[Federal Register: April 5, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 65)]
[Notices]               
[Page 17728-17729]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05ap04-131]                         

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

 
Determinations Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

[[Page 17729]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has determined 
that Sierra Leone has adopted an effective visa system and related 
procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit 
documents in connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles 
and has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress 
toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by 
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Therefore, imports of 
eligible products from Sierra Leone qualify for the textile and apparel 
benefits provided under the AGOA.

DATES: Effective April 5, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Jackson, Director for African 
Affairs, Office of the United States Trade Representative, (202) 395-
9514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AGOA (Title I of the Trade and 
Development Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-200) provides preferential 
tariff treatment for imports of certain textile and apparel products of 
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. The textile and apparel 
trade benefits under the AGOA are available to imports of eligible 
products from countries that the President designates as ``beneficiary 
sub-Saharan African countries,'' provided that these countries: (1) 
Have adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent 
unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents; and (2) 
have implemented and follow, or are making substantial progress toward 
implementing and following, certain customs procedures that assist U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection in verifying the origin of the products.
    In Proclamation 7350 (Oct. 2, 2000), the President designated 
Sierra Leone as a ``beneficiary sub-Saharan African country.'' 
Proclamation 7350 delegated to the USTR the authority to determine 
whether designated countries have met the two requirements described 
above. The President directed the USTR to announce any such 
determinations in the Federal Register and to implement them through 
modifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTS). Based on actions that Sierra Leone has taken, I have determined 
that Sierra Leone has satisfied these two requirements.
    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority vested in the USTR by 
Proclamation 7350, U.S. note 7(a) to subchapter II of chapter 98 of the 
HTS and U.S. note 1 to subchapter XIX of chapter 98 of the HTS are each 
modified by inserting ``Sierra Leone'' in alphabetical sequence in the 
list of countries. The foregoing modifications to the HTS are effective 
with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, on or after the date of publication of this notice. 
Importers claiming preferential tariff treatment under the AGOA for 
entries of textile and apparel articles should ensure that those 
entries meet the applicable visa requirements. See Visa Requirements 
Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 66 FR 7837 (2001).

Robert B. Zoellick,
United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 04-7636 Filed 4-2-04; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 3190-W3-P