United States Statutes at Large, Volume 118, 108th Congress, 2nd Session

[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 118, 108th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Proclamation 7746 of December 30, 2003


 
To Implement the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement


By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

1. On June 6, 2003, the United States entered into the United States-
Chile Free Trade Agreement (USCFTA). The Congress approved the USCFTA in
section 101(a) of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (the ``USCFTA Act'') (Public Law 108-77, 117 Stat.
909) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note).
2. Section 105 of the USCFTA Act authorizes the President to establish
or designate within the Department of Commerce an office that shall be
responsible for providing administrative assistance to panels
established under Chapter 22 of the USCFTA.

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118 STAT. 4089

3. Section 201 of the USCFTA authorizes the President to proclaim such
modifications or continuation of any duty, such continuation of duty-
free or excise treatment, or such additional duties, as the President
determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out or apply articles
3.3 (including the schedule of United States duty reductions with
respect to originating goods set forth in Annex 3.3 to the USCFTA), 3.7,
3.9, and 3.20(8), (9), (10), and (11) of the USCFTA.
4. Section 202 of the USCFTA Act provides certain rules for determining
whether a good is an originating good for the purpose of implementing
tariff treatment under the USCFTA. I have decided that it is necessary
to include these rules of origin, together with particular rules
applicable to certain other goods, in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTS).
5. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the USCFTA Act, Chile is to be
removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing
countries eligible for the benefits of the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP). Further, consistent with section 604 of the Trade Act
of 1974 (the ``1974 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2483), as amended, I have
determined that other technical and conforming changes to the HTS are
necessary to reflect that Chile is no longer eligible to receive
benefits of the GSP.
6. Section 208 of the USCFTA Act authorizes the President to direct the
Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions related to
verifications conducted consistent with Article 3.21 of the USCFTA.
7. Subtitle B of title III of the USCFTA Act authorizes the President to
take certain actions in response to a request by an interested party for
relief from imports that are a cause of serious damage, or actual threat
thereof, to a domestic industry producing certain textile or apparel
articles.
8. Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, establishes the
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) to
supervise the implementation of textile trade agreements.
9. Section 604 of the 1974 Act, as amended, authorizes the President to
embody in the HTS the substance of relevant provisions of that Act, or
other acts affecting import treatment, and of actions taken thereunder,
including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any
rate of duty or other import restriction.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 but not limited to
sections 105, 201, 202, and 208 of the USCFTA Act, section 604 of the
1974 Act, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, do proclaim
that:
(1) In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff
treatment being accorded under the USCFTA, to set forth rules for
determining whether goods imported into the customs territory of the
United States are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the
USCFTA, to provide certain other treatment to originating goods for the
purposes of the USCFTA, to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to
certain originating goods, to reflect Chile's removal from the
enumeration of designated beneficiary developing countries for purposes
of the GSP, and to make technical and conforming changes in the general
notes to the HTS, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex I of
Publication 3652

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118 STAT. 4090

of the United States International Trade Commission, entitled
Modifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Implementing the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (Publication
3652), which is incorporated by reference into this proclamation.
(2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination
provided for in the USCFTA, and to provide for future staged reductions
in duties for products of Chile for purposes of the USCFTA, the HTS is
modified as provided in Annex II of Publication 3652, effective on the
dates specified in the relevant sections of such publication and on any
subsequent dates set forth for such duty reductions in that publication.
(3) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to exercise the
authority of the President under section 105(a) of the USCFTA Act to
establish or designate an office within the Department of Commerce to
carry out the functions set forth in that section.
(4) The CITA is authorized to exercise the authority of the
President under section 208 of the USCFTA Act with respect to
verifications conducted in a manner consistent with article 3.21 of the
USCFTA.
(5) The CITA is authorized to exercise the authority of the
President under subtitle B of title III of the USCFTA Act to review
requests and to determine whether to commence consideration of such
requests; to cause to be published in the Federal Register a notice of
commencement of consideration of a request and notice seeking public
comment; to determine whether a Chilean textile or apparel article is
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities and
under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat
thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or
directly competitive with, the imported article; and to provide relief
from imports of an article that is the subject of such a determination.
(6)(a) The amendments to the HTS made by paragraph (2) of this
proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the relevant dates
indicated in Annex II to Publication 3652.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (6)(a) of this proclamation,
this proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2004.
(7) All 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 thirtieth day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
PROCLAMATION 7747--DEC. 30, 2003

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118 STAT. 4091