[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 9197-9198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4429]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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[[Page 9197]]

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                Memorandum of February 18, 2000

                
Action Under Section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 
                Concerning Line Pipe

                Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury [and] the 
                United States Trade Representative

                On December 22, 1999, the United States International 
                Trade Commission (USITC) submitted a report to me that 
                contained: (1) a determination pursuant to section 202 
                of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Trade 
                Act''), that certain circular welded carbon quality 
                line pipe (line pipe) is being imported into the United 
                States in such increased quantities as to be a 
                substantial cause of serious injury or threat of 
                serious injury to the domestic line pipe industry; and 
                (2) negative findings by the USITC pursuant to section 
                311(a) of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
                Implementation Act (the ``NAFTA Implementation Act'') 
                with respect to imports of line pipe from Canada and 
                Mexico.

                After taking into account all relevant considerations, 
                including the factors specified in section 203(a)(2) of 
                the Trade Act, I have implemented action of a type 
                described in section 203(a)(3) of that Act. I have 
                determined that the most appropriate action is an 
                increase in duty on imports of certain line pipe. The 
                additional duty will be 19 percent ad valorem in the 
                first year of relief, declining to 15 and 11 percent ad 
                valorem in the second and third years, respectively. 
                The first 9,000 short tons of imports from each 
                supplying country will be exempted from the increase in 
                duty during each year that the action is in effect. I 
                have proclaimed such action for a period of 3 years and 
                1 day in order to facilitate efforts by the domestic 
                industry to make a positive adjustment to import 
                competition.

                In this regard, I instruct the Secretary of the 
                Treasury to publish or otherwise make available, on a 
                weekly basis, import statistics that will enable 
                importers to identify when imports from each supplying 
                country approach and then exceed the 9,000 short ton 
                threshold. I further instruct the Secretary of the 
                Treasury to establish monitoring categories for those 
                countries with American Petroleum Institute certified 
                (API-certified) line pipe production facilities. Any 
                importations of line pipe from a country without an 
                API-certified line pipe production facility should be 
                treated as line pipe subject to this action but 
                monitored for possible transshipment. I further 
                instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to seek to 
                obtain by March 1, 2000, a statistical subdivision in 
                the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the covered products 
                specified in the Annex to the proclamation. The 
                Secretary of the Treasury will monitor line pipe 
                imports that are the product of Mexico and Canada by 
                country of origin throughout the period of this action 
                and report to the United States Trade Representative on 
                relevant volumes each quarter during the period of this 
                action, or more often as needed, or as the United 
                States Trade Representative may request.

                I have determined, pursuant to section 312(a) of the 
                NAFTA Implementation Act, that imports of line pipe 
                produced in Canada and Mexico, considered individually, 
                do not contribute importantly to the serious injury, or 
                threat of serious injury. Therefore, pursuant to 
                section 312(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act, the 
                safeguard measure will not apply to imports of line 
                pipe that is the product of Canada or Mexico.

[[Page 9198]]

                I have determined that the actions described above will 
                facilitate efforts by the domestic industry to make a 
                positive adjustment to import competition and provide 
                greater economic and social benefits than costs. This 
                action will provide the domestic industry with 
                necessary temporary relief from increasing import 
                competition, while also assuring our trading partners 
                continued access to the U.S. market.

                Pursuant to section 204 of the Trade Act, the USITC 
                will monitor developments with respect to the domestic 
                industry, including the progress and specific efforts 
                made by workers and firms in the domestic industry to 
                make a positive adjustment to import competition, and 
                will provide to me and to the Congress a report on the 
                results of its monitoring no later than the date that 
                is the mid-point of the period during which the action 
                I have taken under section 203 of that Act is in 
                effect. I further instruct the United States Trade 
                Representative to request the USITC pursuant to section 
                332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 
                1332(g)), to examine the effects of this action on both 
                the domestic line pipe industry and the principal users 
                of line pipe in the United States, and to report on the 
                results of its investigation in conjunction with its 
                report under section 204(a)(2).

                The United States Trade Representative is authorized 
                and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, February 18, 2000.

[FR Doc. 00-4429
Filed 2-22-00; 10:50 am]
Billing code 3190-01-M