Meat

President Ford, on October 9, 1976, issued Proclamation 4469, imposing import quotas on fresh, chilled, and frozen meat as required by the Meat Import Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 594; 19 U.S.C. 1202 note) when the Secretary of Agriculture estimates annual imports will exceed the quota trigger level. The President exercised his discretion under the Act to set the quotas above the adjusted base level to permit aggregate imports during 1976 of 1,233 million pounds, the amount envisioned in the voluntary restraint program based on bilateral agreements with 11 foreign governments. The quotas became effective immediately.

The operational paragraphs of Proclamation 4469 read as follows:

1. In conformity with and as required by Section 2(c) of the Act, the total quantity of the articles specified in item 106.10 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen cattle meat) and item 106.20 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of goats and sheep (except lambs)) of Part 2B, schedule 1 of the tariff schedules of the United States which may be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the calendar year 1976 is limited to 1,120.9 million pounds.

2. Pursuant to Section (2)d of the Act, it is hereby determined that an increase in the quota quantity proclaimed in Paragraph 1. is required by overriding economic interests of the United States, giving special weight to the importance to the nation of the economic well-being of the domestic livestock industry, and that an increase of 112.1 million pounds in such quota quantity is necessary to carry out the purposes of such subsection.

3. Pursuant to Section 2(d) of the Act, the quota quantity proclaimed in Paragraph 1. is increased by 112.1 million pounds and the total quantity of the articles specified in item 106.10 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen cattle meat) and item 106.20 (relating to fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of goats and sheep (except lambs)) of Part 2B, schedule 1 of the tariff schedules of the United States which may be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the calendar year 1976 is limited to 1,233 million pounds.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 200, Oct. 14, 1976, p. 44995. Effective Oct. 28, 1976, regulations issued by the Acting Secretary of Agriculture denied entry into the customs territory of the United States during the remainder of the year 1976 of meat processed in foreign-trade zones and territories of the United States (7 CFR 16.20-16.22). Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 209, Oct. 28, 1976, p. 47254.

The Department of State announced on December 15, 1976, that the United States had reached substantive agreement with the governments of major meat exporting countries on arrangements to govern trade in meat, mainly beef, during 1977. The other negotiating countries included Australia, New Zealand, and countries of Central America and the Caribbean. The arrangements in some cases were on an ad referendum basis, subject to final approval by their governments. The Department also announced that Canada, which had not been a participant in previous restraint programs, would be covered by the 1977 arrangement, but that the precise terms of Canada's participation to cover the two-way U.S.-Canadian trade in meat were still under discussion.

The overall system of arrangements with supplying countries provides assurance that aggregate imports into the United States

would not exceed 1,281.9 million pounds in 1977, the level at which quotas are triggered under the Meat Import Act. This level of imports is an increase of 4 percent over imports in 1976.

Dept. of State Press Release No. 605, Dec. 15, 1976.

Sealskins

On September 9, 1976, the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received from the Fouke Company, Greenville, S.C., a petition for adjustment of regulations governing the number of Cape fur sealskins which may be imported from the 1975 harvest from 19,180 to 23,170 sealskins. The Fouke Company alleged that the NMFS erroneously failed to consider four islands as part of South Africa, namely: Long Island, Albatross Rock, Sinclair Island, and Hollam's Bird Island, and thereby understated that portion of the total yearly harvests which occurred in South Africa. The NMFS requested the Department of State's views on the territorial status of the four islands. The Department of State, in a memorandum of law, concluded that Long Island, Albatross Rock, Sinclair Island, and Hollam's Bird Island are part of the territory of the Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the Director of the NMFS amended title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 216.32 (a), (a) (1), (b) and (f) (5) to adjust the percentage of the total harvest to be imported into the United States from 27.4 percent to 33.1 percent. When applied to the maximum harvest level of 70,000 seals as permitted in the waiver, this resulted in an increase in the maximum number of sealskins which may be imported from South Africa to 23,170 sealskins annually, beginning with the 1976 harvest and from subsequent harvests subject to annual review by the Director.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 228, Nov. 24, 1976, pp. 51795-51796.

Sugar

In August 1976, after sugar prices had declined sharply, the Interagency Task Force on Sugar Policy was reconstituted in the United States to update the supply, demand, and price outlook for the remainder of 1976. After reviewing the work of the task force, President Ford announced on September 21, 1976, that he had decided to give full support to the request of the Senate Finance Committee for an escape clause investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1978; 19 U.S.C. 2251).

In addition, the President announced that in view of the depressed state of the sugar industry, he had decided to raise the duty on imported sugar from .625 cents per pound to 1.875 cents per pound

effective immediately, to offer domestic producers some protection for imports while the USITC investigation was underway.

On September 21, 1976, the President issued Proclamation 4463 raising the tariff on sugar accordingly. On October 4, 1976, the President amended that proclamation to permit sugar exported prior to September 21 to enter at a lower duty rate, provided such sugar cleared U.S. customs on or before November 8. The action was reported to the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on October 8, 1976, with a statement noting that the increase in tariff "does not violate a GATT binding or any other international commitment of the U.S. Government" and "does not affect duty-free entry of sugar under GSP for beneficiary developing countries."

GATT Doc. L/4414, Oct. 22, 1976.

Denial of Import Relief

President Ford issued a determination on April 16, 1976, under section 202 (b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618; 88 Stat. 1978; 19 U.S.C. 2252 (b) (1)) that import relief for the U.S. footwear industry was not in the national economic interest of the United States. A petition for import relief had been filed by the American Footwear Industries Association, the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, and the United Shoe Workers of America. The U.S. International Trade Commission had made a unanimous finding that the domestic shoe industry was being injured by the mounting imports, but in its report dated February 20, 1976, had not agreed upon a recommended remedy. In a memorandum to the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations on April 16, the President stated that he had determined that expedited adjustment assistance to affected firms and workers, not higher tariffs on imports, was the most effective remedy for the injury suffered by the U.S. footwear industry and its workers. The memorandum continued, in part, as follows:

A remedy involving import restraints would have lessened competition in the shoe industry and resulted in higher shoe prices for American consumers at a time when lowering the rate of inflation is essential .

Import restraints would also have exposed U.S. industrial and agricultural trade to compensatory import concessions or retaliation against U.S. exports. This would have been detrimental to American jobs and damaged U.S. exports.

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In considering the effect of import restraints on the international economic interests of the United States, as required by the Trade Act of 1974, I have concluded that such restraints would be contrary to the U.S. policy of promoting the development of an

open, nondiscriminatory and fair world economic system. The goal of this policy is to expand domestic employment and living standards through increased economic efficiency.

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The President directed the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor to consider expeditiously any adjustment assistance petitions and to file supplementary budget requests for funds, if necessary. The Special Representative for Trade Negotiations was directed to monitor U.S. footwear trade and to report any significant changes.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 77, Apr. 20, 1976, pp. 16545-16546. On Dec. 18, 1976, the International Trade Commission decided unanimously that shoes (non-rubber footware) were being imported in such volume as to be a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry. The Commission was to meet again on Jan. 6, 1977, to decide on a remedy.

On April 14, 1976, President Ford decided to accept as the findings of the U.S. International Trade Commission the views of those Commissioners who found that slide fasteners and parts were not being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to the U.S. industry producing articles like or directly competitive with the imported articles. The members of the Commission had been equally divided on the petition of the domestic industry for escape-clause relief. Under the President's decision, no import relief measures were applied, but the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor were directed to give expeditious consideration to petitions for adjustment assistance filed by slide fastener companies or their workers.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 83, Apr. 28, 1976, p. 17829.

In determinations announced on April 30, 1976, President Ford decided to ease import restrictions on two types of consumer goods: stainless steel flatware and certain types of ceramic kitchenware and tableware. After reviewing reports of the International Trade Commission, the President concluded that domestic producers of stainless steel flatware no longer required special import protection, such as the tariff-rate quotas that had been in effect for several years. Those tariff-rate quotas were permitted to expire September 30, 1976. The President determined that expedited adjustment assistance would be the most effective remedy for injury suffered by the domestic stainless steel flatware industry and its employees, and he directed the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor to give prompt consideration to petitions for such adjustment assistance.

In the case of ceramic tableware, the President terminated higher import duties, in effect since May 1972, for some types of ceramic

tableware, but ordered a continuation of higher duties for other items until April 30, 1979, with a provision for phasing down the duties.

The decisions were in response to cases filed under the import relief provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618; 88 Stat. 2041). For the texts of the Presidential determinations, see Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 87, May 4, 1976, pp. 18397-18403.

On May 31, 1976, President Ford determined that the provision of import relief for iron blue pigments was not in the national interest of the United States. The U.S. International Trade Commission, on April 2, 1976, had recommended to the President that import relief in the form of increased tariffs be granted to the U.S. industry producing iron blue pigments. These are pigments used primarily in the production of printing inks and blue carbon paper. The President determined, however, that since the period covered by the Commission's report, the domestic economy had made significant progress toward recovery and that, with rising demand, the capacity of U.S. industry was not sufficient to supply anticipated consumption in 1976.

Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 108, June 3, 1976, pp. 22331-22332.

On August 28, 1976, President Ford announced his determination that import relief for honey was not in the national economic interest of the United States. The President's decision followed a June 29, 1976, finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission, in a 3-2 vote, that increased imports were a substantial cause of a threat of serious injury to the domestic industry engaged in the commercial production and extraction of honey.

The President's determination stated that tariff relief would be inconsistent with the national effort to reduce inflation; that new restrictions would expose other U.S. products to foreign claims for compensatory tariff reductions or retaliation against U.S. exports; and that increased protection would have an adverse effect on the U.S. bargaining position in bilateral consultations and multilateral negotiations. However, the President instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake additional research on the importance of pollination to U.S. agriculture and consumers.

In reporting to Congress on his determination which differed from that recommended by the International Trade Commission, the President noted his constitutional disagreement with sec. 203 (c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618; 88 Stat. 2016; 19 U.S.C. 2253(c)) under which “Congress has . . . attempted to empower itself with authority to disapprove such Presidential action by force of a concurrent resolution." See Fed. Reg., Vol. 41, No. 171, Sept. 1, 1976, pp. 36787-36789.

Customs Duties

Revised Antidumping Regulations of the United States came into force on June 25, 1976, constituting title 19 (Customs Duties), part