To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the Generalized System of Preferences, Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and for Other Purposes

Proclamation 8157 of June 28, 2007

To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the
Generalized System of Preferences, Take Certain Actions
Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and for
Other Purposes

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

1. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended (the ``1974 Act'')(19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(A)), beneficiary developing countries,
except those designated as least-developed beneficiary
developing countries or beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries as provided in section 503(c)(2)(D) of the
1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(D)), are subject to
competitive need limitations on the preferential
treatment afforded under the Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) to eligible articles.

2. Section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(C)) provides that a country that is no
longer treated as a beneficiary developing country with
respect to an eligible article may be redesignated as a
beneficiary developing country with respect to such
article if imports of such article from such country
did not exceed the competitive need limitations in
section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act during the
preceding calendar year.

3. Section 503(c)(2)(F)(i) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(F)(i)) provides that the President may
disregard the competitive need limitation provided in
section 503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(A)(i)(II)) with respect to any eligible
article from any beneficiary developing country if the
aggregate appraised value of the imports of such
article into the United States during the preceding
calendar year does not exceed an amount set forth in
section 503(c)(2)(F)(ii) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(F)(ii)).

4. Pursuant to section 503(d)(1) of the 1974 Act (19
U.S.C. 2463(d)(1)), the President may waive the
application of the competitive need limitations in
section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2463(c)(2)(A)) with respect to any eligible article
from any beneficiary developing country if certain
conditions are met.

5. Pursuant to section 503(d)(5) of the 1974 Act (19
U.S.C. 2463(d)(5)), any waiver granted under section
503(d) shall remain in effect until the President
determines that such waiver is no longer warranted due
to changed circumstances.

6. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act, I
have determined that in 2006 certain beneficiary
developing countries have exported certain eligible
articles in quantities exceeding the applicable
competitive need limitation, and I therefore terminate
the duty-free treatment for such articles from such
beneficiary developing countries.

7. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(C) of the 1974 Act,
and subject to the considerations set forth in sections
501 and 502 of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2461 and 2462),
I have determined to redesignate certain countries as
beneficiary developing countries with respect to
certain eligible articles that previously had been
imported in quantities exceeding the competitive need
limitations of section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act.

8. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(F) of the 1974 Act, I
have determined that the competitive need limitation
provided in section 503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) of

the 1974 Act should be disregarded with respect to
certain eligible articles from certain beneficiary
developing countries.

9. Pursuant to section 503(d)(1) of the 1974 Act, I
have received the advice of the United States
International Trade Commission (USITC) on whether any
industries in the United States are likely to be
adversely affected by such waivers, and I have
determined, based on that advice and on the
considerations described in sections 501 and 502(c) of
the 1974 Act, and after giving great weight to the
considerations in section 503(d)(2) of the 1974 Act (19
U.S.C. 2463(d)(2)), that such waivers are in the
national economic interest of the United States.
Accordingly, I have determined that the competitive
need limitations of section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974
Act should be waived with respect to certain eligible
articles from certain beneficiary developing countries.

10. Pursuant to section 503(d)(5) of the 1974 Act, I
have determined that certain previously granted waivers
of the competitive need limitations of section
503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act are no longer warranted
due to changed circumstances.

11. Section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C.
2466a(a)(1)), as added by section 111(a) of the African
Growth and Opportunity Act (title I of Public Law 106-
200)(AGOA), authorizes the President to designate a
country listed in section 107 of the AGOA (19 U.S.C.
3706) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country if
the President determines that the country meets the
eligibility requirements set forth in section 104 of
the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3703), as well as the eligibility
criteria set forth in section 502 of the 1974 Act (19
U.S.C. 2462).

12. Section 104 of the AGOA authorizes the President to
designate a country listed in section 107 of the AGOA
as an eligible sub-Saharan African country if the
President determines that the country meets certain
eligibility requirements.

13. Section 112(c) of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3721(c))
provides special rules for certain apparel articles
imported from lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan
African countries.

14. In Proclamation 7970 of December 22, 2005, I
determined that the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
(Mauritania) was not making continual progress in
meeting the requirements described in section
506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act and terminated the
designation of Mauritania as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country for purposes of section 506A of the
1974 Act.

15. Pursuant to section 104 of the AGOA and section
506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act, I have determined that
Mauritania now meets the eligibility requirements set
forth or referenced therein, and I have decided to
redesignate Mauritania as an eligible sub-Saharan
African country and beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country.

16. I further determine that Mauritania satisfies the
criterion for treatment as a ``lesser developed
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country'' under section
112(c) of the AGOA.

17. Presidential Proclamation 8114 of March 19, 2007,
implemented section 112 of the AGOA, as amended in
section 6002 of the Africa Investment Incentive Act of
2006 (Division D, Title VI, Public Law 109-432)(19
U.S.C. 3721(c)(2)(A)). Technical corrections to the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS)
are necessary to implement the intended tariff
treatment.

18. In Presidential Proclamation 8097 of December 29,
2006, I modified the HTS, pursuant to section 1206 of
the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the
``1988 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 3006), to conform it to the
International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (the ``Convention'').
Additional conforming changes to the HTS are required
to implement the intended tariff treatment.

19. Section 2004(b)(1)(B) of the Miscellaneous Trade
and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-
429) amended section 213(b)(2)(A)(v) of the Caribbean
Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C.
2703(b)(2)(A)(v)). A modification to the HTS needs to
be made to reflect this amendment.

20. On April 22, 1985, the United States entered into
the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area
between the Government of the United States of America
and the Government of Israel (the ``Israel FTA''),
which the Congress approved in the United States-Israel
Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (the
``Israel FTA Act'')(19 U.S.C. 2112 note). In order to
maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually
advantageous concessions with respect to agricultural
trade with Israel, on July 27, 2004, the United States
entered into an agreement with Israel concerning
certain aspects of trade in agricultural products
during the period January 1, 2004, through December 31,
2008 (the ``2004 Agreement'').

21. Presidential Proclamation 7826 of October 4, 2004,
implemented the 2004 Agreement. Technical corrections
to the HTS are necessary to reflect the tariff
treatment intended under the 2004 Agreement for the
years 2007 and 2008.

22. Section 604 of the 1974 Act, as amended (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, including but not limited to title V and
section 604 of the 1974 Act, section 4 of the Israel
FTA Act, section 1206 of the 1988 Act, and section 104
of the AGOA, do hereby proclaim: (1) In order to
provide that one or more countries that have not been
treated as beneficiary developing countries with
respect to one or more eligible articles should be
redesignated as beneficiary developing countries with
respect to such article or articles for purposes of the
GSP, and, in order to provide that one or more
countries should no longer be treated as beneficiary
developing countries with respect to one or more
eligible articles for purposes of the GSP, general note
4(d) to the HTS is modified as set forth in section A
of Annex I to this proclamation.

(2) In order to designate certain articles as eligible
articles for purposes of the GSP when imported from any
beneficiary developing country, the Rates of Duty 1-
Special subcolumn for such HTS subheadings is modified
as set forth in section B(1) of Annex I to this
proclamation.

(3) In order to provide that one or more countries
should not be treated as beneficiary developing
countries with respect to certain eligible articles for
purposes of the GSP, the Rates of Duty 1-Special
subcolumn for such HTS subheadings is modified as set
forth in section B(2) of Annex I to this proclamation.

(4) The competitive need limitation provided in section
503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) of the 1974 Act is disregarded with
respect to the eligible articles in the HTS subheadings
and to the beneficiary developing countries listed in
Annex II to this proclamation.

(5) A waiver of the application of section 503(c)(2)(A)
of the 1974 Act shall apply to the eligible articles in
the HTS subheadings and to the beneficiary developing
countries set forth in Annex III to this proclamation.

(6) The waivers of the application of section
503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act to the articles in the HTS
subheading and to the beneficiary developing countries
listed in Annex IV to this proclamation are revoked.

(7) Mauritania is designated as an eligible sub-Saharan
African country and as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country.

(8) In order to reflect this designation in the HTS,
general note 16(a) to the HTS is modified by inserting
in alphabetical sequence in the list of beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries ``Islamic Republic of
Mauritania,'' effective with respect to articles
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption,
on or after July 1, 2007.

(9) For purposes of section 112(c) of the AGOA,
Mauritania is a lesser developed beneficiary sub-
Saharan African country.

(10) In order to provide the tariff treatment intended
under section 112 of the AGOA, as amended, the HTS is
modified as set forth in section A of Annex V to this
proclamation.

(11) In order to conform the HTS to the Convention or
any amendment thereto recommended for adoption, to
promote the uniform application of the Convention, to
establish additional subordinate tariff categories, and
to make technical and conforming changes to existing
provisions, the HTS is modified as set forth in section
B of Annex V to this proclamation.

(12) In order to implement section 2004(b)(1)(B) of the
Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of
2004, the HTS is modified as set forth in section C of
Annex V to this proclamation.

(13) In order to provide the tariff treatment intended
under the 2004 Agreement, the HTS is modified as set
forth in section D of Annex V to this proclamation.

(14) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annexes
I, IV, and V to this proclamation shall be effective
with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse for consumption, on or after the dates set
forth in the respective annex.

(15) 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 June, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

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