[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 8 (Monday, February 28, 2000)]
[Pages 345-347]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Action Concerning Line Pipe Imports

February 18, 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 
Line Pipe

    On December 22, 1999, the United States International Trade 
Commission (USITC) submitted a report to me that contained: (1) a 
determination pursuant to section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended (the ``Trade Act''), that certain circular welded carbon quality 
line pipe (line pipe) 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 line pipe industry; and (2) 
negative findings by the USITC pursuant to section 311(a) of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ``NAFTA 
Implementation Act'') with respect to imports of line pipe from Canada 
and Mexico.
    After taking into account all relevant considerations, including the 
factors specified in

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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 an increase in duty on imports of certain 
line pipe. The additional duty will be 19 percent ad valorem in the 
first year of relief, declining to 15 and 11 percent ad valorem in the 
second and third years, respectively. The first 9,000 short tons of 
imports from each 
supplying country will be exempted from the increase in duty during each 
year that the action is in effect. 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.
    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 when imports from each supplying 
country approach and then exceed the 9,000 short ton threshold. I 
further instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish monitoring 
categories for those countries with American Petroleum Institute 
certified (API-certified) line pipe production facilities. Any 
importations of line pipe from a country without an API-certified line 
pipe production facility should be treated as line pipe subject to this 
action but monitored for possible transshipment. I further instruct the 
Secretary of the Treasury to seek to obtain by March 1, 2000, a 
statistical subdivision in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the 
covered products specified in the Annex to the proclamation. The 
Secretary of the Treasury will monitor line pipe imports that are the 
product of Mexico and Canada by country of origin 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 determined, pursuant to section 312(a) of the NAFTA 
Implementation Act, that imports of line pipe produced in Canada and 
Mexico, considered individually, do not contribute 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 line pipe 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 U.S. 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 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 line pipe industry and the principal users of line 
pipe 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

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:50 a.m., February 22, 
2000]

Note: This memorandum was published in the Federal Register on February 
23. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.

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