[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 49 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Pages 1750-1752]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7741--To Provide for the Termination of Action Taken With 
Regard to Imports of Certain Steel Products

December 4, 2003

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    1. Proclamation 7529 of March 5, 2002, implemented actions 
(safeguard measures) of a type described in section 203(a)(3)(A) and (B) 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(A) and (B)) 
(the ``Trade Act''), with respect to imports of certain flat steel 
(consisting of slabs, plate, hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, and 
coated steel), hot-rolled bar, cold-finished bar, rebar, certain welded 
tubular products, carbon and alloy fittings, stainless steel bar, 
stainless steel rod, tin mill products, and stainless steel wire, as 
defined in paragraph 7 of Proclamation 7529 (collectively, ``certain 
steel products'').
    2. In Proclamation 7529 and Proclamation 7576 of July 3, 2002, I 
authorized the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to further 
consider any request for exclusion of a particular product and upon 
finding that a particular product should be excluded, to modify the 
provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) 
created by the Annex to Proclamation 7529 to exclude such particular 
product from the pertinent safeguard measure established in Proclamation 
7529. Pursuant to that authorization, the USTR published four notices of 
exclusions of products from the safeguard measures in the Federal 
Register at 67 Fed. Reg. 16484 (April 5, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 46221 (July 
12, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 56182 (August 30, 2002), and 68 Fed. Reg. 15494 
(March 31, 2003). The USTR also published notice in the Federal Register 
of technical corrections to that Annex.

[[Page 1751]]

    3. In a Memorandum of March 5, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 10593), pursuant 
to section 203(a)(3)(I) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(I)), I 
instructed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce 
to establish a system of import licensing to facilitate the monitoring 
of imports of certain steel products. To provide for efficient and fair 
administration of this action, pursuant to section 203(g) of the Trade 
Act, I instructed the Secretary of Commerce to publish regulations in 
the Federal Register establishing such a system of import licensing (the 
``Licensing System''). Those regulations were published on December 31, 
2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 79845.
    4. Section 204(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)) requires the 
United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to monitor 
developments with respect to the domestic industry while action taken 
under section 203 remains in effect. If the initial period of a 
safeguard action exceeds 3 years, then the ITC must submit to the 
President a report on the results of such monitoring not later than the 
date that is the mid-point of the initial period of the safeguard 
action. The ITC report in Investigation Number TA-204-9 was submitted on 
September 19, 2003.
    5. Section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(b)(1)(A)) 
authorizes the President to reduce, modify, or terminate a safeguard 
action if, after taking into account any report or advice submitted by 
the ITC and after seeking the advice of the Secretary of Commerce and 
the Secretary of Labor, he determines that changed circumstances warrant 
such reduction, modification, or termination. The President's 
determination may be made, inter alia, on the basis that the 
effectiveness of the action taken under section 203 has been impaired by 
changed economic circumstances.
    6. In view of the information provided in the ITC report, and having 
sought advice from the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, 
I determine that the effectiveness of the actions taken under section 
203(a)(3)(A) and (B) of the Trade Act with respect to imports of certain 
steel products and the exclusions from and technical corrections to the 
coverage of Proclamation 7529 has been impaired by changed economic 
circumstances. Accordingly, I have determined, pursuant to section 
204(b)(1)(A)(ii), that termination of the actions taken under section 
203(a)(3)(A) and (B) set forth in Proclamation 7529 taken with respect 
to certain steel imports is warranted. The action taken under section 
203(a)(3)(I) set forth in the Memorandum of March 5, 2002, requiring the 
licensing and monitoring of imports of certain steel products remains in 
effect and shall not terminate until the earlier of March 21, 2005, or 
such time as the Secretary of Commerce establishes a replacement 
program.
    7. 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, including the removal, modification, continuance, or 
imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, 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, but not limited to 
sections 204 and 604 of the Trade Act and section 301 of title 3, United 
States Code, do proclaim that:
    (1) The HTS is modified as provided in the Annex to this 
proclamation.
    (2) The United States Trade Representative is authorized, upon his 
determination that the Secretary of Commerce has established a 
replacement program pursuant to paragraph 6 of this proclamation, to 
terminate the action under section 203(a)(3)(I) of the Trade Act set 
forth in the Memorandum of March 5, 2002, and the Licensing System and 
to publish notice of this determination and action in the Federal 
Register.
    (3) 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.
    (4) The modifications to the HTS made by this proclamation shall be 
effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m., eastern standard time, December 5, 
2003.

[[Page 1752]]

    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of 
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:22 a.m., December 5, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 8.