[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 52 (Monday, December 31, 2007)]
[Pages 1638-1640]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation--To Adjust the Rules of Origin Under the United States-
Chile Free Trade Agreement and the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
Agreement

 December 27, 2007

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    1. Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 
1988 (the ``1988 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 3006(a)) authorizes the

[[Page 1639]]

President to proclaim modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTS) based on the recommendations of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') under section 1205 
of the 1988 Act (19 U.S.C. 3005), if he determines that the 
modifications are in conformity with United States obligations under the 
International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and 
Coding System (the ``Convention'') and do not run counter to the 
national economic interest of the United States. In 2006, the Commission 
recommended modifications to the HTS pursuant to section 1205 of the 
1988 Act to conform the HTS to amendments made to the Convention. In 
Presidential Proclamation 8097 of December 29, 2006, I modified the HTS 
pursuant to section 1206 of the 1988 Act to conform the HTS to the 
amendments to the Convention.
    2. Presidential Proclamation 7746 of December 30, 2003, implemented 
the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (USCFTA) with respect to 
the United States and, pursuant to section 201 of the United States-
Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USCFTA Act'') (19 
U.S.C. 3805 note), the staged reductions in rates of duty that I 
determined to be necessary or appropriate to carry out or apply articles 
3.3 (including the schedule of United States duty reductions with 
respect to originating goods set forth in Annex 3.3 to the USCFTA), 3.7, 
3.9, and 3.20(8), (9), (10), and (11) of the USCFTA.
    3. In order to ensure the continuation of the staged reductions in 
rates of duty for originating goods from Chile in categories that were 
modified to conform to the Convention, I proclaimed in Presidential 
Proclamation 8097 modifications to the HTS that I determined were 
necessary or appropriate to carry out the duty reductions proclaimed in 
Proclamation 7746.
    4. Chile is a party to the Convention. Because the substance of 
changes to the Convention are reflected in slightly differing form in 
the national tariff schedules of the parties to the USCFTA, the rules of 
origin set out in Annex 4.1 of that Agreement must be changed to ensure 
that the tariff and certain other treatment accorded under the USCFTA to 
originating goods will continue to be provided under the tariff 
categories that were modified in Proclamation 8097. The USCFTA parties 
have agreed to make these changes.
    5. Section 202 of the USCFTA provides certain rules for determining 
whether a good is an originating good for the purposes of implementing 
tariff treatment under the USCFTA. Section 202(o) of the USCFTA Act 
authorizes the President to proclaim the rules of origin set out in the 
USCFTA and any subordinate tariff categories necessary to carry out the 
USCFTA, subject to the exceptions stated in section 202(o)(2)(A).
    6. I have determined that the modifications to the HTS proclaimed 
pursuant to section 202 of the USCFTA Act and section 1206(a) of the 
1988 Act are necessary or appropriate to ensure the continuation of 
tariff and certain other treatment accorded originating goods under 
tariff categories modified in Proclamation 8097 and to carry out the 
duty reductions proclaimed in Proclamation 7746.
    7. Presidential Proclamation 7747 of December 30, 2003, implemented 
the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) with respect 
to the United States and, pursuant to section 201 of the United States-
Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USSFTA Act'') 
(19 U.S.C. 3805 note), the staged reductions in rates of duty that I 
determined necessary or appropriate to carry out or apply articles 2.2, 
2.5, 2.6, and 2.12 of the USSFTA and the schedule of reductions with 
respect to the United States set forth in Annex 2B of the USSFTA.
    8. In order to ensure the continuation of the staged reductions in 
rates of duty for originating goods from Singapore in categories that 
were modified to conform to the Convention, in Presidential Proclamation 
8097, I proclaimed modifications to the HTS that I determined were 
necessary or appropriate to carry out the duty reductions proclaimed in 
Proclamation 7747.
    9. Singapore is a party to the Convention. Because the substance of 
the changes to the Convention are reflected in slightly differing form 
in the national tariff schedules of the parties to the USSFTA, the 
provisions set out

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in Annexes 3A and 3B of that Agreement must be changed to ensure that 
the tariff and certain other treatment accorded under the USSFTA to 
originating goods will continue to be provided under the tariff 
categories that were modified in Presidential Proclamation 8097. The 
USSFTA parties have agreed to make these changes.
    10. Section 202 of the USSFTA Act provides certain rules for 
determining whether a good is an originating good for the purposes of 
implementing tariff treatment under the USSFTA. Section 202(o) of the 
USSFTA Act authorizes the President to proclaim the rules of origin set 
out in the USSFTA and any subordinate tariff categories necessary to 
carry out the USSFTA, subject to certain exceptions set out in section 
202(o)(2)(A).
     11. I have determined that the modifications to the HTS proclaimed 
pursuant to section 202 of the USSFTA Act are necessary or appropriate 
to ensure that the tariff and certain other treatment accorded 
originating goods under tariff categories modified in Proclamation 8097 
and to carry out the duty reductions proclaimed in Proclamation 7747.
    12. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Trade 
Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the HTS 
the substance of the 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. Section 1206(c) of the 1988 Act, as amended 
(19 U.S.C. 3006(c)), provides that any modifications proclaimed by the 
President under section 1206(a) of that Act may not take effect before 
the thirtieth day after the date on which the text of the proclamation 
is published in the Federal Register.
    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 
section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act, section 202 of the USSFTA Act, section 
202 of the USCFTA Act, and section 604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim 
that:
    (1) In order to reflect in the HTS the modifications to the rules of 
origin under the USCFTA, general note 26 to the HTS is modified as 
provided in Annex I to this proclamation.
    (2) In order to reflect in the HTS the modifications to the rules of 
origin under the USSFTA, general note 25 to the HTS is modified as 
provided in Annex II to this proclamation.
    (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 and technical rectifications to the HTS set 
forth in Annexes I and II to this proclamation shall be effective with 
respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, 
on or after the later of (i) February 1, 2008, or (ii) the thirtieth day 
after the date of publication of this proclamation in the Federal 
Register.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 
day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
second.
                                                George W. Bush

Note: At the time of publication, this proclamation had not been 
received by the Office of the Federal Register for assignment of a 
proclamation number. An original was not available for verification of 
the content of this proclamation.