Proclamation 4904—Termination of Increased Rates of Duty on Certain Mushrooms and Technical Corrections in the Tariff Schedules of the United States

1. By Proclamation 4801 of October 29, 1980, the President proclaimed increased duties on certain types of mushrooms, prepared or preserved, provided for in item 144.20 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202). These increased duties were to be effective from November 1, 1980, through October 31, 1983, unless modified or terminated earlier. This action was taken under the following legal provisions: sections 202(b), 202(c), 203, and 604 of the Trade Act of 1974 (the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2252(b), 2252(c), 2253, and 2483).

2. I have determined, pursuant to section 203(h)(4) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253(h)(4)), after taking into account the advice of the U.S. International Trade Commission and after seeking the advice of the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor as required by that section, that it is in the national interest to terminate the increased rates of duty currently in effect on imports of certain mushrooms now provided for in item 922.55 of the TSUS and to retain the increased rates of duties on imports of other mushrooms now provided for in that item.

3. I have further determined that certain technical corrections to the TSUS are necessary to embody therein, pursuant to section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483), the substance of relevant provisions of actions undertaken within the authority of the Trade Act; and that, pursuant to section 301, title 3 of the United States Code, responsibility for arranging for the certification by foreign government officials of "certified hand-loomed and folklore" products be assigned to the United States Trade Representative, and that pending completion of such arrangements, the detailed description contained in the definition of such products be removed from the TSUS. I have further determined that TSUS item 141.84, "kidney beans in airtight containers" established by Presidential Proclamation 4707 of December 11, 1979, has no classification effect since kidney beans were already provided for at a superior level in the classification hierarchy of the TSUS.

Therefore, pursuant to section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483), to make a technical correction to the TSUS, I have determined that TSUS item 141.84 should be deleted from the tariff schedules.

4. By Proclamation 4768 of June 28, 1980, the President modified the TSUS by adding numerous provisions to schedule 4 thereof for "products provided for in the Chemical Appendix to the Tariff Schedules" and by adding a Chemical Appendix to the TSUS. This action was taken under the authority of section 503(a)(1) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (93 Stat. 251). The Chemical Appendix lists chemicals and products which the President has determined were imported into the United States before January 1, 1978, or were produced in the United States before May 1, 1978. I have determined pursuant to section 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2483), that certain products included in the Chemical Appendix are properly classifiable in other items in schedule 4 of the TSUS, that their inclusion in the Chemical Appendix was a technical error of no classification effect, and that these products should therefore be deleted from the Chemical Appendix to the TSUS.

5. By Proclamation 4884 of November 13, 1981, the President proclaimed increased duties on certain high-carbon ferrochromium, provided for in TSUS item 607.31, effective through November 15, 1982. This action was taken under the authority of section 203 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253). A technical error was made in incorporating these increased rates in the TSUS, in that the measure of assessment was incomplete.

6. By Proclamation 4887 of December 23, 1981, the President proclaimed import fees on certain sugars, sirups, and molasses, provided for in TSUS items 155.20 and 155.30. These import fees were imposed under the authority of section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624), and were made effective as of December 24, 1981. A technical error was made in incorporating these import fees in the TSUS, in that the measure of assessment was incomplete.

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 sections 203 and 604 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2253 and 2483), section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624), and in accordance with Article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (61 Stat. (pt. 5) A58; 8 UST (pt. 2) 1786), do proclaim that—

(1) Part I of Schedule XX to the GATT is modified to take into account the actions taken in paragraphs (5) and (6) below and in the Annexes to this proclamation.

(2) The TSUS is modified as set forth in the Annexes to this proclamation.

(3) Annexes II and III to Presidential Proclamation 4707 of December 11, 1979, are amended as provided in Annex II to this proclamation.

(4) Annex II to Presidential Proclamation 4768 of June 28, 1980, is amended as provided in Annex II to this proclamation.

(5) Subpart A, part 2 of the Appendix to the TSUS is amended by inserting, in the columns titled Rates of Duty 1 and 2 of item 923.18, the symbol "¢" after "4.625" in each column. This modification is effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after November 16, 1981.

(6) Part 3 of the Appendix to the TSUS is amended by inserting, in the column entitled Rates of Duty (Section 22 fees) for items 956.05, 956.15, and 957.15, the symbol "¢" after the numeral which precedes the word "per" in each such item. This modification is effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after December 24, 1981.

(7) The modifications of Part I of Schedule XX to the GATT and of the Appendix to the TSUS made by Annex I hereto shall be effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after March 1, 1982, and before the close of October 31, 1983, unless the period of their effectiveness is earlier expressly suspended, terminated, or modified.

(8) The remaining modifications made by paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) hereof shall be effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the third day following publication of this proclamation in the Federal Register.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of Feb., in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth.

RONALD REAGAN