[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]


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  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.

[[Page 56386]]

                 (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