[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 245 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65773-65774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31370]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Determinations Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative has determined that 
Zambia has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to 
prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in 
connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles and has 
implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward 
implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act. Therefore, imports of eligible 
products from Zambia qualify for the textile and apparel benefits 
provided under the AGOA.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 17, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Moore, Director for African 
Affairs, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-
9514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The African Growth and Opportunity Act 
(Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-200) 
(AGOA) provides preferential tariff treatment for imports of certain 
textile and apparel products of beneficiary sub-Saharan

[[Page 65774]]

African countries. The textile and apparel trade benefits under the 
AGOA are available to imports of eligible products from countries that 
the President designates as ``beneficiary sub-Saharan African 
countries,'' provided that these countries (1) have adopted an 
effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful 
transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents, and (2) have 
implemented and follow, or are making substantial progress toward 
implementing and following, certain customs procedures that assist the 
Customs Service in verifying the origin of the products.
    In Proclamation 7350 (Oct. 2, 2000), the President designated 
Zambia as a ``beneficiary sub-Saharan African country,'' Proclamation 
7350 delegated to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) the 
authority to determine whether designated countries have met the two 
requirements described above. The President directed the USTR to 
announce any such determination in the Federal Register and to 
implement them through modifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (HTS). Based on actions that Zambia has taken, I 
have determined that Zambia has satisfied these two requirements.
    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority vested in the USTR by 
Proclamation 7350, U.S. note 7(a) to subchapter II of chapter 98 of the 
HTS and U.S. note 1 subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the HTS are each 
modified by inserting ``Zambia'' in alphabetical sequence in the list 
of countries. The foregoing modifications to the HTS are effective with 
respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, on or after the effective date of this notice. Importers 
claiming preferential tariff treatment under the AGOA for entries for 
textile and apparel articles should ensure that those entries meet the 
applicable visa requirements. See Visa Requirements Under the African 
Growth and Opportunity Act, 66 FR 7837 (2001).

Robert B. Zoellick,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 01-31370 Filed 12-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M