United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session

[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Proclamation 7741 of December 4, 2003
 
To Provide for the Termination of Action Taken With Regard to Imports of
Certain Steel Products

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

1. Proclamation 7529 of March 5, 2002, implemented actions (safeguard
measures) of a type described in section 203(a)(3)(A) and (B) of

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the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(A) and (B)) (the
``Trade Act''), with respect to imports of certain flat steel
(consisting of slabs, plate, hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, and
coated steel), hot-rolled bar, cold-finished bar, rebar, certain welded
tubular products, carbon and alloy fittings, stainless steel bar,
stainless steel rod, tin mill products, and stainless steel wire, as
defined in paragraph 7 of Proclamation 7529 (collectively, ``certain
steel products'').
2. In Proclamation 7529 and Proclamation 7576 of July 3, 2002, I
authorized the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to further
consider any request for exclusion of a particular product and upon
finding that a particular product should be excluded, to modify the
provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS)
created by the Annex to Proclamation 7529 to exclude such particular
product from the pertinent safeguard measure established in Proclamation
7529. Pursuant to that authorization, the USTR published four notices of
exclusions of products from the safeguard measures in the Federal
Register at 67 Fed. Reg. 16484 (April 5, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 46221 (July
12, 2002), 67 Fed. Reg. 56182 (August 30, 2002), and 68 Fed. Reg. 15494
(March 31, 2003). The USTR also published notice in the Federal Register
of technical corrections to that Annex.
3. In a Memorandum of March 5, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 10593), pursuant to
section 203(a)(3)(I) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253(a)(3)(I)), I
instructed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce
to establish a system of import licensing to facilitate the monitoring
of imports of certain steel products. To provide for efficient and fair
administration of this action, pursuant to section 203(g) of the Trade
Act, I instructed the Secretary of Commerce to publish regulations in
the Federal Register establishing such a system of import licensing (the
``Licensing System''). Those regulations were published on December 31,
2002, at 67 Fed. Reg. 79845.
4. Section 204(a) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(a)) requires the
United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to monitor
developments with respect to the domestic industry while action taken
under section 203 remains in effect. If the initial period of a
safeguard action exceeds 3 years, then the ITC must submit to the
President a report on the results of such monitoring not later than the
date that is the mid-point of the initial period of the safeguard
action. The ITC report in Investigation Number TA-204-9 was submitted on
September 19, 2003.
5. Section 204(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2254(b)(1)(A))
authorizes the President to reduce, modify, or terminate a safeguard
action if, after taking into account any report or advice submitted by
the ITC and after seeking the advice of the Secretary of Commerce and
the Secretary of Labor, he determines that changed circumstances warrant
such reduction, modification, or termination. The President's
determination may be made, inter alia, on the basis that the
effectiveness of the action taken under section 203 has been impaired by
changed economic circumstances.
6. In view of the information provided in the ITC report, and having
sought advice from the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor,
I determine that the effectiveness of the actions taken under section
203(a)(3)(A) and (B) of the Trade Act with respect to imports of certain
steel products and the exclusions from and technical correc

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tions to the coverage of Proclamation 7529 has been impaired by changed
economic circumstances. Accordingly, I have determined, pursuant to
section 204(b)(1)(A)(ii), that termination of the actions taken under
section 203(a)(3)(A) and (B) set forth in Proclamation 7529 taken with
respect to certain steel imports is warranted. The action taken under
section 203(a)(3)(I) set forth in the Memorandum of March 5, 2002,
requiring the licensing and monitoring of imports of certain steel
products remains in effect and shall not terminate until the earlier of
March 21, 2005, or such time as the Secretary of Commerce establishes a
replacement program.
7. Section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483) authorizes the
President to embody in the HTS the substance of the relevant provisions
of that Act, and of other 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, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, including, but not limited to
sections 204 and 604 of the Trade Act and section 301 of title 3, United
States Code, do proclaim that:
(1) The HTS is modified as provided in the Annex to this
proclamation.
(2) The United States Trade Representative is authorized, upon his
determination that the Secretary of Commerce has established a
replacement program pursuant to paragraph 6 of this proclamation, to
terminate the action under section 203(a)(3)(I) of the Trade Act set
forth in the Memorandum of March 5, 2002, and the Licensing System and
to publish notice of this determination and action in the Federal
Register.
(3) 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.
(4) The modifications to the HTS made by this proclamation shall be
effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m., eastern standard time, December 5,
2003.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
GEORGE W. BUSH

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