(a) Any person may submit a request (hereinafter “petition”) that the designation of a country as an Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) beneficiary country be withdrawn or suspended, or the application of preferential treatment under the ATPA to any article of any ATPA beneficiary country be withdrawn, suspended, or limited. Such petitions should: include the name of the person or the group requesting the review; identify the ATPA beneficiary country that would be subject to the review; if the petition is requesting that the preferential treatment of an article or articles be withdrawn, suspended, or limited, identify such article or articles with particularity and explain why such article or articles were selected; indicate the specific section 203(c) or (d) (19 U.S.C. 3202(c), (d)) eligibility criterion that the petitioner believes warrant(s) review; and include all available supporting information. The Andean Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) may request other information. If the subject matter of the petition was reviewed pursuant to a previous petition, the petitioner should consider providing the Andean Subcommittee with any new information related to the issue.
(b) Any person may submit a petition that the designation of a country as an Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication At (ATPDEA) beneficiary country be withdrawn or suspended, or the application of preferential treatment to any article of any ATPDEA beneficiary country under section 204(b)(1), (3), or (4) (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(1), (3), (4)) be withdrawn, suspended, or limited. Such petitions should: Include the name of the person or the group requesting the review; identify the ATPDEA beneficiary country that would be subject to the review; if the petition is requesting that the preferential treatment of an article or articles be withdrawn, suspended, or limited, identify such article or articles with particularity and explain why such article or articles were selected; indicate the specific section 204(b)(6)(B) (19 U.S.C. 3203(b)(6)(B)) eligibility criterion or criteria that the petition believes warrant(s) review; and include all available supporting information. The Andean Subcommittee may request other information. If the subject matter of the petition was reviewed pursuant to a previous petition, the petitioner should consider providing the Andean Subcommittee with any new information related to the issue.
(c) All petitions and other submissions should be submitted in accordance with the schedule (see § 2016.2) and requirements for submission that The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will publish annually in the Federal Register in advance of each review. Foreign governments may make submission in the form of diplomatic correspondence and should observe the deadlines for each annual review published in the Federal Register.
(d) The TPSC may at any time, on its own motion, initiate a review to determine whether: the designation of a country as an ATPA beneficiary country should be withdrawn or suspended; the application of preferential treatment under the ATPA to any article of any ATPA beneficiary country should be withdrawn, suspended, or limited; the designation of a country as an ATPDEA beneficiary country should be withdrawn or suspended; or the application of preferential treatment to any article of any ATPDEA beneficiary country under section 204(b)(1), (3), or (4) (19 U.S.C. 3202(b)(1), (3), or (4) should be withdrawn, suspended, or limited.
(e) Petitions requesting the action described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section that indicate the existence of exceptional circumstances warranting an immediate review may be considerd outside of the schedule for the annual review announced in the Federal Register. Requests for such urgent consideration should contain a statement of reasons indicating why an expedited review is warranted.