[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 1, 2006)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43635-43639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6651]



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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 8039--To Implement the United States-Bahrain Free Trade 
Agreement, and for Other Purposes
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  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 147 / Tuesday, August 1, 2006 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 8039 of July 27, 2006

                
To Implement the United States-Bahrain Free Trade 
                Agreement, and for Other Purposes

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. On September 14, 2004, the United States entered 
                into the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement 
                (USBFTA). The USBFTA was approved by the Congress in 
                section 101(a) of the United States-Bahrain Free Trade 
                Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USBFTA 
                Implementation Act'') (Public Law 109-169, 119 Stat. 
                3581) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note).

                2. Section 105(a) of the USBFTA Implementation Act 
                authorizes the President to establish or designate 
                within the Department of Commerce an office that shall 
                be responsible for providing administrative assistance 
                to panels established under Chapter 19 of the USBFTA.

                3. Section 201 of the USBFTA Implementation Act 
                authorizes the President to proclaim such modifications 
                or continuation of any duty, such continuation of duty-
                free or excise treatment, or such additional duties, as 
                the President determines to be necessary or appropriate 
                to carry out or apply Articles 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.2.8, 
                and 3.2.9, and the schedule of reductions with respect 
                to Bahrain set forth in Annex 2-B of the USBFTA.

                4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the USBFTA 
                Implementation Act, Bahrain is to be removed from the 
                enumeration of designated beneficiary developing 
                countries eligible for the benefits of the Generalized 
                System of Preferences (GSP). Further, consistent with 
                section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``1974 Act'') 
                (19 U.S.C. 2483), as amended, I have determined that 
                other technical and conforming changes to the 
                Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) 
                are necessary to reflect that Bahrain is no longer 
                eligible to receive benefits of the GSP.

                5. Section 202 of the USBFTA Implementation Act 
                provides certain rules for determining whether a good 
                is an originating good for the purpose of implementing 
                preferential tariff treatment under the USBFTA. I have 
                decided that it is necessary to include these rules of 
                origin, together with particular rules applicable to 
                certain other goods, in the HTS.

                6. Section 204 of the USBFTA Implementation Act 
                authorizes the President to take certain enforcement 
                actions relating to trade with Bahrain in textile and 
                apparel goods.

                7. Sections 321-328 of the USBFTA Implementation Act 
                authorize the President to take certain actions in 
                response to a request by an interested party for relief 
                from serious damage or actual threat thereof to a 
                domestic industry producing certain textile or apparel 
                articles.

                8. Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, 
                establishes the Committee for the Implementation of 
                Textile Agreements (CITA) to supervise the 
                implementation of textile trade agreements.

                9. Presidential Proclamation 7747 of December 30, 2003, 
                implemented the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
                Agreement (the ``USSFTA'') with respect to the United 
                States and, pursuant to the United States-Singapore 
                Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USSFTA 
                Implementation Act'') (Public Law 108-78, 117 Stat. 
                948) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), incorporated

[[Page 43636]]

                in the HTS the tariff modifications and rules of origin 
                necessary or appropriate to carry out the USSFTA.

                10. Section 202 of the USSFTA Implementation Act 
                provides rules for determining whether goods imported 
                into the United States originate in the territory of a 
                USSFTA party and thus are eligible for the tariff and 
                other treatment contemplated under the USSFTA. Section 
                202(o) of the USSFTA Implementation Act authorizes the 
                President to proclaim, as a part of the HTS, the rules 
                of origin set out in the USSFTA and to proclaim 
                modifications to such previously proclaimed rules of 
                origin, subject to the consultation and layover 
                requirements of section 103(a) of the USSFTA 
                Implementation Act.

                11. The United States and Singapore have agreed to 
                modifications to certain USSFTA rules of origin. 
                Modifications to the USSFTA rules of origin set out in 
                Proclamation 7747 are therefore necessary.

                12. Section 604 of the 1974 Act, as amended, authorizes 
                the President to embody in the HTS the substance of 
                relevant provisions of that Act, or other Acts 
                affecting import treatment, and of actions taken 
                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 
                section 604 of the 1974 Act; sections 105(a), 201, 202, 
                204, and 321-328 of the USBFTA Implementation Act; 
                section 202 of the USSFTA Implementation Act; and 
                section 301 of title 3, United States Code, do hereby 
                proclaim:

                (1) In order to provide generally for the preferential 
                tariff treatment being accorded under the USBFTA, to 
                set forth rules for determining whether goods imported 
                into the customs territory of the United States are 
                eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the 
                USBFTA, to provide certain other treatment to 
                originating goods for the purposes of the USBFTA, to 
                provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to certain 
                originating goods, to reflect Bahrain's removal from 
                the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing 
                countries for purposes of the GSP, and to make 
                technical and conforming changes in the general notes 
                to the HTS, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex I 
                of Publication 3830 of the United States International 
                Trade Commission, entitled, Modifications to the 
                Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to 
                Implement the United States-Bahrain Free Trade 
                Agreement (Publication 3830), which is incorporated by 
                reference into this proclamation.

                (2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty 
                elimination provided for in the USBFTA and to provide 
                for future staged reductions in duties for products of 
                Bahrain for purposes of the USBFTA, the HTS is modified 
                as provided in Annex II of Publication 3830, effective 
                on the dates specified in the relevant sections of such 
                publication and on any subsequent dates set forth for 
                such duty reductions in that publication.

                (3) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to exercise 
                my authority under section 105(a) of the USBFTA 
                Implementation Act to establish or designate an office 
                within the Department of Commerce to carry out the 
                functions set forth in that section.

                (4) The amendments to the HTS made by paragraphs (1) 
                and (2) of this proclamation shall be effective with 
                respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse 
                for consumption, on or after the relevant dates 
                indicated in Annex II to Publication 3830.

                (5) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority 
                under section 204 of the USBFTA Implementation Act to 
                exclude textile and apparel goods from the customs 
                territory of the United States; to determine whether an 
                enterprise's production of, and capability to produce, 
                goods are consistent with statements by the enterprise; 
                to find that an enterprise has knowingly

[[Page 43637]]

                or willfully engaged in circumvention; and to deny 
                preferential tariff treatment to textile and apparel 
                goods.

                (6) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority 
                under subtitle B of title III of the USBFTA 
                Implementation Act to review requests, and to determine 
                whether to commence consideration of such requests; to 
                cause to be published in the Federal Register a notice 
                of commencement of consideration of a request and 
                notice seeking public comment; to determine whether 
                imports of a Bahraini textile or apparel article are 
                causing serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a 
                domestic industry producing an article that is like, or 
                directly competitive with, the imported article; and to 
                provide relief from imports of an article that is the 
                subject of such a determination.

                (7) In order to modify the rules of origin under the 
                USSFTA, general note 25 to the HTS is modified as 
                provided in Annex I to this proclamation.

                (8) The modifications made by Annex I to this 
                proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods 
                of Singapore that are entered, or withdrawn from 
                warehouse for consumption, on or after August 1, 2006.

                (9) In order to make technical corrections to the HTS, 
                the HTS is modified as provided in Annex II to this 
                proclamation.

                (10) The modifications made by Annex II to this 
                proclamation shall be effective with respect to 
                articles entered, or withdrawn for consumption, on or 
                after the dates provided in that Annex.

                (11) All 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.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand six, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty- first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

Billing code 3195-01-P



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[FR Doc. 06-6651 
Filed 7-31-06; 8:49 am]
Billing code 3190-01-C