Proc. 7970 Title 3--The President Proclamation 7970 of December 22, 2005 To Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act By the President of the United States o/America A Proclamation 1. Section 506A(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the "1974 Act") (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(1)), as added by section 111(a) of the African Growth and Oppor- tunity Act (title I of Public Law 106-200) (AGOA), authorizes the President to designate a country listed in section 107 of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3706) as a "beneficiary sub-Saharan African country" if the President determines that the country meets the eligibility requirements set forth in section 104 of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3703), as well as the eligibility criteria set forth in section 502 of the 1\36574 Act (19 U.S.C. 2462). 2. Section 104 of the AGOA authorizes the President to designate a country listed in section 107 of the AGOA as an "eligible sub-Saharan African country" if the President determines that the country meets certain eligi- bility requirements. 3. Section 112(b)(3)(B) of the AGOA (19 U.S.C. 3721(b)(3)(B)) provides spe- cial rules for certain apparel articles imported from "lesser developed bene- ficiary sub-Saharan African countries." 4. In Proclamation 7350 of October 2, 2000, the President designated the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (Mauritania) as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country pursuant to section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act and pro- vided that it would be considered a lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saha- ran African country for purposes of section 112(b)(3)(B) of the AGOA. 5. Section 506A(a)(3) of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2466a(a)(3)) authorizes the President to terminate the designation of a country as a beneficiary sub-Sa- haran African country for purposes of section 506A if he determines that the country is not making continual progress in meeting the requirements described in section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act. 6. Pursuant to section 104 of the AGOA and section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act, I have determined that the Republic of Burundi (Burundi) meets the eligibility requirements set forth or referenced therein, and I have decided to designate Burundi as an eligible sub-Saharan African country and as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. 7. I further determine that Burundi satisfies the criterion for treatment as a "lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African country" under sec- tion 112(b)(3)(B) of the AGOA. 8. Pursuant to section 506A(a)(3) of the 1974 Act, I have determined that Mauritania is not making continual progress in meeting the requirements described in section 506A(a)(1) of the 1974 Act. Accordingly, I have de- cided to terminate the designation of Mauritania as a beneficiary sub-Saha- ran African country for purposes of section 506A of the 1974 Act, effective on January 1, 2006. 9. Section 604 of the 1974 Act (19 U.S.C. 2483), as amended, authorizes the President to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the 148
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