International TradeNewsletter - October 30, 2002
In this Issue...
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
October 30, 2002
- To assist with the Special 301 out-of-cycle reviews (OCRs)
being conducted, USTR requests written comments from the public concerning the
acts, policies and practices of those trading partners who deny adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.
USTR is presently conducting OCRs on: Croatia, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, the
Phillipines, Poland, Qatar and Thailand. Additional countries also may be
reviewed as a result of the comments received pursuant to this notice, or as
warranted by events. In addition, USTR is seeking comment on the United States
Government's 1998 Memorandum of Understanding with Paraguay on intellectual
property matters, including enforcement. Submissions must be received on or
before 12:00 noon on Wednesday, October 30, 2002. Comments should be sent to Sybia Harrison, Special Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, at the following
e-mail address:
FR0037@USTR.GOV, with ``Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review'' in the subject
line. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. For additional
information, please visit
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-25875-filed.
- Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing
Concerning A Proposed United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. The United
States intends to initiate negotiations with Morocco on a free trade agreement.
The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public
hearing and seek public comment to assist the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) to amplify and clarify 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. Persons wishing to testify
orally at the hearing must provide written notification of their intention, as
well as their testimony, by November 1, 2002. A hearing will be held in
Washington, D.C., beginning on November 21, 2002, and will continue as necessary
on subsequent days. Written comments are due by noon, November 25, 2002. The
public is strongly encouraged to submit comments by e-mail. For additional
information and instructions on submitting comments, please visit
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-25876-filed.
- Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing
Concerning Proposed United States--Central America Free Trade Agreement. The
United States intends to initiate negotiations with five Central American
countries on a free trade agreement. The interagency Trade Policy Staff
Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to amplify and clarify 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. Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide
written notification of their intention, as well as their testimony, by November
12, 2002. A hearing will be held in Washington, D.C., beginning on November 19,
2002, and will continue as necessary on subsequent days. Written comments are
due by noon, December 2, 2002. The public is strongly encouraged to submit
documents by e-mail. Additional information and instructions on submitting
comments are available at
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-26200-filed.
- The United States has submitted a paper to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Negotiating Group on Rules that discusses its approach on the
role of global trade rules in dealing with market-distorting trade practices.
These discussions are occurring within the framework of the Doha Development
Agenda, the current WTO trade negotiations. The United States also submitted a
second document regarding the steel sector, which was previously submitted to
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of the
Administration's ongoing multilateral efforts to address global steel market
distortions. The negotiations are focused on antidumping and
subsidy/countervailing duty rules. The WTO allows importing countries to impose
antidumping duties where an imported product is sold at less than the price for
the same product in the exporter's home market, thereby injuring a domestic
industry. Similarly, the WTO allows importing countries to impose countervailing
duties to offset subsidies provided by foreign governments to benefit imported
goods that injure a domestic industry. The U.S. position paper sets out four
core principles that will guide the United States in the negotiations: (1)
maintain the strength and effectiveness of the trade remedy laws; (2) ensure
that the trade remedy laws operate in an open and transparent manner; 3) enhance
the rules to address more effectively underlying trade-distorting practices; and
(4) emphasize that, in disputes over trade remedy laws, dispute bodies follow
the appropriate standard of review and do not impose obligations not contained
in the agreements. The papers submitted by the United States are available by
visiting http://www.ustr.gov/wto/rules/2002-10-17-conceptpaper.PDF.