Trade Compliance Center

FIRST ROUND OF NAFTA TARIFF ACCELERATION

Federal Register

Volume 62, Number 149

Monday, August 4, 1997

Title 3--

The President

Billing code 3195-01-P

Presidential Documents

Proclamation 7016 of July 31, 1997

To Implement an Accelerated Schedule of Duty Elimination Under the North American Free Trade Agreement

By the President of the United States

A Proclamation

1. On December 17, 1992, the Governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (``the NAFTA''). The NAFTA was approved by the Congress in section 101(a) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (``the NAFTA Implementation Act'') (19 U.S.C. 3311(a) and was implemented with respect to the United States by Proclamation 6641 of December 15, 1993.

2. Section 201(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3331(b)) authorizes the President, subject to the consultation and layover requirements of section 103(a) of the NAFTA Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3313(a)), to proclaim accelerated schedules for duty elimination that the United States may agree to with Mexico or Canada. Consistent with Article 302(3) of the NAFTA, I, through my duly empowered representative, on March 20, 1997, entered into an agreement with the Government of Canada and the Government of Mexico providing for an accelerated schedule of duty elimination for specific goods. Consultation and layover requirements of section 103(a) of the NAFTA Implementation Act with respect to such schedule of duty elimination have been satisfied.

3. Pursuant to section 201(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act, I have determined that the modifications hereinafter proclaimed of duties on goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party are necessary or appropriate to (i) maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Canada and Mexico provided for by the NAFTA and (ii) to carry out the agreement with Canada and Mexico providing an accelerated schedule of duty elimination for specific goods.

4. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483) (``the Trade Act''), authorizes the President to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``the HTS'') the substance of the relevant provisions of acts affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including but not limited to section 201(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act and section 604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim that:

(1) In order to provide for an accelerated schedule of duty elimination for specific goods, the tariff treatment set forth in the HTS for certain NAFTA originating goods is modified as provided in the Annex to this proclamation.

(2) 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.

(3) The amendments made to the HTS by the Annex to this proclamation shall be effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1997.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-second.

William J. Clinton

(Presidential Signature)

Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 149 / Monday, August 4, 1997 / Presidential Documents

MODIFICATIONS TO THE HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE

OF THE UNITED STATES ("HTS") WITH RESPECT TO THE

TARIFF TREATMENT OF CERTAIN GOODS ORIGINATING

IN THE TERRITORY OF CANADA OR MEXICO

Section A. Effective with respect to goods of Canada under the terms of

general note 12 of the tariff schedule that are entered, or withdrawn from

warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1997, the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States ("HTS") is modified as follows:

(1). For subheadings 7901.12.10, 7901.12.50 and 9603.50.00, the Rates of Duty

1 Special subcolumn is modified by deleting the rate of duty. and the "(CA)"

following such rate and inserting "CA," in alphabetical-order, in the

parentheses following the "Free" rate of duty in such subcolumn.

(2). The following subheadings are inserted in numerical sequence in

subchapter V of chapter 99 to the HTS. The subheadings are set forth in

columnar format, and material in such columns are set forth in the columns of

the HTS designated "Heading/Subheading", "Article Description", and "Rates of

Duty 1 Special", respectively. Bracketed matter is included to assist in the

understanding of proclaimed modifications.

(Goods of Canada)

"9905.20.25 Tabini (provided for in subheading

2008.19.90) Free (CA)

9905.39.21 Polyethylene film coated with heat activated

adhesive (provided for in subheading

3921.90.5O) Free (CA)

9905.44.21 Venetian blinds of wood (provided for in

subheading 4421.90.40) Free (CA)

9905.54.21 Elastomeric monofilaments of polyurethane

(provided for in subheading 5404.10.80) Free (CA)

9905.56.04 Imitation catgut (provided for in subheading

5604.90) Free (CA)

9905.68.15 Briquettes for gas fuel barbecues (provided for in subheading

6815.99.40 or 6914.90.80) Free (CA)

9905.73.40 Screws and bolts, whether or not with their

nuts or washers, for aircraft (provided for in

subheading 7318.15, 7508.90 or 8108.90.30) Free (CA)

9905.91.07 Appliance timers (provided for in heading 9107) Free (CA)

9905.91.14 Parts for appliance timers of heading 9107 (provided for in subheading 9114.90.30 or 9114.90.50) Free (CA)

Section B. Effective with respect to goods of Mexico under the terms of

general note 12 of the tariff schedule that are entered, or withdrawn from

from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1997, the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States ("HTS") is modified as follows:

(1) . For the following subheadings, the Rates of Duty 1 Special subcolumn is modified by deleting the staged rate of duty and the "(MX)" following such rate and by inserting "MX",. in alphabetical order, in the parentheses following the "Free" rate of duty in such subcolumn.

2005.90.80 7901.12.10

2933.90.87 8536.50.80

5605.00.10 8714.91.90

5605.00.90

Annex (Continued)

Section B. (con.):

(2) . The following subheadings are inserted in numerical sequence in subchapter VI of

chapter 99 to the HTS. The subheadings are set forth in columnar format, and material in such columns are set forth in the columns of the HTS designated "Heading/Subheading", "Article Description", and "Rates of Duty 1 Special", respectively. Bracketed matter is included to assist in the understanding of proclaimed modifications.

[Goods of Mexico]

"9906.29.33 Trimethoprim (provided for in subheading

2933.59.22) Free (MX)

9906.29.35 Sulfamethoxazol (provided for in subheading

2935.00.48) Free (MX)

9906.44.21 Venetian blinds of wood (provided for in

subheading 4421.90.40) Free (MX)

9906.59.03 Woven fabrics of polypropylene, coated or laminated with plastics on one side only (provided for in subheading 5903.90.25) Free (MX)

9906.63.02 Towels of cotton, printed, other than terry toweling or similar terry fabrics (provided for in subheading 6302.91.00) Free (MX)

9906.73.18 Screws and bolts, whether or not with their

nuts or washers, for aircraft (provided for in

subheading 7318.15) Free (MX)

[FR Doc. 97-20606

[Filed 8-1-97]

Billing code 3190-01-C

[Federal Register: May 12, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 91)] [Notices]

======================================================================= -----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Implementation of the First Round of Accelerated Tariff Eliminations

Under Provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notification of articles proposed for accelerated tariff elimination

under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

SUMMARY: Section 201(b) of the North American Free Trade Agreement

Implementation Act of 1993 (``the Act'') grants the President, subject to the consultation

and lay-over requirements of section 103(a) of the Act, the authority to proclaim any accelerated schedule for duty elimination that may be agreed to by the United States,

Mexico and Canada under Article 302(3) of the North American Free Trade Agreement

(``the NAFTA''). This notice is intended to inform the public of those articles on which the United States, Canada and Mexico have provisionally agreed to accelerate the elimination

of duties.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Room 522, 600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508; telephone (202) 395-3412; fax: (202) 395-9675.

BThe following Federal Register notices provide information on the first round. Request for petitions appeared December 23, 1993 (58 FR 68186); a request for comments on list of products to be considered appeared May 23, 1994 (59 FR 26688).

Article 302 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) permits the Parties to consider and agree to accelerate the elimination of customs duties on goods of a Party. Pursuant to this provision, the United States, Canada and Mexico solicited requests from interested parties in early 1994. At the request of the United States Government, the Parties agreed to consider requests on an expedited basis, and for that reason also agreed to consider a short list of items in the first round.

As a result, approximately 207 8-digit tariff subheadings or parts of subheadings were considered by the three Parties. As a part of the process, USTR requested the advice of the USITC and the private sector trade advisory groups. As has been practice under tariff acceleration rounds conducted under the provisions of the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, the United States did not agree to provide accelerated tariff elimination for those products subject to negative advice. In a similar manner, the governments of Canada and Mexico declined to agree to acceleration for products subject to negative comments by their interested parties.

The Parties did agree to accelerated tariff elimination on the remaining products, involving all or parts of approximately 80 8-digit tariff lines for which one or more of the Parties have provisionally agreed to eliminate the duties at the conclusion of the necessary domestic procedures. Two annexes are attached listing the agreed products. Annex 1 lists the products for which the United States proposes to immediately eliminate the remaining tariffs. Annex II also shows the U.S. reductions, as well as the comparable reductions agreed to by Canada and Mexico. As a rule, eliminations are being proposed on a reciprocal basis. For products that do not show such reciprocal elimination, it is in most cases due to the fact that duties have already been eliminated. The final column of the annex indicates those few cases where a Party declined to participate in the reductions.

As noted above, the relevant private sector advisory committees were consulted throughout this process, and have expressed no objection to eliminating tariffs for the products appearing in Annex I. In addition, the ITC provided a report to USTR indicating that the proposed eliminations would have no harmful impact on the United States. The Parties intend to implement the accelerated tariff eliminations effective July 1, 1997. A separate Federal Register notice will be published shortly providing information on the initiation of a second round of NAFTA Accelerated Tariff Eliminations.

Peter F. Allgeier,

Associate U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere.

Annex 1.--NAFTA TARIFF ACCELERATION ROUND ONE--U.S. TARIFF REDUCTIONS

Short product description US HS No. Tariff reduced for Comment

Processed Artichokes 20059080 Mexico x

Tahini 20081990 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Trimethoprim

29335922 Mexico Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Hexamethylenetetramine 29339087 Mexico x

Sulfamethoxazole 29350048 Mexico Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Polyethylene tape laminated with thermoplastic adhesive 39219050 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Venetian blinds of wood 44219040 Canada, Mexico Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Elastomeric monofilaments of polyurethane 54041080 Mexico, Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Imitations of Catgut 56049000 Canada x

Metallized yarn 56050010

56050090 Mexico x

Woven fabrics of polyethylene, coated or laminated with platics on one side only 59039025 Mexico Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Printed Cotton towels 63029100 Mexico Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Briquettes for gas fuel barbecues 68159940 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Briquettes for gas fuel barbecues 69149080 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft 731815xx Canada, Mexico Acceleration on part of 6-digit number only

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft, of nickel 750890xx Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Casting-grade zinc, containing by weight less than 99.99% of zinc 79011210 Canada, Mexico x

Other zinc 79011250 Canada x

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft, of titanium 81089030 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Electric switches, other than motor starter switches 85365080 Mexico x

Other bicycle parts 87149190 Mexico, Canada x

Appliance timers 910700 Canada Acceleration on part of 6-digit number only

Parts for appliance timers 91149030

91149050 Canada Acceleration on part of 8-digit number only

Brushes constituting parts of machines 96035080 Canada x

ANNEX II.--NAFTA Tariff Acceleration Round One--CONCORDANCE

Product description US HS No. Cnd HS No. Mex HS No. USA Mexico Canada Comment

Processed Artichokes 20059080 N/A 20059099 M US x US-Mex

only

Tahini 20081990 20081990 20081999 C US, C US, M x

Sodium Cyanide 28371100 28371100 28371101 xx US, C xx xx

2-Ethyl-hexanol 29051600 29051600 29061602 x US, C M x

Lovastin and simvastin 29322950 29322900 29322999 x US, C M x

Trimethoprim 29335922 29335900 29335906 x US, C M x

Enalapril maleate 29339053 29339000 29339057 x US, C M x

Hexamethylenetetramine 29339087 29339000 29339035 x x M x

Sulfamethoxazole 29350048 29350000 29350028 x US, C M x

Sulfmamerizine 29350042 29350000 29350099 x US, C M x

Vitamin C and its derivatives 29362700 29362700 29362701 x US, C x x

Dexamethasone 29372200 29372200 29379909 x US, C x x

Tetracycline chlorohydrate 29413000 29413000 29413001 x US, C M x

Gentamycin 29419050 29419000 29419016 x US, C M x

Film without sprocket holes, of a width not exceeding 105 mm, for color photography (polychrome) 37023100 37023100 37023101 x US, C x x

Film without sprocket holes, of a width exceeding 610 mm and a length exceeding 200 mm, for color photography (polychrome) 37024100 37024100 37024101 x US, C x x

Film, for color photography (polychrome), of a width exceeding 16 mm but not exceeding 35 mm and a length not exceeding 30 m, for slides. 37025300 37025300 37025301 x US, C x xx

Film, for color photography (polychrome), of a width exceeding 16 mm but not exceeding 35 mm and a length not exceeding 30 m, other than for slides. 37025400 37025400 37025401 x US, C x x

Film, for color photography (polychrome), of a width exceeding 16 mm but not exceeding 35 and of a length exceeding 30 m. 37025500 37025500 37025501 x US, C x x

Black and white motion picture film, of a width not exceeding 16 mm and of a length exceeding 14 m. 37029200 27029290 37029201 x US, C x x

Color motion picture film, a width exceeding 16 mm but not exceeding 35 mm and of a length exceeding 30 m. 37029400 37029490 37029401 x US, C x x

Polyethylene tape laminated with thermoplastic adhesive. 39219050 39219090 39219008 C US, C US, M x

Venetian blinds of wood 44219040 44219040 44219099 C, M US, C US, M x

Paper of a kind for use in making masking tape. 48083000 48083090 48083002 x US, C x x

Elastomeric monofilaments of polyurethane. 54041080 54041090 54041005 M,C C US, M x

Imitations of Catgut 56049000 56049000 56049003,

56049004 C x US US-Can only

Metallized yarn 56050010,

56050090 56050000 5605001 M US, C M x

Woven fabrics of polyethylene, coated or laminated with plastics on one side only. 59039025 59039020 59039002 M US x x

Printed Cotton towels 63029100 63029100 63029101 M US x x

Briquettes for gas fuel barbecues 68159940 68159991,

68159999 68159901,

68159999 C x US x

Ceramic tableware, other than of porcelain or china 69120010,

69120020,

69120035,

69120039,

69120041,

69120044,

69120045,

69120046,

69120048,

69120059, 69120000 69120001,

69120099 x C M Mex-Can

only

Briquettes for gas fuel barbecues 69149080 69149000 69149099 C x US, M x

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft 731815xx 73181500 73181501 C, M x US, M xx

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft, of nickel 750890xx 75089020 75089099 C US, C US, M x

Casting-grade zinc, containing by weight less than 99.99% of zinc. 79011210 79011200 79011201 C, M US, C x x

Other zinc 79011250 x x C x x x

Screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts and washers, for aircraft, of titanium. 81089030 81089090 81089099 C US, C US, M x

Scissors & Shears--Blanks and blades 82130030,

82130060,

82130090 82130020,

82130030 82130001 x x US x

Tobacco drying machines 84199090 84193190 84193105 x US, C x x

Parts of tobacco drying machines 84199080 84199099 x US, C M x

Dishwashers 84121100 N/A 84221101 x US x Mex-US only.

Parts of dishwashers 84229002,

84229004,

84220006 N/A 84229002,

84229003,

84229004 x US x x

Machines for cleaning by pressure 84233010,

84233090 84233000 84230001 x US, C M x

Excavating machines 84295950 84295910,

84295920,

84295990 84295901 x US, C x x

Parts for excavating machines 84314100,

84214990 84314190 84314101,

84314103,

84314199 x US, C M x

Other parts for excavating machines x 84314990 84314902,

84314999 x US, C M x

Clothes dryers 84512100 N/A 84512101,

84512199 x US x US-Mex only

Metal casting machines 8543000 85453010,

84543090 84543001 x US, C x x

Metal processing machines 84798100 84798110,

84798190 84798101 x US, C x x

Electric switches, other than motor starter switches 85365080 85365010,

85365080,

85365091,

85365099 85360001,

85365010, 85365011 M x x US-Mex only

Other bicycle parts 87149190 x x x x M x

Bicycle Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes, and free-wheel sprocket-wheels. 87149305,

84719315,

84719324,

84719328,

84719335,

84719370

87149300 87149301 x x M x

Bicycle parts, other than subheading No. 8714.91, 87149950, 8714.92, 8714.93, 8714.94, 8714.95 or 8714.96. 87149910,

87149950,

87149960,

87149980,

87149990 87149920 87149901 x x M Can-Mex only

Appliance timers 91070040,

91070080 91070010,

91070020,

91070090 91070001 C x US, M x

Parts for appliance timers 91149030,

91149050

91149020,

91149030,

91149090 91149001,

91149099 C x US x

Brushes constituting parts of machines 96035080 96035090 96035001 C x US, M x