Proclamation 3105—Carrying out the Protocol of Terms of Accession by Japan to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and for Other Purposes

1. Whereas, pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the Constitution and the statutes, including section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, on October 30, 1947, he entered into a trade agreement with certain foreign countries, which trade agreement consists of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the related Protocol of Provisional Application thereof, together with the Final Act Adopted at the conclusion of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment (61 Stat. (pts. 5 and 6) A7, All, and A2050), and by Proclamation No. 2761A of December 16, 1947 (61 Stat. 1103), he proclaimed such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States and such continuance of existing customs or excise treatment of articles imported into the United States as were then found to be required or appropriate to carry out the said trade agreement on and after January 1, 1948, which proclamation has been supplemented by Proclamation 2954 of November 26, 1951 (66 Stat. C6), by the proclamations referred to in the second recital of the said proclamation of November 26, 1951, by Proclamation 2960 of January 5, 1952 (66 Stat. C16), by Proclamation 3007 of March 2, 1953 (67 Stat. C35), and by Proclamation 3059 of June 30, 1954 (3 CFR, 1954 Supp., p. 26);

2. Whereas Public Law 479, 83d Congress (68 Stat. (pt. 1) 454), provides as follows:

Paragraph 1530 (e) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: "For the purposes of this paragraph and any existing or future proclamation of the President relating thereto, footwear of which a major portion, in area, of the basic wearing surface of the outer soles (that part of the article, not including the heel, that is designed to be the basic wearing surface and to resist wear on contact with any surface) is composed of India rubber or any substitute for rubber, or both, shall be deemed to have soles wholly or in chief value of India rubber or substitutes for rubber." The foregoing amendment shall enter into force as soon as practicable, on a date to be specified by the President in a notice to the Secretary of the Treasury following such negotiations as may be necessary to effect a modification or termination of any international obligations of the United States with which the amendment might conflict, but in any event not later than one hundred and eighty days after the passage of this Act.;

3. Whereas section 2 of Public Law 689, 83d Congress (68 Stat. (pt. 1) 896), reads as follows:

SEC. 2 (a) Paragraph 720 of title 1 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U.S.C., 1952 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 720), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following subparagraph:

"(d) Fish sticks and similar products of any size or shape, fillets, or other portions of fish, if breaded, coated with batter, or similarly prepared, but not packed in oil or in oil and other substances, whether in bulk or in containers of any size or kind, and whether or not described or provided for elsewhere in this Act, if uncooked, 20 per centum ad valorem; cooked in any degree, 30 per centum ad valorem."

(b) The foregoing amendment shall enter into effect as soon as practicable on a date to be specified by the President in a notice to the Secretary of the Treasury following such negotiations as may be necessary to effect a modification or a termination of the international obligations of the United States with which the amendment would be in conflict.;

4. Whereas I have found as a fact that certain existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America, of other contracting parties to the said General Agreement, and of Japan are unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States of America and that the purposes declared in the said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, will be promoted by a trade agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Governments of some or all of the other countries referred to in this recital;

5. Whereas I have found as a fact that the provisions of the amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 set forth in the second and third recitals of this proclamation are such as to conflict with obligations of the United States of America to other contracting parties to the said General Agreement and to result in existing duties or other import restrictions of the United States of America or of other such contracting parties unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States of America;

6. Whereas, pursuant to section 3 (a) of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951 (65 Stat. 72), I transmitted to the United States Tariff Commission for investigation and report lists of all articles imported into the United States of America to be considered for possible modification of duties and other import restrictions, imposition of additional import restrictions, or continuance of existing customs or excise treatment in the trade agreement negotiations with the governments of the foreign countries referred to in the third recital of this proclamation, and the Tariff Commission made an investigation in accordance with section 3 of said Trade Agreements Extension Act and thereafter reported to the President;

7. Whereas reasonable public notice of the intention to conduct trade agreement negotiations was given, the views presented by persons interested in such negotiations were received and considered, and information and advice with respect to such negotiations were sought and obtained from the Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce and Defense and from other sources;

8. Whereas, the period for the exercise of the authority of the President to enter into foreign trade agreements under section 350 having been extended by section 1 of Public Law 464, 83d Congress (68 Stat. (pt. 1) 360), until the expiration of one year from June 12, 1954, on June 8, 1955, as a result of the finding specified in the fourth recital of this proclamation, I entered, through my duly empowered plenipotentiary, into a trade agreement providing for the accession to the said General Agreement of the Government of Japan, which trade agreement consists of the Protocol of Terms of Accession of Japan to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, dated June 7, 1955, including the Annexes thereto, authentic in the English and French languages as indicated therein, copies of paragraphs 1 to 11 of which protocol, and of Schedule XX contained in Annex A thereto, are annexed to this proclamation and identified as Attachment A;

9. Whereas the said protocol of accession has been signed by the Government of Japan and that Government will become a contracting party to the said General Agreement on September 10, 1955, provided that by August 11, 1955, favorable votes on a decision pursuant to Article XXXIII of the said General Agreement for the accession of Japan to that Agreement under the terms of the said protocol of accession have been received from two-thirds of the governments which are then contracting parties;

10. Whereas, the said protocol of accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation having been signed on behalf of the Government of the United States of America on June 8, 1955, and the notification of the intention to apply the concessions provided for in Schedule XX contained in Annex A to the said protocol of accession having been given on June 8, 1955, to the Executive Secretary to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the said General Agreement pursuant to paragraph 3 of the said protocol of accession, the said Schedule XX contained in Annex A thereto will become a schedule to the said General Agreement relating to the United States of America on September 10, 1955, if the Government of Japan then becomes a contracting party to the General Agreement, as set forth in the ninth recital of this proclamation;

11. Whereas, under paragraph 4 of the protocol of accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation, a contracting party to the General Agreement which has given the notification referred to in paragraph 3 of the protocol may withhold in whole or in part any concession provided for in its schedule annexed thereto which was initially negotiated with a contracting party which has not given such notification;

12. Whereas I find that each modification of existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America and each continuance of existing customs or excise treatment of articles imported into the United States of America which is proclaimed in Part

I of this proclamation will be required or appropriate to carry out the trade agreement specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation on and after such date as shall be notified by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury, and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, as the date on and after which the President considers such modification or undertaking to continue treatment should not be withheld pursuant to the said paragraph 4 of the protocol of accession specified in the eleventh recital of this proclamation;

13. Whereas, the period for the exercise of the authority of the President to enter into foreign trade agreements under the said section 350 having been extended by the said Public Law 464 specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation until the expiration of one year from June 12, 1954, on June 8, 1955, as a result of the finding specified in the fifth recital of this proclamation and following negotiations with the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, and with the Government of Canada, respectively, regarding compensation for their interests in the concessions in Part I of Schedule XX to the said General Agreement with which the said amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 set forth in the second and third recitals of this proclamation would conflict, I entered, through my duly empowered plenipotentiary, into two trade agreements providing that the United States of America would apply to the products described in such trade agreements the treatment indicated therein as though such products were described in Part I of the said Schedule XX, with the understanding that the products will be specifically included in the said Schedule XX, and with the further understanding that the said amendments set forth in the second and third recitals of this proclamation would not, after the entry into force of the said trade agreements, conflict with obligations of the United States under the said Schedule XX, copies of which two trade agreements are annexed to this proclamation and identified as Attachments B 5 and C,6 respectively;

14. Whereas I determine that each modification of existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America and each continuance of existing customs or excise treatment of articles imported into the United States of America which is proclaimed in Part II of this proclamation will be required or appropriate to carry out the two said trade agreements specified in the thirteenth recital of this proclamation on and after such date or dates as shall be notified by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER as the date or dates of entry into force of the two said trade agreements;

15. Whereas, pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the Constitution and the statutes, including the said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, on October 30, 1947, he entered into an exclusive trade agreement with the Government of the Republic of Cuba (61 Stat. (pt. 4) 3699), which exclusive trade agreement includes certain portions of other documents made a part thereof and provides for the treatment in respect of ordinary customs duties of products of the Republic of Cuba imported into the United States of America, and by Proclamation No. 2764 of January 1, 1948 (62 Stat. 1465), he proclaimed such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America in respect of products of the Republic of Cuba and such continuance of existing customs and excise treatment of products of the Republic of Cuba imported into the United States of America as were then found to be required or appropriate to carry out the said exclusive trade agreement on and after January 1, 1948, which proclamation has been supplemented by Proclamation 3040 of December 24, 1953 (3 CFR, 1953 Supp., p. 51), and by the proclamations referred to in the fourth recital of the said proclamation of December 24, 1953;

16. Whereas, I determine that, on and after the effective date mentioned in the first notification by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with Part I (b) (1) of this proclamation with respect to the application of certain provisions of Part I of Schedule XX contained in Annex A to the said protocol of accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation, the inclusion of certain products in the list set forth in the ninth recital of the said proclamation of January 1, 1948, as amended and rectified, will not be required or appropriate to carry out the said exclusive trade agreement with Cuba mentioned in the fifteenth recital of this proclamation, so that on and after the date mentioned in the said first notification by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury it will be required or appropriate that the said list, as amended and rectified, be further amended to read as follows:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, including the said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, do proclaim as follows:

PART I

To the end that the trade agreement for accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation may be carried out:

(a) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (b) of this Part, such modifications of existing duties and other Import restrictions of the United States of America and such continuance of existing customs or excise treatment of articles imported into the United States as are specified or provided for in paragraphs 1 to 11, inclusive, of the said protocol of accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation and In Schedule XX contained in Annex A thereto shall be effective on and after such date as shall hereafter be notified by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER;

(b) The application of the provisions of subdivision (a) of this Part shall be subject to the applicable terms, conditions, and qualifications set forth in paragraphs 1 to 11, inclusive, of the said protocol of accession, in Schedule SX contained in Annex A thereto, in Parts I, II, and III of the said General Agreement, in Part I of, and the general notes In, Schedule XS (original) thereof, and in the protocol of provisional application mentioned in the first recital of this proclamation, including any applicable amendments and rectifications of the said General Agreement; and the application of the provisions of subdivision (a) of this Part shall also be subject to the exception that no rate of duty or import tax shall be applied to a particular article by virtue of this proclamation if, when the article is entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption —

(1) the date is prior to the date which may be notified by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER as the date on and after which the concession represented by such rate should not be withheld, or

(2) more favorable customs treatment is prescribed for the article by any of the following then in effect:

(i) a proclamation pursuant to said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, but the application of such more favorable treatment shall be subject to the qualifications set forth in the second paragraph of the general notes in Schedule XX contained in Annex A annexed to the said protocol of accession specified in the eighth recital of this proclamation; or

(ii) any other proclamation, a statute, or an executive order, which proclamation, statute, or order either provides for an exemption from duty or import tax or became effective subsequent to June 8, 1955.

PART II

To the end that the two trade agreements specified in the thirteenth recital of this proclamation may be carried out and that the said amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 set forth in the second and third recitals of this proclamation shall not thereafter be in conflict with international obligations of the United States, such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America and such continuance of existing customs or excise treatment of articles imported into the United States as are specified or provided for in the two said trade agreements specified in the thirteenth recital of this proclamation shall be effective on and after such date as shall hereafter be notified by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury, and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, as the date of the entry into force of the two said trade agreements.

PART III

To the end that the said exclusive trade agreement specified in the fifteenth recital of this proclamation may be carried out, the list set forth in the ninth recital of the said proclamation of January 1, 1948, as heretofore amended and Letter of July 22, 1955, Chapter 111 of this title, infra. rectified, shall be further amended to read as specified in the sixteenth recital of this proclamation, effective on the effective date mentioned in the first notification by the President to the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with Part I (b) (1) of this proclamation.

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 22d day of July in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eightieth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

By the President:

JOHN FOSTER DULLES,

Secretary of State