[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 15 (Monday, January 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 4482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1589]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act; 
Designation of Qualifying Industrial Zones

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation 
Act (IFTA Act), articles of qualifying industrial zones encompassing 
portions of Israel and Jordan or Israel and Egypt are eligible to 
receive duty-free treatment. Effective upon publication of this notice, 
the United States Trade Representative, pursuant to authority delegated 
by the President, is designating the Beni Suief zone and the Al Minya 
zone as qualifying industrial zones under the IFTA Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonia Franceski, Director for Middle 
East Affairs, (202) 395-4987, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to authority granted under section 
9 of the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 
1985 (IFTA Act), as amended (19 U.S.C. 2112 note), Presidential 
Proclamation 6955 of November 13, 1996 (61 FR 58761) proclaimed certain 
tariff treatment for articles of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and 
qualifying industrial zones. In particular, the Presidential 
Proclamation modified general notes 3 and 8 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States: (a) To provide duty-free treatment to 
qualifying articles that are the product of the West Bank, the Gaza 
Strip or a qualifying industrial zone and are entered in accordance 
with the provisions of section 9 of the IFTA Act; (b) to provide that 
articles of Israel may be treated as though they were articles directly 
shipped from Israel for purposes of the United States-Israel Free Trade 
Area Agreement (``the Agreement'') even if shipped to the United States 
from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or a qualifying industrial zone, if 
the articles otherwise meet the requirements of the Agreement; and (c) 
to provide that the cost or value of materials produced in the West 
Bank, the Gaza Strip, or a qualifying industrial zone may be included 
in the cost or value of materials produced in Israel under section 
1(c)(i) of Annex 3 of the Agreement and that the direct costs of 
processing operations performed in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or a 
qualifying industrial zone may be included in the direct costs of 
processing operations performed in Israel under section 1(c)(ii) of 
Annex 3 of the Agreement.
    Section 9(e) of the IFTA Act defines a ``qualifying industrial 
zone'' as an area that ``(1) Encompasses portions of the territory of 
Israel and Jordan or Israel and Egypt; (2) has been designated by local 
authorities as an enclave where merchandise may enter without payment 
of duty or excise taxes; and (3) has been specified by the President as 
a qualifying industrial zone.''
    Presidential Proclamation 6955 delegated to the United States Trade 
Representative the authority to designate qualifying industrial zones.
    The United States Trade Representative has previously designated 
qualifying industrial zones under Section 9 of the IFTA Act on March 
13, 1998 (63 FR 12572), March 19, 1999 (64 FR 13623), October 15, 1999 
(64 FR 56015), October 24, 2000 (65 FR 64472), and December 12, 2000 
(65 FR 77688), June 15, 2001 (66 FR 32660), January 28, 2004 (69 FR 
4199), December 29, 2004 (69 FR 78094), and November 16, 2005 (70 FR 
69622).
    The governments of Israel and Egypt jointly requested in a letter 
submitted to the United States Trade Representative on January 5, 2009 
the designation as a qualifying industrial zone of the areas comprising 
the Beni Suief and Al Minya zones. The names and locations of the 
currently producing factories comprising the Beni Suief zone and the Al 
Minya zone are specified on maps and materials submitted by Egypt and 
Israel and are on file with the Office of the U.S. Trade 
Representative. Israel and Egypt have agreed that merchandise may 
enter, without payment of duty or excise taxes, areas under their 
respective customs control that comprise the Beni Suief zone and the Al 
Minya zone. Further, the operation and administration of these zones 
are provided for in the previously agreed ``Protocol between the 
Government of the State of Israel and the Government of the Arab 
Republic of Egypt On Qualifying Industrial Zones.'' Accordingly, the 
Beni Suief zone and the Al Minya zone meet the criteria under sections 
9(e)(1) and (2) of the IFTA Act.
    Therefore, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by 
Presidential Proclamation 6955, I hereby designate the areas occupied 
by the currently producing factories that comprise the Beni Suief zone 
and the Al Minya zone as specified on maps and materials received from 
Egypt and Israel, as qualifying industrial zones under section 9 of the 
IFTA Act, effective upon the date of publication of this notice, 
applicable to articles shipped from these qualifying industrial zones 
after such date.

Susan C. Schwab,
United States Trade Representative.
 [FR Doc. E9-1589 Filed 1-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P