[House Document 107-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-9
TO MODIFY DUTY-FREE TREATMENT UNDER THE
GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A PROCLAMATION TO IMPLEMENT THE NON-TEXTILE/APPAREL BENEFITS OF THE
AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ACT (TITLE I OF PUBLIC LAW 106-200)
January 3, 2001.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and
ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, December 18, 2000.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby transmit a Proclamation to
implement the non-textile/apparel benefits of the African
Growth and Opportunity Act (Title I of Public Law 106-200)
(AGOA) by expanding the list of products eligible for duty-free
treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)
program when imported from beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton.
To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the Generalized System of
Preferences for Sub-Saharan African Countries and for Other Purposes
----------
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
1. Section 506A(b)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended
(the ``1974 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2466a(b)(1)), as added by section
111(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Title I of
Public Law 106-200) (AGOA), authorizes the President to provide
duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) to any article described in section 503(b)(1) (B) through
(G) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2463 (b)(1) (B)-(G) that is the
growth, product, or manufacture of a designated beneficiary
sub-Saharan African country, if, after taking into account the
advice of the United States International Trade Commission
(USITC), the President determines that such article is not
import-sensitive in the context of imports from beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries.
2. Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, designated certain
countries listed in section 107 of the AGOA as beneficiary sub-
Saharan African countries.
3. Pursuant to section 506A(b)(1) of the 1974 Act, and
having taken into account the advice of the USITC, I have
determined that certain articles are not import-sensitive in
the context of imports from beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries. I have determined to designate those articles as
eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP. I have decided
to designate these articles by inserting the symbol ``D'' in
the Rates of Duty 1-Special subcolumn of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTS) for subheadings covering
such articles.
4. Section 213(b)(3)(A) of the Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act (CBERA) (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(3)(A)), as amended by
section 211(a) of the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act (Title II of Public Law 106-200) (CBTPA),
provides that the tariff treatment accorded at any time during
the transition period defined in section 213(b)(5)(D) of the
CBERA (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(5)(D)), as amended by section 211(a)
of the CBTPA, to certain articles that are originating goods of
designated CBTPA beneficiary countries shall be identical to
the tariff treatment that is accorded at such time under Annex
302.2 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to an
article described in the same 8-digit subheading of the HTS
that is a good of Mexico and is imported into the United
States. Such articles are described in section 213(b)(1) (B)
through (F) of the CBERA (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(1) (B)-(F)), as
amended by section 211(a) of the CBTPA.
5. Proclamation 7351 of October 2, 2000, designated certain
countries as CBTPA beneficiary countries and reflected in the
HTS the tariff treatment provided under the CBTPA, which became
effective on that date with respect to those CBTPA beneficiary
countries enumerated in a Federal Register notice issued by the
United States Trade Representative. The Annex to Proclamation
7351 designated certain HTS subheadings covering articles
described in section 213(b)(1) (B) through (F) of the CBERA as
eligible for the tariff treatment authorized by section
213(b)(3)(A) of the CBERA. Certain HTS provisions covering
watches and watch parts and footwear were inadvertently
omitted. I have determined that these provisions should be
designated as covering articles eligible for the tariff
treatment authorized by section 213(b)(3)(A) of the CBERA.
6. Proclamation 7351 incorporated into the HTS the
provisions of the CBTPA concerning the tariff treatment of
certain textile and apparel articles imported into the United
States from designated CBTPA beneficiary countries, pursuant to
section 213(b)(2) of the CBERA (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(2)), as
amended by section 211(a) of the CBTPA. I have determined that
a technical error in one of the legal notes to chapter 98 of
the HTS created by the Annex to that proclamation should be
corrected.
7. Section 604 of the 1974 Act (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.
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 of
America, including title V and section 604 of the 1974 Act,
section 111 of the AGOA, section 211 of the CBTPA, and section
213 of the CBERA, do proclaim that:
(1) In order to provide duty-free treatment under the GSP
to certain articles when imported from designated beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries, the HTS is modified as provided
in Annex I to this proclamation.
(2) In order to accord, at any time during the transition
period, to certain watches and watch parts described in section
213(b)(1)(E) of the CBERA, when such watches and watch parts
are CBTPA originating goods, the identical tariff treatment
that is accorded at such time under Annex 302.2 of the NAFTA to
an article described in the same 8-digit subheading of the HTS
that is a good of Mexico and is imported into the United
States, chapter 91 of the HTS is modified as provided in Annex
II to this proclamation.
(3) In order to make a technical correction in U.S. note
2(c) to subchapter XX of chapter 98 of the HTS, such note is
modified as provided in Annex II to this proclamation.
(4) Any provisions of previous proclamations and Executive
orders that are inconsistent with this proclamation are
superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.
(5)(a) The modifications made by Annex I to this
proclamation shall be effective with respect to articles
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or
after the date of publication of this proclamation in the
Federal Register.
(b) The modifications made by Annex II to this proclamation
shall be effective with respect to articles entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after October
2, 2000.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.
William J. Clinton.