To Modify Provisions on Upland Cotton and for Other Purposes

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 212 (Thursday, October 31, 1996)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 56385-56396]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 96-28233]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 212 / Thursday, October 31, 1996 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 56385]]

Proclamation 6948 of October 29, 1996

To Modify Provisions on Upland Cotton and for

Other Purposes

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

1. (a) Presidential Proclamation 6301 of June 7, 1991,

implemented import quotas for upland cotton by adding

U.S. note 6 and subheadings 9903.52.01 through

9903.52.20 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``the

HTS'').

(b) U.S. note 6(a) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of

the HTS provides that whenever the Secretary of

Agriculture (``the Secretary'') determines and

announces that specified conditions relating to the

price of upland cotton exist, there shall be in effect,

as of the effective date of such announcement, a

special import quota applicable to upland cotton

purchased not later than 90 days after the effective

date of the Secretary's announcement and entered into

the United States not later than 180 days after such

date. U.S. note 6(a) further provides that a new 180-

day quota period may be established that overlaps any

existing quota period announced under paragraph (a) of

the note, unless a quota period has been established

under paragraph (b) of the note.

(c) Subheadings 9903.52.01 through 9903.52.20 cover

entries of upland cotton under 20 consecutively

numbered announcements by the Secretary pursuant to

U.S. note 6(a). Thus, the 180-day effective period of a

special upland cotton import quota established under a

particular announcement may still be in effect when the

same announcement number may be assigned with respect

to a different but overlapping quota period.

(d) To avoid such overlap, and to permit the effective

administration of these quotas by the U.S. Customs

Service, I have decided that it is necessary and

appropriate to provide six additional HTS subheadings

corresponding to six additional announcements by the

Secretary.

2. (a) Presidential Proclamation 6641 of December 15,

1993, implemented the North American Free Trade

Agreement (``the NAFTA'') with respect to the United

States and incorporated in the HTS the tariff

modifications and rules of origin necessary or

appropriate to carry out the NAFTA.

(b) Article 303 of the NAFTA provides for the amount

of customs duties that may be claimed as drawback on

goods originating outside the NAFTA region that are

traded between the NAFTA Parties. Article 307.2 of the

NAFTA provides that each Party shall grant temporary

duty-free admission to specified goods when imported

from the territory of another Party, regardless of the

origin of such goods, for repair or alteration. Among

the modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex II to

Proclamation 6641 was a new paragraph (c) of U.S. note

1 to subchapter XIII of chapter 98 of the HTS, which

was intended to give effect to the provisions of

Articles 303 and 307.2 of the NAFTA insofar as they are

applicable to articles to be repaired, altered, or

processed that are admitted temporarily free of duty

under bond. Such new paragraph (c) does not reflect

clearly that the provisions of Article 307.2 of the

NAFTA apply to goods imported from a NAFTA Party,

regardless of their origin, for repair or alteration.

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(c) Accordingly, I have decided that it is appropriate

to modify paragraph (c) of U.S. note 1 to subchapter

XIII of chapter 98 of the HTS to clarify implementation

of the provisions of Article 307.2 of the NAFTA.

(d) Certain provisions set forth in Annexes to

Proclamation 6641 contain technical errors in the

instructions for implementing particular modifications.

To clarify the intent of the modifications previously

proclaimed, I have decided to correct such technical

errors.

3. (a) Sections 1102(a) and (e) of the Omnibus Trade

and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (``the 1988 Act'') (19

U.S.C. 2902(a) and (e)) authorize the President to

enter into trade agreements and to proclaim such

modification or continuance of any existing duty, such

continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment

or such additional duties, as he determines to be

required or appropriate to carry out any such trade

agreement. In addition, section 111(a) of the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act (``the URAA'') (19 U.S.C. 3521(a))

authorizes the President to proclaim such other

modifications of any duty, such other staged rate

reduction, or such additional duties as the President

determines to be necessary or appropriate to carry out

Schedule XX-United States of America, annexed to the

Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade 1994 (``Schedule XX''). 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.

(b) Certain provisions set forth in Annexes to

Proclamation 6763 contain technical errors in the

instructions for implementing particular modifications.

To clarify the intent of the modifications previously

proclaimed, I have decided to correct such technical

errors.

4.(a) Presidential Proclamation 6821 of September 12,

1995, established a tariff-rate quota on certain

tobacco and eliminated tariffs on certain other tobacco

by adding additional U.S. note 5 and various

subheadings to chapter 24 of the HTS. Additional U.S.

note 5 to chapter 24 of the HTS provides that the

tariff-rate quota applies to the aggregate quantity of

tobacco entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for

consumption, under enumerated HTS subheadings from

specified countries or areas, except that products of

Canada, Israel, or Mexico are not permitted or included

under such quantitative limitation. I intended that

tobacco entered with claims of eligibility for the

tariff treatment under any provision of chapter 98 of

the HTS and tobacco entered for marketing to the

ultimate consumer as hand-rolled cigarettes would not

be counted toward the in-quota quantity provided for in

additional U.S. note 5 of the HTS.

(b) I have decided, in order to clarify the status of

such importations with respect to the tariff-rate

quota, that it is appropriate to modify the provisions

of additional U.S. note 5 to chapter 24 of the HTS to

ensure that such goods are properly classified.

(c) Certain provisions of the HTS were modified in

Proclamation 6821 to correct certain technical errors

that were made in Proclamation 6763. However, an error

was made in the spelling of a chemical in Annex II to

Proclamation 6821, and I have decided to correct this

error.

5. (a) Presidential Proclamation 6857 of December 11,

1995, implemented with respect to the United States

modifications in the HTS that I determined were in

conformity with the obligations of the United States

under the International Convention on the Harmonized

Commodity Description and Coding System and did not run

counter to the national economic interest of the United

States.

(b) Such proclamation also modified the rules of

origin set out in the NAFTA in order to ensure that the

tariff and certain other treatment accorded under the

NAFTA would continue to be given to NAFTA originating

goods.

(c) Certain provisions set forth in Annexes to

Proclamation 6857 contain technical errors in the

instructions for implementing particular modifications.

[[Page 56387]]

To clarify the intent of the modifications previously

proclaimed, I have decided to correct such technical

errors.

6. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended

(``the 1974 Act'') (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.

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 604

of the 1974 Act, sections 1102(a) and (e) and 1206(a)

of the 1988 Act, sections 201 and 202 of the North

American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19

U.S.C. 3331 and 3332), sections 111(a) and 423 of the

URAA (19 U.S.C. 3521 and 3621), and section 136(b) of

the Federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 1996 (7

U.S.C. 7236) do proclaim that:

(1) Subheadings 9903.52.21 through 9903.52.26, as

set forth in Annex I to this proclamation, are hereby

inserted in numerical sequence in subchapter III of

chapter 99 of the HTS, and shall become effective with

respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from

warehouse for consumption, as of the dates and under

the terms that may be set forth in the Secretary's

special quota announcements pertaining to such

subheadings.

(2) In order to clarify the intent of modifications

previously proclaimed in certain Annexes to

Proclamations 6641, 6763, 6821, and 6857, the HTS and

the Annexes to such proclamations are modified as

provided in Annex II to this proclamation.

(3) The modifications made by the Annexes to this

proclamation shall be effective on the dates set forth

in such Annexes.

(4) Any provisions of previous proclamations and

Executive orders that are inconsistent with the actions

and provisions of this proclamation are hereby

superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.

(5) This proclamation shall be effective upon

publication in the Federal Register.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord

nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the

Independence of the United States of America the two

hundred and twenty-first.

(Presidential Sig.)

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[FR Doc. 96-28233

Filed 10-30-96; 11:53 am]

Billing code 3190-01-C