To Implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, 76651-76653 [05-24595]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President
• Presidential Documents

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 2005)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 76651-76653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24595]



[[Page 76649]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part V





The President





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Proclamation 7971--To Implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade 
Agreement



Executive Order 13393--Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay



Executive Order 13394--Providing an Order of Succession Within the 
Department of Defense



Memorandum of December 22, 2005--Order of Succession of Officers to Act 
as Secretary of Defense



Memorandum of December 22, 2005--Provision of Aviation Insurance 
Coverage for Commercial Air Carrier Service in Domestic and 
International Operations


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 247 / Tuesday, December 27, 2005 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 76651]]

                Proclamation 7971 of December 22, 2005

                
To Implement the United States-Morocco Free Trade 
                Agreement

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                1. On June 15, 2004, the United States entered into the 
                United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (USMFTA). 
                The USMFTA was approved by the Congress in section 
                101(a) of the United States-Morocco Free Trade 
                Agreement Implementation Act (the ``USMFTA Act'') 
                (Public Law 108-302, 118 Stat. 1103) (19 U.S.C. 3805 
                note).

                2. Section 105(a) of the USMFTA Act authorizes the 
                President to establish or designate within the 
                Department of Commerce an office that shall be 
                responsible for providing administrative assistance to 
                panels established under Chapter 20 of the USMFTA.

                3. Section 201 of the USMFTA Act authorizes the 
                President to proclaim such modifications or 
                continuation of any duty, such continuation of duty-
                free or excise treatment, or such additional duties as 
                the President determines to be necessary or appropriate 
                to carry out or apply Articles 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 4.1, 
                4.3.9, 4.3.10, 4.3.11, 4.3.13, 4.3.14, and 4.3.15, and 
                the schedule of reductions with respect to Morocco set 
                forth in Annex IV of the USMFTA.

                4. Consistent with section 201(a)(2) of the USMFTA Act, 
                Morocco is to be removed from the enumeration of 
                designated beneficiary developing countries eligible 
                for the benefits of the Generalized System of 
                Preferences (GSP). Further, consistent with section 604 
                of the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``1974 Act'') (19 U.S.C. 
                2483), as amended, I have determined that other 
                technical and conforming changes to the Harmonized 
                Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) are 
                necessary to reflect that Morocco is no longer eligible 
                to receive benefits of the GSP.

                5. Section 203 of the USMFTA Act provides certain rules 
                for determining whether a good is an originating good 
                for the purposes of implementing preferential tariff 
                treatment under the USMFTA. I have decided that it is 
                necessary to include these rules of origin, together 
                with particular rules applicable to certain other 
                goods, in the HTS.

                6. Section 204 of the USMFTA Act authorizes the 
                President to take certain enforcement actions relating 
                to trade with Morocco in textile and apparel goods.

                7. Subtitle B of title III of the USMFTA Act authorizes 
                the President to take certain actions in response to a 
                request by an interested party for relief from serious 
                damage or actual threat thereof to a domestic industry 
                producing certain textile or apparel articles.

                8. Executive Order 11651, as amended, establishes the 
                Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements 
                (CITA) to supervise the implementation of textile trade 
                agreements.

                9. Section 604 of the 1974 Act, as amended, authorizes 
                the President to embody in the HTS the substance of 
                relevant provisions of that Act, or other acts 
                affecting import treatment, and of actions taken 
                thereunder.

[[Page 76652]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, acting under authority vested 
                in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United 
                States of America, including but not limited to 
                sections 201, 203, 204, and 321-328 of the USMFTA Act, 
                section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and section 
                604 of the 1974 Act, do proclaim that:

  (1) In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff treatment 
being accorded under the USMFTA, to set forth rules for determining whether 
goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible 
for preferential tariff treatment under the USMFTA, to provide certain 
other treatment to originating goods for the purposes of the USMFTA, to 
provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to certain originating goods, to 
reflect Morocco's removal from the enumeration of designated beneficiary 
developing countries for purposes of the GSP, and to make technical and 
conforming changes in the general notes to the HTS, the HTS is modified as 
set forth in Annex I of Publication No. 3721 of the United States 
International Trade Commission, entitled ``Modifications to the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States Implementing the United States-Morocco 
Free Trade Agreement'' (Publication 3721), which is incorporated by 
reference into this proclamation.

  (2) In order to implement the initial stage of duty elimination provided 
for in the USMFTA, and to provide for future staged reductions in duties 
for products of Morocco for purposes of the USMFTA, the HTS is modified as 
provided in Annex II of Publication 3721, effective on the dates specified 
in the relevant sections of such publication and on any subsequent dates 
set forth for such duty reductions in that publication.

  (3) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to exercise my authority 
under section 105(a) of the USMFTA Act to establish or designate an office 
within the Department of Commerce to carry out the functions set forth in 
that section.

  (4) (a) The amendments to the HTS made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 
proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse for consumption, on or after the relevant dates indicated in 
Annex II to Publication 3721.

  (b) Except as provided in paragraph 4(a) of this proclamation, this 
proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 2006.

                (5) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority 
                under section 204 of the USMFTA Act to exclude textile 
                and apparel goods from the customs territory of the 
                United States; to determine whether an enterprise's 
                production of, and capability to produce, goods are 
                consistent with statements by the enterprise; to find 
                that an enterprise has knowingly or willfully engaged 
                in circumvention; and to deny preferential tariff 
                treatment to textile and apparel goods.

                (6) The CITA is authorized to exercise my authority 
                under subtitle B of title III of the USMFTA Act to 
                review requests, and to determine whether to commence 
                consideration of such requests; to cause to be 
                published in the Federal Register a notice of 
                commencement of consideration of a request and notice 
                seeking public comment; to determine whether imports of 
                a Moroccan textile or apparel article are causing 
                serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a domestic 
                industry producing an article that is like, or directly 
                competitive with, the imported article; and to provide 
                relief from imports of an article that is the subject 
                of such a determination.

                (7) Any provisions of previous proclamations and 
                Executive Orders that are inconsistent with the actions 
                taken in this proclamation are superseded to the extent 
                of such inconsistency.

[[Page 76653]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-second day of December, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand five, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 05-24595
Filed 12-23-05; 12:29 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P