President Issues Proclamation Implementing the DR-CAFTA for Guatemala
On June 30, 2006, President Bush issued Proclamation 8034 to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), etc., to implement the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for Guatemala.
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According to the Proclamation, the DR-CAFTA for Guatemala is generally in effect for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 1, 2006.
This is Part I of a multi-part series of BP summaries of Proclamation 8034 and highlights the text of the proclamation. See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.
Annex Containing HTS Modifications Posted to ITC Web Site
The Proclamation states that the HTS modifications necessary to implement DR-CAFTA for Guatemala are not in the proclamation but are instead listed in the Annex of publication 3861 of the International Trade Commission (ITC), entitled "Modifications to the HTS of the U.S. to Implement the Dominican Republic - Central America - U.S. Free Trade Agreement with respect to Guatemala", which is posted to the ITC's web site and is incorporated by reference into Proclamation 8034.
These HTS modifications include the initial stage of duty elimination provided for in the DR-CAFTA for Guatemala.
HTS Modifications Include TRQs, Removal of GSP/CBPTA/CBERA for Guatemala
The HTS modifications also include tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for certain Guatemala DR-CAFTA originating goods and remove Guatemala from the list of countries eligible for benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA).
HTS Also Modified for Certain Technical Changes, Statistical Monitoring, Etc.
The HTS modifications also include technical and conforming changes in the HTS General Notes, as well as the implementation of statistical monitoring related to certain previously proclaimed DR-CAFTA tariff provisions.
Presidential Proclamation 8034, FR Pub 07/06/06, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-6064.pdf.
Proclamation 8034's Annexes (ITC publication 3861, dated June 2006) available at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/other/rel_doc/annex/PUB3861.pdf.
BP Note
The U.S. has already implemented the DR-CAFTA for El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The U.S. has not yet implemented the DR-CAFTA for Dominican Republic or Costa Rica.
(The DR-CAFTA is also referred to as the CAFTA-DR.)