[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 52 (Monday, January 3, 1994)]
[Pages 2639-2641]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 12889--Implementation of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement

 December 27, 1993

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including the North American 
Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 103-182, 107 Stat. 
2057) (the NAFTA Implementation Act) and section 302 of title 3, United 
States Code, and in order to implement the North American Free Trade 
Agreement (NAFTA), it is hereby ordered:
    Section 1. Establishment of United States Section of the NAFTA 
Secretariat. Pursuant to section 105(a) of the NAFTA Implementation Act, 
a United States section of the NAFTA Secretariat shall be established 
within the Department of Commerce and shall carry out the functions set 
out in that section.
    Sec. 2. Acceptance by the President of Panel and Committee 
Decisions. Pursuant to subparagraph 516A(g)(7)(B) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1516a(g)(7)(B), in the event that the 
provisions of that subparagraph take effect, I accept, as a whole, all 
decisions of binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees.
    Sec. 3. Implementation of Safeguard Provisions for Textile and 
Apparel Goods. Pursuant to section 201 of the NAFTA Implementation Act, 
the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (the 
Committee) shall take such action as necessary to implement the 
bilateral safeguard provisions (tariff actions) set out in section 4 of 
Annex 300-B of the NAFTA. The United States Customs Service shall take 
such actions to carry out those safeguard provisions as directed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, upon the advice and recommendation of the 
Chairman of the Committee.
    Sec. 4. Publication of Proposed Rules regarding Technical 
Regulations and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. (a) In accordance 
with Articles 718 and 909 of the NAFTA, each agency subject to the 
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 551 
et seq.), shall, in applying section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
with respect to any proposed Federal technical regulation or any Federal 
sanitary or phytosanitary measure of general application, other than a 
regulation issued pursuant to section 104(a) of the NAFTA Implementation 
Act, publish or serve notice of such regulation or measure not less than 
75 days before the comment due date, except:
    (1) in the case of a technical regulation relating to perishable 
      goods, in which case the agency shall, to the greatest extent 
      practicable, publish or serve notice at least 30 days prior to 
      adoption of such regulation;
    (2) in the case of a technical regulation, where the United States 
      considers it necessary to address an urgent problem relating to 
      safety or to protection of human, animal or plant life or health, 
      the environment or consumers; or
    (3) in the case of a sanitary or phytosanitary measure, where the 
      United States considers it necessary to address an urgent problem 
      relating to sanitary or phytosanitary protection.
    (b) For purposes of this section, the term ``sanitary or 
phytosanitary measure'' shall be defined in accordance with section 463 
of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, and ``technical regulation'' shall 
be defined in accordance with section 473 of the Trade Agreements Act of 
1979.
    (c) This section supersedes section 1 of Executive Order No. 12662 
of December 31, 1988.
    Sec. 5. Government Procurement Procedures. (a) Waiver.
    (1) With respect to eligible products (as defined in section 381(c) 
of the NAFTA Implementation Act) of Canada and Mexico, and suppliers of 
such products, the application of any law, regulation, procedure, or 
practice regarding Federal Government procurement that would, if applied 
to such products or suppliers, result in treatment less favorable than 
the most favorable treatment accorded:
    (A) to United States products and services and suppliers of such 
      products and services; or
    (B) to eligible products of either Mexico or Canada, shall be 
      waived.

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    (2) This waiver shall be applied by all executive agencies listed in 
Annexes 1 and 2 of this Executive order in consultation with, and when 
deemed necessary at the direction of, the United States Trade 
Representative (Trade Representative).
    (b) The Secretary of Defense, or his designee, in consultation with 
the Trade Representative, shall be responsible for determinations under 
Article 1018(1), pursuant to Annex 1001.1b-1(A)(4), of the NAFTA. The 
Secretary of Defense, or his designee, and the Trade Representative 
shall establish procedures for this purpose.
    (c) The executive agencies listed in Annex 2 are directed to procure 
eligible products in compliance with the procedural provisions of 
Chapter 10 of the NAFTA.
    (d) The Trade Representative shall be responsible for calculating 
and adjusting the threshold as required by Article 1001(1)(c) of the 
NAFTA.
    (e) This order shall apply only to solicitations issued on or after 
the date of entry into force of the NAFTA for the United States.
    (f) Although regulatory implementation of this order must await 
revisions to the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR), it is expected 
that agencies listed in Annexes 1 and 2 of this order will take all 
appropriate actions in the interim to implement those aspects of the 
order that are not dependent upon regulatory revision.
    (g) Pursuant to section 25 of the Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. 421(a)), the Federal Acquisition 
Regulatory Council shall ensure that the policies established herein are 
incorporated in the FAR within 30 days from the date this order is 
issued.
    Sec. 6. Government Use of Patented Technology. (a) Each agency 
shall, within 30 days from the date this order is issued, modify or 
adopt procedures to ensure compliance with Article 1709(10) of the NAFTA 
regarding notice when patented technology is used by or for the Federal 
Government without a license from the owner, except that the requirement 
of Article 1709(10)(b) regarding reasonable efforts to obtain advance 
authorization from the patent owner:
    (1) is hereby waived for an invention used or manufactured by or for 
      the Federal Government, except that the patent owner must be 
      notified whenever the agency or its contractor, without making a 
      patent search, knows or has demonstrable reasonable grounds to 
      know that an invention described in and covered by a valid United 
      States patent is or will be used or manufactured without a 
      license; and
    (2) is waived whenever a national emergency or other circumstances 
      of extreme urgency exists, except that the patent owner must be 
      notified as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so.
    (b) Agencies shall treat the term ``remuneration'' as used in 
Articles 1709(10) (h) and (j) and 1715 of the NAFTA as equivalent to 
``reasonable and entire compensation'' as used in section 1498 of title 
28, United States Code.
    (c) In addition to the general provisions of section 7 of this order 
regarding enforceable rights, nothing in this order is intended to 
suggest that the giving of notice to a patent owner under Article 
1709(10) of the NAFTA constitutes an admission that the Federal 
Government has infringed a valid privately-owned patent.
    Sec. 7. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or 
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party 
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
    Sec. 8. Effective Date. This order shall take effect upon the date 
of entry into force of the NAFTA for the United States.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
December 27, 1993.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:43 a.m., December 29, 
1993]

Note: This Executive order was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 28, and it was published with the attached annexes 
in the Federal Register on December 30.

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