[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 72187-72211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28285]



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Vol. 84

Monday,

No. 249

December 30, 2019

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 9974--To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and 
Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes



Executive Order 13901--Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 249 / Monday, December 30, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 9974 of December 26, 2019

                
To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth 
                and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. In Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, the 
                President designated the Republic of Cameroon 
                (Cameroon) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country 
                for purposes of section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 
                1974, as amended (the ``Trade Act''), as added by 
                section 111(a) of the African Growth and Opportunity 
                Act (the ``AGOA'') (title I of Public Law 106-200, 114 
                Stat. 251, 257-58 (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)).

                2. Section 506A(a)(3) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
                2466a(a)(3)) provides that the President shall 
                terminate the designation of a country as a beneficiary 
                sub-Saharan African country for purposes of section 
                506A if he determines that the country is not making 
                continual progress in meeting the requirements 
                described in section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act.

                3. Pursuant to section 506A(a)(3) of the Trade Act, I 
                have determined that Cameroon is not making continual 
                progress in meeting the requirements described in 
                section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act. Accordingly, I 
                have decided to terminate the designation of Cameroon 
                as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country for 
                purposes of section 506A of the Trade Act, effective 
                January 1, 2020.

                4. I have determined that the Republic of Niger 
                (Niger), the Central African Republic, and the Republic 
                of The Gambia (The Gambia) have not established 
                effective visa systems and related customs procedures 
                meeting the requirements of section 113 of the AGOA (19 
                U.S.C. 3722), which are required in order for a 
                beneficiary sub-Saharan African country to receive the 
                preferential treatment provided for under section 
                112(a) of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3721(a)). Therefore, 
                Niger, the Central African Republic, and The Gambia are 
                not eligible for the treatment provided for under 
                section 112(a).

                5. Section 112(c) of the AGOA, as amended in section 
                6002 of the Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006 
                (division D, title VI, Public Law 109-432, 120 Stat. 
                2922, 3190-93 (19 U.S.C. 3721(c)), provides special 
                rules for certain apparel articles imported from 
                ``lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
                countries.''

                6. I have determined that Guinea-Bissau and Niger 
                satisfy the criterion for treatment as ``lesser 
                developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries'' 
                under section 112(c) of the AGOA.

                7. 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 (the 
                ``USIFTA''), which the Congress approved in section 3 
                of the United States-Israel Free Trade Area 
                Implementation Act of 1985 (the ``USIFTA Act'') (Public 
                Law 99-47, 99 Stat. 82 (19 U.S.C. 2112 note)).

                8. 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,

[[Page 72188]]

                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.

                9. 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'').

                10. 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, in 
                order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and 
                mutually advantageous concessions with respect to 
                Israel provided for by the USIFTA, it was necessary to 
                provide duty-free access into the United States through 
                December 31, 2008, for specified quantities of certain 
                agricultural products of Israel.

                11. Each year from 2008 through 2018, 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.

                12. To carry out the extension agreements, the 
                President in Proclamation 8334 of December 31, 2008; 
                Proclamation 8467 of December 23, 2009; Proclamation 
                8618 of December 21, 2010; Proclamation 8770 of 
                December 29, 2011; Proclamation 8921 of December 20, 
                2012; Proclamation 9072 of December 23, 2013; 
                Proclamation 9223 of December 23, 2014; Proclamation 
                9383 of December 21, 2015; Proclamation 9555 of 
                December 15, 2016; Proclamation 9687 of December 22, 
                2017; and Proclamation 9834 of December 21, 2018, 
                modified the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
                States (the ``HTS'') 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.

                13. On December 4, 2019, the United States entered into 
                an agreement with Israel to extend the period that the 
                2004 Agreement is in force through December 31, 2020, 
                and to allow for further negotiations on an agreement 
                to replace the 2004 Agreement.

                14. 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, 2020, for specified quantities of certain 
                agricultural products of Israel, as provided in Annex I 
                of this proclamation.

                15. On September 16, 2019, in accordance with section 
                103(a)(2) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade 
                Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (the ``Trade 
                Priorities Act'') (title I of Public Law 114-26, 129 
                Stat. 319, 333 (19 U.S.C. 4202(a)(2)), I notified the 
                Congress that I intended to enter into an agreement 
                regarding tariff barriers with Japan under section 
                103(a) of the Trade Priorities Act. On October 7, 2019, 
                the United States and Japan entered into the Trade 
                Agreement between the United States and Japan.

                16. Section 103(a)(1) of the Trade Priorities Act 
                authorizes the President to proclaim such modification 
                of any existing duty as the President determines to be 
                required or appropriate to carry out a trade agreement 
                entered into under section 103(a). The President 
                generally may proclaim such modification provided that 
                the modification does not reduce the rate of duty to a 
                rate that is less than 50 percent of the date of such 
                duty that applied on June 29, 2015; does not reduce the 
                rate of duty below that applicable under the Uruguay 
                Round Agreements or a successor agreement on any 
                import-sensitive agricultural product; and does not 
                increase the rate of duty above the rate of such duty 
                that applied on June 29, 2015.

[[Page 72189]]

                17. Pursuant to section 103(a) of the Trade Priorities 
                Act, I have determined that it is required and 
                appropriate to modify existing duties with respect to 
                certain goods to carry out the Trade Agreement between 
                the United States and Japan.

                18. In Proclamation 6763 of December 23, 1994, the 
                President established a tariff-rate quota for beef. 
                Section 404(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 
                (title IV of Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809, 4960 
                (19 U.S.C. 3601(d)(3)) authorizes the President to 
                allocate the in-quota quantity of a tariff-rate quota 
                for any agricultural product among supplying countries 
                or customs areas and to modify any allocation as the 
                President determines appropriate. Pursuant to section 
                404(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, I have 
                determined that it is appropriate to modify the tariff-
                rate quota allocation for beef by providing that the 
                tariff-rate quota allocation for Japan will become part 
                of the total tariff-rate quota allocation for other 
                countries or areas.

                19. Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Trade and 
                Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the ``1988 Act'') (title I 
                of Public Law 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107, 1151 (19 U.S.C. 
                3006(a)) authorizes the President to proclaim 
                modifications to the HTS based on the recommendations 
                of the United States International Trade Commission 
                (the ``Commission'') under section 1205 of the 1988 Act 
                (19 U.S.C. 3005) if the President determines that the 
                modifications are in conformity with United States 
                obligations under the International Convention on the 
                Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (the 
                ``Convention'') and do not run counter to the national 
                economic interest of the United States.

                20. In Proclamation 9549 of December 1, 2016, pursuant 
                to section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act, the President 
                proclaimed modifications to the HTS to conform it to 
                the Convention, to promote the uniform application of 
                the Convention, to establish additional subordinate 
                tariff categories, and to make technical and conforming 
                changes to existing provisions. These modifications to 
                the HTS were set out in Annex I of Publication 4653 of 
                the Commission, which was incorporated by reference 
                into the proclamation.

                21. Proclamation 7746 of December 30, 2003, implemented 
                the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (the 
                ``USCFTA'') with respect to the United States and, 
                pursuant to the United States-Chile Free Trade 
                Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USCFTA Act'') 
                (Public Law 108-77, 117 Stat. 909 (19 U.S.C. 3805 
                note)), incorporated in the HTS the schedule of duty 
                reductions and rules of origin necessary or appropriate 
                to carry out the USCFTA.

                22. In order to ensure the continuation of such staged 
                reductions in rates of duty for originating goods of 
                Chile in tariff categories that were modified to 
                reflect amendments to the Convention, Proclamation 9549 
                made modifications to the HTS that the President 
                determined were necessary or appropriate to carry out 
                the duty reductions proclaimed in Proclamation 7746. 
                The United States and Chile are parties to the 
                Convention.

                23. Section 201 of the USCFTA 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 3.3, 3.7, 3.9, Article 
                3.20(8), (9), (10), and (11), and Annex 3.3 (including 
                the schedule of United States duty reductions with 
                respect to originating goods) of the USCFTA.

                24. I have determined that, pursuant to section 201 of 
                the USCFTA Act and section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act, 
                modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate 
                to ensure the continuation of tariff and certain other 
                treatment accorded to originating goods under tariff 
                categories modified in Proclamation 9549 and to carry 
                out the duty reductions proclaimed in Proclamation 
                7746.

                25. 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,

[[Page 72190]]

                including removal, modification, continuance, or 
                imposition of any rate of duty or other import 
                restriction.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 sections 506A(a)(1) 
                and 506A(a)(3) of the Trade Act; sections 111(a) and 
                112(c) of the AGOA; section 6002 of the Africa 
                Investment Incentive Act of 2006; section 4(b) of the 
                USIFTA Act; section 103(a) of the Trade Priorities Act; 
                section 404(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act; 
                section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act; section 201 of the 
                USCFTA Act; and section 604 of the Trade Act, do 
                proclaim that:

                    (1) The designation of Cameroon as a beneficiary 
                sub-Saharan African country for purposes of section 
                506A of the Trade Act is terminated, effective January 
                1, 2020.
                    (2) In order to reflect in the HTS that beginning 
                January 1, 2020, Cameroon shall no longer be designated 
                as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, general 
                note 16(a) to the HTS is modified by deleting 
                ``Republic of Cameroon'' from the list of beneficiary 
                sub-Saharan African countries. Note 7(a) to subchapter 
                II and note 1 to subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the 
                HTS are modified to delete ``Cameroon'' from the list 
                of beneficiary countries. Further, note 2(d) to 
                subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the HTS is modified by 
                deleting ``Republic of Cameroon'' from the list of 
                lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
                countries.
                    (3) In order to provide the tariff treatment 
                intended under sections 112(a) and 113 of the AGOA, 
                note 1 to subchapter XIX of Chapter 98 of the HTS is 
                modified by deleting ``Niger'', ``Central African 
                Republic'', and ``The Gambia'' from the list of 
                beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. Further, 
                note 7(a) to subchapter II of chapter 98 of the HTS is 
                modified by deleting ``Niger'' from the list of 
                beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries.
                    (4) For purposes of section 112(c) of the AGOA, 
                Guinea-Bissau and Niger are lesser developed 
                beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries.
                    (5) In order to provide for Guinea-Bissau and Niger 
                the tariff treatment intended under section 112(c) of 
                the AGOA, note 2(d) to subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of 
                the HTS is modified by inserting in alphabetical 
                sequence in the list of lesser developed beneficiary 
                sub-Saharan African countries ``Guinea-Bissau'' and 
                ``Niger''.
                    (6) The modifications to the HTS set forth in 
                paragraphs (1) through (5) of this proclamation shall 
                be effective with respect to articles that are entered 
                for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
                consumption, on or after January 1, 2020.
                    (7) In order to implement United States tariff 
                commitments under the 2004 Agreement through December 
                31, 2020, the HTS is modified as provided in Annex I of 
                this proclamation.
                    (8) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex 
                I of this proclamation shall be effective with respect 
                to eligible agricultural products of Israel that are 
                entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse 
                for consumption, on or after January 1, 2020.
                    (9) The provisions of subchapter VIII of chapter 99 
                of the HTS, as modified by Annex I of this 
                proclamation, shall continue in effect through December 
                31, 2020.
                    (10) In order to modify tariffs on certain goods to 
                carry out the Trade Agreement between the United States 
                and Japan, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex II 
                of this proclamation.
                    (11) The modifications to the HTS set forth in 
                Annex II of this proclamation shall be effective with 
                respect to originating goods, as defined in the Trade 
                Agreement between the United States and Japan, 
                effective on the dates specified in Annex II and on any 
                subsequent dates set forth for such duty reductions in 
                Annex II.

[[Page 72191]]

                    (12) The Secretary of the Treasury shall use 
                existing authority to issue any regulations necessary 
                to implement the modifications made pursuant to 
                paragraphs (10) and (11) of this proclamation.
                    (13) Additional U.S. note 3 to chapter 2 of the HTS 
                is modified as specified in Annex III of this 
                proclamation. The modifications to the HTS set forth in 
                Annex III of this proclamation shall be effective with 
                respect to goods that are entered for consumption, or 
                withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 
                January 1, 2020.
                    (14) In order to reflect in the HTS the 
                modifications to the rules of origin under the USCFTA, 
                general note 26 to the HTS is modified as provided in 
                Annex IV of this proclamation.
                    (15) The modifications to the HTS made by paragraph 
                (14) of this proclamation shall enter into effect on 
                April 1, 2020.
                    (16) 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.

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

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[FR Doc. 2019-28285
Filed 12-27-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 7020-02-C