Proclamation 5923 -- To
Implement the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
1.
On
2.
Section 201(a) of the Implementation Act authorizes the President to proclaim
such modifications or continuance of existing duties, such continuance of
existing duty-free or excise treatment, and such additional duties, as the
President determines are necessary or appropriate to carry out Article 401 of
the Agreement (including the schedule of duty reductions with respect to goods
originating in the territory of Canada set forth in Annexes 401.2 and 401.7).
3.
Section 202 of the Implementation Act provides for certain rules of origin. I
have determined that it is necessary to include in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTS) the rules of origin set forth in section
202 (including the ``Annex Rules'', as that term is defined in section 202(d)).
Further, pursuant to section 202(e) of the Implementation Act, in order to
conform the definition of Canadian articles of original motor-vehicle equipment
for purposes of the Automotive Products Trade Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 2001 et
seq.) with the rules set forth in Annex 301.2 of the Agreement, I have
determined that it is necessary to modify the pertinent definition set forth in
general note 3(c)(iii) of the HTS.
4.
Pursuant to sections 503 and 504(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the
Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2463 and 2464(c)), I have determined that certain
preferential tariff treatment previously afforded for purposes of the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) should be continued in the HTS subheadings
established by Annex II to this Proclamation.
5.
Pursuant to section 466 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1466),
the rate of duty imposed on equipments, or any part thereof, including boats,
purchased for, or the repair parts or the materials to be used, or the expenses
of repairs made in a foreign country upon a U.S.-documented vessel at its first
arrival in any port of the United States is 50 percent ad valorem.
Such duty does not apply to the cost of repair parts, materials, or expenses of
repairs in a foreign country upon a
6.
Section 1204(b) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988
Act) (19 U.S.C. 3004(b)) confers authority upon the President to proclaim such
modifications to the HTS as are necessary or appropriate to implement the
applicable provisions of Executive actions taken after January 1, 1988, and
before January 1, 1989.
7.
Section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483) confers authority upon the
President to embody in the HTS the substance of relevant provisions of that
Act, of other Acts affecting import treatment, and of actions taken thereunder.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, acting
under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United
States, including but not limited to sections 201 and 202 of the Implementation
Act, section 1204 of the 1988 Act, and section 604 of the Trade Act, do
proclaim that:
(1)
In order to specify the symbol pertaining to preferential duty treatment for
goods originating in the territory of Canada, general note 3(c)(i)(A) to the HTS is modified by inserting, immediately
after the line reading ``Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft . . . . C'', a new line reading ``United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement
. . . . . CA''.
(2)
In order to implement the duty treatment provided by the Agreement and to set
forth rules for determining the country of origin of goods imported into the
customs territory of the United States for purposes of the Agreement and of the
Automotive Products Trade Act, general note 3 to the HTS is modified as set
forth in Annex I to this Proclamation.
(3)
In order to provide preferential duty treatment to particular goods originating
in the
(4)
In order to provide duty-free entry to particular goods originating in the
(5)
In order to provide staged reductions in duties for particular goods
originating in the territory of Canada, the rate column entitled ``Rates of
Duty 1-Special'' for each of the HTS subheadings enumerated in Annex IV to this
Proclamation is modified --
(a)
by inserting in such column for each such subheading the rate of duty specified
for such subheading in the first dated Annex column under the heading ``Rates
of Duty, effective with respect to goods originating in the territory of Canada
and entered on or after -- '', followed by the symbol ``CA'' in parentheses,
and
(b)
effective on the date specified for the second dated Annex column under such
heading and on each of the subsequent dated Annex columns, by deleting from
each such subheading the ``Canada'' rates of duty in the HTS column entitled
``Rates of Duty 1-Special'' in effect on the day before the respective dates
provides therein, and by inserting in lieu thereof the rates of duty specified
in the next Annex column as effective on or after the respective date indicated
for such column.
(6)
In order to implement staged reductions in the rate of duty otherwise
applicable under section 466 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to the equipments, or
any part thereof, including boats, originating in the territory of Canada and
the expenses of repairs made in the territory of Canada upon U.S.-documented
vessels (other than civil aircraft, as defined in general note 3(c)(iv) of the
HTS), such equipments, parts (including boats), and expenses of repairs shall
be subject to duty at a rate of 45 percent ad valorem,
effective with respect to any U.S.-documented vessel arriving in any port of
the United States on or after January 1, 1989. Effective with respect to any
U.S.-documented vessel (other than civil aircraft) arriving in any port of the
United States on or after January 1 in each of the following years, the rate of
duty set forth opposite the appropriate year shall be assessed on such
equipments, parts, and repairs:
1990
-- 40% ad valorem
1991
-- 35% ad valorem
1992
-- 30% ad valorem
1993
-- 25% ad valorem
1994
-- 20% ad valorem
1995
-- 15% ad valorem
1996
-- 10% ad valorem
1997
-- 5% ad valorem
1998
and thereafter -- Free
(7)
All previously issued Proclamations and Executive orders are superseded to the
extent inconsistent with this Proclamation.
(8)(a)
The amendments made by paragraph (5)(b) of this
Proclamation shall be effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption, on or after the dates indicated for the
respective Annex columns.
(b)
Except as provided in paragraph (a), this Proclamation shall be effective with
respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or
after
(c)
If the date of entry into force is later than
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of December, in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,
Note: The annexes to the
proclamation were printed in the ``Federal Register'' of December 16.