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Skriven 2005-12-22 23:32:42 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (051222e) for Thu, 2005 Dec 22
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Proclamation by the President: To Implement the United States-Morocco Free
Trade Agreement
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 22, 2005

Proclamation by the President: To Implement the United States-Morocco Free
Trade Agreement
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America



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.

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.

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.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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