Free Trade Area of the Americas

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Free Trade Area of the Americas

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice and request for public comment on the Free Trade of the

Americas (FTAA) joint public-private sector Experts Committee on

Electronic Commerce (Experts Committee); identification of private

sector experts in electronic commerce who may wish to participate in

the work of the Experts Committee.

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SUMMARY: The FTAA Experts Committee on Electronic Commerce has been

established by the 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere participating

in the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The Trade Policy Staff

Committee (TPSC) invites public comment on the work plan of the Experts

Committee. In addition, the TPSC seeks to identify U.S. private sector

experts on electronic commerce who may be interested in participating

in the work of the Experts Committee; interested members of the public

are invited to submit written notice of their interest and their

qualifications.

DATES: Written comments on the the Experts Committee and expressions of

interest in participating in the work of the Committee should be

submitted no later than September 8, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For procedural questions concerning public comments, contact Gloria

Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the

United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-3475. All questions

concerning the Experts Committee should be directed to Regina Vargo,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, U.S. Department

of Commerce (202) 482-5324, [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 18-19, 1998, President Clinton and

his 33 counterparts in the Western Hemisphere initiated negotiations to

create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by the year 2005 and

to achieve concrete progress toward that objective by the end of the

century. The leaders established a general framework for the

netotiations, including a Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), composed

of the 34 vice ministers responsible for trade, to oversee the

negotiations. They agreed to nine initial negotiating groups, a

consultative group and two committees, one of which is a joint public-

private sector Experts Committee on Electronic Commerce. At its June

1998 meeting in Buenos Aires, the TNC agreed that the Experts Committee

will be chaired by Mr. Dale Marshall of Barbados. It also was agreed

that the initial meeting of the Experts Committee would be held before

the end of October in Miami.

Experts Committee Terms of Reference: The objective of the Experts

Committee is to make recommendations to trade ministers on how to

increase and broaden the benefits of electronic commerce and how

electronic commerce should be dealt with in the context of the FTAA

negotiations. Four weeks before the October 1999 ministerial meeting,

the Experts Committee is to provide recommendations to the TNC. In

order to develop its recommendations, the Experts Committee will focus

on:

Increasing understanding of the potential benefits of

electronic commerce to countries in the hemisphere;

Identifying the environment that will allow electronic

commerce to flourish;

Discussing infrastructure questions; and

Identifying how electronic commerce can facilitate the

operation of trade obligations.

Experts Committee Private Sector Representation: The Experts

Committee will consist of both public and private sector

representatives. Individual governments will identify private sector

participants with a view toward balanced hemispheric representation in

terms of geography and electronic commerce issue expertise. Although

the FTAA countries have not yet established the details on private

sector representation, including composition, number and final

selection process, the TPSC seeks to identify U.S. private sector

experts on electronic commerce who may be interested in participating

in the work of the Committee.

Public Comments

To prepare for the initial meeting of the Experts Committee in

October 1998,

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the TPSC invites written comments on how to maximize the effectiveness

of private sector participation and on possible elements of a work plan

to implement the Committee's terms of reference, described above. In

addition, in order to assist the TPSC in identifying U.S. private

sector experts on electronic commerce who may be interested in

participating in the work of the Committee, members of the public are

invited to submit written notice of their interest and describe their

qualifications. Qualifications of interest include: demonstrated

expertise in one or more aspects of electronic commerce; knowledge of

the Western Hemisphere, including established contacts with foreign

private sector interests in the region; an ability and willingness to

broadly solicit views from and disseminate information to private

sector interests that provide Internet services, network services,

content and equipment, or that represent the views of other Internet

experts in the private sector, and familiarity with U.S. and foreign

trade and investment policies and obligations.

Those persons wishing to submit written comments should provide

twenty (20) typed copies (in English) to Gloria Blue, Executive

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative, Room 501, 600 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20508. Comments should state clearly the position taken and should

describe the specific information supporting that position.

If the submission contains business confidential information,

twenty copies of a confidential version must also be submitted. A

justification as to why the information contained in the submission

should be treated confidentially must be included in the submission. In

addition, any submissions containing business confidential information

must be clearly marked ``Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the

cover page (or letter) and of each succeeding page of the submission.

The version that does not contain confidential information should also

be clearly marked, at the top and bottom of each page, ``public

version'' or ``non-confidential.''

Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except

for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15

CFR 2003.6, will be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading

Room, Room 101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600

17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. An appointment to review the file

may be made by calling Brenda Webb, (202) 395-6186. The Reading Room is

open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4

p.m., Monday through Friday.

Frederick L. Montgomery,

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.

[FR Doc. 98-21029 Filed 8-5-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190-01-M