Presidential Documents

31821 

Federal Register 

Vol. 74, No. 126 

Thursday, July 2, 2009 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 8394 of June 29, 2009 

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 sections 501 and 503(a)(1)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, 

as amended (the ‘‘1974 Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 2461 and 2463(a)(1)(A)), the President 

may designate articles as eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the 

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). 

2. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(A) of 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 GSP to eligible articles. 

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 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)(E) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2463(c)(2)(E)), 

section 503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) shall not apply with respect to any eligible article 

if a like or directly competitive article was not produced in the United 

States on January 1, 1995. 

7. Pursuant to sections 501 and 503(a)(1)(A) of the 1974 Act, and after 

receiving advice from the United States International Trade Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) in accordance with section 503(e), I have determined 

to designate certain articles as eligible articles when imported from any 

beneficiary developing country. 

8. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(A) of the 1974 Act, I have determined 

that in 2008 certain beneficiary developing countries exported eligible articles 

in quantities exceeding the applicable competitive need limitations, and 

I therefore terminate the duty-free treatment for such articles from such 

beneficiary developing countries. 

9. 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. 

31822 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 126 / Thursday, July 2, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

10. Pursuant to section 503(d)(1) of the 1974 Act, I have received the 

advice of the Commission on whether any industry in the United States 

is likely to be adversely affected by a waiver of the competitive need limitations provided in section 503(c)(2)(A), and I have determined, based on 

that advice and on the considerations described in sections 501 and 502(c) 

(19 U.S.C. 2462(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. 

11. 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. 

12. Pursuant to section 503(c)(2)(E) of the 1974 Act, I have determined 

that the limitation provided for in section 503(c)(2)(A)(i)(II) shall not apply 

with respect to subheading 7202.50.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

of the United States (HTS) because no like or directly competitive article 

was produced in the United States on January 1, 1995. 

13. Section 2004(d)(8)(A) of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–429, 118 Stat. 2434) amended subheading 

9804.00.70 of the HTS to provide the tariff treatment for certain articles 

imported by or on the account of returning United States residents. I have 

determined that it is appropriate to make conforming changes to note 4 

to subchapter IV of chapter 98 of the HTS to reflect that amendment. 

14. On June 6, 2003, the United States and Chile entered into the United 

States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (USCFTA), which the Congress approved 

in section 101(a) of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the ‘‘USCFTA Act’’) (19 U.S.C. 3805 note). Proclamation 8334 

of December 31, 2008, exercised authority under the USCFTA Act by modifying the HTS to provide for an accelerated schedule of duty elimination 

for specific originating goods of Chile. Proclamation 8334 inadvertently omitted modifications to the HTS necessary to implement the accelerated schedule. I have determined that technical corrections to the HTS are necessary 

to provide for the intended tariff treatment. 

15. Presidential Proclamation 8332 of December 29, 2008, implemented the 

tariff treatment called for under certain provisions of the United StatesOman Free Trade Agreement (USOFTA). I have determined that a technical 

correction to the HTS is necessary to provide for the intended tariff treatment. 

16. 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, acting under 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, do proclaim that: 

(1) 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 provide that one or more countries should no longer 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 the corresponding HTS subheadings is modified as set forth in section 

B of Annex I to this proclamation. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 126 / Thursday, July 2, 2009 / Presidential Documents 31823 

(3) In order to designate certain articles as eligible articles for purposes 

of the GSP, the Rates of Duty 1-Special subcolumn for the corresponding 

HTS subheadings is modified as set forth in section C 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 waiver 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 

country listed in Annex IV to this proclamation is revoked. 

(7) In order to make technical corrections necessary to provide the intended 

tariff treatment under the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections 

Act of 2004, the USCFTA, and the USOFTA, the HTS is modified as set 

forth in Annex V to this proclamation. 

(8) 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. 

(9) 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-ninth 

day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. 

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Filed 7–1–09; 11:15 am] 

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