Proclamation 3448—Imports of Shmurah Wheat Flour for Religious Purposes

Whereas; pursuant to section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624), the President issued Proclamation No. 2489 of May 28, 1941, which was amended by Proclamation No. 2550 of April 13, 1942, and further amended by Proclamation No. 2584 of April 29, 1943, limiting the quantities of wheat and wheat flour which may be entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption; and

Whereas certain persons require Shmurah wheat flour in the observance of the Passover holiday, which begins April 19, 1962; and

Whereas Shmurah wheat flour is wheat flour that has been thoroughly safeguarded for ritual purposes under rabbinical, supervision and which is imported into the United States for use solely for religious and ritual purposes in the making of matzos for Passover; and

Whereas the limitations imposed upon the importation of wheat and wheat flour by Proclamation No. 2489, as amended, were never intended to apply to Shmurah wheat flour; and

Whereas the estimated quantity of Shmurah wheat flour which would be imported into the United States during any one year would be so insignificant that it could not possibly render or tend to render ineffective, nor materially interfere with, the price-support program undertaken by the Department of Agriculture with respect to wheat; and

 Whereas it is deemed advisable to clarify the scope of Proclamation No. 2489, as amended, in this respect in order to simplify the administration of the proclamation:

Now, Therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, as amended, do hereby proclaim that the provisions of Proclamation No. 2489, as amended, shall not be deemed to apply to Shmurah wheat flour produced in Israel and entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on and after February 1, 1962: Provided, That the written approval of the Secretary of Agriculture or his designated representative is presented at the time of entry or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption. For the purposes of this proclamation "Shmurah wheat flour" means wheat flour which has been thoroughly safeguarded for ritual purposes under rabbinical supervision, as certified to the Secretary of Agriculture by an authorized representative of the government of Israel or its designee, and which is imported into the United States for use solely for religious and ritual purposes in the making of matzos for Passover.

In Witness 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 fifth day of February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth.

JOHN F. KENNEDY

By the President:

DEAN RUSK,

Secretary of State