Request for Comment on Articles To Be Considered for Accelerated Tariff Elimination Under the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Request for Comment on Articles To Be Considered for Accelerated

Tariff Elimination Under the North American Free-Trade Agreement

(NAFTA)

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of and request for comments on articles under

consideration for negotiation with the Governments of Mexico and Canada

for accelerated elimination of preferential NAFTA tariffs.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Section 201(b) of the North American Free Trade Agreement

Implementation Act of 1993 (``the Act'') grants the President, subject

to the consultation and lay-over requirements of section 103(a) of the

Act, the authority to proclaim any accelerated schedule for duty

elimination that may be agreed to by the United States, Mexico and

Canada under Article 302(3) of the North American Free Trade Agreement

(``the NAFTA''). This notice is intended to inform the public of those

articles on which the United States Government and the Governments of

Mexico and Canada have agreed to consider accelerated elimination of

duties under the NAFTA. Inclusion on this list does not signify that

the parties have agreed to accelerate elimination of its duty, only

that the parties will consider doing so.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of a listing of specific products to

be considered for accelerated tariff elimination, where the subheading

is listed in Annex I with an asterisk, may be obtained from the

following agencies:

For agricultural products (chapters 1-24 of the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)): U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Foreign Agricultural Service, FAS Publications, room 5910-S,

Washington, DC 20250-1000. The telephone number is (202) 720-7937; for

non-agricultural products (chapters 25-99 of the HTSUS): U.S.

Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of

Mexico, room 3022, 14th & Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20230.

The telephone number is (202) 482-0300. A complete product list and a

concordance list showing the equivalent subheadings under consideration

by all three countries are available from Office of the United States

Trade Representative, Office of Public Affairs, 600 17th Street NW.,

room 101, Washington, DC 20506. The telephone number is (202) 395-3230.

Inquiries regarding other aspects of this notice or the tariff

acceleration exercise should be directed to the Office of North

American Affairs, USTR; the telephone is (202) 395-3412. Further

information on this subject may be found in the Federal Register of

December 23, 1993, volume 58, number 245, at pages 68186 through 68189.

Inquiries regarding the changes to be made to the Customs Tariff of

Canada should be directed to the Interdepartmental Committee on FTA

Acceleration, 140 O'Conner Street, 14th floor, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

K1A-OG5. Inquiries regarding changes to the Mexican Tariff Schedule of

the General Import Duty Act should be directed to the office of the

Director General de Estudios de Economicos, Unidad Negociadora del

Tratado de Libre Comercio, Secretaria de Comercio y Fomento Industrial

(SECOFI). The address is Alfonso Reyes 30, Piso 9, Colonia Hipodromo

Condesa, 06140 Mexico, D.F.

Requests for Comments

Comments supporting or opposing accelerated duty elimination by the

United States, Mexico and/or Canada for the articles provided for in

the tariff subheadings listed in the Annexes will be accepted until

June 20, 1994. Comments will be accepted by the Governments of Mexico

and Canada until the same date. Parties interested in providing such

comments should contact the offices cited above for the relevant

requirements. Comments must be submitted in accordance with 15 CFR part

21003, preferably type-written, and must be submitted in ten copies to

the Office of North American Affairs, U.S. Trade Representative, 600

17th Street NW., room 501, Washington, DC 20506. All submissions must

specify: (1) The tariff subheading to which the comments refer, and the

country(ies) of concern: the United States, Mexico and/or Canada, (2)

the name, address and telephone number of the person, firm or

organization making the comments, and (3) an indication as to whether

the writer represents:

--Producer in the United States

--Importer in the United States

--Exporter in the United States

--Consumer in the United States

--Other, in the United States

Specify: ____________________

--Producer in Mexico

--Importer in Mexico

--Exporter in Mexico

--Consumer in Mexico

--Other, in Mexico

Specify: ____________________

--Producer in Canada

--Importer in Canada

--Exporter in Canada

--Consumer in Canada

--Other, in Canada

Specify: ____________________

Submissions not meeting these requirements cannot be considered.

Proposed Items To Receive Accelerated Duty Elimination

Articles in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

that are proposed for accelerated duty elimination are listed in Annex

I to this notice. Lists of articles in the Mexican Tariff Schedule of

the General Import Duty Act and the Customs Tariff of Canada that are

proposed for accelerated duty elimination are listed in Annexes II and

III, respectively. Inclusion on this list does not signify that the

parties have agreed to accelerate elimination of its duty, only that

the parties will consider doing so. Comments of the public on the

advisability of an acceleration will be taken into account in

determining the U.S. position with respect to each product under

consideration. Petitions received by January 25, 1994, in accordance

with the Federal Register of December 23, 1993, but not listed in this

notice, shall be considered during the next round of tariff

acceleration discussions with Mexico and Canada.

Advice of the United States International Trade Commission

The United States International Trade Commission is being furnished

with the list of articles published in Annex I of this notice for the

purpose of securing from the Commission its judgement as to the

probable economic effect of accelerated elimination of U.S. duties

under the NAFTA on industries producing like or directly competitive

articles and on consumers.

Advice of the Private Sector Advisory Committee

Pursuant to section 103(a) of the Act, private sector advisory

committees are being furnished with the list of articles published in

the Annexes of this notice for their advice.

Articles That May Be Considered in Negotiations

Please read this section carefully. Except as noted, all articles

provided for in the subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of

the United States that are listed in the Annexes to this notice are

being considered for accelerated duty elimination. A description of

articles provided for in these subheadings is available for Annex I in

the ``Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (1994),

Supplement 1,'' U.S. International Trade Commission Publication 2690.

The ``Customs Tariff'' of Canada and the Mexican ``Tarifa de la Ley del

Impuesto General de Importacio'' (Tariff Schedule of the ``General

Import Duty Act'') should be consulted for a description of the

articles provided for in the tariff subheadings in Annex II and III.

For subheadings listed in the Annexes with an asterisk, only

certain products will be considered for accelerated tariff elimination.

A list of the specific products which will be considered is available

(see ADDITIONAL INFORMATION above).

As with the NAFTA itself, the tariff acceleration exercise will

result in three separate bilateral agreements between the United States

and Mexico, the United States and Canada, and Canada and Mexico. Thus,

in some cases, acceleration is not being considered among all three

parties, as indicated in the Annexes, and a subsequent agreement to

accelerate may not include all countries indicated in the Annexes. As a

rule, accelerated duty elimination is being considered on a reciprocal

basis on the equivalent tariff subheadings by the parties involved. In

many cases, however, one or two parties may already provide NAFTA duty-

free treatment to one or both of the other parties. In such cases, the

Annexes do not list products already eligible for NAFTA duty-free

treatment. A concordance showing the equivalent items in all three

tariff schedules, including those already duty-free, is available (see

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION above).

Charles E. Roh, Jr.,

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for North American Affairs.

Annex I

Subheading in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

containing products to be considered for accelerated removal of the

duty on goods originating in Mexico or Canada under the North American

Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

[Except as noted, all goods originating in Mexico or Canada that

are provided for in the subheading listed below will be considered for

accelerated removal of the U.S. import duty under the NAFTA. If the

subheading is followed by the letters ``MX'' consideration of

accelerated duty removal will be limited to goods only originating in

Mexico. Similarly, if the subheading is followed by the letters ``CA'',

consideration will be limited to goods only originating in Canada. An

asterisk indicates that only certain products within the subheading

will be considered. Information on obtaining a list of specific

products is contained in the body of this notice.]

0406.10.50 *

0603.10.60 MX

0701.90.50 MX

0710.10.00 MX

0710.80.97 * MX

0710.90.90 MX

0712.10.00 MX

0804.50.60

0805.30.40 MX

0805.40.60 MX

0805.40.80 MX

0805.40.80 MX

1108.13.00 MX

1901.90.90 * MX

2001.90.20 MX

2001.90.35 MX

2001.90.39 MX

2001.90.60 MX

2002.90.00 MX

2004.10.80 MX

2005.60.00 MX

2005.90.50 MX

2005.90.55 MX

2005.90.80 MX

2008.19.90 * CA

2009.20.20 MX

2009.20.40 MX

2009.30.10 CA

2009.30.20 CA

2009.30.40

2009.30.60

2204.21.30 MX

2204.21.50 MX

2204.21.80 MX

2204.29.20

2204.29.40 MX

2204.29.60

2204.29.80 MX

2921.19.10 * CA

2933.59.32 MX

2933.90.87 MX

3808.30.50 MX

3920.10.00 CA

3921.90.50 CA

4421.90.40 *

5208.32.30

5404.10.80 *

5407.20.00 *

5501.20.00 MX

5503.20.00 MX

5506.20.00

5515.11.00

5604.90.00 *

5605.00.00 MX

5607.50.20 *

5607.50.40 *

5801.21.00

5801.22.00 MX

5801.23.00

5801.24.00

5903.90.25

6203.11.10

6203.11.20

6203.42.10 CA

6203.42.20 CA

6203.42.40

6204.11.00

6204.62.10 CA

6204.62.20 CA

6204.62.30 CA

6204.62.40

6215.10.00

6302.60.00 * CA

6302.91.00 *

6303.11.00 CA

6307.90.89 *

6402.19.10

6402.19.30 CA

6402.19.50

6402.19.70

6402.19.90

6403.19.15

6403.19.45

6403.19.60

6403.51.60 *

6403.51.90

6403.59.60 *

6403.59.90

6403.91.60 *

6403.91.90

6403.99.60 *

6403.99.75

6403.99.90

6404.11.20 MX

6404.11.90 MX

6404.19.80

6404.19.90 CA

6815.99.40 * CA

6911.10.10 MX

6911.10.80 MX

6912.00.20 MX

6912.00.39 MX

6912.00.45 MX

6912.00.48 MX

6914.90.00 * CA

7005.21.10 MX

7005.21.20 MX

7005.29.05 MX

7005.29.15 MX

7007.11.00 CA

7007.21.10 CA

7007.21.50 CA

7009.91.10 CA

7009.91.50 CA

7318.15.20 *

7318.15.40 *

7318.15.50 * CA

7318.15.60 *

7318.15.80 *

7321.11.10 CA

7321.11.60 CA

7321.90.60 CA

7508.00.10 * CA

7508.00.50 * CA

7901.12.10

7901.12.50 CA

8108.90.30 * CA

8213.00.90 MX

8418.21.00 CA

8418.30.00 CA

8418.40.00 CA

8418.91.00 CA

8418.99.40 CA

8418.99.80 CA

8450.11.00 CA

8450.20.00 * CA

8450.90.20 * CA

8450.90.40 * CA

8450.90.60 * CA

8536.50.80 *

8714.91.30 MX

8714.91.50 MX

8714.91.90 MX

8714.93.10 CA

8714.93.20 CA

8714.93.30

8714.93.60 CA

8714.93.80 CA

8714.95.00

8714.96.10

8714.96.50 CA

8714.96.90

8714.99.10 CA

8714.99.50 CA

8714.99.90

9107.00.40 * CA

9107.00.80 * CA

9114.90.30 * CA

9114.90.50 * CA

9603.29.40 CA

9603.29.80 CA

9603.40.40 CA

9603.50.00 CA

Annex II

Subheadings in the Tariff Schedule of the General Import Duty Act

of Mexico (Tarifa de la Ley del Impuesto General de Importacion)

containing products to be considered for accelerated removal of the

duty on goods originating in the United States or Canada under the

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

[Except as noted, all goods originating in the United States or

Canada that are provided for in the subheadings listed below will be

considered for accelerated removal of the Mexican import duty under the

NAFTA. If the subheading is followed by the letters ``US'',

consideration of accelerated duty removal will be limited to goods only

originating in the United States. Similarly, if the subheading is

followed by the letters ``CA'', consideration will be limited to goods

only originating in Canada. An asterisk indicates that only certain

products within the subheading will be considered. Information on

obtaining a list of the specific products is contained in the body of

this notice.]

0406.10.01 * US

0701.90.99

0710.10.01

0710.80.04 US

0710.90.99 US

0712.10.01

0713.33.02

0805.40.01 US

1105.10.01

1105.20.01

1108.13.01

1901.90.99 * US

2001.90.01 US

2001.90.02 US

2002.90.99 US

2004.10.01

2005.20.01 US

2005.60.01 US

2005.90.01 US

2005.90.99 US

2008.19.99 *

2009.20.01 US

2009.30.02 US

2009.30.99 US

2204.10.01 US

2204.21.01 US

2204.21.01 US

2204.21.02 US

2204.21.03 US

2204.21.99 US

2204.29.99

2204.30.01 US

2208.20.02

2208.20.03

2208.20.99

2208.90.04 US

2837.11.01

2903.40.04

2905.16.02

2921.19.07

2921.21.01

2921.29.01

2921.29.02

2932.29.99 *

2932.59.06

2933.90.57

2935.00.28

2935.00.99 *

2936.27.01

2936.28.01

2937.99.09

2941.30.01

2941.90.16

3702.31.01

3702.41.01

3702.53.01

3702.54.01

3702.55.01

3702.92.01

3702.94.01

3808.30.02

3808.30.99

3921.90.08

4407.10.01 *

4421.90.99 *

4808.30.02 *

4809.90.01

4811.90.09

5208.32.01 *

5404.10.99 * CA

5404.20.01

5501.20.01

5501.20.02

5501.20.03

5501.20.99

5503.20.01

5503.20.02

5503.20.03

5503.20.99

5506.20.01

5515.11.01

5604.90.03

5604.90.04

5605.00.01

5607.50.01

5801.21.01

5801.22.01

5801.23.01

5801.24.01

5903.90.02

6203.11.01

6203.42.01

6203.42.02

6203.42.99

6204.11.01

6204.62.01

6204.62.99 CA

6215.10.01

6302.60.01 * CA

6302.91.01 *

6303.11.01 CA

6307.90.01

6402.19.99

6403.51.01 *

6403.59.99 *

6403.91.01 *

6403.99.99 *

6504.11.01 * US

6404.19.19 *

6911.10.01 US

6912.00.01

6912.00.99

7003.19.01

7003.19.99

7005.10.01

7005.21.01

7005.21.02

7005.21.99

7005.29.01

7005.29.02

7005.29.03

7005.29.99

7006.00.01

7006.00.02

7006.00.03

7006.00.04

7006.00.99

7007.11.02

7007.11.03

7007.11.99

7007.19.01

7007.19.99

7007.21.01

7007.21.04

7007.21.99

7007.29.99

7008.00.01

7009.91.01

7009.91.99

7320.20.01 * US

7320.20.03 * US

7321.11.01

7321.11.02

7321.11.99

7321.90.03

7321.90.06

7321.90.99

7326.20.99 * US

7508.00.99 *

7901.12.01

8108.90.99 *

8213.00.01

8415.10.01

8418.10.01

8418.10.02

8418.21.01

8418.30.01

8418.30.02

8418.30.03

8418.30.05

8418.30.99

8418.40.01

8418.40.02

8418.40.03

8418.40.04

8418.40.99

8418.99.03

8418.99.09

8418.99.12

8418.99.99 *

8419.31.99 *

8419.90.99 *

8422.11.01 US

8422.90.04 US

8422.90.05 US

8422.90.06 US

8424.30.01

8429.59.01

8431.41.01*

8431.41.02*

8431.41.03*

8431.41.99*

8431.49.01*

8431.49.02*

8431.49.99*

8450.11.01

8450.11.02

8450.20.01

8450.90.01 *

8450.90.02 *

8450.90.99 *

8451.21.01 US

8451.21.99 US

8454.30.01

8462.21.05

8479.81.01

8485.90.08

8514.30.02

8514.90.02

8516.60.02

8516.90.11

8516.90.12

8516.90.13

8536.50.01 *

Annex III

Subheadings in the Customs Tariff of Canada Containing products to

be considered for accelerated removal of the duty on goods originating

in the United States or Mexico under the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA).

[Except as noted, all goods originating in the United States or

Mexico that are provided for in the subheadings listed below will be

considered for accelerated removal of the Canadian import duty under

the NAFTA. If the subheading is followed by the letters ``MX'',

consideration of accelerated duty removal will be limited to goods only

originating in Mexico. Similarly, if the subheading is followed by the

letters ``US'', consideration will be limited to goods only originating

in the United States. An asterisk indicates that only certain products

within the subheading will be considered. Information on obtaining a

list of the specific products is contained in the body of this notice.]

0701.90.00 MX

0710.10.00 MX

0712.10.00 MX

1105.10.00 MX

1105.20.00 MX

1108.13.00 MX

2004.10.00 MX

2008.19.90 * US

2204.29.10

2903.40.00 * MX

2905.16.00 * MX

2921.19.00 *

2921.21.00 * MX

2921.29.00 * MX

2932.29.00 * MX

2933.59.00 * MX

2933.90.00 * MX

2935.00.00 * MX

2941.30.00 * MX

2941.90.00 * MX

3921.90.90 *

4421.90.40 *

4809.90.90 * MX

5208.32.90 *

5404.10.90 *

5407.20.00 *

5501.20.00 MX

5503.20.00 MX

5506.20.00

5515.11.00

5604.90.00 *

5605.00.00 MX

5607.50.10 *

5607.50.20 *

5801.21.00

5801.22.10 MX

5801.22.90 MX

5801.23.10

5801.23.20

5801.24.00

5903.90.20 *

6203.11.00

6203.42.00

6204.11.00

6204.62.00

6215.10.00

6302.60.00 *

6302.91.00 *

6303.11.00

6307.90.92 *

6307.90.99 *

6402.19.10 US

6402.19.90

6403.19.10 US

6403.19.20

6403.19.90

6403.51.00 *

6403.59.00 *

6403.91.00 *

6403.99.10 *

6403.99.90 *

6404.19.10 *

6404.19.90 *

6815.99.91 * US

6815.99.99 * US

6912.00.00 MX

6914.90.00 *

7007.11.11

7007.11.19 US

7007.11.30

7007.19.00 MX

7007.21.11

7007.21.19 US

7007.21.30 US

7009.91.00

7318.15.00 *

7321.11.11 MX

7321.11.19 MX

7321.11.90 *

7321.90.10 MX

7321.90.20 *

7321.90.30

7321.90.40

7391.90.51 MX

7391.90.52 MX

7391.90.53 MX

7391.90.59 MX

7508.00.20 *

7508.00.90 *

8108.90.00 *

8213.00.20 US

8213.00.30 US

8418.21.10

8418.21.90

8418.30.00

8418.40.00

8418.91.10 * US

8418.91.20 US

8418.99.11 *

8418.99.19 *

8418.99.31

8418.99.39

8419.90.80 * MX

8424.30.00 MX

8431.41.90 * MX

8431.49.90 * MX

8485.90.90 * MX

8514.30.10 * MX

8514.30.90 * MX

8514.90.91 * MX

8514.90.92 * MX

8516.60.20

8516.90.51

8516.90.52

8516.90.53

8516.90.59

8536.50.80 *

8536.50.91 *

8536.50.99 *

8714.93.00

8714.95.00

8714.96.00

8714.99.10 US

8714.99.20

9107.00.10 *

9107.00.20 *

9107.00.90 *

9114.90.20 * US

9114.90.30 * US

9114.90.90 * US

9603.29.00

9603.40.90

9603.50.90

[FR Doc. 94-12473 Filed 5-20-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190-01-P-M