To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition From Imports of Fine Denier Polyester Staple Fiber

Proclamation 10857 of November 8, 2024

To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition
From Imports of Fine Denier Polyester Staple Fiber

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

1. On August 26, 2024, the United States International
Trade Commission (USITC) transmitted to the President a
report (USITC Report) on its investigation under
section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the
``Trade Act'') (19 U.S.C. 2252), with respect to
imports of fine denier polyester staple fiber (fine
denier PSF). The product subject to the USITC's
investigation and determination excluded certain fine
denier PSF described in the USITC's Notice of
Institution, 89 FR 18435 (March 13, 2024), and listed
in subdivision (c)(ii) of Note 32 in the Annex to this
proclamation.

2. The USITC reached an affirmative determination under
section 202(b) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2252(b))
that fine denier PSF is being imported into the United
States in such increased quantities as to be a
substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic
industry producing an article like or directly
competitive with the imported article.

3. Pursuant to section 301(a) of the United States-
Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USMCA
Implementation Act'') (19 U.S.C. 4551(a)), the USITC
made findings as to whether imports of Canada and
Mexico, considered individually, account for a
substantial share of total imports and contribute
importantly to the serious injury caused by imports.
The USITC made negative findings of substantial share
and contribution to injury with respect to imports of
fine denier PSF from Canada and Mexico, considered
individually.

4. Pursuant to statutes implementing certain free trade
agreements to which the United States is a party, the
USITC further found that imports of fine denier PSF
that are a product of Australia, each Dominican
Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade
Agreement country (i.e., Costa Rica, the Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua) (CAFTA-DR countries), Colombia, Jordan, the
Republic of Korea, Panama, Peru, and Singapore,
individually, are not a substantial cause of serious
injury or threat thereof.

5. Furthermore, pursuant to section 403 of the Trade
and Tariff Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-573, 98 Stat.
2948, 3016 (1984)) (19 U.S.C. 2112 note), the USITC
found that the serious injury substantially caused by
imports to the domestic industry producing a like or
directly competitive article does not result from the
reduction or elimination of any duty provided for under
the United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement. The
USITC also found, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2703(e), that
the serious injury substantially caused by imports to
the domestic industry producing a like or directly
competitive article does not result from duty-free
treatment provided for under the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) provisions of the
Caribbean Basin Initiative trade program or the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

6. The USITC Commissioners transmitted to the President
their individual recommendations that each of them
considered would address the serious injury to the
domestic industry and be most effective in facilitating
the

efforts of the domestic industry to make a positive
adjustment to import competition.

7. On September 10, 2024, the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) requested additional information
from the USITC under section 203(a)(5) of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(5)). On October 10, 2024, the USITC
provided a response that identified unforeseen
developments that led to the importation of fine denier
PSF into the United States in such increased quantities
as to be a substantial cause of serious injury (USITC
Supplemental Report). The USITC Supplemental Report
also reported, inter alia, that increased imports of
fine denier PSF products of all countries other than
Australia, Canada, the CAFTA-DR countries, Colombia,
Israel, Jordan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Panama,
Peru, and Singapore are a substantial cause of serious
injury to the domestic industry.

8. Pursuant to section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C.
2253), and after taking into account the considerations
specified in section 203(a)(2) of the Trade Act (19
U.S.C. 2253(a)(2)), the USITC Report, and the USITC
Supplemental Report, I have determined to implement
action of a type described in section 203(a)(3) (19
U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)) (safeguard measure), with regard to
the following fine denier PSF: fine denier PSF, not
carded or combed, measuring less than 3.3 decitex (3
denier) in diameter, whether coated or uncoated. Fine
denier PSF is classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTS) in subheading
5503.20.00 and described in statistical reporting
number 5503.20.0025 or 9813.00.0520.

9. Pursuant to section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C.
2253), the action I have determined to take shall be a
safeguard measure in the form of a quantitative
restriction on imports of fine denier PSF described in
paragraph 8 of this proclamation, admitted temporarily
free of duty under bond and entered under subheading
5503.20.00 and described in statistical reporting
number 5503.20.0025 or 9813.00.0520, imposed for a
period of 4 years, with annual reductions in the
within-quota quantities in the second, third, and
fourth years. Admission of certain imported articles
free of duty under bond is commonly known as a
Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB). TIB entries are
subject to the conditions appearing in Chapter 98,
Subchapter XIII, of the HTS (19 U.S.C. 1202) as well as
regulations promulgated by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection and the Department of the Treasury.

10. The quantitative restriction of TIB entries
described in paragraph 9 of this proclamation shall be
allocated among all countries except those countries
the products of which are excluded from such
quantitative restriction, pursuant to paragraphs 13
through 16 of this proclamation.

11. This safeguard measure shall apply to imports of
all countries, except as provided in paragraphs 13
through 16 of this proclamation.

12. I have found, pursuant to section 203(e)(4) of the
Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253(e)(4)), that the most recent
3 years that are representative of imports of fine
denier PSF and for which data are available are 2018
through 2020, because that period covers the 3 most
recent years before the surge in imports, particularly
under TIB entry, from 2021 to 2023. Setting a
quantitative restriction of zero pounds for the first
year of this action is consistent with this
representative period because the USITC Report
indicates that there were no imports of fine denier PSF
under TIB entry during 2018 through 2020.

13. This safeguard measure shall not apply to imports
of any product described in paragraph 8 of this
proclamation of a developing country, as listed in
subdivision (b)(iii) of Note 32 in the Annex to this
proclamation, as long as such a country's share of
total imports of the product, based on imports during a
recent representative period, does not exceed 3
percent, provided that imports that are the product of
all such countries with less than 3 percent import
share collectively account for not more than 9 percent
of total imports of the product. If I determine that a
surge in imports of a product described in paragraph 8
of this proclamation of a developing

country that is a World Trade Organization (WTO) Member
results in imports of that product from that developing
country exceeding either of the thresholds described in
this paragraph, I may modify this action to apply to
such product of such country.

14. Pursuant to section 302(a) of the USMCA
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4552(a)), I have
determined after considering the USITC Report and the
USITC Supplemental Report that imports of fine denier
PSF that are the product of Canada and Mexico,
considered individually, do not account for a
substantial share of total imports and do not
contribute importantly to the serious injury found by
the USITC. Accordingly, pursuant to section 302(b) of
the USMCA Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4552(b)), I
have excluded fine denier PSF that is the product of
Canada or Mexico from the action I am taking under
section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253).

15. After considering the USITC Report and the USITC
Supplemental Report, I have also made the following
determinations with regard to fine denier PSF that is
the product of the following trading partners:

(a) I have determined that imports of fine denier
PSF that are the product of Australia are not a
substantial cause of the serious injury found by the
USITC, and I have therefore determined to exclude such
imports that are the product of Australia from the
action I am taking under section 203 of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2253), pursuant to section 331(b) of the
United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (Public Law 108-286, 118 Stat. 919,
949 (2004)) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note);
(b) In light of the USITC's finding that imports of
fine denier PSF that are the product of each CAFTA-DR
country individually are not a substantial cause of
serious injury or threat thereof, I have determined to
exclude such imports that are the product of each of
the CAFTA-DR countries from the action I am taking
under section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253),
pursuant to section 331(b) of the Dominican Republic-
Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (the ``CAFTA-DR Act'') (Public Law
109-53, 119 Stat. 462, 495 (2005)) (19 U.S.C. 4101(b));
(c) In light of the USITC's finding that imports of
fine denier PSF that are the product of Colombia are
not a substantial cause of serious injury or threat
thereof, I have determined to exclude such imports that
are the product of Colombia from the action I am taking
under section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253),
pursuant to section 331(b) of the United States-
Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
(Public Law 112-42, 125 Stat. 462, 493-94 (2011)) (19
U.S.C. 3805 note);
(d) In light of the USITC's finding that the
serious injury substantially caused by imports to the
domestic industry producing a like or directly
competitive article does not result from the reduction
or elimination of any duty provided for under the
United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement, I have
determined, as part of the action I am taking under
section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253), not to
suspend the reduction or elimination of any duty on
imports of fine denier PSF that are the product of
Israel, pursuant to section 403 of the Trade and Tariff
Act of 1984 (19 U.S.C. 2112 note);
(e) In light of the USITC's finding that imports of
fine denier PSF that are the product of Panama are not
a substantial cause of serious injury or threat
thereof, I have determined to exclude such imports that
are the product of Panama from the action I am taking
under section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253),
pursuant to section 331(b) of the United States-Panama
Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (Public
Law 112-43, 125 Stat. 497, 529 (2011)) (19 U.S.C. 3805
note);
(f) In light of the USITC's finding that imports of
fine denier PSF that are the product of Peru are not a
substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof,
I have determined to exclude such imports that are the
product of Peru from the action I am taking under
section 203 of the

Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2553), pursuant to section 331(b)
of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
Implementation Act (Public Law 110-138, 121 Stat. 1455,
1486 (2007)) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note);
(g) I have determined that imports of fine denier
PSF that are the product of Singapore are not a
substantial cause of the serious injury found by the
USITC, and I have therefore determined to exclude such
imports that are the product of Singapore from the
action I am taking under section 203 of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2253), pursuant to section 331(b) of the
United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (Public Law 108-78, 117 Stat. 948,
970 (2003)) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note); and
(h) In light of the USITC's finding that the
serious injury substantially caused by imports to the
domestic industry producing a like or directly
competitive article does not result from duty-free
treatment provided for under the CBERA provisions of
the Caribbean Basin Initiative trade program, I have
determined, as part of the action I am taking under
section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253), not to
suspend duty-free treatment pursuant to subsection 1 of
19 U.S.C. 2703(e), with respect to imports of fine
denier PSF that are the product of any CBERA
beneficiary country or territory.

16. Although the USITC found that imports of fine
denier PSF that are a product of the Republic of Korea
are not a substantial cause of serious injury or threat
thereof, I have determined to include imports of fine
denier PSF that are the product of the Republic of
Korea in the action I am taking under section 203 of
the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253). Specifically,
consistent with the recommendations of certain USITC
Commissioners, I have found that excluding imports of
the Republic of Korea from the quantitative restriction
could significantly undermine this action.

17. While the USITC recommended excluding Jordan from
this action under the United States-Jordan Free Trade
Area Implementation Act (Public Law 107-43, 115 Stat.
243 (2001)) (19 U.S.C. 2112 note), I have instead
determined to exclude such imports that are the product
of Jordan as imports of a developing country from the
action I am taking, pursuant to paragraph 13 of this
proclamation.

18. While the USITC Commissioners recommended that I
impose a tariff-rate quota on fine denier PSF imports,
I have determined not to do so. The USITC Report
indicates that TIB entries of fine denier PSF
contributed significantly to the serious injury to the
domestic industry. In addition, such TIB entries are
undermining the effectiveness of existing trade actions
on fine denier PSF. Therefore, I have decided to tailor
this safeguard remedy to TIB entries of fine denier
PSF. Furthermore, I have determined not to impose a
tariff-rate quota on imports of fine denier PSF in the
interest of balancing the competing interests of
domestic fine denier PSF manufacturers and the impact
of the safeguard remedy on downstream United States
producers, including manufacturers of textiles, defense
products, and consumer products, that rely on fine
denier PSF.

19. Pursuant to section 203(a)(1)(A) of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(1)(A)), I have determined that this
safeguard measure will facilitate efforts by the
domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to
import competition and provide greater economic and
social benefits than costs. If I determine that further
action is appropriate and feasible to facilitate
efforts by the domestic industry to make a positive
adjustment to import competition and provide greater
economic and social benefits than costs, or if I
determine that the conditions under section 204(b)(1)
of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(b)(1)) are met, I
shall reduce, modify, or terminate the action
established in this proclamation accordingly. In
addition, if I determine within 30 days of the date of
this proclamation, as a result of consultations between
the United States and other WTO Members pursuant to
Article 12.3 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, that
it is necessary to reduce, modify, or terminate the
safeguard measure, I shall proclaim the corresponding
reduction, modification, or termination of the
safeguard measure within 40 days of the date of this
proclamation.

20. 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, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, including sections 203 and 604 of the Trade Act
(19 U.S.C. 2253 and 2483), section 302 of the USMCA
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4552), section 331(b) of
the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), section
331(b) of the CAFTA-DR Act (19 U.S.C. 4101(b)), section
331(b) of the United States-Colombia Free Trade
Promotion Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3805
note), section 403 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984
(19 U.S.C. 2112 note), section 331(b) of the United
States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation
Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), section 331(b) of the United
States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation
Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), section 331(b) of the United
States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation
Act (19 U.S.C. 3805 note), and 19 U.S.C. 2703(e), do
proclaim that:

(1) In order to establish a quantitative restriction on
imports of fine denier PSF described in paragraph 9 of
this proclamation, subchapter III of chapter 99 of the
HTS is modified as provided in the Annex to this
proclamation.

(2) The modifications to the HTS made by this
proclamation, included in the Annex to this
proclamation, shall be effective with respect to goods
admitted temporarily free of duty under bond which are
entered under HTS statistical reporting number
9813.00.0520, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard
time 15 days after the date of this proclamation, and
shall continue in effect as provided in the Annex to
this proclamation, unless such action is earlier
expressly reduced, modified, or terminated.

(3) Imports of fine denier PSF that are the product of
Australia, Canada, the CAFTA-DR countries, CBERA
beneficiary countries and territories, Colombia,
Israel, Mexico, Panama, Peru, or Singapore shall be
excluded from the safeguard measure established in this
proclamation, and such imports shall not be counted
toward the quantitative restriction.

(4) Except as provided in clause (5) below, imports of
fine denier PSF that are the product of developing
countries, as listed in subdivision (b)(iii) of Note 32
in the Annex to this proclamation, shall be excluded
from the safeguard measure established in this
proclamation, and such imports shall not be counted
toward the quantitative restriction.

(5) If, after the safeguard measure established in this
proclamation takes effect, I determine that:

(a) the share of total imports of the product of a
country listed in subdivision (b)(iii) of Note 32 in
the Annex to this proclamation, based on imports during
a recent representative period, exceeds 3 percent;
(b) imports of the product from all listed
countries with less than 3 percent import share
collectively account for more than 9 percent of total
imports of the product; or
(c) a country listed in subdivision (b)(iii) of
Note 32 in the Annex to this proclamation is no longer
a developing country for purposes of this proclamation;

then I may revise subdivision (b)(iii) of Note 32 in
the Annex to this proclamation to remove the relevant
country from the list or suspend operation of that
subdivision, as appropriate.

(6) One year from the termination of the safeguard
measure established in this proclamation, the United
States note and tariff provisions established in the
Annex to this proclamation shall be deleted from the
HTS.

(7) Any provision of previous proclamations and
Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the action
taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent
of such inconsistency.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.

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