Proclamation 6969

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 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.

(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.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., January 28, 1997]