[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 7 (Monday, February 21, 2000)]
[Pages 326-328]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Imports of Steel Wire Rod

February 16, 2000

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury, the United States Trade 
Representative

Subject: Action Under Section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974 Concerning 
Steel Wire Rod

    On July 12, 1999, the United States International Trade Commission 
(USITC) submitted a report to me of its investigation under section 202 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Trade Act''), with respect 
to imports of steel wire rod. The USITC commissioners were equally 
divided in their determinations under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 
whether steel wire rod is being imported into the United States in such 
increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury or 
threat of serious injury to the domestic steel wire rod industry. The 
report also contained negative findings by the ITC pursuant to section 
311(a) of the North

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American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ``NAFTA 
Implementation Act'') with respect to imports of steel wire rod from 
Canada and Mexico.
    Having reviewed the determinations of both groups of commissioners, 
I have decided pursuant to section 330(d)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 
to consider the determination of the group of commissioners voting in 
the affirmative to be the determination of the USITC.
    After taking into account all relevant considerations, including the 
factors specified in section 203(a)(2) of the Trade Act, I have 
implemented action of a type described in section 203(a)(3) of that Act. 
I have determined that the most appropriate action is a tariff-rate 
quota on imports of steel wire rod, other than enumerated steel wire rod 
products (``excluded products''), with an increase in currently 
scheduled rates of duties for imports above the tariff-rate quota level. 
I have proclaimed such action for a period of 3 years and 1 day in order 
to facilitate efforts by the domestic industry to make a positive 
adjustment to import competition.
    Specifically, I have established a tariff-rate quota for steel wire 
rod in an amount equal to 1.58 million net tons in the first year (March 
1, 2000 through February 28, 2001), an amount that is equivalent to 1998 
import levels of covered products from the countries subject to the TRQ 
plus 2 percent (to account for growth in demand). The tariff-rate quota 
amount will increase by 2 percent annually in the second and third years 
of relief. I have established increased rates of duty for imports above 
the tariff-rate quota level: namely 10 percent ad valorem in the first 
year of relief, 7.5 percent ad valorem in the second year of relief, and 
5 percent ad valorem in the third year of relief. In addition, I have 
provided that during each quarter of the first three quarters of a quota 
year, any articles subject to the tariff-rate quota entered or withdrawn 
from warehouse for consumption in excess of one-third of the total 
within-quota quantity for that quota year shall be subject to the over-
quota rate of duty then in effect. During the fourth quarter of a quota 
year, the tariff-rate quota shall apply as though the preceding sentence 
did not have effect, except that any imports subject to the over-quota 
duty as a result of the preceding sentence shall not be counted against 
the in-quota quantity for that quota year. In this regard, I instruct 
the Secretary of the Treasury to publish or otherwise make available on 
a weekly basis, import statistics that will enable importers to identify 
the rate at which the in-quota quantity for that quota year, and the 
portion of the in-quota quantity allotted to that quarter, is being 
filled. I further instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to seek to 
obtain by March 1, 2000 statistical subdivisions in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule for the excluded products (specified in the Annex to the 
proclamation). The Secretary of the Treasury will monitor imports of the 
excluded products by country of origin and imports the product of Mexico 
and Canada throughout the period of this action, and report to the 
United States Trade Representative on relevant volumes each quarter 
during the period of this action, or more often as needed, or as the 
United States Trade Representative may request.
    I have further determined, pursuant to section 312(a) of the NAFTA 
Implementation Act, that imports of steel wire rod produced in Canada 
and Mexico do not account for a substantial share of total steel wire 
rod imports or are not contributing importantly to the serious injury or 
threat of serious injury. Therefore, pursuant to section 312(b) of the 
NAFTA Implementation Act, the safeguard measure will not apply to 
imports of steel wire rod that is the product of Canada or Mexico.
    I have determined that the actions described above will facilitate 
efforts by the domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import 
competition and provide greater economic and social benefits than costs. 
This action will provide the domestic industry with necessary temporary 
relief from increasing import competition, while also assuring our 
trading partners continued access to the United States market.
    Pursuant to section 204 of the Trade Act, the USITC will monitor 
developments with respect to the domestic industry, including the 
progress and specific efforts made by workers and firms in the domestic 
industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition, and will 
provide to me and to the

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Congress a report on the results of its monitoring no later than the 
date that is the mid-point of the period during which the action I have 
taken under section 203 of that Act is in effect. I further instruct the 
United States Trade Representative to request the USITC pursuant to 
section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)) 
to examine the effects of this action on both the domestic wire rod 
industry and the principal users of wire rod in the United States, and 
to report on the results of its investigation in conjunction with its 
report under section 204(a)(2).
    The United States Trade Representative is authorized and directed to 
publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                                            William J. Clinton