Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) – Public Comment Request
March 17, 2003
As required by section 203(f) of the ATPA, The Office of
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will submit a report by April 30,
2003, to Congress updating its the members on the efficacy of the program.
Before issuing its report, the USTR has invited the public to submit comments
concerning whether the beneficiary countries (Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and
Peru) are meeting the eligibility criteria established by section 204(6)(B) of
the Act. The USTR published the section 204(6)(B) criteria in the August 15,
2002, edition of the Federal Register, and is summarized as follows:
- commitments to obligations under the WTO,
including certain agreements under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, and
participation in negotiations toward the completion of the FTAA or another free
trade agreement
- the protection of intellectual property rights
- the provision of internationally recognized worker
rights
- implementation of commitments to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor
- the extent to which the beneficiary is meeting the counter narcotics certification criteria
- participation in and implementation of the
Inter-American Convention Against Corruption
- the application of transparent, nondiscriminatory
and competitive procedures in government procurement, and contribution to
efforts in international fora to develop and implement rules on transparency in
government procurement
- the extent to which the country has taken steps to
support the efforts of the United States to combat terrorism
Written comments may be submitted to: Public Reading Room,
ATTN: ATPDEA Beneficiary Countries, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, 1724 F Street, Room F12P1, NW, Washington, D.C. 20508.
Comments must be received by March 27, 2003. Additional information and
instructions regarding this comment request is available online at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-4391.htm.
Public comments submitted to the USTR will be available for
public inspection at the USTR Reading Room after the deadline expires. Those
located outside of the Washington area who are interested in reviewing these
documents for certain issues are encouraged to contact a Holland & Knight
attorney to arrange to have the files inspected.