Proclamation 2764—Carrying Out Exclusive Trade Agreement with Cuba of October 30, 1947

Whereas section 350(a) and (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by section 1 of the act of June 12, 1934 entitled "AN ACT To amend the Tariff Act of 1930", by the Joint Resolution approved June 7, 1943, and by section 2 of the Act of July 5, 1945, provides as follows:

SEC. 350. (a) For the purpose of expanding foreign markets for the products of the United States (as a means of assisting in the present emergency in restoring the American standard of living, in overcoming domestic unemployment and the present economic depression, in increasing the purchasing power of the American public, and in establishing and maintaining a better relationship among various branches of American agriculture, industry, mining, and commerce) by regulating the admission of foreign goods into the United States in accordance with the characteristics and needs of various branches of American production so that foreign markets will be made available to those branches of American production which require and are capable of developing such outlets by affording corresponding market opportunities for foreign products in the United States, the President, whenever he finds as a fact that any existing duties or other import restrictions of the United States or any foreign country are unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States and that the purpose above declared will be promoted by the means hereinafter specified, is authorized from time to time

(1) To enter into foreign trade agreements with foreign governments or instrumentalities thereof; and

(2) To proclaim such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions, or such additional import restrictions, or such continuance, and for such minimum periods, of existing customs or excise treatment of any article covered by foreign trade agreements, as are required or appropriate to carry out any foreign trade agreement that the President has entered into hereunder. No proclamation shall be made increasing or decreasing by more than 50 per centum any rate of duty, however established, existing on January 1, 1945 (even though temporarily suspended by act of Congress), or transferring any article between the dutiable and free lists. The proclaimed duties and other import restrictions shall apply to articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of all foreign countries, whether imported directly, or indirectly: Provided, That the President may suspend the application to articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of any country because of its discriminatory treatment of American commerce or because of other acts (including the operations of international cartels) or policies which in his opinion tend to defeat the purposes set forth in this section; and the proclaimed duties and other import restrictions shall be in effect from and after such time as is specified in the proclamation. The President may at any time terminate any such proclamation in whole or in part.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the application, with respect to rates of duty established under this section pursuant to agreements with countries other than Cuba, of the provisions of the treaty of commercial reciprocity concluded between the United States and the Republic of Cuba on December 11, 1902, or to preclude giving effect to an exclusive agreement with Cuba concluded under this section, modifying the existing preferential customs treatment of any article the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba: Provided, That the duties on such an article shall in no case be increased or decreased by more than 50 per centum of the duties, however established existing on January 1, 1945 (even though temporarily suspended by act of Congress). (48 Stat. 943 and 944, ch. 474, 57 Stat. 125, ch. 118, 59 Stat. 410 and 411, ch. 269; 19 U.S.C. 1940) 1351(a), 19 U.S.C. (1940) Supp. V. 1351(a)(2) and (b).):

Whereas the period within which the President is authorized to enter into trade agreements under the said section 350 was extended by section 1 of the Act of July 5, 1945 until the expiration of three years from June 12, 1945 (48 Stat. 944, ch. 474, 59 Stat. 410, ch. 269; 19 U.S.C. (1940) Supp. V, 1352(c).);

Whereas, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, have found as a fact that certain existing duties and other import restrictions of the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba are unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States of America and that the purpose declared in said section 350(a) 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 Government of the Republic of Cuba;

Whereas reasonable public notice of the intention to negotiate such trade agreement was given and the views presented by persons interested in the negotiation thereof were received and considered;

Whereas, after seeking and obtaining information and advice with respect thereto from the United States Tariff Commission, the Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, the Army, and the Navy, and from other sources, on October 30, 1947 I entered, through my duly empowered Plenipotentiary, into an exclusive trade agreement with the Government of the Republic of Cuba, which exclusive trade agreement, as supplemented by an exchange of notes between the Acting Secretary of State and the United States of America and the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, signed December 19 and 22, 1947, by two exchanges of letters between the Acting Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment and the President of the Cuban Delegation thereto, signed October 30, 1947, by a memorandum of October 28, 1947 from the Cuban Delegation, and by two memoranda of October 30, 1947 from the Cuban Delegation, in the English and Spanish languages, is annexed to this proclamation;

Whereas the provisions of numbered paragraph 2 of said exclusive trade agreement providing for the application to products of the Republic of Cuba of portions of schedule XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, dated October 30, 1947, and of article 17 of the Draft Charter for an International Trade Organization recommended by the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment make those portions of said schedule, and all other provisions of said general agreement and of the protocol of Provisional Application thereof which relate to the schedule or to the concessions therein, and said article 17 a part of said exclusive trade agreement insofar as they apply to products of the Republic of Cuba;

Whereas part II of, and the general notes in, said schedule XX of the general agreement, which are thus made a part of said exclusive trade agreement, are annexed to this proclamation;

Whereas I determine that the rates of duty and import tax specified in the column at the right of the respective descriptions of products in the following list are maximum rates which may be applied to such products of the Republic of Cuba under subparagraph (e) of numbered paragraph 2 of said exclusive trade agreement:

GENERAL NOTES

1. The provisions of this list shall be construed and given the same effect, and the application of collateral provisions of the customs laws of the United States to the provisions of this list shall be determined, insofar as may be practicable, as if each provision of this list appeared respectively in the statutory provision noted in the column at the left of the respective description of articles.

2. Any additional or separate ordinary customs duty provided for in respect of any article described in this list, whether or not imposed under the statutory provision indicated in the column at the left of the description of the article and whether or not temporarily or conditionally inapplicable, shall continue in force until terminated in accordance with law, subject to any reduction, or consolidation with the primary duty, indicated in this list or hereafter provided for, and subject to any temporary or conditional exemption therefrom now or hereafter provided for by law.

Whereas, in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (c) of numbered paragraph 2 of said exclusive trade agreement, I determine (a) that the products provided for by the descriptions in the following list are products not described in the 8th recital of this proclamation, which would have been subject to ordinary customs duty if imported as products of the Republic of Cuba on April 10, 1947, disregarding any temporary or conditional exemptions, and which either are not described in said schedule XX of the general agreement or are described in part I thereof and the concessions thereon are identified in the 8th recital of the proclamation by the President of December 16, 1947, and are of a kind which were imported into the United States of America as products of the Republic of Cuba in any quantity during any of the calendar years 1937, 1939, 1944, and 1945, and (b) that the rates of duty and import tax specified in the column at the right of the respective descriptions of products are the rates of such products of the Republic of Cuba which conform to the provisions of said subparagraph (c):

GENERAL NOTES

1. The provisions of this list shall be construed and given the same effect, and the application of collateral provisions of the customs laws of the United States to the provisions of this list shall be determined, insofar as may be practicable, as if each provision of this list appeared respectively in the statutory provision noted in the column at the left of the respective description of articles.

2. Any additional or separate ordinary customs duty provided for in respect of any article described in this list, whether or not imposed under the statutory provision indicated in the column at the left of the description of the article and whether or not temporarily or conditionally inapplicable, shall continue in force until terminated in accordance with law, subject to any reduction, or consolidation with the primary duty, indicated in this list or hereafter provided for, and subject to any temporary or conditional exemption therefrom now or hereafter provided for by law.

Whereas said exchange of notes of December 19 and 22, 1947 provides that said exclusive trade agreement shall enter into force on January 1, 1948;

Whereas I find that such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions and such continuance of existing customs and excise treatment as are hereinafter proclaimed will be required or appropriate, on and after January 1, 1948, to carry out said exclusive trade agreement;

Whereas, Pursuant to the authority conferred by said Section 350, the President entered into an exclusive trade agreement with the President of the Republic of Cuba on August 24, 1934 (49 Stat. (pt. 2) 3559 to 3645) which exclusive trade agreement was proclaimed by the President on August 24, 1934 (49 Stat. (pt. 2) 3559 to 3646);

Whereas, the period within which said authority might be exercised having been extended by the Joint Resolution of March 1, 1937 (50 Stat. 24, ch. 22), the President pursuant to that authority entered into an exclusive supplementary trade agreement, including an accompanying protocol, with the President of the republic of Cuba on December 18, 1939 (54 Stat. (pt. 2) 2000 to 2012), which exclusive supplementary trade agreement and protocol were proclaimed on December 19, 1939 (54 Stat. (pt. 2) 1997 to 2013 and were the subject of a supplementary proclamation by the President on December 22, 1939 (54 Stat. (pt. 2) 2014);

Whereas, the period within which said authority might be exercised having been extended by the Joint Resolution of April 12, 1940 (54 Stat. 107, ch. 96), the President pursuant to that authority entered into a further exclusive supplementary trade agreement, including an exchange of notes, with the president of the republic of Cuba on December 23, 1941 (55 Stat. (pt. 2) 1452 to 1477, which further exclusive supplementary trade agreement and exchange of notes were proclaimed by the President on December 29, 1941 (55 Stat. (pt. 2) 1449 to 1477);

And Whereas, numbered paragraph 1 of said exclusive trade agreement, said exchange of notes of December 19 and 22, 1947, and one of said exchanges of letters of October 30, 1947 provide that the Convention of Commercial Reciprocity between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, signed December 11, 1902 (33 Stat. (pt. 2) 2136 to 2142) and said exclusive trade agreement specified in the 12th recital of this proclamation, with its accompanying exchange of notes (49 Stat. (pt. 2) 3647 to 3649), as amended by said exclusive supplementary trade agreement specified in the 13th recital hereof, with its accompanying exchange of notes (54 Stat. (pt. 2) 2015 to 2017), and by said further exclusive supplementary trade agreement specified in the 14th recital hereof, except the right of termination on one year's notice of said convention and on six months' notice of said exclusive trade agreement of August 24, 1934, as amended, shall become inoperative on January 1, 1948;

Now, Therefore, be it known that I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, to the end that said exclusive trade agreement of October 30, 1947 may be carried out and acting under the authority of said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, do hereby proclaim, effective on and after January 1, 1948 and subject to the provisions of said protocol of provisional application, said article 17 of the draft charter, and exceptions and conditions set forth in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) below, 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 are specified or provided for in said exclusive trade agreement of October 30, 1947, in said provisions of the general agreement to the extent that they are made a part of said exclusive trade agreement:

(a) The rates of duty and import tax specified in the column at the right of the respective descriptions of products in part II of schedule XX of said general agreement shall be applied, subject to the applicable terms, conditions, and qualifications set forth in that schedule and said other provisions of the general agreement made a part of said exclusive trade agreement of October 30, 1947, to all products of the Republic of Cuba of the kinds provided for in the said descriptions;

(b) The rates of duty and import tax specified in the column at the right of the respective descriptions of products listed in the 8th and 9th recitals of this proclamation shall be applied, subject to the applicable terms, conditions, and qualifications set forth therein, respectively, to the products of the Republic of Cuba of the kinds provided for in said descriptions so long as such rates are listed in said recitals;

(c) The rates of duty and import tax applicable to articles which are products of the Republic of Cuba not provided for in subdivision (a) or (b) above at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption of such articles shall be the rates then applicable to articles of the same class or kind the product of countries, other than the Republic of Cuba, that are contracting parties to said general agreement in accordance with article XXXII thereof;

(d) The provisions of subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall not apply to a particular article by virtue of this proclamation if, when the articles is entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, more favorable customs treatment is prescribed therefore by a statute, proclamation, or executive order then in effect; and

(e) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed as authorizing the application of any rate of duty or import tax computed on the basis of any provision of numbered paragraph 2 of said exclusive trade agreement, of article I of said general agreement, or of said article 17 of the draft charter, except such rates as are proclaimed pursuant to the provisions of said section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended;

And I do further proclaim (a) that each of the proclamations specified in the 12th, 13th, and 14th recitals of this proclamation shall not be in effect after December 31, 1947, except insofar as it may relate to the termination on six months' notice of any of the exclusive trade agreements specified in said recitals, and (b) that said Convention of Commercial reciprocity, except such part thereof as relates to its termination on one year's notice, and the exchanges of notes referred to in the 15th recital of this proclamation as accompanying the exclusive trade agreements specified in the 12th and 13th recitals thereof shall become inoperative on January 1, 1948.

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 first day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-eight and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-second.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

By the President:

ROBERT A. LOVETT,

Acting Secretary of State.