Proclamation 5452

by Ronald Reagan

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

1. Section 504(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2464(a)), provides that the President may withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of the duty-free treatment accorded under section 501 of the Trade Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2461), with respect to any article or with respect to any country for purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Section 504(a) further provides that, in the event of such withdrawal, suspension, or limitation, the rate of duty to be imposed thereafter on such article is the rate which would apply in the absence of the preferential treatment accorded under the GSP.

2. On the basis of advice from the United States Trade Representative, and after taking into account the factors set forth in section 501 of the Trade Act, I have determined, pursuant to section 504(a) of the Trade Act, that it is appropriate to withdraw the application of duty-free treatment under the GSP to certain chemical mixtures containing ethyl alcohol (ethanol). Accordingly, the nomenclature of certain existing items of the TSUS must be subdivided and amended to provide for such withdrawal.

3. Section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483) confers authority upon the President to embody in the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202) the substance of the relevant provisions of that Act, of other acts affecting import treatment, and of actions taken thereunder.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, including but not limited to Title V and section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, do proclaim that:

(1)(a) In order to withdraw benefits of the GSP for certain chemical mixtures containing ethanol the TSUS is modified as set forth in section A of the Annex to this proclamation.

(b) In order to continue the existing preferential treatment of other articles previously designated as eligible for benefits of the GSP and provided for in new items created by the Annex to this proclamation, the Rates of Duty Special column for items 407.13, 413.54, and 432.28, inclusive, shall contain the duty rate of "Free" followed by symbol "A" in parentheses, and such column for item 407.19 shall contain the duty rate of "Free" followed by the symbol "A*" in parentheses.

(2)(a) In order to provide staged reductions in the rates of duty and to continue existing tariff treatment for products of least developed developing countries and for products of designated beneficiaries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act for those new TSUS items created by section A of the Annex to this proclamation, Annex III to Proclamation 4707 of December 11, 1979, Annex III to Proclamation 4768 of June 28, 1980, and Annexes V, VI, and IX to Proclamation 5365 of August 30, 1985, are superseded to the extent inconsistent with this proclamation.

(b) Effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 1987, the rates of duty set forth in the Rates of Duty I column in the following new TSUS items created by section A of the Annex to this proclamation shall be stricken and the rates of duty provided by section B of such Annex inserted in lieu thereof: 407.11, 407.13, 413.52, 413.54, 432.26, and 432.28, inclusive.

(c) Effective with respect to articles the product of Israel which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the dates specified in section C of the Annex to this proclamation, the rate of duty set forth in the Rates of Duty Special column followed by the symbol "I" in parentheses for each of the new TSUS items created by section A of such Annex shall be stricken and the rate of duty provided in section C of such Annex inserted in lieu thereof.

(3) General headnote 3(e)(v)(D) to the TSUS is modified by striking out "407.16 • . . Mexico" and by inserting in lieu thereof"407.19... Mexico".

(4) The amendments made by this proclamation shall be effective with respect to articles both: (i) imported on or after January 1, 1976, and (ii) entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the date of signature of this proclamation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:01 a.m., April 2, 1986]