Proclamation 5164—Import Fees on Certain Sugars, Sirups and Molasses

By Proclamation 4887 of December 23, 1981, and Proclamation 4940 of May 5, 1982, I imposed, on an emergency basis, import fees on certain sugars, sirups and molasses. These fees were to be effective pending my further action after receipt of the report of findings and recommendations of the United States International Trade Commission after its investigation with respect to this matter pursuant to section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624). The Commission has made its investigation and reported its findings and recommendations to me. On the basis of the information submitted to me, I find and declare that:

(a) Sugars classified under items 155.20 and 155.30 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202) are being or are practically certain to be imported into the United States under such conditions and in such quantities as to render or tend to render ineffective, or materially interfere with, the price support operations being conducted by the Department of Agriculture for sugar cane and sugar beets.

(b) The imposition of the import fees hereinafter proclaimed is necessary in order that the entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, of such sugars will not render or tend to render ineffective, or materially interfere with, the price support operations being conducted by the Department of Agriculture for sugar beets and sugar cane.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended, and the statutes of the United States, including section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, do hereby proclaim until otherwise superseded by law:

A. Headnote 4 of part 3 of the Appendix to the TSUS is continued in effect and amended, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time of the day following the date of the signing of this proclamation, by changing paragraph (c) to read as follows:

(c)(i) The quarterly adjusted fee provided for in items 956.05 and 957.15 shall be the amount of the fee for item 956.15 plus one cent per pound.

(ii) The quarterly adjusted fee provided for in item 956.15 shall be the amount by which the average of the adjusted daily spot (domestic) price quotations for raw sugar for the 20 consecutive market days immediately preceding the 20th day of the month preceding the calendar quarter during which the fee shall be applicable (as reported by the New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange) expressed in United States cents per pound, in bulk, is less than the applicable market stabilization price: Provided, That whenever the average of the daily spot (domestic) price quotations for 10 consecutive market days within any calendar quarter (1) exceeds the market stabilization price by more than one cent, the fee then in effect shall be decreased by one cent per pound, or (2) is less than the market stabilization price by more than one cent, the fee then in effect shall be increased by one cent per pound. The adjusted daily spot (domestic) price quotation for any market day shall be the daily spot (domestic) price quotation for such market day less the amount of the fee for item 956.15 that is in effect on that day. For any market day for which the New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange does not report a daily spot (domestic) price for raw sugar, then the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) shall use such other price as he determines appropriate.

(iii) The market stabilization price that shall be applicable to each fiscal year (October 1-September 30) shall be determined and announced by the Secretary in accordance with this headnote no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year for which such market stabilization price shall be applicable. The market stabilization price shall be equal to the sum of; (1) the price support level for the applicable fiscal year, expressed in cents per pound of raw cane sugar; (2) adjusted average transportation costs; (3) interest costs, if applicable; and (4) 0.2 cent. The adjusted average transportation costs shall be the weighted average cost of handling and transporting domestically produced raw cane sugar from Hawaii to Gulf and Atlantic Coast ports, as determined by the Secretary. Interest costs shall be the amount of interest, as determined or estimated by the Secretary, that would be required to be paid by a recipient of a price support loan for raw cane sugar upon repayment of the loan at full maturity. Interest costs shall only be applicable if a price support loan recipient is not required to pay interest upon forfeiture of the loan collateral.

(iv) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (iii) hereof, if the Secretary determines that there is a significant change in any one or more of the elements comprising the market stabilization price during the fiscal year, the Secretary shall adjust the market stabilization price within the fiscal year to reflect such change. The Secretary shall announce any such adjusted market stabilization price and file notice thereof with the Federal Register. This adjusted market stabilization price will become effective the first calendar quarter following its announcement or, if the Secretary announced it less than 30 days before the beginning of a new calendar quarter, then it will become effective the second calendar quarter following its announcement. Any adjusted market stabilization price, once effective, shall remain in effect through the remainder of the fiscal year unless it is adjusted further in accordance with this paragraph.

(v) The Secretary shall determine the amount of the quarterly fees in accordance with this headnote and shall announce such fees not later than the 25th day of the month preceding the calendar quarter during which the fees shall be applicable. The Secretary shall certify the amount of such fees to the Commissioner of Customs and file notice thereof with the Federal Register prior to the beginning of the calendar quarter during which the fees shall be applicable. The Secretary shall determine and announce any adjustment in the fees made within a calendar quarter in accordance with the proviso of paragraph (ii) hereof, shall certify such adjusted fees to the Commissioner of Customs, and shall file notice thereof with the Federal Register within 3 market days of the fulfillment of that proviso.

(vi) If an adjustment is made in the fee in accordance with the proviso of paragraph (ii) hereof, any subsequent adjustment made within that quarter shall only be made on the basis of the average spot price for any 10 consecutive market day period following the effective date of the immediately preceding fee adjustment. No adjustment shall be made in any fee in accordance with the proviso of paragraph (ii) hereof during the last 15 market days of a calendar quarter.

(vii) Any adjustment made in a fee during a quarter in accordance with the proviso of paragraph (ii) hereof shall be effective only with respect to sugar entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption after 12:01 a.m. (local time at point of entry) on the day following the filing of notice thereof with the Federal Register: Provided, That such adjustment in the fee shall not apply to sugar exported (as defined by Customs in accordance with 19 CFR 152.1) on a through bill of lading to the United States from the country of origin before such time. The exemption contained in the preceding proviso shall apply regardless of whether the adjustment in the fee is upward or downward.

B. Items 956.05, 956.15 and 957.15 of part 3 of the Appendix to the TSUS are continued in effect and the "Rates of Duty (Section 22 Fees)" are amended to read as follows:

Item Articles Rates of duty (section 22 fees)

Sugars, sirups and molasses derived from sugar cane or sugar beets, except those entered pursuant to a license issued by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with headnote 4(a):

Principally of crystalline structure or in dry amorphous form, provided for in item 155.20, 956.05 part 10A, schedule 1:

Not to be further refined or improved in quality An amount determined and adjusted in accordance with headnote 4(c), but not in excess of 50% ad val.

956.15 To be further refined or improved in quality An amount determined and adjusted in accordance with headnote 4(c), but not in excess of 50% ad val.

957.15 Not principally of crystalline structure and not An amount determined and adjusted in accordance with headnote 4(c) per pound of total sugars, but not in excess of 50% ad val. in dry amorphous form, containing soluble nonsugar solids (excluding any foreign substance that may have been added or developed in the product) equal to 6% or less by weight of the total soluble solids, provided for in item 155.30, part 10A, schedule 1

C. The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other appropriate agencies, shall review the fee system established by this Proclamation on a quarterly basis and shall submit to me any recommendations for any changes determined to be necessary or appropriate.

D. The provisions of this proclamation shall terminate upon the filing of a notice in the Federal Register by the Secretary of Agriculture that the Department of Agriculture is no longer conducting a price support program for sugar beets and sugar cane.

E. The provisions of Proclamation 4940 of May 5, 1982, are hereby terminated, except that the import fees on items 956.15, 956.05 and 957.15 presently in effect and the market stabilization price determined and announced by the Secretary of Agriculture for fiscal year 1984 (October 1, 1983-September 30, 1984) shall remain in effect, unless adjusted by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with paragraph (c) of Headnote 4 of part 3 of the Appendix to the TSUS, as modified herein.

F. This proclamation shall be effective as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on the day following the date of its signing, and shall apply to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after such effective date.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eightyfour, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.

RONALD REAGAN