[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 407-412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-00019]



[[Page 405]]

Vol. 77

Wednesday,

No. 2

January 4, 2012

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 8770--To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the Generalized 
System of Preferences and for Other Purposes



Proclamation 8771--To Modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States and for Other Purposes
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 407]]

                Proclamation 8770 of December 29, 2012

                
To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the 
                Generalized System of Preferences and for Other 
                Purposes

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. Pursuant to section 503(b)(1)(G) of the Trade Act of 
                1974, as amended (the ``1974 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 
                2463(b)(1)(G)), articles that the President determines 
                to be import-sensitive in the context of the 
                Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) are not 
                eligible to receive benefits under the GSP.

                2. Pursuant to section 503(b)(1)(G) of the 1974 Act, 
                and after receiving advice from the United States 
                International Trade Commission (the ``Commission''), I 
                have determined that certain articles are import-
                sensitive in the context of the GSP.

                3. On April 22, 1985, the United States and Israel 
                entered into the Agreement on the Establishment of a 
                Free Trade Area between the Government of the United 
                States of America and the Government of Israel 
                (USIFTA), which the Congress approved in the United 
                States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 
                1985 (the ``USIFTA Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2112 note).

                4. Section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act provides that, 
                whenever the President determines that it is necessary 
                to maintain the general level of reciprocal and 
                mutually advantageous concessions with respect to 
                Israel provided for by the USIFTA, the President may 
                proclaim such withdrawal, suspension, modification, or 
                continuance of any duty, or such continuance of 
                existing duty-free or excise treatment, or such 
                additional duties as the President determines to be 
                required or appropriate to carry out the USIFTA.

                5. In order to maintain the general level of reciprocal 
                and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to 
                agricultural trade with Israel, on July 27, 2004, the 
                United States entered into an agreement with Israel 
                concerning certain aspects of trade in agricultural 
                products during the period January 1, 2004, through 
                December 31, 2008 (the ``2004 Agreement'').

                6. In Proclamation 7826 of October 4, 2004, consistent 
                with the 2004 Agreement, the President determined, 
                pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act, that it was 
                necessary in order to maintain the general level of 
                reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with 
                respect to Israel provided for by the USIFTA, to 
                provide duty-free access into the United States through 
                December 31, 2008, for specified quantities of certain 
                agricultural products of Israel.

                7. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the United States and 
                Israel entered into agreements to extend the period 
                that the 2004 Agreement was in force for 1-year periods 
                to allow additional time for the two governments to 
                conclude an agreement to replace the 2004 Agreement.

                8. To carry out the extension agreements, the President 
                in Proclamation 8334 of December 31, 2008; Proclamation 
                8467 of December 23, 2009; and Proclamation 8618 of 
                December 21, 2010, modified the Harmonized Tariff 
                Schedule (HTS) of the United States to provide duty-
                free access into the United States for specified 
                quantities of certain agricultural products of Israel, 
                each time for an additional 1-year period.

[[Page 408]]

                9. On December 6, 2011, the United States entered into 
                an agreement with Israel to extend the period that the 
                2004 Agreement is in force through December 31, 2012, 
                to allow for further negotiations on an agreement to 
                replace the 2004 Agreement.

                10. Pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act, I have 
                determined that it is necessary, in order to maintain 
                the general level of reciprocal and mutually 
                advantageous concessions with respect to Israel 
                provided for by the USIFTA, to provide duty-free access 
                into the United States through the close of December 
                31, 2012, for specified quantities of certain 
                agricultural products of Israel.

                11. In Proclamation 8742 of October 31, 2011, I 
                modified the HTS to promote the uniform application of 
                the International Convention on the Harmonized 
                Commodity Description and Coding System and to 
                alleviate unnecessary administrative burdens. Those 
                modifications became effective on December 3, 2011. 
                Certain conforming changes to the HTS were 
                inadvertently omitted from Annex I to that 
                proclamation. I have determined that certain technical 
                corrections to the HTS are necessary to provide the 
                tariff treatment intended to certain products that were 
                subject to the modifications made in Proclamation 8742.

                12. Section 604 of the 1974 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, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States of America, including but not limited to 
                title V and section 604 of the 1974 Act, and section 4 
                of the USIFTA Act, do proclaim that:

                (1) In order to provide that one or more articles 
                should no longer be treated as eligible articles for 
                purposes of the GSP, the Rates of Duty 1-Special 
                subcolumn for the corresponding HTS subheading is 
                modified as set forth in Annex I to this proclamation.

                (2) The modification to the HTS set forth in Annex I to 
                this proclamation shall be effective with respect to 
                goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
                consumption, on or after January 1, 2012.

                (3) In order to implement U.S. tariff commitments under 
                the 2004 Agreement through December 31, 2012, the HTS 
                is modified as provided in Annex II to this 
                proclamation.

                (4)(a) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex 
                II to this proclamation shall be effective with respect 
                to eligible agricultural products of Israel that are 
                entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
                on or after January 1, 2012.

                    (b) The provisions of subchapter VIII of chapter 99 
                of the HTS, as modified by Annex II to this 
                proclamation, shall continue in effect through December 
                31, 2012.

                (5) In order to make the technical corrections 
                necessary to provide the tariff treatment intended to 
                certain footwear products, the HTS is modified as set 
                forth in Annex III to this proclamation.

                (6) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex III 
                to this proclamation shall be effective with respect to 
                goods that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
                consumption, on or after December 3, 2011.

                (7) 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 409]]

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

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[FR Doc. 2012-00019
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