Text 2412, 113 rader
Skriven 2006-03-31 23:33:52 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0603316) for Fri, 2006 Mar 31
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To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free
Trade Agreement with Respect to Honduras and Nicaragua
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 31, 2006

To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free
Trade Agreement with Respect to Honduras and Nicaragua
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 (Agreement)
with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
and Nicaragua (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 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 and 3.28,
and Annexes 3.3 (including the schedule of United States duty reductions
with respect to originating goods) and 3.28 of the Agreement.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (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 of America, including but not limited to
section 201 of the Act, section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and
section 604 of the 1974 Act, and the Act having taken effect pursuant to
section 107(a), do proclaim that:

(1) In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff treatment
being accorded under the Agreement to Honduras and Nicaragua, 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 Honduras and Nicaragua from the enumeration of
designated beneficiary developing countries for purposes of the GSP, to
reflect the removal of Honduras and Nicaragua 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
HTS, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex I of Publication 3845 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
Honduras and Nicaragua (Publication 3845), which is incorporated by
reference into this proclamation.

(2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination provided
for in the Agreement 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 3845, 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)(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 I and Annex II to Publication 3845.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (3)(a) of this proclamation, this
proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption, on or after April 1, 2006.

(4) 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 thirty first day of
March, 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

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