Proc. 7328 Title 3--The President Proclamation 7328 of July 6, 2000 To Amend the Generalized System of Preferences By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation 1. Section 502(c)(7) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the "Trade Act") (\1779 U.S.C. 2462(c)(7)), provides that, in determining whether to designate any country a beneficiary developing country under this section, the Presi- dent shall take into account whether that country has taken or is taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to workers in that country. Section 502(d)(\177) of the Trade Act (\1779 U.S.C. 2462(d)(\177)) provides that the President may withdraw, suspend, or limit the application of duty- free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) with re- spect to any designated beneficiary developing country based on consider- ation of the factors set forth in sections 501 and 502(c) of the Trade Act (\1779 U.S.C. 246\177 and 2462(c)). Section 502(f)(2) of the Trade Act (\1779 U.S.C. 2462(f)(2)) requires the President to notify the Congress and the affected country, at least 60 days before termination, of the President's intention to terminate the affected country's designation as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the GSP. 2. Section 502(e) of the Trade Act (\1779 U.S.C. 2462(e)) provides that the President shall terminate the designation of a country as a beneficiary de- veloping country if the President determines that such country has become a "high income" country as defined by the official statistics of the Inter- national Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Termination is effec- tive on January 1 of the second year following the year in which such de- termination is made. 3. Pursuant to section 502(d) of the Trade Act, and having considered the factors set forth in sections 50\177 and 502(c), I have determined that it is ap- propriate to suspend Belarus's GSP benefits because it has not taken and is not taking steps to afford workers in that country internationally recog- nized worker rights. In order to reflect the suspension of benefits under the GSP for articles imported from Belarus, I have determined that it is appro- priate to modify general note 4(a) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). 4. Pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I have determined that Malta, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Slovenia meet the definition of a "high income" country as defined by the official statistics of the Inter- national Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Accordingly, pursuant to section 502(e) of the Trade Act, I am terminating the preferential treat- ment under the GSP for articles that are currently eligible for such treat- ment and that are imported from Malta, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Slovenia, effective January \177, 2002. 5. Section 604 of the Trade Act, as amended (\1779 U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the HTS the substance of the relevant provi- sions of that Act, and of other Acts affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitu- 122
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