Title 3--The President rod, other than enumerated steel wire rod products ("excluded products"), with an increase in currently scheduled rates of duties for imports above the tariff-rate quota level. I have proclaimed such action for a period of 3 years and 1 day in order to facilitate efforts by the domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition. Specifically, I have established a tariff-rate quota for steel wire rod in an amount equal to 1.58 million net tons in the first year (March \177, 2000 through February 28, 200\177), an amount that is equivalent to \177998 import levels of covered products from the countries subject to the TRQ plus 2 percent (to account for growth in demand). The tariff-rate quota amount will increase by 2 percent annually in the second and third years of relief. I have established increased rates of duty for imports above the tariff-rate quota level: namely \1770 percent ad valorem in the first year of relief, 7.5 percent ad valorem in the second year of relief, and 5 percent ad valorem in the third year of relief. In addition, I have provided that during each quarter of the first three quarters of a quota year, any articles subject to the tariff-rate quota entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption in excess of one-third of the total within-quota quantity for that quota year shall be subject to the over-quota rate of duty then in effect. During the fourth quarter of a quota year, the tariff-rate quota shall apply as though the preceding sentence did not have effect, except that any imports subject to the over-quota duty as a result of the preceding sentence shall not be counted against the in-quota quantity for that quota year. In this regard, I instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to publish or otherwise make avail- able on a weekly basis, import statistics that will enable importers to iden- tify the rate at which the in-quota quantity for that quota year, and the por- tion of the in-quota quantity allotted to that quarter, is being filled. I further instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to seek to obtain by March l, 2000 statistical subdivisions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the excluded products (specified in the Annex to the proclamation). The Secretary of the Treasury will monitor imports of the excluded products by country of ori- gin and imports the product of Mexico and Canada throughout the period of this action, and report to the United States Trade Representative on rel- evant volumes each quarter during the period of this action, or more often as needed, or as the United States Trade Representative may request. I have further determined, pursuant to section 3\1772(a) of the NAFTA Imple- mentation Act, that imports of steel wire rod produced in Canada and Mex- ico do not account for a substantial share of total steel wire rod imports or are not contributing importantly to the serious injury or threat of serious injury. Therefore, pursuant to section 3\1772(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act, the safeguard measure will not apply to imports of steel wire rod that is the product of Canada or Mexico. I have determined that the actions described above will facilitate efforts by the domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition and provide greater economic and social benefits than costs. This action will provide the domestic industry with necessary temporary relief from in- creasing import competition, while also assuring our trading partners con- tinued access to the United States market. Pursuant to section 204 of the Trade Act, the USITC will monitor develop- ments with respect to the domestic industry, including the progress and specific efforts made by workers and firms in the domestic industry to 352
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