Proclamation 4076—Establishment of Tariff-Rate Quota on Certain Stainless Steel Flatware

1. Whereas, pursuant to the authority vested in him by the Constitution and the statutes, including section 350(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1351; hereinafter referred to as "the Tariff Act"), on October 30, 1947 the President entered into, and by Proclamation No. 2761A of December 16, 1947 (61 Stat. 1103) proclaimed, a trade agreement with certain foreign countries designated as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (61 Stat. (pt. 5) All; hereinafter referred to, as supplemented from time to time, as "the General Agreement");

2. Whereas the President has supplemented and modified the General Agreement and Proclamation No. 2761A by many subsequent agreements and proclamations, including;

(a) the Torquay Protocol of April 21, 1951 to the General Agreement (3 UST (pt. 1) 615; hereinafter referred to as "the Torquay Protocol") proclaimed by Proclamation No. 2929 of June 2, 1951 (65 Stat. C12);

(b) the Protocol of March 10, 1955 Amending the Preamble and Parts II and III of the General Agreement (8 UST (pt. 2) 1768; hereinafter referred to as "the 1955 Protocol') proclaimed by Proclamation No. 3513 of December 28, 1962 (77 Stat. 970, 979);

(c) the Sixth Protocol of Supplementary Concessions of May 23, 1956 to the General Agreement (7 UST (pt. 2) 1086; hereinafter referred to as "the Sixth Protocol") proclaimed by Proclamation No. 3140 of June 13, 1956 (70 Stat. C33);

(d) the Geneva (1967) Protocol of June 30, 1967 to the General Agreement (19 UST (pt. 1) 18) proclaimed by Proclamation No. 3822 of December 16, 1967 (82 Stat. 1455);

3. Whereas the General Agreement as originally concluded and several of the agreements supplementary thereto contain a schedule of United States concessions designated as Schedule XX;

4. Whereas item 355 in part I of Schedule XX to the Torquay Protocol provided for, and Proclamation No. 2929 proclaimed, concessions on certain knives and forks with stainless steel handles; and item 339 in part I of Schedule XX to the Sixth Protocol provided for, and Proclamation No. 3140 proclaimed, concessions on certain spoons with stainless steel handles;

5. Whereas Proclamation No. 3548 of August 21, 1963 (77 Stat. 1017) gave effect to the Tariff Schedules of the United States (hereinafter referred to as "the TSUS") and proclaimed, with modifications, the concession rates of duty for knives, forks and spoons with stainless steel handles in column numbered 1 of items 650.09, 650.11, 650.39, 650.41 and 650.55 of the TSUS;

6. Whereas part I of Schedule XX to the Geneva (1967) Protocol (19 UST (pt. 2) 1227, 1626-1628) recognized the continuation, in items 650.08, 650.10, 650.38, 650.40 and 650.54, of such prior concessions, with the modifications made by Proclamation No. 3548, in the case of knives, forks and spoons with stainless steel handles valued under 25 cents each and not over 10.2 inches in overall length (hereinafter referred to as "stainless steel flatware") and Proclamation No. 3822, without modifying the rates of duty applicable thereto, proclaimed the modification of the classification of stainless steel flatware in the TSUS to correspond with its classification in such Protocol;

7. Whereas Article XXVIII of the General Agreement, as amended by the 1955 Protocol and proclaimed by Proclamation No. 3513, provides that a contracting party may, on compliance with specified procedures, modify or withdraw concessions in its schedules to the General Agreement;

8. Whereas, pursuant to the procedures of Article XXVIII, the stainless steel flatware concessions under the General Agreement have been modified by the insertion of a note after note 5 in unit E of chapter 3 of section 6 of part I of Schedule XX to the Geneva (1967) Protocol, so as to permit the establishment of the tariff-rate quota hereinafter proclaimed;

9. Whereas, in accordance with such note, the average imports from sources of supply during calendar years 1968 and 1969 are to be used for the sole purpose of providing a basis for the allocation of the tariff-rate quota hereinafter proclaimed among such sources and I determine that the allocation of such tariff-rate quota on such basis shall be as hereinafter proclaimed;

10. Whereas, subject to certain limitations, section 350 (a) (1) (B) of the Tariff Act and section 201(a) (2) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorize the President to proclaim such modifications of duties as are required or appropriate to carry out trade agreements entered into under sections 350(a) and 201 (a) of such Acts, respectively, and I determine that the modifications of duties hereinafter proclaimed are appropriate to carry out Article XXVIII of the General Agreement;

11. Whereas section 350 (a) (6) of the Tariff Act and section 255(b) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorize the President at any time to terminate, in whole or in part, any proclamations made under sections 350 (a) and 201 (a) of such Acts, respectively, and I determine it is appropriate to terminate in part certain of such proclamations with respect to certain articles for such time as the tariff-rate quota hereinafter proclaimed remains in effect;

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, including section 350(a) (1) (B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and section 201 (a) (2) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and, as separate and additional authority, section 350(a) (6) and section 255 (b) of such Acts, respectively, and in accordance with Article XXVIII of the General Agreement, do proclaim as follows:

1. I hereby establish a tariff-rate quota with respect to stainless steel flatware so that the rates of duty provided in column numbered 1 of the TSUS shall be the same as the rates of duty now provided in column numbered 2 thereof with respect to any such flatware entered in excess of such quota. To that end the new subpart D set out in the annex to this proclamation shall be inserted after subpart C of part 2 of the Appendix to the TSUS.

2. I hereby modify the duties proclaimed by the proclamations referred to in recitals 4 and 5 above to the extent necessary to give effect to the tariff-rate quota established hereby, for such time as such quota remains in effect; and I hereby terminate in part such proclamations to such extent and for such time.

3. The tariff-rate quota established hereby shall be effective as to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on and after the first day of October 1971.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-sixth.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

Washington, D.C.