Presidential Documents

407 

Federal Register 

Vol. 77, No. 2 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 8770 of December 29, 2012 

To Modify Duty-Free Treatment Under the Generalized System of Preferences and for Other Purposes 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

1. Pursuant to section 503(b)(1)(G) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended 

(the ‘‘1974 Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)(1)(G)), articles that the President determines to be import-sensitive in the context of the Generalized System of 

Preferences (GSP) are not eligible to receive benefits under the GSP. 

2. Pursuant to section 503(b)(1)(G) of the 1974 Act, and after receiving 

advice from the United States International Trade Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’), I have determined that certain articles are import-sensitive in 

the context of the GSP. 

3. On April 22, 1985, the United States and Israel 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 (USIFTA), which 

the Congress approved in the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (the ‘‘USIFTA Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2112 note). 

4. Section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act provides that, whenever the President 

determines that it is necessary to maintain the general level of reciprocal 

and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for 

by the USIFTA, the President may proclaim such withdrawal, suspension, 

modification, or continuance of any duty, or such continuance of existing 

duty-free or excise treatment, or such additional duties as the President 

determines to be required or appropriate to carry out the USIFTA. 

5. 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’’). 

6. In Proclamation 7826 of October 4, 2004, consistent with the 2004 Agreement, the President determined, pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA 

Act, that it was necessary in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal 

and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for 

by the USIFTA, to provide duty-free access into the United States through 

December 31, 2008, for specified quantities of certain agricultural products 

of Israel. 

7. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the United States and Israel entered into agreements to extend the period that the 2004 Agreement was in force for 1- 

year periods to allow additional time for the two governments to conclude 

an agreement to replace the 2004 Agreement. 

8. To carry out the extension agreements, the President in Proclamation 

8334 of December 31, 2008; Proclamation 8467 of December 23, 2009; and 

Proclamation 8618 of December 21, 2010, modified the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule (HTS) of the United States to provide duty-free access into the 

United States for specified quantities of certain agricultural products of 

Israel, each time for an additional 1-year period. 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1
408 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Presidential Documents 

9. On December 6, 2011, the United States entered into an agreement with 

Israel to extend the period that the 2004 Agreement is in force through 

December 31, 2012, to allow for further negotiations on an agreement to 

replace the 2004 Agreement. 

10. Pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Act, I have determined that 

it is necessary, in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and 

mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for by 

the USIFTA, to provide duty-free access into the United States through 

the close of December 31, 2012, for specified quantities of certain agricultural 

products of Israel. 

11. In Proclamation 8742 of October 31, 2011, I modified the HTS to promote 

the uniform application of the International Convention on the Harmonized 

Commodity Description and Coding System and to alleviate unnecessary 

administrative burdens. Those modifications became effective on December 

3, 2011. Certain conforming changes to the HTS were inadvertently omitted 

from Annex I to that proclamation. I have determined that certain technical 

corrections to the HTS are necessary to provide the tariff treatment intended 

to certain products that were subject to the modifications made in Proclamation 8742. 

12. Section 604 of the 1974 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, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States of America, including but not limited 

to title V and section 604 of the 1974 Act, and section 4 of the USIFTA 

Act, do proclaim that: 

(1) In order to provide that one or more articles should no longer be treated 

as eligible articles for purposes of the GSP, the Rates of Duty 1-Special 

subcolumn for the corresponding HTS subheading is modified as set forth 

in Annex I to this proclamation. 

(2) The modification to the HTS set forth in Annex I to this proclamation 

shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse 

for consumption, on or after January 1, 2012. 

(3) In order to implement U.S. tariff commitments under the 2004 Agreement 

through December 31, 2012, the HTS is modified as provided in Annex 

II to this proclamation. 

(4)(a) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex II to this proclamation 

shall be effective with respect to eligible agricultural products of Israel 

that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or 

after January 1, 2012. 

(b) The provisions of subchapter VIII of chapter 99 of the HTS, as modified 

by Annex II to this proclamation, shall continue in effect through December 

31, 2012. 

(5) In order to make the technical corrections necessary to provide the 

tariff treatment intended to certain footwear products, the HTS is modified 

as set forth in Annex III to this proclamation. 

(6) The modifications to the HTS set forth in Annex III to this proclamation 

shall be effective with respect to goods that are entered, or withdrawn 

from warehouse for consumption, on or after December 3, 2011. 

(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. 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Presidential Documents 409 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of 

the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 

thirty-sixth. 

Billing code 3295–F2–P 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1OB#1.EPS</GPH>
410 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Presidential Documents 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1ED04JA12.009</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Presidential Documents 411 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1ED04JA12.010</GPH>
412 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 2012 / Presidential Documents 

[FR Doc. 2012–19 

Filed 1–3–12; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 7020–02–C 


wreier-aviles on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with PRESDOC1ED04JA12.011</GPH>