[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 4415-4427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2345]
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_______________________________________________________________________
Part VI
The President
_______________________________________________________________________
Proclamation 6969--To Modify Application of Duty-Free Treatment of
Certain Articles Under the Generalized System of Preferences, and for
Other Purposes
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
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Proclamation 6969 of January 27, 1997
To Modify Application of Duty-Free Treatment of
Certain Articles Under the Generalized System of
Preferences, and for Other Purposes
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
1. Pursuant to section 503(c)(1) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended by Public Law 104-88; 110 Stat. 1755,
1922 (``the 1974 Act''), the President may withdraw,
suspend, or limit the application of the duty-free
treatment accorded under section 501 of the 1974 Act
(19 U.S.C. 2461) with respect to any article. With due
regard for the factors set forth in sections 501 and
502(c) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2461 and 2462(c)), I
have determined that it is appropriate to modify the
application of duty-free treatment under title V of the
1974 Act for certain articles, including certain goods
previously eligible for such treatment that the Customs
Service has reclassified.
2. Presidential Proclamation 6961 of November 28, 1996,
provided import relief with respect to certain broom
corn brooms. For certain subheadings of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) established
to carry out this relief, provisions were omitted that
would have continued staged reductions of special rates
of duty for the goods concerned, previously proclaimed
pursuant to section 201(a) of the North American Free
Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3331(a)).
Further, other HTS provisions established by that
proclamation contain conflicting dates that complicate
their administration. To rectify these omissions and to
permit proper administration of the import relief, I
have decided that it is necessary and appropriate to
continue previously proclaimed duty treatment for the
affected goods and to make technical corrections in
certain HTS provisions.
3. Section 213 of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
Act, as amended (CBERA) (19 U.S.C. 2703), and section
204 of the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) (19
U.S.C. 3203) authorize the President to provide duty-
free entry for all eligible articles, and duty
reductions for certain other articles, that are the
product of any country that has been designated as a
beneficiary country under those Acts. To clarify the
preferential tariff treatment provided to particular
dutiable goods that are the product of beneficiary
countries under the CBERA or the ATPA and that are
eligible to enter under HTS heading 9802.00.80, which
provides for certain goods assembled abroad using
components of U.S. origin, I have decided it is
appropriate to provide special rates of duty for
purposes of the CBERA and of the ATPA in heading
9802.00.80 to apply to such goods.
4. Presidential Proclamation 6948 of October 29, 1996,
modified tariff provisions concerning special import
quotas for upland cotton. That proclamation also
modified certain provisions of the HTS and of prior
Presidential proclamations to correct technical errors
and to clarify the intent of previously proclaimed
modifications. In proclaiming the modifications to the
provisions on upland cotton, a conforming change to
U.S. note 6 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTS
was omitted. Further, the instructions in section
A(5)(c) of Annex II to such proclamation concerning
modifications to subchapter IV of chapter 99 to the HTS
contained an error. To rectify the omission and to
correct the error in instructions, I have decided it is
necessary and appropriate to modify U.S. note 6 to
subchapter III of chapter 99
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of the HTS and to amend the instructions in section
A(5)(c) of Annex II to Proclamation 6948.
5. Presidential Proclamation 6763 of December 23, 1994,
implemented with respect to the United States the trade
agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round of
multilateral trade negotiations, including Schedule
XX--United States of America, annexed to the Marrakesh
Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
1994. A conforming change in a subheading in subchapter
V of chapter 99 of the HTS was omitted from
Proclamation 6763. Further, particular HTS additional
U.S. notes implementing tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for
specified agricultural products do not clearly reflect
the intended quota periods and the quantities permitted
entry during such quota periods and have caused
administrative difficulties. In order to make the
necessary conforming change and to correct the legal
notes controlling such TRQs, I have decided it is
necessary and appropriate to modify a subheading in
subchapter V of chapter 99 and the legal notes
pertaining to such TRQs.
6. Presidential Proclamation 6857 of December 11, 1995,
implemented with respect to the United States certain
modifications to the HTS, in conformity with the
obligations of the United States under the
International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System. The Annex to that
proclamation omitted provisions that would have
continued previously proclaimed staged reductions of
certain rates of duty for the goods concerned, pursuant
to section 111(a) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3521(a)). To rectify these omissions,
I have decided that it is necessary and appropriate to
provide for the continuation of previously proclaimed
duty treatment for the affected goods.
7. (a) Section 115 of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3524)
requires the President to (1) obtain advice regarding
certain proposed actions; (2) submit a report to the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the
Senate; and (3) consult with those Committees on the
proposed action during a subsequent 60-day period to
meet the consultation and layover requirements of that
section.
(b) Section 604 of the 1974 Act, as amended (19
U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the
HTS the substance of the relevant provisions of that
Act, and of other acts affecting import treatment, and
actions thereunder, including the removal,
modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of
duty or other import restriction.
8. I have decided that it is appropriate to authorize
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to
perform the functions specified in section 115 of the
URAA and certain functions under section 604 of the
1974 Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, acting under the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, including but not limited to section 503
of the 1974 Act, section 213 of the CBERA, section 204
of the ATPA, section 604 of the 1974 Act, and section
301 of title 3, United States Code, do proclaim that:
(1) In order to reflect in the HTS various
technical and conforming changes, to correct provisions
of Proclamations 6948 and 6961, and to modify the
special duty rates subcolumn for heading 9802.00.80,
the HTS and Proclamations 6948 and 6961 are each
modified as set forth in Annexes I and II to this
proclamation.
(2) In order to modify the application of duty-free
treatment under title V of the 1974 Act for certain
articles, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex III
to this proclamation.
(3) The modifications to the HTS made by Annexes I,
II, and III to this proclamation shall be effective
with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse for consumption, on or after the dates set
forth in such Annexes and during the time periods
specified therein.
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(4) The USTR is authorized to perform the functions
vested in the President under section 115 of the URAA.
In addition, the USTR is authorized to exercise the
authority provided to the President under section 604
of the 1974 Act to embody rectifications, technical or
conforming changes, or similar modifications in the
HTS.
(5) Any provisions of previous proclamations and
Executive orders that are inconsistent with the actions
taken in this proclamation are superseded to the extent
of such inconsistency.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
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[FR Doc. 97-2345
Filed 1-28-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3190-01-C
