[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 30, 2008)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 79585-79587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31137]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 250 / Tuesday, December 30, 2008 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 79585]]

                Proclamation 8331 of December 23, 2008

                
To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central 
                America- United States Free Trade Agreement With 
                Respect to Costa Rica and for Other Purposes

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. On August 5, 2004, the United States entered into 
                the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States 
                Free Trade Agreement (the ``Agreement'') with Costa 
                Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, 
                Honduras, and Nicaragua (the ``Agreement countries''). 
                The Agreement was approved by the Congress in section 
                101(a) of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United 
                States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the 
                ``Act'') (19 U.S.C. 4011).

                2. The Parties to the Agreement entered into an 
                amendment of the Agreement on July 27, August 6, and 
                August 14, 2007 (the ``Amendment''). The Amendment 
                provides for temporary duty-free treatment for certain 
                goods of Costa Rica. The terms of the Amendment with 
                respect to Costa Rica are contained in letters of 
                understanding described in section 1634(b)(2) of the 
                Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-280, 120 
                Stat. 780).

                3. Section 201(a)(1) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 4031(a)(1)) 
                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 3.3 and 3.27, and 
                Annexes 3.3 (including the schedule of United States 
                duty reductions with respect to originating goods) and 
                3.27 of the Agreement.

                4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the Act (19 
                U.S.C. 4031(a)(2)), each Agreement country is to be 
                removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
                developing countries eligible for the benefits of the 
                Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) on the date the 
                Agreement enters into force with respect to that 
                country.

                5. Consistent with section 201(a)(3) of the Act (19 
                U.S.C. 4031(a)(3)), each Agreement country is to be 
                removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
                countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery 
                Act (CBERA) (19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) on the date the 
                Agreement enters into force with respect to that 
                country, subject to the exceptions set out in section 
                201(a)(3)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 4031(a)(3)(B)).

                6. Consistent with section 213(b)(5)(D) of the CBERA 
                (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(5)(D)), as amended by the United 
                States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) 
                (Public Law 106-200), each Agreement country is to be 
                removed from the enumeration of designated CBTPA 
                beneficiary countries on the date the Agreement enters 
                into force with respect to that country.

                7. Section 201(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 4031(b)) 
                authorizes the President, subject to the consultation 
                and layover requirements of section 104(a) of the Act 
                (19 U.S.C. 4014(a)), to proclaim such modifications or 
                continuation of any duty, such modifications as the 
                United States may agree to with an Agreement country 
                regarding the staging of any duty treatment set forth 
                in Annex 3.3 of the Agreement, such continuation of 
                duty-free or excise

[[Page 79586]]

                treatment, or such additional duties, as the President 
                determines to be necessary or appropriate to maintain 
                the general level of reciprocal and mutually 
                advantageous concessions provided for by the Agreement. 
                The consultation and layover requirements of section 
                104(a) of the Act have been satisfied with respect to 
                providing temporary duty free treatment for certain 
                goods of Costa Rica as set forth in the Amendment.

                8. Pursuant to section 201(b) of the Act, I have 
                determined that the modifications herein proclaimed of 
                duties on goods of Costa Rica are necessary or 
                appropriate to maintain the general level of reciprocal 
                and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to 
                Costa Rica provided for by the Agreement.

                9. In Proclamation 8095 of December 29, 2006, 
                consistent with the authority set out in section 111(b) 
                of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 
                3521(b)), I modified the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
                the United States (HTS) to implement the multilateral 
                agreement negotiated under the auspices of the World 
                Trade Organization to eliminate tariffs on certain 
                pharmaceutical products and chemical intermediates. I 
                have determined that technical corrections to the 
                pharmaceuticals annex to the HTS are necessary to 
                ensure that certain products receive the intended duty 
                treatment.

                10. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``1974 
                Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2483), as amended, authorizes the 
                President to embody in the HTS the substance of 
                relevant provisions of that Act, and of other Acts 
                affecting import treatment, and of actions taken 
                thereunder.

                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 201 of the Act and section 604 of the 1974 Act, 
                and the Act having taken effect pursuant to section 
                107, do proclaim that:

                (1) In order to provide generally for the preferential 
                tariff treatment being accorded to Costa Rica under the 
                Agreement, as amended, to provide certain other 
                treatment to originating goods for the purposes of the 
                Agreement, to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect 
                to certain goods, to reflect the removal of Costa Rica 
                from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
                developing countries for purposes of the GSP, to 
                reflect the removal of Costa Rica from the enumeration 
                of designated beneficiary countries for purposes of the 
                CBERA and the CBTPA, and to make technical and 
                conforming changes in the general notes to the HTS, the 
                HTS is modified as set forth in Annexes I and II of 
                Publication 4038 of the United States International 
                Trade Commission, entitled Modifications to the 
                Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to 
                Implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-United 
                States Free Trade Agreement With Respect to Costa Rica 
                (Publication 4038), which is incorporated by reference 
                into this proclamation.

                (2) In order to make technical corrections necessary to 
                provide the intended duty treatment to certain 
                pharmaceutical products and chemical intermediaries, 
                the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex III of 
                Publication 4038.

                (3) 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 I, II, or III of Publication 4038.

                (4) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this 
                proclamation, this proclamation shall be effective with 
                respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse 
                for consumption, on or after January 1, 2009.

                (5) 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.

[[Page 79587]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-third day of December, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                third.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. E8-31137
Filed 12-29-08; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P