[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7836-7837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2209]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Determination Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative has determined that 
Kenya has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to 
prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in 
connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles and has 
implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward 
implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act. Therefore, imports of eligible 
products from Kenya qualify for the enhanced trade benefits provided 
under the AGOA.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 18, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bethany Schwartz, Director for African 
Affairs, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-
9514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The African Growth and Opportunity Act 
(Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-200) 
(AGOA) provides preferential tariff treatment for imports of certain 
textile and apparel products of beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
countries. The textile and apparel trade benefits provided by the AGOA 
are available to imports of eligible products from countries that the 
President designates as ``beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries,'' 
provided that these countries (1) have adopted an effective visa system 
and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of 
counterfeit documents, and (2) have implemented and follow, or are 
making substantial progress toward implementing and following, certain 
customs procedures that assist the Customs Service in verifying the 
origin of the products.
    In Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, the President designated 
34 countries as ``beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries.'' 
Proclamation 7350 delegated to the United States Trade Representative 
(USTR) the authority to determine whether these countries have met the 
two requirements described above. The President directed the USTR to 
announce any such determinations in the Federal Register and to 
implement them through modifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the

[[Page 7837]]

United States (HTS). Based on actions that Kenya has taken, I have 
determined that Kenya has satisfied these two requirements.
    The AGOA also directs the President to eliminate the existing 
quotas on textile and apparel articles imported into the United States 
from Kenya within 30 days after Kenya adopts an effective visa system 
to prevent unlawful transshipment of textile and apparel articles and 
the use of counterfeit documents relating to the importation of such 
articles into the United States. Proclamation 7350 delegated this 
responsibility to the USTR.
    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority vested in the USTR by 
Proclamation 7350, the HTS is modified as provided in Proclamation 7350 
and as specified in the Annex to this notice, effective with respect to 
articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after January 18, 2001. Importers claiming preferential tariff 
treatment under the AGOA for entries of textile and apparel articles 
should ensure that those entries meet the applicable visa requirements. 
(The visa requirements are described in a separate notice that is being 
published in the Federal Register concurrently with this notice.) By 
this notice, I direct the Customs Service to eliminate the existing 
quotas on textile and apparel articles imported into the United States 
from Kenya within 30 days of the effective date of this notice.

Charlene Barshefsky,
United States Trade Representative.

Annex

    Pursuant to the authority provided in Proclamation 7350, the HTS 
is modified as follows:
    1. The text of U.S. note 7 to subchapter II of chapter 98, as 
established by the annex to such Proclamation, is modified by 
inserting before it the paragraph designation ``(a)''. Such 
paragraph is modified by inserting at the end thereof the following 
new sentence and enumeration:
    ``The USTR has determined that the following countries have 
adopted an effective visa system and related procedures and have 
satisfied the customs requirements of the AGOA and, therefore, are 
to be afforded the tariff treatment provided for in this note: 
Kenya''
    2. U.S. note 1 to subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the HTS, as 
established by the annex to such Proclamation, is modified by adding 
at the end of the text of such note the following new sentence and 
enumeration:
    ``The USTR has determined that the following countries have 
adopted an effective visa system and related procedures and have 
satisfied the customs requirements of the AGOA and, therefore, are 
to be afforded the tariff treatment provided for in this note: 
Kenya''
    3. U.S. note 2(d) to subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the HTS, as 
established by the annex to such Proclamation, is modified by adding 
at the end of the text the following new sentence and enumeration:
    ``Products of the following countries qualifying as lesser 
developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries for purposes of 
such subheading, if described therein, shall be eligible to enter 
thereunder, provided that such countries are named in U.S. note 1 to 
this subchapter on the date of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse 
for consumption:

Republic of Benin
Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Central African Republic
Republic of Chad
Republic of Congo
Republic of Djibouti
State of Eritrea
Ethiopia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Democratic Republic of Sao
Tome and Principe
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Sierra Leone
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia''

[FR Doc. 01-2209 Filed 1-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-U