Proclamation 4370

by Gerald R. Ford

April 30, 1975

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

MODIFYING PROCLAMATION No. 3279, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO IMPORTS OF PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, AND PROVIDING FOR THE LONG-TERM CONTROL OF IMPORTS OF PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS THROUGH A SYSTEM OF LICENSE FEES

Whereas, I judge it necessary and consistent with the national security that the Mandatory Oil Import Program maintain flexibility to accommodate evolving programs for discouraging importation into the United States of petroleum and petroleum products in such quantities or under such circumstances as threaten to impair the national security; and

Whereas, a temporary deferral of the scheduled increases in oil import license fees is appropriate in order to maintain such flexibility; and

Whereas, I intend to act within thirty days to increase the oil import license fees to their originally scheduled levels of $2 and $3 should alternative programs for discouraging imports not be formulated in a timely fashion or should such programs fail to protect adequately United States national security interests;

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, do hereby proclaim that, effective as of May 1, 1975, Proclamation No. 3279, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows :

SECTION 1. Clause (iii) of subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of Section 3 is amended to read as follows:

"(iii) with respect to imports of crude oil, natural gas products, unfinished oils, and all other finished products (except ethane, propane, butanes, and asphalt) entered into the customs territory of the United States on or after February 1, 1975, there shall be a supplemental fee per barrel of $1.00."

SEC. 2. Clause (viii) of subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of Section 3 is amended to read as follows :

"(viii) with respect to licenses issued pursuant to paragraph 3(a) (1) (iii) for imports other than (A) any material imported for refining that qualifies for inclusion in a refiner's crude oil runs to stills under the Old Oil Allocation Program or (B) products refined in a refinery outside of the customs territory as to which crude oil runs to stills would qualify a refiner to receive entitlements under the Old Oil Allocation Program, the Administrator may by regulation reduce the fee payable for imports entered on or after February 1, 1975, by $1.00 per barrel, except that the Administrator may reduce such fee by such other amounts as he may determine to be necessary to achieve the objectives of this Proclamation and the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973."

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-ninth.

GERALD R. FORD