[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Pages 366-369]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7987--To Implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-
United States Free Trade Agreement

February 28, 2006

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    1. On August 5, 2004, the United States entered into the Dominican 
Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (the 
``Agreement'') with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (the ``Agreement countries''). The 
Agreement was approved by the Congress in section 101(a) of the 
Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement 
Implementation Act (the ``Act'') (Public Law 109-53, 119 Stat. 462) (19 
U.S.C. 4001 note).
    2. Section 105(a) of the Act authorizes the President to establish 
or designate within the Department of Commerce an office that shall be 
responsible for providing administrative assistance to panels 
established under Chapter Twenty of the Agreement.
    3. Section 201 of the 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, 3.5, 3.6, 3.21, 3.26, 3.27, and 3.28, and Annexes 3.3 (including 
the schedule of United States duty reductions with respect to 
originating goods), 3.27, and 3.28 of the Agreement.
    4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the Act, each Agreement 
country is to be removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
developing countries eligible for the benefits of the Generalized System 
of Preferences (GSP) on the date the Agreement enters into force with 
respect to that country.
    5. Consistent with section 201(a)(3) of the Act, each Agreement 
country is to be removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) (19 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) on the date the Agreement enters into force with 
respect to that country, subject to the exceptions set out in section 
201(a)(3)(B) of the Act.
    6. Consistent with section 213(b)(5)(D) of the CBERA, as amended by 
the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) (Public 
Law 106-200), each Agreement country is to be removed from the 
enumeration of designated CBTPA beneficiary countries on the date the 
Agreement enters into force with respect to that country.

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    7. Section 203 of the Act provides certain rules for determining 
whether a good is an originating good for the purpose of implementing 
preferential tariff treatment under the Agreement. I have decided that 
it is necessary to include these rules of origin, together with 
particular rules applicable to certain other goods, in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).
    8. Section 203(o) of the Act authorizes the President to determine 
that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is not available in commercial quantities 
in a timely manner in the United States and those Agreement countries 
for which the Agreement has entered into force, and to add any such 
fabric, yarn, or fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a 
restricted or unrestricted quantity; to eliminate a restriction on the 
quantity of a fabric, yarn, or fiber within 6 months after adding the 
fabric, yarn, or fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a 
restricted quantity; and to restrict the quantity of, or remove from the 
list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement, certain fabrics, yarns, or fibers.
    9. Section 209 of the Act authorizes the President to take certain 
enforcement actions relating to trade with the Agreement countries in 
textile or apparel goods.
    10. Sections 321-328 of the Act authorize the President to take 
certain actions in response to a request by an interested party for 
relief from serious damage or actual threat thereof to a domestic 
industry producing certain textile or apparel articles.
    11. Executive Order 11651 of March 3, 1972, as amended, established 
the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) to 
supervise the implementation of textile trade agreements.
    12. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``1974 Act'') (19 
U.S.C. 2483), as amended, authorizes the President to embody in the HTS 
the substance of relevant provisions of that Act, or other acts 
affecting import treatment, and of actions taken thereunder.
    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, including but not limited to sections 
105(a), 201, 203, 209, and 321-328 of the Act, section 301 of title 3, 
United States Code, and section 604 of the 1974 Act, do proclaim that:
    (1) In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff 
treatment being accorded under the Agreement to El Salvador, to set 
forth rules for determining whether goods imported into the customs 
territory of the United States are eligible for preferential tariff 
treatment under the Agreement, to provide certain other treatment to 
originating goods for the purposes of the Agreement, to provide tariff-
rate quotas with respect to certain goods, to reflect the removal of El 
Salvador from the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing 
countries for purposes of the GSP, to reflect the removal of El Salvador 
from the enumeration of designated beneficiary countries for purposes of 
the CBERA and the CBTPA, and to make technical and conforming changes in 
the general notes to the HTS, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex 
I of Publication No. 3829 of the United States International Trade 
Commission, entitled ``Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States to Implement the Dominican Republic-Central 
America-United States Free Trade Agreement With Respect to El Salvador'' 
(``Publication 3829''), which is incorporated by reference into this 
proclamation.
    (2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination 
provided for in the Agreement, to provide tariff-rate quotas with 
respect to certain goods, and to provide for future staged reductions in 
duties for originating goods for purposes of the Agreement, the HTS is 
modified as provided in Annex II of Publication 3829, effective on the 
dates specified in the relevant sections of such publication and on any 
subsequent dates set forth for such duty reductions in that publication.
    (3) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to exercise my authority 
under section 105(a) of the Act to establish or designate an office 
within the Department of Commerce to carry out the functions set forth 
in that section.
    (4) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under section 
203(o) of the Act to determine that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is not 
available in commercial quantities in a timely

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manner in the United States and those Agreement countries for which the 
Agreement has entered into force, and to add any such fabric, yarn, or 
fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a restricted or 
unrestricted quantity; to eliminate a restriction on the quantity of a 
fabric, yarn, or fiber within 6 months after adding the fabric, yarn, or 
fiber to the list in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement in a restricted 
quantity; to restrict the quantity of, or remove from the list in Annex 
3.25 of the Agreement, certain fabrics, yarns, or fibers; and to 
establish procedures governing the submission of a request for any such 
determination and to ensure appropriate public participation in any such 
determination.
    (5) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under section 
209 of the Act to suspend or deny preferential tariff treatment to 
textile or apparel goods; to detain textile or apparel goods; and to 
deny entry to textile or apparel goods.
    (6) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under sections 
321-328 of the Act to review requests and to determine whether to 
commence consideration of such requests; to cause to be published in the 
Federal Register a notice of commencement of consideration of a request 
and notice seeking public comment; and to determine whether imports of a 
textile or apparel article of an Agreement country are causing serious 
damage, or actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing an 
article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported 
article.
    (7) The CITA, after consultation with the Commissioner of Customs 
(the ``Commissioner''), is authorized to consult with representatives of 
an Agreement country for the purpose of identifying particular textile 
or apparel goods of that country that are mutually agreed to be 
handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles as provided in Article 3.21 
of the Agreement. The Commissioner shall take actions as directed by the 
CITA to carry out any such determination.
    (8) The United States Trade Representative is authorized to exercise 
my authority
under section 104 of the Act to obtain advice from the appropriate 
advisory committees and the United States International Trade Commission 
on the proposed implementation of an action by presidential 
proclamation; to submit a report on such proposed action to the 
appropriate congressional committees; and to consult with those 
congressional committees regarding the proposed action.
    (9) The United States Trade Representative is authorized to modify 
U.S. note 20 to subchapter XXII of chapter 98 of the HTS in a notice 
published in the Federal Register to reflect modifications pursuant to 
paragraph (4) of this proclamation by the CITA to the list of fabrics, 
yarns, or fibers in Annex 3.25 of the Agreement.
    (10)(a) The amendments to the HTS made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
this proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the relevant dates 
indicated in Annex II to Publication 3829.
    (b) Except as provided in paragraph (10)(a) of this proclamation, 
this proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after March 1, 2006.
    (11) 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-eighth 
day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
thirtieth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:05 p.m., March 1, 
2006]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
2.

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