Proclamation 5805—Amending the Generalized System of Preferences

1. Pursuant to subsections 501(1) and (4), 502(c)(2), and sections 504 and 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2461(1) and (4), 2462(c)(2), 2464, and 2483), I have determined that it is appropriate to terminate the preferential tariff treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for articles that are currently eligible for such treatment and that are imported from Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. I have determined that these countries are sufficiently advanced in economic development and improved in trade competitiveness that continued preferential treatment under the GSP is not warranted.

2. Subsections 501(1) and (4) of the Trade Act provide that, in affording duty-free treatment under the GSP, the President shall have due regard for the effect such action will have on furthering the economic development of developing countries and the extent of the beneficiary developing country's competitiveness with respect to eligible articles. Subsection 502(c)(2) provides that, in determining whether to designate any country a beneficiary developing country under this section, the President shall take into account the level of economic development of such country. Section 504 authorizes the President to withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of duty-free treatment under the GSP with respect to any article or to any country upon consideration of the factors set forth in sections 501 and 502(c) of the Trade Act.

3. Pursuant to subsection 504(f) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2464(f)), I have determined that it is appropriate to terminate the preferential tariff treatment under the GSP for articles that are currently eligible for such treatment and that are imported from Bahrain, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, and Nauru. Such termination is the result of my determination that the per capita gross national product for each such country for calendar year 1985 (calculated on the basis of the best available information, including that of the World Bank) exceeds the applicable limit provided in subsection 504(f).

4. Subsection 504(f) provides that if the President determines that the per capita gross national product (calculated on the basis of the best available information, including that of the World Bank) for any beneficiary country for a calendar year subsequent to 1984 exceeds the applicable limit for the determination year in question, such country shall not be treated as a beneficiary developing country under this Act after the close of a 2-year period.

5. Previously, two of these countries, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, were designated as members of an association of countries treated as one country for purposes of section 503(b)(2) of the Trade Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)(2)). In order to take into account the termination of benefits under the GSP for articles imported from these two countries, I have determined that it is appropriate to terminate the designations of Brunei Darussalam and Singapore as members of ASP]AN and to modify general headnote 3(e)(v)(A) to the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202) to reflect such termination. Further, in order to reflect the termination of benefits under the GSP for articles imported from Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, I have determined that it is appropriate to delete from general headnote 3(e)(v)(D) to the TSUS and from the pertinent TSUS items all references to particular products of these countries which are currently excluded from preferential tariff treatment under the GSP.

6. Section 604 of the Trade Act authorizes the President to embody in the TSUS 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 laws of the United States of America, including but not limited to Title V and section 604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim that:

(1) General headnote 3(e)(v)(A) to the TSUS, setting forth those countries whose products are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP, is modified—

(a) by deleting "Bahrain", "Brunei Darussalam", and "Nauru" from the enumeration of independent countries, by deleting "Bermuda" from the enumeration of non-independent countries and territories, and by deleting "Brunei" from the enumeration of members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and by inserting "except Brunei Darussalam" after "Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)"; and

(b) by deleting "Korea, Republic of", "Singapore", and "Taiwan" from the enumeration of independent countries and by deleting "Hong Kong" from the enumeration of non-independent countries and territories, by deleting "Singapore" from the enumeration of members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) except Brunei Darussalam, and by modifying "Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) except Brunei Darussalam" to read "Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) except Brunei Darussalam and Singapore".

(2) No article the product of any such country and imported into the United States after the effective dates of this Proclamation shall be eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the GSP.

(3) General headnote 3(e)(v)(D) to the TSUS, listing those articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP except when imported from the beneficiary countries listed opposite the enumerated TSUS items for those articles, is modified as provided in Annex I to this Proclamation.

(4) The Rates of Duty Special column for each of the TSUS items enumerated in Annex II to this Proclamation is modified: (a) by deleting from such column for such TSUS items the symbol "A*" in parentheses, and (b) by inserting in such column the symbol "A" in lieu thereof.

(5) (a) Paragraph (1)(a) of this Proclamation shall be effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1988.

(b) Paragraphs (1)(b), (3), and (4) of this Proclamation shall be effective with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 1989.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.

RONALD REAGAN