[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 204 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 54719-54725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27126]



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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 6942--To Amend the Generalized System of Preferences
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 204 / Monday, October 21, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 6942 of October 17, 1996

                
To Amend the Generalized System of Preferences

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. Sections 501(1) and (4) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
                amended (``Trade Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2461(1) and (4)), 
                provide that, in affording duty-free treatment under 
                the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the 
                President shall have due regard for, among other 
                factors, the effect such action will have on furthering 
                the economic development of a beneficiary developing 
                country and the extent of the beneficiary developing 
                country's competitiveness with respect to eligible 
                articles. Section 502(c)(2) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2462(c)(2)) provides that, in determining whether to 
                designate any country as a beneficiary developing 
                country for purposes of the GSP, the President shall 
                take into account various factors, including the 
                country's level of economic development, the country's 
                per capita gross national product, the living standards 
                of its inhabitants, and any other economic factors he 
                deems appropriate. Section 502(d) of the Trade Act (19 
                U.S.C. 2462(d)) authorizes the President to withdraw, 
                suspend, or limit the application of duty-free 
                treatment under the GSP with respect to any country 
                after considering the factors set forth in sections 501 
                and 502(c) of the Trade Act. Section 502(f)(2) of the 
                Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(f)(2)) requires the President 
                to notify the Congress and the affected country, at 
                least 60 days before termination, of the President's 
                intention to terminate the affected country's 
                designation as a beneficiary developing country for 
                purposes of the GSP.

                2. Section 502(e) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2462(e)) 
                provides that the President shall terminate the 
                designation of a country as a beneficiary developing 
                country if the President determines that such country 
                has become a ``high income'' country as defined by the 
                official statistics of the International Bank for 
                Reconstruction and Development. Termination is 
                effective on January 1 of the second year following the 
                year in which such determination is made.

                3. Section 502(c)(7) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2462(c)(7)) provides that, in determining whether to 
                designate any country a beneficiary developing country 
                under this section, the President shall take into 
                account whether the country has taken or is taking 
                steps to afford internationally recognized worker 
                rights to workers in the country.

                4. Section 502(a)(1) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2462(a)(1)) authorizes the President to designate 
                countries as beneficiary developing countries for 
                purposes of the GSP. Section 503(c)(2)(F) of the Trade 
                Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(F)) authorizes the President 
                to disregard the limitations provided in section 
                503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2463(c)(2)(A)(i)(II)) with respect to any eligible 
                article if the aggregate appraised value of the imports 
                of such article into the United States during the 
                preceding calendar year is de minimis.

                5. Section 502(a)(2) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2462(a)(2)) authorizes the President to designate any 
                beneficiary developing country as a least-developed 
                beneficiary developing country for purposes of the GSP 
                based on the considerations in sections 501 and 502(c) 
                of the Trade Act.

[[Page 54720]]

                6. Pursuant to section 502(d) of the Trade Act, and 
                having considered the factors set forth in sections 501 
                and 502(c)(2), I have determined that Malaysia is 
                sufficiently advanced in economic development and 
                improved in trade competitiveness that continued 
                preferential treatment under the GSP is not warranted, 
                and that it is appropriate to terminate the designation 
                of Malaysia as a beneficiary developing country for 
                purposes of the GSP effective January 1, 1997. In order 
                to take into account the termination of benefits under 
                the GSP for articles imported from Malaysia, I have 
                determined that it is appropriate to: (i) terminate the 
                designation of Malaysia for GSP purposes as a member of 
                the Association of South East Asian Nations (``ASEAN'') 
                and to modify general note 4(a) of the Harmonized 
                Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTS'') to 
                reflect such termination, (ii) delete from general note 
                4(d) of the HTS and from pertinent HTS subheadings all 
                references to particular products of Malaysia which are 
                currently excluded from preferential tariff treatment 
                under the GSP, and (iii) to terminate any waivers of 
                the competitive need limits granted to Malaysia 
                pursuant to section 503(d) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2463(d)).

                7. Pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I have 
                determined that Cyprus, Aruba, Macau, the Netherlands 
                Antilles, Greenland, and the Cayman Islands meet the 
                definition of a ``high income'' country as defined by 
                the official statistics of the International Bank for 
                Reconstruction and Development. As a result and 
                pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I am 
                terminating the preferential treatment under the GSP 
                for articles that are currently eligible for such 
                treatment and that are imported from Cyprus, Aruba, 
                Macau, the Netherlands Antilles, Greenland, and the 
                Cayman Islands effective January 1, 1998.

                8. Pursuant to section 502(d) of the Trade Act, and 
                having considered the factors set forth in sections 501 
                and 502(c)(7), I have determined that it is appropriate 
                to suspend some of Pakistan's GSP benefits because of 
                insufficient progress on affording workers in that 
                country internationally recognized worker rights. In 
                order to reflect the suspension of benefits under the 
                GSP for certain articles imported from Pakistan, I have 
                determined that it is appropriate to modify general 
                note 4(d) of the HTS and pertinent HTS subheadings so 
                that Pakistan will no longer receive preferential 
                tariff treatment under the GSP with respect to certain 
                eligible articles effective July 1, 1996.

                9. Pursuant to section 502(a)(1) of the Trade Act, I am 
                acting to correct the name of Guinea-Bissau and the 
                Republic of Yemen in the HTS, beneficiary developing 
                countries previously proclaimed. In addition, I have 
                determined that it is appropriate to disregard section 
                503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the Trade Act with respect to 
                certain eligible articles from certain beneficiary 
                developing countries based on imports for calendar year 
                1994 and to restore preferential treatment under the 
                GSP to imports of such articles from such countries.

                10. Pursuant to sections 502(a)(2) and 502(d) of the 
                Trade Act, and having considered the factors set forth 
                in sections 501 and 502(c), I have determined that 
                Botswana and Western Samoa should be deleted from the 
                list of least-developed beneficiary developing 
                countries and Angola, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Zaire, and 
                Zambia should be added.

                11. Section 604 of the Trade Act, as amended (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.

                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 301 
                of Title 3, United States Code, and Title V and section 
                604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim that:

[[Page 54721]]

                    (1) In order to terminate the designation of 
                Malaysia as a beneficiary developing country under the 
                GSP and to modify the list of beneficiary developing 
                countries designated as least-developed beneficiary 
                developing countries for purposes of the GSP, the HTS 
                is modified as provided in Annex I to this 
                proclamation.
                    (2) In order to terminate the designation of 
                Cyprus, Aruba, Macau, the Netherlands Antilles, 
                Greenland, and the Cayman Islands as beneficiary 
                developing countries under the GSP, the HTS is modified 
                as provided in Annex II to this proclamation.
                    (3) In order to reflect the suspension of benefits 
                under the GSP for certain articles imported from 
                Pakistan, the HTS is modified as provided in Annex III 
                to this proclamation.
                    (4) In order to correct the name of Guinea-Bissau 
                and Republic of Yemen and to restore preferential 
                treatment to certain eligible articles from certain 
                beneficiary developing countries as a result of 
                granting of de minimis waivers to such articles, the 
                HTS is modified as provided in Annex IV to this 
                proclamation.
                    (5) I delegate to the United States Trade 
                Representative the powers granted to me in section 
                502(f)(2) of the Trade Act to notify a country of my 
                intention to terminate that country's status as a 
                beneficiary developing country for the purposes of the 
                GSP.
                    (6) Any provisions of previous proclamations and 
                Executive orders inconsistent with the provisions of 
                this proclamation are hereby superseded to the extent 
                of such inconsistency.
                    (7) The modifications to the HTS made in paragraphs 
                (1) through (4) of this proclamation shall be effective 
                with respect to articles both: (i) imported on or after 
                January 1, 1976, and (ii) entered, or withdrawn from 
                warehouse for consumption, on or after the date 
                specified in the respective Annex.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth 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.)

                Billing code 3195-01-P

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[FR Doc. 96-27126
Filed 10-18-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3190-01-C