[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 235 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68483-68485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30578]



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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 7741--To Provide for the Termination of Action Taken With 
Regard to Imports of Certain Steel Products
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 235 / Monday, December 8, 2003 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 68483]]

                Proclamation 7741 of December 4, 2003

                
To Provide for the Termination of Action Taken 
                With Regard to Imports of Certain Steel Products

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. Proclamation 7529 of March 5, 2002, implemented 
                actions (safeguard measures) of a type described in 
                section 203(a)(3)(A) and (B) of the Trade Act of 1974, 
                as amended (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(A) and (B)) (the 
                ``Trade Act''), with respect to imports of certain flat 
                steel (consisting of slabs, plate, hot-rolled steel, 
                cold-rolled steel, and coated steel), hot-rolled bar, 
                cold-finished bar, rebar, certain welded tubular 
                products, carbon and alloy fittings, stainless steel 
                bar, stainless steel rod, tin mill products, and 
                stainless steel wire, as defined in paragraph 7 of 
                Proclamation 7529 (collectively, ``certain steel 
                products'').

                2. In Proclamation 7529 and Proclamation 7576 of July 
                3, 2002, I authorized the United States Trade 
                Representative (USTR) to further consider any request 
                for exclusion of a particular product and upon finding 
                that a particular product should be excluded, to modify 
                the provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
                United States (HTS) created by the Annex to 
                Proclamation 7529 to exclude such particular product 
                from the pertinent safeguard measure established in 
                Proclamation 7529. Pursuant to that authorization, the 
                USTR published four notices of exclusions of products 
                from the safeguard measures in the Federal Register at 
                67 Fed. Reg. 16484 (April 5, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 46221 
                (July 12, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 56182 (August 30, 2002), 
                and 68 Fed. Reg. 15494 (March 31, 2003). The USTR also 
                published notice in the Federal Register of technical 
                corrections to that Annex.

                3. In a Memorandum of March 5, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 
                10593), pursuant to section 203(a)(3)(I) of the Trade 
                Act (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(I)), I instructed the 
                Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce 
                to establish a system of import licensing to facilitate 
                the monitoring of imports of certain steel products. To 
                provide for efficient and fair administration of this 
                action, pursuant to section 203(g) of the Trade Act, I 
                instructed the Secretary of Commerce to publish 
                regulations in the Federal Register establishing such a 
                system of import licensing (the ``Licensing System''). 
                Those regulations were published on December 31, 2002, 
                at 67 Fed. Reg. 79845.

                4. Section 204(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)) 
                requires the United States International Trade 
                Commission (ITC) to monitor developments with respect 
                to the domestic industry while action taken under 
                section 203 remains in effect. If the initial period of 
                a safeguard action exceeds 3 years, then the ITC must 
                submit to the President a report on the results of such 
                monitoring not later than the date that is the mid-
                point of the initial period of the safeguard action. 
                The ITC report in Investigation Number TA-204-9 was 
                submitted on September 19, 2003.

                5. Section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2254(b)(1)(A)) authorizes the President to reduce, 
                modify, or terminate a safeguard action if, after 
                taking into account any report or advice submitted by 
                the ITC and after seeking the advice of the Secretary 
                of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, he determines 
                that changed circumstances warrant such reduction, 
                modification, or termination. The President's 
                determination may be made, inter alia,

[[Page 68484]]

                on the basis that the effectiveness of the action taken 
                under section 203 has been impaired by changed economic 
                circumstances.

                6. In view of the information provided in the ITC 
                report, and having sought advice from the Secretary of 
                Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, I determine that 
                the effectiveness of the actions taken under section 
                203(a)(3)(A) and (B) of the Trade Act with respect to 
                imports of certain steel products and the exclusions 
                from and technical corrections to the coverage of 
                Proclamation 7529 has been impaired by changed economic 
                circumstances. Accordingly, I have determined, pursuant 
                to section 204(b)(1)(A)(ii), that termination of the 
                actions taken under section 203(a)(3)(A) and (B) set 
                forth in Proclamation 7529 taken with respect to 
                certain steel imports is warranted. The action taken 
                under section 203(a)(3)(I) set forth in the Memorandum 
                of March 5, 2002, requiring the licensing and 
                monitoring of imports of certain steel products remains 
                in effect and shall not terminate until the earlier of 
                March 21, 2005, or such time as the Secretary of 
                Commerce establishes a replacement program.

                7. Section 604 of the Trade 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, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, acting under the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States of America, including, but not limited to 
                sections 204 and 604 of the Trade Act and section 301 
                of title 3, United States Code, do proclaim that:

                    (1) The HTS is modified as provided in the Annex to 
                this proclamation.
                    (2) The United States Trade Representative is 
                authorized, upon his determination that the Secretary 
                of Commerce has established a replacement program 
                pursuant to paragraph 6 of this proclamation, to 
                terminate the action under section 203(a)(3)(I) of the 
                Trade Act set forth in the Memorandum of March 5, 2002, 
                and the Licensing System and to publish notice of this 
                determination and action in the Federal Register.
                    (3) Any provisions of previous proclamations and 
                Executive Orders that are inconsistent with the actions 
                taken in this proclamation are superseded to the extent 
                of such inconsistency.
                    (4) The modifications to the HTS made by this 
                proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods 
                entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
                on or after 12:01 a.m., eastern standard time, December 
                5, 2003.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand three, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

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                [FR Doc. 03-30578 Filed 12-5-03; 9:22 am]

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