Text 2219, 226 rader
Skriven 2006-02-28 23:33:40 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0602283) for Tue, 2006 Feb 28
====================================================
===========================================================================
Proclamation by the President: To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central
America-United States Free Trade Agreement
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 28, 2006

Proclamation by the President: To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central
America-United States Free Trade Agreement
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America


˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: CAFTA-DR


1. On August 5, 2004, the United States entered into the Dominican Republic
Central America United States Free Trade Agreement (the "Agreement") with
Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua (the "Agreement countries"). The Agreement was approved by the
Congress in section 101(a) of the Dominican Republic Central America United
States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the "Act")(Public Law
109-53, 119 Stat. 462)(19 U.S.C. 4001 note).

2. Section 105(a) of the 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 Twenty of the Agreement.

3. Section 201 of the Act 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, 3.5,
3.6, 3.21, 3.26, 3.27, and 3.28, and Annexes 3.3 (including the schedule of
United States duty reductions with respect to originating goods), 3.27, and
3.28 of the Agreement.

4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the Act, each Agreement country is
to be removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing
countries eligible for the benefits of the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) on the date the Agreement enters into force with respect
to that country.

5. Consistent with section 201(a)(3) of the Act, each Agreement country is
to be removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary countries
under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA)(19 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.) on the date the Agreement enters into force with respect to that
country, subject to the exceptions set out in section 201(a)(3)(B) of the
Act.

6. Consistent with section 213(b)(5)(D) of the CBERA, as amended by the
United States Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA)(Public Law 106
200), each Agreement country is to be removed from the enumeration of
designated CBTPA beneficiary countries on the date the Agreement enters
into force with respect to that country.

more

(OVER)

2

7. Section 203 of the Act provides certain rules for determining whether a
good is an originating good for the purpose of implementing preferential
tariff treatment under the Agreement. 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).

8. Section 203(o) of the Act authorizes the President to determine that a
fabric, yarn, or fiber is not available in commercial quantities in a
timely manner in the United States and those Agreement countries for which
the Agreement has entered into force, and to add any such fabric, yarn, or
fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a restricted or
unrestricted quantity; to eliminate a restriction on the quantity of a
fabric, yarn, or fiber within 6 months after adding the fabric, yarn, or
fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a restricted quantity;
and to restrict the quantity of, or remove from the list in Annex 3.25 of
the Agreement, certain fabrics, yarns, or fibers.

9. Section 209 of the Act authorizes the President to take certain
enforcement actions relating to trade with the Agreement countries in
textile or apparel goods.

10. Sections 321 328 of the Act authorize the President to take certain
actions in response to a request by an interested party for relief from
serious damage or actual threat thereof to a domestic industry producing
certain textile or apparel articles.

11. Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, established the
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) to supervise
the implementation of textile trade agreements.

12. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the "1974 Act") (19 U.S.C. 2483),
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.

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, including but not limited to sections
105(a), 201, 203, 209, and 321 328 of the Act, section 301 of title 3,
United States Code, and section 604 of the 1974 Act, do proclaim that:

(1) In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff treatment
being accorded under the Agreement to El Salvador, 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 Agreement,
to provide certain other treatment to originating goods for the purposes of
the Agreement, to provide tariff rate quotas with respect to certain goods,
to reflect the removal of El Salvador

from the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing countries for
purposes of the GSP, to reflect the removal of El Salvador from the
enumeration of designated beneficiary countries for purposes of the CBERA
and the CBTPA, and to make technical and conforming changes in the general
notes to the

more

3

HTS, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex I of Publication No. 3829 of
the United States International Trade Commission, entitled "Modifications
to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to Implement the
Dominican Republic-Central America United States Free Trade Agreement With
Respect to El Salvador" ("Publication 3829"), which is incorporated by
reference into this proclamation.

(2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination provided
for in the Agreement, to provide tariff rate quotas with respect to certain
goods, and to provide for future staged reductions in duties for
originating goods for purposes of the Agreement, the HTS is modified as
provided in Annex II of Publication 3829, 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 my authority under
section 105(a) of the 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 my authority under section 203(o) of
the Act to determine that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is not available in
commercial quantities in a timely manner in the United States and those
Agreement countries for which the Agreement has entered into force, and to
add any such fabric, yarn, or fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the
Agreement in a restricted or unrestricted quantity; to eliminate a
restriction on the quantity of a fabric, yarn, or fiber within

6 months after adding the fabric, yarn, or fiber to the list in Annex 3.25
of the Agreement in a restricted quantity; to restrict the quantity of, or
remove from the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement, certain fabrics,
yarns, or fibers; and to establish procedures governing the submission of a
request for any such determination and to ensure appropriate public
participation in any such determination.

(5) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under section 209 of
the Act to suspend or deny preferential tariff treatment to textile or
apparel goods; to detain textile or apparel goods; and to deny entry to
textile or apparel goods.

(6) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under sections 321 328
of the 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; and to determine whether imports of a textile or
apparel article of an Agreement country are causing serious damage, or
actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing an article that is
like, or directly competitive with, the imported article.

(7) The CITA, after consultation with the Commissioner of Customs (the
"Commissioner"), is authorized to consult with representatives of an
Agreement country for the purpose of identifying particular textile or
apparel goods of that country that are mutually agreed to be handloomed,
handmade, or folklore articles as provided in Article 3.21 of the
Agreement. The Commissioner shall take actions as directed by the CITA to
carry out any such determination.

more

(OVER)

4

(8) The United States Trade Representative is authorized to exercise my
authority under section 104 of the Act to obtain advice from the
appropriate advisory committees and the

United States International Trade Commission on the proposed implementation
of an action by presidential proclamation; to submit a report on such
proposed action to the appropriate congressional committees; and to consult
with those congressional committees regarding the proposed action.

(9) The United States Trade Representative is authorized to modify U.S.
note 20 to subchapter XXII of chapter 98 of the HTS in a notice published
in the Federal Register to reflect modifications pursuant to paragraph (4)
of this proclamation by the CITA to the list of fabrics, yarns, or fibers
in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement.

(10)(a) The amendments to the HTS made by paragraphs (1) and (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 3829.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (10)(a) of this proclamation, this
proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption, on or after March 1, 2006.

(11) 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-eighth day of
February, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060228-3.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)