H. R. 4842
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
An Act
To implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-
Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—APPROVAL OF, AND GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO, THE
AGREEMENT
Sec. 101. Approval and entry into force of the Agreement.
Sec. 102. Relationship of the Agreement to United States and State law.
Sec. 103. Implementing actions in anticipation of entry into force and initial regula-
tions.
Sec. 104. Consultation and layover provisions for, and effective date of, proclaimed
actions.
Sec. 105. Administration of dispute settlement proceedings.
Sec. 106. Arbitration of claims.
Sec. 107. Effective dates; effect of termination.
TITLE II—CUSTOMS PROVISIONS
Sec. 201. Tariff modifications.
Sec. 202. Additional duties on certain agricultural goods.
Sec. 203. Rules of origin.
Sec. 204. Enforcement relating to trade in textile and apparel goods.
Sec. 205. Regulations.
TITLE III—RELIEF FROM IMPORTS
Sec. 301. Definitions.
Subtitle A—Relief From Imports Benefiting From the Agreement
Sec. 311. Commencing of action for relief.
Sec. 312. Commission action on petition.
Sec. 313. Provision of relief.
Sec. 314. Termination of relief authority.
Sec. 315. Compensation authority.
Sec. 316. Confidential business information.
Subtitle B—Textile and Apparel Safeguard Measures
Sec. 321. Commencement of action for relief.
Sec. 322. Determination and provision of relief.
Sec. 323. Period of relief.
Sec. 324. Articles exempt from relief.
Sec. 325. Rate after termination of import relief.
Sec. 326. Termination of relief authority.
Sec. 327. Compensation authority.
Sec. 328. Business confidential information.
H. R. 4842—2
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to approve and implement the Free Trade Agreement
between the United States and Morocco entered into under
the authority of section 2103(b) of the Bipartisan Trade Pro-
motion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3803(b));
(2) to strengthen and develop economic relations between
the United States and Morocco for their mutual benefit;
(3) to establish free trade between the 2 nations through
the reduction and elimination of barriers to trade in goods
and services and to investment; and
(4) to lay the foundation for further cooperation to expand
and enhance the benefits of such Agreement.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ means the United
States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement approved by Congress
under section 101(a)(1).
(2) HTS.—The term ‘‘HTS’’ means the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States.
(3) TEXTILE
OR
APPAREL
GOOD.—The term ‘‘textile or
apparel good’’ means a good listed in the Annex to the Agree-
ment on Textiles and Clothing referred to in section 101(d)(4)
of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(4)).
TITLE I—APPROVAL OF, AND GENERAL
PROVISIONS 
RELATING 
TO, 
THE
AGREEMENT
SEC. 101. APPROVAL AND ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE AGREEMENT.
(a) APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT AND STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRA-
TIVE ACTION.—Pursuant to section 2105 of the Bipartisan Trade
Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3805) and section
151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191), Congress approves—
(1) the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement
entered into on June 15, 2004, with Morocco and submitted
to Congress on July 15, 2004; and
(2) the statement of administrative action proposed to
implement the Agreement that was submitted to Congress on
July 15, 2004.
(b) CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE AGREEMENT.—
At such time as the President determines that Morocco has taken
measures necessary to bring it into compliance with those provisions
of the Agreement that are to take effect on the date on which
the Agreement enters into force, the President is authorized to
exchange notes with the Government of Morocco providing for the
entry into force, on or after January 1, 2005, of the Agreement
with respect to the United States.
SEC. 102. RELATIONSHIP OF THE AGREEMENT TO UNITED STATES
AND STATE LAW.
(a) RELATIONSHIP OF AGREEMENT TO UNITED STATES LAW.—
(1) UNITED STATES LAW TO PREVAIL IN CONFLICT.—No provi-
sion of the Agreement, nor the application of any such provision
H. R. 4842—3
to any person or circumstance, which is inconsistent with any
law of the United States shall have effect.
(2) 
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in 
this 
Act 
shall 
be
construed—
(A) to amend or modify any law of the United States,
or
(B) to limit any authority conferred under any law
of the United States,
unless specifically provided for in this Act.
(b) RELATIONSHIP OF AGREEMENT TO STATE LAW.—
(1) LEGAL CHALLENGE.—No State law, or the application
thereof, may be declared invalid as to any person or cir-
cumstance on the ground that the provision or application
is inconsistent with the Agreement, except in an action brought
by the United States for the purpose of declaring such law
or application invalid.
(2) DEFINITION OF STATE LAW.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘State law’’ includes—
(A) any law of a political subdivision of a State; and
(B) any State law regulating or taxing the business
of insurance.
(c) EFFECT OF AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO PRIVATE REM-
EDIES.—No person other than the United States—
(1) shall have any cause of action or defense under the
Agreement or by virtue of congressional approval thereof; or
(2) may challenge, in any action brought under any provi-
sion of law, any action or inaction by any department, agency,
or other instrumentality of the United States, any State, or
any political subdivision of a State, on the ground that such
action or inaction is inconsistent with the Agreement.
SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS IN ANTICIPATION OF ENTRY INTO
FORCE AND INITIAL REGULATIONS.
(a) IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS.—
(1) PROCLAMATION AUTHORITY.—After the date of the enact-
ment of this Act—
(A) the President may proclaim such actions, and
(B) other appropriate officers of the United States
Government may issue such regulations,
as may be necessary to ensure that any provision of this Act,
or amendment made by this Act, that takes effect on the
date the Agreement enters into force is appropriately imple-
mented on such date, but no such proclamation or regulation
may have an effective date earlier than the date the Agreement
enters into force.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN PROCLAIMED ACTIONS.—
Any action proclaimed by the President under the authority
of this Act that is not subject to the consultation and layover
provisions under section 104 may not take effect before the
15th day after the date on which the text of the proclamation
is published in the Federal Register.
(3) WAIVER OF 15-DAY RESTRICTION.—The 15-day restriction
in paragraph (2) on the taking effect of proclaimed actions
is waived to the extent that the application of such restriction
would prevent the taking effect on the date the Agreement
enters into force of any action proclaimed under this section.
H. R. 4842—4
(b) INITIAL
REGULATIONS.—Initial regulations necessary or
appropriate to carry out the actions required by or authorized
under this Act or proposed in the statement of administrative
action submitted under section 101(a)(2) to implement the Agree-
ment shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be issued within 1
year after the date on which the Agreement enters into force.
In the case of any implementing action that takes effect on a
date after the date on which the Agreement enters into force,
initial regulations to carry out that action shall, to the maximum
extent feasible, be issued within 1 year after such effective date.
SEC. 104. CONSULTATION AND LAYOVER PROVISIONS FOR, AND EFFEC-
TIVE DATE OF, PROCLAIMED ACTIONS.
If a provision of this Act provides that the implementation
of an action by the President by proclamation is subject to the
consultation and layover requirements of this section, such action
may be proclaimed only if—
(1) the President has obtained advice regarding the pro-
posed action from—
(A) the appropriate advisory committees established
under section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2155); and
(B) the United States International Trade Commission;
(2) the President has submitted to the Committee on
Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives a report that sets forth—
(A) the action proposed to be proclaimed and the rea-
sons therefor; and
(B) the advice obtained under paragraph (1);
(3) a period of 60 calendar days, beginning on the first
day on which the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1)
and (2) have been met has expired; and
(4) the President has consulted with such Committees
regarding the proposed action during the period referred to
in paragraph (3).
SEC. 105. ADMINISTRATION OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEEDINGS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OR DESIGNATION OF OFFICE.—The President
is authorized to establish or designate within the Department of
Commerce an office that shall be responsible for providing adminis-
trative assistance to panels established under chapter 20 of the
Agreement. The office may not be considered to be an agency
for purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2004 to
the Department of Commerce such sums as may be necessary
for the establishment and operations of the office under subsection
(a) and for the payment of the United States share of the expenses
of panels established under chapter 20 of the Agreement.
SEC. 106. ARBITRATION OF CLAIMS.
The United States is authorized to resolve any claim against
the United States covered by article 10.15.1(a)(i)(C) or article
10.15.1(b)(i)(C) of the Agreement, pursuant to the Investor-State
Dispute Settlement procedures set forth in section B of chapter
10 of the Agreement.