withdraw, 
suspend or limit the application of duty-free treatment accorded under 
the GSP with respect to any article.
     Competitive Need Limitation Waiver Petitions: Any 
interested party may submit a petition seeking a waiver of the 2018 CNL 
for individual beneficiary developing countries with respect to 
specific GSP-eligible articles (these limits, however, do not apply to 
least-developed beneficiary developing countries or AGOA beneficiary 
countries). As noted above, petitions should indicate whether there was 
production of a like or directly competitive product in the United 
States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 
2015).
     Petitions for Denial of De Minimis Waivers: Interested 
parties filing petitions for denial of de minimis waivers should note 
the procedural changes outlined in paragraph E below.
     Petitions for Redesignation: Interested parties filing 
petitions for redesignation should note the procedural changes outlined 
in paragraph E below.

E. Notice of Procedural Change

    The GSP program is changing the petition process procedures for 
products eligible for a de minimis waiver and products eligible for 
redesignation. Previously, USTR only accepted comments on de minimis 
and redesignation products. Under the new procedures, USTR now will 
accept petitions to deny de minimis waivers, and petitions to grant 
redesignation. This includes possible redesignation of products for 
which imports are below the dollar value CNL ($180 million for 2017), 
but for which imports exceed 50 percent, in the event that a petitioner 
believes that there has been no production in the United States. As 
noted above, the petitioner should indicate whether there was 
production of a like or directly competitive product in the United 
States during the previous three calendar years (that is, 2015 to 
2017). Consistent with the criteria in section 503 of the Trade Act (19 
U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(C)), the President previously has granted 
redesignation requests in only a limited number of circumstances. USTR 
anticipates this customary practice to continue and will prioritize 
redesignations of products that do not compete with U.S. production.
    The primary distinction between the previous and the new petition 
process is that accepted petitions on these topics now will be included 
in the advice provided by the United States International Trade 
Commission as required by section 503 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
2463).

III. Requirements for Submissions

A. General Requirements

    All submissions for the GSP Annual Review must conform to the GSP 
regulations set forth at 15 CFR part 2007, except as modified below. 
These regulations are available on the USTR website at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preference-programs/generalized-system-preference-gsp/gsp-program-inf.
    All submissions in response to this notice must be in English and 
must be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, using 
docket number USTR-2017-0014. USTR will not accept hand-delivered 
submissions. Submissions that do not provide the information required 
by sections 2007.0 and 2007.1 of the GSP regulations will not be 
accepted for review, except upon a detailed showing in the submission 
that the petitioner made a good faith effort to obtain the information 
required.
    To make a submission via http://www.regulations.gov, enter the 
docket number for this review--USTR-2017-0014--in the ``Search for'' 
field 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 by selecting ``Notice'' under 
``Document Type'' in the ``Filter Results by'' section on the left side 
of the screen and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now.'' For 
further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov website, 
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on 
``How to Use This Site'' on the left side of the home page. The http://www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide comments by filling 
in a ``Type Comment'' field or by attaching a document using the 
``Upload file(s)'' field. USTR prefers that submissions be provided in 
an attached document.
    Submissions must include, at the beginning of the submission, or on 
the first page (if an attachment), the following text (in bold and 
underlined): (1) ``2018/2017 GSP Annual Review''; and (2) the eight-
digit HTSUS subheading number in which the product is classified (for 
product petitions) or the name of the country (for country practice 
petitions). Furthermore, interested parties submitting petitions that 
request action with respect to specific products also should list at 
the beginning of the submission, or on the first page (if an 
attachment) the following information: (1) The requested action; and 
(2) if applicable, the beneficiary developing country. Submissions 
should not exceed 30 single-spaced, standard letter-size pages in 12-
point type, including attachments. Any data attachments to the 
submission should be included in the same file as the submission 
itself, and not as separate files.
    Each submitter will receive a submission tracking number upon 
completion of the submissions procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. 
The tracking number will be the submitter's confirmation that the 
submission was received into http://www.regulations.gov. The 
confirmation should be kept for the submitter's records. USTR is not 
responsible for any delays in a submission due to technical 
difficulties, nor is it able to provide any technical assistance for 
the http://www.regulations.gov website. Documents not submitted in 
accordance with these instructions may not be considered in this 
review. If an interested party is unable to provide submissions as 
requested, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-9666 to arrange 
for an alternative method of transmission.

B. Business Confidential Petitions

    An interested party requesting that information contained in a 
submission be treated as business confidential

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information must certify that the 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.
    Business confidential submissions that are submitted without the 
required markings, or are not accompanied by a properly marked non-
confidential version, as set forth above, might not be accepted or may 
be considered public documents.

C. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice, except for information 
granted ``business confidential'' status under 15 CFR part 2003.6, will 
be available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR part 2007.6 at 
http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing. You can view 
submissions by entering the docket number USTR-2017-0014 in the search 
field at http://www.regulations.gov.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2018-06783 Filed 4-3-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3290-F8-P