USTR Announces Product Petitions Which Have Been Accepted for 2004 GSP Annual Review, Etc
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing the product petitions that are accepted for further review in the 2004 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Review.
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The USTR's notice also announces the public comment and hearing schedule.
(The USTR notes that the list of country practice petitions accepted for review will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date.)
Product Petitions Accepted for 2004 GSP Annual Review
The USTR states that the interagency GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) has reviewed the product petitions submitted, and has decided to initiate a full review of the below-listed petitions.
(The USTR notes that acceptance of a petition for review does not indicate any opinion with respect to the disposition on the merits of the petition. Acceptance indicates only that the listed petitions have been found eligible for review by the TPSC and that such review will take place.)
The following are the product petitions that have been accepted for review:
(See HTS for complete product descriptions.)
A. Petitions to Make Additional Products GSP Eligible
| 0804.10.2000 | Whole dates, fresh or dried, with or without pits, packed in units weighing (with the immediate container, if any) not more than 4.6 kg |
| 0804.10.4000 | Whole dates, fresh or dried, with pits |
| 0804.10.6000 | Whole dates, fresh or dried, with pits removed |
| 0804.10.8000 | Other dates, fresh or dried |
| 2008.99.2500 | Other dates, prepared or preserved, etc. |
| 5702.51.2000 | Cat 465 | Carpets and OTFC1, woven, not of p/c2, not made up, not power-loomed3, of wool or fine animal hair |
| 5702.91.3000 | Cat 465 | Carpets and OTFC1, woven, not of p/c2, made up, not power-loomed3, of wool or fine animal hair |
| 5702.92.0010 | Cat 665 | Carpets and OTFC1, woven, not of p/c2, made up, not power-loomed3, of man-made textile materials |
| 5702.99.1010 | Cat 369 | Carpets and OTFC1, woven, not of p/c2, made up, not power-loomed3, of cotton |
| 5703.10.0020 | Cat 465 | Carpets and OTFC1, tufted, hand-hooked, of wool or fine animal hair |
| 5703.20.1000 | Cat 665 | Carpets and OTFC1, tufted, hand-hooked, of nylon or other polyamides |
| 5703.30.0020 | Cat 665 | Carpets and OTFC1, tufted, hand-hooked, of other man-made textile materials |
| 7320.10.60 | Other leaf springs and leaves therefor, of iron or steel, suitable for motor vehicle suspension |
The USTR states that it is self-initiating a petition for this HTS subheading.
1 other textile floor coverings
2 pile construction
3 not made on a power-driven loom
B. Petitions to Remove Products from GSP Eligibility
| Russia | 3904.61.0000 | Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) |
The USTR notes that Russia is the beneficiary developing country specified by the petitioner. While the TPSC review will focus on Russia, it reserves the right to address removal of GSP status for countries other than Russia as well as the GSP status of the entire article.
C. Petitions for Waiver of GSP Competitive Need Limits
| Philippines | 3823.19.2000 | Other industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining: derived from coconut, palm-kernel or palm oil |
| Argentina | 4107.19.5000 | Other upholstery leather |
| Argentina | 4107.92.8000 | Certain other fancy grain splits leather, etc. |
| Turkey | 6802.91.2500 | Other travertine |
USTR's Schedule for Public Hearings and Submission of Comments, Etc.
According to USTR, the TPSC's GSP Subcommittee public hearings will be held on March 24, 2005. Pre-hearing briefs and requests to appear at the public hearings are due on March 10, 2005, and post-hearing and rebuttal briefs are due on April 15, 2005. The USTR adds that the annual review decisions are scheduled to be announced on approximately June 30, 2005.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 11/16/04 news, 04111615, for BP summary of the USTR's extension of the deadline for submitting petitions for the 2004 GSP product and country eligibility practices review.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/18/05 news, 05021815, for BP summary of the International Trade Commission's (ITC's) institution of Investigation No. 332-466 in order to provide advice to the USTR on these same above-listed product petitions.)
USTR contact - GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC (202) 395-6971
USTR notice (FR Pub 02/25/05) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-3720.pdf