President Signs 4 Proclamations: WCO Changes, Vietnam PNTR, Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals, and AGOA/GSP Beneficiaries
On December 29, 2006, President Bush signed four proclamations. These proclamations have not yet been assigned a Federal Register publication date, nor have their annexes (if any) been made available.
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Highlights of these proclamations are as followed:
WCO Changes. Proclamation to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. [for the ITC-recommended World Customs Organization changes], to adjust Rules of Origin under the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (to reflect any WCO changes), and for other purposes (e.g. to modify previously proclaimed FTA staged duty reductions for the WCO changes).
The proclamation states that Annexes I and III are effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the later of February 1, 2007, or the 30th day after the date of this proclamation is published in the Federal Register.
The modifications to Annex II are effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the respective dates specified in each section of the Annex for the goods described therein.
(Note that subsequent proclamations are expected to adjust the Rules of Origin of other FTAs, including NAFTA, to reflect WCO changes. Also note that the WCO changes in this proclamation will not take effect as early as February 1, 2007.)
PNTR for Vietnam. Proclamation to extend [permanent] nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Vietnam. The President has found Vietnam to be in full compliance with the freedom of emigration requirements under title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2431, et seq.). As a result, permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) treatment is extended to Vietnam [without the need for annual renewal], effective December 29, 2006.
Pharmaceuticals, chemical intermediates. Proclamation to eliminate tariffs on certain pharmaceuticals and chemical intermediates.
According to the proclamation, the Pharmaceuticals Appendix to the HTS will be modified to eliminate the duty of certain additional chemical intermediaries and pharmaceuticals agreed to in 2006 by the U.S. and 30 other WTO members.
The modifications are contained in the Annex to this proclamation and will be effective with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the date set forth in the Annex for the respective actions taken.
AGOA and GSP beneficiary countries. Proclamation to take certain actions under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Generalized System of Preferences. This proclamation:
Liberia. grants the Republic of Liberia AGOA benefits as a lesser developed beneficiary country with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after January 1, 2007;
East Timor. grants East Timor benefits as a GSP country with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the 20th day after the date of the proclamation, and designates it as a least-developed GSP country with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or the 65th day after the date of the proclamation;
Bulgaria and Romania. removes the designations of Bulgaria and Romania as GSP beneficiaries with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the date each becomes a European Union Member State; and
Afghanistan. designates Afghanistan as a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation for purposes of GSP, with respect to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the date it becomes a SAARC member, as announced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
These four proclamations (all signed December 29, 2006 and without any annexes attached) are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/proclamations/