United States Statutes at Large, Volume 119, 109th Congress, 1st Session

[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 119, 109th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 7971--DEC. 22, 2005
Proclamation 7971 of December 22, 2005
To Implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
1. On June 15, 2004, the United States entered into the United States-
Morocco Free Trade Agreement (USMFTA). The USMFTA was approved by the
Congress in section 101(a) of the United States-Morocco Free Trade
Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USMFTA Act'';) (Public Law 108-302,
118 Stat. 1103) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note).
2. Section 105(a) of the USMFTA 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 20 of the USMFTA.
3. Section 201 of the USMFTA 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 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.1, 4.3.9, 4.3.10, 4.3.11, 4.3.13,
4.3.14, and 4.3.15, and the schedule of reductions with respect to
Morocco set forth in Annex IV of the USMFTA.
4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the USMFTA Act, Morocco is to be
removed from the enumeration of designated beneficiary developing
countries eligible for the benefits of the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP). Further, consistent with section 604 of the Trade Act
of 1974 (the ``1974 Act'';) (19 U.S.C. 2483), as amended, I have
determined that other technical and conforming changes to the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) are necessary to reflect that
Morocco is no longer eligible to receive benefits of the GSP.
5. Section 203 of the USMFTA Act provides certain rules for determining
whether a good is an originating good for the purposes of implementing
preferential tariff treatment under the USMFTA. I have de

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cided that it is necessary to include these rules of origin, together
with particular rules applicable to certain other goods, in the HTS.
6. Section 204 of the USMFTA Act authorizes the President to take
certain enforcement actions relating to trade with Morocco in textile
and apparel goods.
7. Subtitle B of title III of the USMFTA Act authorizes 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.
8. Executive Order 11651, as amended, establishes the Committee for the
Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) to supervise the
implementation of textile trade agreements.
9. Section 604 of the 1974 Act, 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 authority vested in me by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including but not limited to
sections 201, 203, 204, and 321-328 of the USMFTA 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 USMFTA, 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
USMFTA, to provide certain other treatment to originating goods for the
purposes of the USMFTA, to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to
certain originating goods, to reflect Morocco's removal from the
enumeration of designated beneficiary developing countries for purposes
of the GSP, 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. 3721 of the United States International Trade
Commission, entitled ``Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States Implementing the United States-Morocco Free Trade
Agreement''; (Publication 3721), which is incorporated by reference into
this proclamation.
(2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination
provided for in the USMFTA, and to provide for future staged reductions
in duties for products of Morocco for purposes of the USMFTA, the HTS is
modified as provided in Annex II of Publication 3721, 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 USMFTA Act to establish or
designate an office within the Department of Commerce to carry out the
functions set forth in that section.
(4) (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 3721.

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(b) Except as provided in paragraph 4(a) of this proclamation,
this proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2006.
(5) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under section 204 of
the USMFTA Act to exclude textile and apparel goods from the customs
territory of the United States; to determine whether an enterprise's
production of, and capability to produce, goods are consistent with
statements by the enterprise; to find that an enterprise has knowingly
or willfully engaged in circumvention; and to deny preferential tariff
treatment to textile and apparel goods.
(6) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority under subtitle B of
title III of the USMFTA 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; to determine whether imports
of a Moroccan textile or apparel article 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; and to
provide relief from imports of an article that is the subject of such a
determination.
(7) 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-second day
of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirtieth.
GEORGE W. BUSH